The Soap Bar: Indie

Showing posts with label Indie. Show all posts

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Etsy Sunshine Sporn!

Oats and Honey Soap by The Soap Lab

Fresh Rosemary and Lemongrass Soap by Empire Soap

Yellow Marseille Soap by Morning Calm

Turmeric Root Soap by Whole Truth Beauty

Lemon Sugar Soap by Dress Green

Honeysuckle Goat Milk Soap by goatmilkstuff

Natural Orange Citrus Soap by Dr. K Soap Company

A fine selection of bright and cheery yellow soap for today!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Mianra Artisan Soaps - A New Love

I'm having trouble writing this review for Mianra because there were yummy soaps and cakes she sent from Ireland, and I am kind of beside myself. A small box of lovelies, but an abundance of quality minis. Here a picture of the gift I received from Hajni Kele, owner of Mianra. Wish the picture was better...

First of all, I know Hajni makes mostly cold process soaps, but I quite fell in love with her hot process soap, Cashmere Gold.

My photo of the gem

"A gorgeous blend of Vanilla, Amber, Mimosa Flower and Clove, made with cocoa butter and silk"

SCENT: Well, I can really only add that I had to breathe slowly in to fully grasp the scent. Ever changing gorgeousness, really. When I first smelled the soap, I detected the vanilla and amber and then as the moment passed, the (normally sharp) clove scent slowly wafted in with the slightest hint of cocoa butter and then just when I had a grasp of it, the note changed yet again and went to the softest floral. The scent itself was so gentle as if caressing my senses, and teasing me with delight. A simple looking bar with gold mica glittering the top; the off-white color grounded the exotic level of scent that consumed me but not overwhelming at all.

LATHER: Fantastic! Super-sonic fat bubbles that quickly tightened and became a creamy lather. Ah, a soap that soothes my love for seeing big bubbles, but my skin's need for the tight and creamy moisturizing bubbles. As quickly as the bubbles arrived, they quickly washed off leaving my skin smooth and without a stitch of film.

MOISTURE: My skin truly loved the way Cashmere Gold left my skin feeling. AND smelling. I felt moisturized without feeling overly soft and I felt clean and lovely.

She sent more beautiful looking soaps and they all left me happy and they are truly eye candy with simialr results, but my heart goes to Cashmere Gold, which was a surpise, really, because I don't know if I normally would go for such a scent. I love it when soapmakers send me things I wouldn't have normally chosen.

Well done, Hajni! Thank you again for sending me the lot of yums. I absolutely have loved every second that I've had with them in my new home. I have a big bathtub I have yet to use the bath treats in. I will surely be relaxed on that day!

***

Let's see some soap porn of her work of absolutely stunning soaps. I drool at my computer when I see her masterpieces.

Please go visit her website here: http://www.mianrasoaps.com/

Friday, April 13, 2012

Today Is All About Blue

Since I made blue soap yesterday, I thought I'd look at other blue soaps, too. Here's a crappy phone photo I took of my Palm Beach Illustrated Soap:

~~--------------------------------------~~-------------------------------------~~

The Shire Soap: Future Primitive Soaps

I am loving the blue/white swirl on top.

Closed lavender buds waiting to hatch, Geranium leaves tossed in Gardenia

absolute and a fistful of star-shaped Ylang Ylang flowers.

Coconut Cream Blue Flower Tarts: The Roche Shop

Sea Salt Soap: Empire Soaps

(lemon verbena and lemongrass)

Blossom Goat's Milk Soap: Two Blooms Design

Cotton Flowers

Big Ass Blue Soap: Heart Button Boat Soaps

Lives in my old neighborhood! :)

Colorful Logs: River Country Soapworks

Monday, March 19, 2012

Black Beauty By Tokyo Factory

kimono

Ayu, of Tokyo Factory, sent me this gorgeous soap that I have been staring at for weeks. Kimono has a presence of its own, and sitting on my shelf, with such grace....well, I just couldn't bring myself to use it. I loved the stamp and the look of the soap so much that I just needed to savor its beauty. That never happens to me. Usually I race into the shower with whatever new bar has been sent to me, in such a hurry, I usually have clips dangling from my hair, or (yes..) socks I forget to remove. (no teasing)

The beauty of this black beast is quite stunning. I love the soap bits present in the pitch black mass. It breaks up the stillness of the bar and adds beauty, playfulness and charm. And of course each bar looks different. I had myself a one of a kind.

