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!

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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/

Little Pudge

pudge by CURAT

Curat-Romania/ Curat Clean hit the floor running. Misty Renee Al-Eryani, the proprietor/soap maker/ owner has introduced her soaps with a unique bang and a flair. When I look at her soaps and packaging, I see independence, fun, freedom, creativity and love eeking from every part of Misty's process. I don't know Misty, but I'd guess she's not the quiet and timid type that wouldn't fight for her beliefs. How do I get that from a website? Do you get that, too?

Ok, moving on....

So I was looking at her wall of soaps and a little soap named Pudge popped up and I instantly bought it. I thought it was the name and that it said limited quantities. I had to have Pudge.

Pudge arrives with some other soapy samples. Here's a picture of the sample line up:

Misty thinks they look like a dysfunctional family.

I love the Pudge. First I used it as was intended - as a facial soap, but as I lathered it my hands I noticed it has some light exfoliation, and you KNOW how I love exfoliation in the shower, so I decided to use it in the shower instead. Well! Let me tell you, it was perfect. I have been showering with it exclusively and it doesn't seem to be shrinking. Whatever the scent is, it's super light, because I don't smell much even though is is really pleasant. I think perhaps the oils in there are supposed to be intended to tone the skin and not for being smelly. In the shower, it isn't a rough exfoliant. It has the perfect balance of exfoliation, lather and good soapie qualities.

This is how it says to use it: "Break off pea sized amount and place in the palm of your hand. Work into a small lather with a tad of water, apply to face avoiding the eye area. Leave on for 5 minutes...then rinse with warm water. Finish with a natural toner and moisturize your skin."

Here are the ingredients: "Saponified soy, olive & coconut oils, bananas, pineapple, mango, currant oil, citrus essential oil - avg size 2.0 oz bar lasts 2 months."

Pudge - 2 oz - $6

I raise my glass to Misty!! Love your soap!

Go check out her online store and blog and tell her I sent you ;)

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Follow Up On My Day From Hell

My post "Burning Joanna" was sort of comical as I read it back to myself today. Yes, when one steps away from a flame, it's not so hot anymore, is it? I really appreciate the time you all spent writing your comments. I know it takes energy, but I felt the warmth come right out of the monitor.

Thank you for being so supportive and sweet... and thinking it was humorous, because it was, in retrospect. That first experience in the morning:

Pour.

Stir.

KABOOM.

Clear "burn your skin off" liquid.

Pooling.

Dripping.

Everywhere.

Screaming, "BRAD! Brad! Brad!"

Charges in.

Barefoot.

"GET OUT!"

Fumes.

Toxic.

Spreading.

To the sink.

Lava.

Destroying.

To the sink.

Burning.

Stinging.

To the sink.

Kill. Kill.

Focus.

Clean.

Soak it up.

Soakkkkkk.

Open cabinets. Wet.

Open drawers. Wet.

To the sink.

Skin stinging.

Shower.

Ahhhhhh.

I'm not even going into the second part of my day. It's too exhausting to even think about it. I have good news, though! I took all that lumpy bumpy weird volcanic ugly soap into a crock pot because I knew the calculations were correct and I cooked that sucker for a long while, then I added some color later on, did the zap test and shoved it all into a fat mold. This morning, I cut it all up and this is what I found:

Hot Process Fresh Linen

FROM MY PERSONAL HELL DAY

Yielded 30+ bars. One of my wholesale customers (private label) has already claimed them as hers for the taking. Something good came out of the day, at least.

I haven't gone in the lab today. My crock pots are still needing to be cleaned and my lab sink is filled. I couldn't pull it together to go in there today. I worked administratively today. All day. I'll get back on my horse tomorrow.

I still feel stingy...

Stella Marie In The Movies

Kim Gonzaga of Stella Marie Soap Company is a wonderful soap maker and great business woman. I love her moxie and sense of style. She's has a unique approach because of who she is and I think it makes her stand out, which, of course, is what will put her in the spotlight.

She made a stylized video of her hot process soap making and it should be shared. It shows a little Kim and it shows her soap process. Take a look.

Thank you, Kim, for allowing me to share your video with the rest of my readers and for letting me try your luscious soapies. Yum, they are good. Keep it up, girl. You are going places!

xo

Amber's Ambry & Her Little Blueberry, Too!