I tried Kimono this morning and the smell was delightfully simple and evolved completely in my shower from simple and kind to complex and frisky. It felt almost like I was bathing with a perfectly found rock, geode, mars stone because of its grace and natural pureness. Lather: Tight creamy bubbles instead of big fluffy ones, but the lather was plentiful. As I already know from my own experience, charcoal soaps create grey lather, and that's my least favorite element of this soap. Not a huge complaint being that the soap was a luxury to use, fabulous to smell and my skin felt conditioned and soft when I was through with my bathing ritual.

grey bubbles ensue

On Ayu's website, here is the information on Kimono:

Scent: A Luxury Blend of Rosewood, Clary Sage and Anise.

One of Our Signature KIMONO Soap. This soap contains luxurious ingredients such as Coconut Water, Rose Clay, and rich Bamboo Charcoal Powder. Pure Bamboo Charcoal is known to clean skin pores deeply and clean body odor. Soap is packaged in a beautiful custom designed, recycled paperboard box.

Would I recommend Ayu's soaps? Absolutely!

xoxo Jo

Friday, March 2, 2012

Holy Batman!

Okay... I started the Facebook Group and in one day, we already have 132 members and there is a lot of chatting, sharing, support and information. I know this a a great step for this community. If you have other suggestions.... There are so many good Forums out there, but if you think you would use it, need it, I will create it. Say the word and if I can do it (not rocket science, I assume), I will. I do know rocket scientists, but I am not one myself.

I will stick a little soap porn in here today because I know now that that is so inspiring to you (FB told me so), so I create a little offering for you this morning.... Peace!

Centaur Amber Vanilla by Amathia Soapworks (ok, it's made with 25% shea butter. What?! I needs, loves, must haves....

My Planet Earth Soaps: "Winter I Freaking Hate You!" Luxury Shea Butter Soap scented with Litsea Cubeba, Lemon and Bergamot Essential Oils. Love my new friend, Mike. A brilliant man with a perfect voice and quite possibly a soaping god. Haven't tried them yet, but I got BIG plans, right Mike? (I almost called him Mikey like the Life commercials. Bet he hates that!)

"Pink Champagne - a blend of wild strawberry & fizzy champagne with aloe vera and silk... smells just lovely (not too sickly strawberry)"

Oh, Celine has done it again... This soap looks exactly like an ice cream bar I used to eat during the summers in Brooklyn. It was a chocolate, vanilla a strawberry bar. I used to run faster than my legs could move to reach the singing ice cream truck before it left.... after my mother would throw change from our 3rd story apartment and me frantically picking up the change that scattered everywhere... Thank you Celine, for the memory. I remember the excitement I felt in my chest. :)

Just three for today. I have spent so much time on our new FB page that I ran out of time today. More soon, I promise!

xo Joanna

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Expanding This Blog To Social Media

I decided it was time to create a FB group so that we can share ideas, photos, create dialog and do things that you may not be able to do here. Come join me at The Soap Bar Blog Facebook Group. I created a Flickr photo group where many of you have posted photos of your work and I just love peering at the photos because they inspire me. You can join or peek at The Soap Bar Flickr Group. I JUST as we speak, created TheSoapBarBlog on twitter! Who knows why, really, except that perhaps we can all follow each other and get some inside scoopage on soaping experiences.

My intention here is to create a community. The Soap Bar Community Outreach Program. Let us unite...

I love you guys!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Little Package From Gloi

I received my little bundle of Gloi and I got Picaroon Pumpkin Butter (OMGILU*), Perfume Oils: Elevenses, Honeysuckle Lemon Curd and Haus Amber.

I just love Picaroon and the pumpkin butter. So thick and nourishing. (I also love Future Primitive's Body Whip. I have it in Malt N Milk and it is milky sweet and I am devastated she doesn't carry it anymore. Must. Get. Fragrance.- erg.)

Haus of Amber perfume oil is on my skin. At first, I wasn't sure where it was going and now it has been on for about forty-five minutes and I like the way it's changing. I smell a little bit of Moon Dog in there.

Honeysuckle Lemon Curd is heavenly and as soon as I opened it, it smelled like my company's, Lemon Scone (a blend of, like, 6 essential and fragrance oils), but it quickly made a sharp right turn and all of a sudden I could smell soft flowers. Love the way this perfume changes, even in the bottle.

Elevenses: Not my favorite of the three, but I haven't given it the time it deserves, I need to wear it when I don't have Haus of Amber on my inner wrists and Picaroon Pumpkin Butter on my hands. Actually, the combination of those two scents are making my head filled with temporary bliss at this moment.

So I will come back after the weekend to report back on my other experience with Elevenses.

Britton and Matt- Thank you. I love your products.
xo Jo

I. Need. These. Now.

Honeysuckle Lemon Curd

Peach Mama Handmade Soap

Depravity

Moon Dog

_______________________________________________

Other Haus of Gloi mentions here:

Haus Of Gloi, July 2009

M y Dog, May 16, 2010

_______________________________________________________

footnotes:

*OMGILU: Oh my god, I love you.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

7 Sins Committed Before Heaven

I have had the best experience in the shower lately. Tiggy of Future Primitive sent me a gift with some soap. I ordered something (and I can't remember what) on her website and she sent me bubble bars, soap and her Body Whip in Malt N' Milk, which I don't see listed anymore, but here is the photo on her website that makes her such a temptress.

You temptress!

Body Whip

just give me a spoon, ok?

It's nice and thick, creamy and soothing. I've always preferred the buttery, thick creams, more so than lotion. It just sinks down deep into the dryness of my hands and arms which are constantly beaten up by water, making soap and always washing washing. It makes me think that I need to reevaluate the products I make. :P Why am I not making the buttery ones? Hmm, more thought on that later. Back to Future Primitive!

7 Sins. The soap. It is a complex scent and one that makes me swoon when I sniff it. The blog describes it like this:

Banana cake infused with Ginger, topped with Vanilla Frosting and drizzled with melted Dark Chocolate. Toasted Madagascan Vanilla bean with a dribble of Honey and finished with a scattering of Hot Buttered Popcorn.

I'm not sure I smell the popcorn and the description is too cake-y and sweet for what it really smells like to me. I have smelled teeth-aching sweetness before and this is not it. It is much more laid back, tempting the sweetness and bringing a load of heaven up my nose, but it isn't coying, or overly sweet in the least. The chocolate pulls all of the scents together into a cadence of sorts and in short, a slice of heaven. Sinfully heavenly...

Honestly, the soap is perfect. Bubbles, big and wide tapering off to tight bubbles that are cream-like that left my skin quenched. Clean, moisturized and quenched. Thank goodness. The design is lovely, too. But then, all of Tiggy's soaps are just so pretty to look at. Here are pictures of 7 Sins soap:

Sadly, I am reviewing this when there is no stock of them on the website, so you may have to wait, but I couldn't wait on my review because I had to share my experience. I have yet to try the bubble bars. Who has time to soak in a tub? I never feel that I have time for much these days, as you can see, I am rarely updating this blog, which I intend on doing more of soon. I need to spend more time pampering myself and keeping track of my soapie gifts.

A note about Tiggy: She is a true soaper. One that really has the passion and determination to create good products and anyone who has ever been in touch with her will tell you she is aces. She is funny, sweet and honest and above all, dedicated to her craft.

Give a shout to Tigger and tell her I sent you. Tell her I love her stuff - and her!

xxoo

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Lustbirne Has Me Lusting

As I mentioned in a previous post, Miss Gabriele Kappes, a.k.a. Macsoapy, of Einfach Seife, sent me soap and I must do a review immediately because the first and only bar I've tried, put my entire family into a shower frenzy.