Amber's Blueberry goat's milk soap
(photo by yours truly on my patio)

So, I get this great package from my soap buddy, Amber, a few weeks ago. Nice soaps, beautifully wrapped, they smell wholesome and are decorated similarly. Looking at them made me want to eat more healthily, grow a garden, make my own paper and make homemade applesauce for goodness sake. I was even considering giving up my chocolate habit during that fleeting moment, but then I thought about my nightly ritual of eating Reese's peanut butter cups and decided that all natural, all the time just isn't for me. There is a time and a place for natural, but when I want junk, I can push a button and go for it. Especially when your chocolate gets into my peanut butter.

Back to Amber, her ruby shoes and her little blueberry.

I am not a huge fan of blueberry smells in the land of bath and body products (thinking Bath and Body Works and all that encompasses that place) and also TJ Maxx - all of the rejects from every other store in the U.S. and quite possibly products pushing their expiration dates. But Amber's soap smells true and blue. Blueberries are my favorite fruit, I'll have you know, and every time I got into the shower, I rubbed that bar all over and sniffed it sniffed it and sniffed some more. I couldn't get enough of that smell! I think I'll call it a heaven bar... with the perfect amount of poppy seeds. I think poppy seeds are under utilized in this world. They are not only cute, but they work so hard, especially for being so darn small.

My husband wrote a blog post recently about a loofah soap he found in our shower and how it felt like razor blades. If you want a laugh, go read it here. Apparently after reading all of the comments, it appears that the men are not big on exfoliation but women LOVE it. The rougher the better. Now, I would have thought it would be reversed. I know that about half the time, I like to exfoliate and I don't like it mild, either. So, Amber's blueberry packs the perfect poppy-punch because it isn't downright rough, but it's no where near mild.

In short: I love this Blueberry bar of goodness!

poppy-punch good

How cute is this muslin bag with the blueberry stamp that Amber carved out and made HERSELF?!



Oh come on, is there something this chick can't do? Oh yeah. Let me share with you some of the things she can do brilliantly:


She bakes:

She gardens. And well, too:
















She quilts:



She's a knitter extraordinaire:



She sews many beautiful aprons (I am an owner of one) Wish I had the photo of me wearing mine....so cheery.:



And she and her husband made these invitations and I really want to know how they did it. Perhaps we can ask her to do a tutorial or something...

This crafty chica is no woman to be dual-ling with at high noon with an art box.

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Using Melt & Pour Toppings to Decorate Hot Process Soap

by Emmy Gabriel of The Natural Beauty Workshop

I was inspired to try something different while making a batch of soap for an autumn swap last year. I wanted to incorporate the beauty of autumn leaves into each bar, but I still wanted to create soap "from scratch" as opposed to using a full melt & pour recipe. I noodled over the puzzle for a while, but eventually inspiration struck.

Armed with clear Melt & Pour Soap Base, 3 cookie sheets, and a butter knife, I got to work. I split the Melt & Pour Soap into three batches after it was melted, scented each batch with Autumn Woods Fragrance Oil, and colored each with a different shade of Pearlescent Mica. I poured each batch of soap onto a cookie sheet, allowing them to cool into thin, solid layers. While I was waiting for them to cool, I quickly sketched out 3 leaf shapes onto card stock and cut them out. I used these cutouts as stencils, and carefully traced leaf shapes out of the Melt & pour soap with my butter knife. This would have been a LOT easier if I'd had the foresight to buy some mini cookie cutters, but "C'est la vie". My little leaves were well worth the extra work.

Once my leaves were finished, I whipped up a batch of hot process soap, also scenting it with Autumn Woods Fragrance Oil. I gave the soap a few minutes to cool after I had popped it into its mold, and then began to carefully insert my MP leaves into the top of the log. The soap was just hot enough to melt each leaf slightly as it entered the top of the soap. This helped adhere the leaves more permanently, but if the soap had been any hotter, it may have melted my leaves completely. Thankfully, I seemed to have caught it at just the right temperature. Should I repeat this procedure, I would definitely record the temperature of my HP soap log for future reference.

After covering the log in a forest of tiny leaves, I allowed the log to continue cooling. I spent the next morning excitedly slicing bars for my swap. The soap was so pretty that I almost hated to use my test bar, but I did! Autumn Woods lost a bit of its top note during soap making, but it rounded out into a very delicious, nutty scent. The Melt & Pour topping helped to boost the overall aroma by showcasing the untouched aroma of the Fragrance Oil, making the whole soap very enjoyable to sniff.

This technique offers just about as many combinations as you can imagine. Some things made of MP that I would love to see topping an HP log would be plant shapes, fruit shapes, or maybe some funky geometrics. I would be very curious to see what other folks come up with when they combine such different soap making techniques!

Thank you so much, Emmy! You are a true inspiration with all of the work you do, the beautiful photographs you take, and excellent ideas and recipes that you share at The Natural Beauty Workshop Blog. It's an honor to have you be here with me.

I Love Soap I Love Soap I Love Soap

It doesn't get better than this. Way to go, Kim. You ARE a rock star! ((mwah)) stellamariesoap.com

Hot Process -- The Forgotten Soap

Hot process soaps are not featured nearly as much as cold processed soaps. They are the underdogs I suppose...the modest soaps that need a bit of exposure. Here are some beautiful soaps that should be exposed to the rest of the world. Here, world. Enjoy these beauts!

Maylees Garden on Etsy

Nag Champa Spiral Funkiness (love the swirled circles)

butt naked



BareBummBath features hot process soaps that are quite lovely.

berry & honey almond

acai & mangosteen


peace

Stella Marie Soap Company - I have had the pleasure of using Kim's soaps before. Her style, soap and heart is beyond fantastic. We love you, Kim!

clockwork orange

bad brains

Kim's studio with many of her stunning soaps

Anhoki's Place on Etsy...

Youth Hot Process Soap Ala Anhoki

I choose to make cold process soap more often than hot process soap because I have more control with the outcome... designing it. I am very impressed with these soapmakers, I have to say. When I make hot process batches, they come out fine, but the tops looks vomitous. You know what I'm talking about if you've ever made hot process soap.

I chose these soaps to feature because they are works of art. Thank you.

They are hot!

Loaves Of Soap + Cut Jasmine

Here are the loaves of soap I made recently and last night I cut the six pounder in half to reveal its inner beauty. I had a lot of fun making it because I have been wanting to glop color on top of a poured batch to make a design and I finally had the chance. I had to work very quickly because the jasmine fragrance speeds up trace and I had a feeling set up would be fast. I experienced fast set-up with the sexy laundry day loaf (center), which had the fastest set up time I have experienced yet. It went from creamy to custard in three seconds flat. Thus, the adornments..... because the top was a weird consistency. The right loaf is a hot process graham cracker loaf which smells DELISH but looks quite boring in comparison to the others. Poor thing...beige and plain. If you like the smell of jasmine, you'd love what I'm smelling right now. My office smells like a garden!

New Pumpkin Soap

These were made using the hot process method in the crock pot (thanks, Elizabeth!)

Scented with Graham Cracker and Pumpkin Spice. Yummo!

Product Radar :: Lily Bay Soap & Sundry

Lily Bay Soap - an Etsy find.  I'm glad I did because it is the eye candy, soap porn that I needed this morning.  These are some of my favorites.  She has plenty more where these came from.  Now it is 9:30 in the morning and I am ready for an ice cream.  Thanks Lily Bay for the extra calories I will now insert into my hips.

Ice cream cone soap - whipped cold process soap

Soap Stars - whipped cold process soap

Cerveza con cal  (Beer soap... made with beer instead of water!)

Orange soap with bentonite clay and shea butter

Crimson + Clover Over And Over

Stella Marie Soap has done it again.  Remember when I shared that Kim, the wonderful hot process soap maker, made a "saponified tribute to punk pioneer, Joan Jett"?  Well, she sent me two of those bars and I have to say:

a)  wow on the generosity and

b)  wow, the soap is killer!

I will have to write a review of it soon, but I had to share the prettiness of it in being in my house.

Here are the planning stages:

Rock on, Kimmo!

I Cooked The Beasts

My third attempt at making cold process soap was a total disaster, which, if you haven't read about it, you can go here to do so. Well, to make a long and boring story short, I totally screwed it up and made a quadruple superfatted soap. Aka: TRASH. Gracefruit, the queen of hot process was kind enough to give me some tips which you can read here if you want. Her suggestion was to cook it in a crock pot with some lye solution until it mixed in. So I did.


It took almost two hours with occasional stirring to mix the water into the fatty soap. It was like (duh) oil and water, but with the heat and the mixing and the time, it finally joined hands and became a mushy mess. The next morning, I am happy to announce, they hardened. Here are the freaky bad boys. They look like hard oatmeal, don't they?

I hope they are useable, because I will be doling them out to anyone who will have one. Now let's move on to other things. I'm done with these beasts.