I was sent 3 bars (oh, the lovely Gabriele. thank you!): Smoky, Lustbirne and Sportsfreund. I grabbed Lustbirne and went in for an evening shower only to be delighted on so many levels. Mm, the smell was new to me. I don't speak German, so I couldn't interpret Lustbirne. "Fragrance" is the only clue I get in the ingredient list, so before I go looking online at Google Translate for what I'm smelling, I try to test my smelling abilities. Eh'hem... I know I'm going to fail because I'm not well versed in the florals, and I think this one is...... Honeysuckle..? Oh my flipping head, it's a gorgeous and gentle scent!

So I'm in the shower and the bar is on the small side of normal, but works beautifully in my hand, as if it were made just for it, and I get it wet and start the lather process. GOLD! Dang - - that sucker batted it right out of the field! Über lather that made for great shaving and it washed off nicely, too.

I'm sad, though. My husband doesn't usually like the soaps I get because the scents are too much for him. Well, he really likes this one and he takes two showers a day. TWO! My son has also decided he really likes the soap! So now he is starting to shower in our bathroom instead of his. So my beautiful soap is going quick because it is being manhandled and showered with 4 times a day. Poor thing.

I love the soap I am using. Lustbirne. I haven't tried the other two but they smell wonderful. I did a Google Translate on Lustbirne and it says: pear relish. Guess my nose is WAY off. Hmmmph. But now I go back. Ah, yes, I can smell it now. How wonderful! So mild and delicate. And a beautiful bar to look at, yes?

Gabi, thank you SO SO SO much. I love your soap!! And my family does too. I'll have to divvy out my other bars for safety reasons. No fighting amongst the siblings...

:O)

xoxo jo

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Soaperstar and The Buzzzzz

When I first found Soaperstar, I found the website and it was full of bright, cheerful glycerin soaps. I think glycerin soaps can be so pretty and a true art in so many cases, but generally, here, at The Soap Bar, I focus on the hand crafted "from scratch" soap so I never pursued obtaining a bar for review.

Celine recently moved her craft to making cold process soap and created some interesting bars that piqued my interest. So....

I got a bar of Butterbee Silk. Unscented straight looking bar. When I opened the bar I smelled it and I was surprised by the scent. It smelled like something I knew well, but what was it? It did not smell like any soap I had ever smelled before.... I looked at the ingredients to see if there was something unusual in there: Sweet almond oil, organic palm, coconut oil, cocoa butter, castor oil, pure silk, pure buttermilk, and turkish honey - unfragranced.

I smelled and smelled until it hit me ---- a light hint of curry! Curry?? I emailed Celine right away. She said she didn't smell that.... she smelled caramelized honey, so I popped in the shower and got the soap wet and showered with it, and sure enough, the curry faded away and it started smelling more like a faint caramelized honey sugar. Thank goodness because a curry soap review would have been really hard to do. I LIKE Celine!

As far as the soap's performance: lovely bar. It is cut for smaller hands. Sadly, I did not weigh it or measure it, but I'd guess it's under 4 ounces, the bar lathered well, moisturized wonderfully and worked well for shaving. I think cocoa butter and honey are a nice combination, although I wonder if the buttermilk was the challenging factor in causing the curry smell before the bar got wet. Once wet, however, Butterbee no longer smells like Masala Saag in any way. ;)

The soap lasts a nice long time, especially being a small bar, it needs to stick around, and it does. I'd love to try the Cream Bee next. I've never tried a vegetable puree soap, with fresh Irish dairy cream... sounds dreamy.

Celine, you are definitely on the right track! I think you are a sweet and lovely person and I wish Soaperstar the absolute best.

Follow her blog to keep up with what Celine is up to :) She just posted a new soap: Fresh Orange soap with Tussah silk, shea butter and cocoa butter. Here's a mini pic to drool over:

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Do You Have The Soap Porn Blues?

Tas Touch Soaps

I am so glad I stumbled upon these stunning soaps.
Check out her website.

seaberry, ocean scented vegan soap by Blushie

mint soap by Burnt Mill Soaps

seaside rendezvous by Eleja

Every single one of these soaps are beautiful and yet, I never make blue soap. Wonder why? Thank you for inspirations and for the beautiful art that we can rest our weary eyes upon today!!

xo Joanna