Sunday, August 29, 2010

A "Nutty" Giveaway!



I am a LOVER of fragrance...always have been.   Please don't misunderstand the jist of this post; I adore cold process soap.  Love the moisturizing, love the colors and swirls.  Love the artistry.  However,  I'm really diggin' on this Hot Process thing -mainly because the FRAGRANCE is fantastic! (Gotta work on getting the bars harder, though.)

The fragrances remain so intense and true in the finished bar, that I am hooked...hooked, I tell you!  I've always wanted to do a soap that was truly Almond.  I love that smell.  Well, I've finally found an essential oil blend (previous post) in almond, and a technique (hot process) that doesn't destroy it. Yippee!

I just cut these bars this a.m., and I'm going to try one in a few (gotta hurry this post or I'll be late) but they smell the best, to me, of all the soaps I've made in the last 8 years!  They aren't really "pretty" per se, but I can see the beauty in these babies...and I can surely smell the beauty! :)

I may have to do a giveaway or send my soapin' buds samples or something...I have to share this scent!
What do you think about a "Nutty" giveaway?  Maybe Almond Soap, Bath Salts & Solid Perfume (been experimenting with that, too)   O.K., I talked myself into it.  "A Nutty Giveaway" it shall be.
Just comment to enter, and I'll have my son draw the winner out of a bowl....how about on Friday?
Yes, we'll do it Friday.

There you have it!  Good Luck, Buddies!

17 comments:

Between Friends said...

It's amazing how the heat from HP doesn't really destroy the essential oil. I'll have to say that's one of my ultimate dreams too!

Jennifer Young said...

Oh you are tempting me... I will let you know when I try it! I am signing up for the giveaway! Let us know if you find the feel of the soap when you use it any different from CP. xo Jen

Cocobong Soaps said...

I'm so glad you're lovin' the hprocessin'! I went batty about it as well when I first tried it out..the look, the whoopa! fragrance and also the sudsability (new word here) seems more intense than cp soaps. SoapSister of mine, I would just love to receive a scent sample of your nutty soap! I too am an almond lover and just yesterday made a beer based bloak bar with almond scent. To get harder hp soaps, you can do up to 20% water discount and use no less than 60% solid fats. Count me in on the nutty giveaway

TheSoapSister said...

Cocobong (my senior Sister in Soap...experience-wise...we're not disclosing ages here..heh heh -I think I have you all there!) Thanks so much for the tip on the solid fats.I made a batch the other day with just shea as "superfat", and it's not as firm as my first batch that had cocoa butter. I'm wondering if palm kernel oil (hard as a ROCK...I hate having to melt it)would work better that the softer palm oil that I generally use? My current recipe is high on the olive oil. Maybe I can cut it back just a bit without losing quality? It sounds like my water can be cut drastically.I'm happy to send samples to my Soapin' Sisters, too!

TheSoapSister said...

Jen, the only difference is that it's not quite as hard as the aged CP soap. I'm hoping to correct that by "tweaking" (oh no!) the recipe a bit. The lather is fab, seems to moisturize pretty much the same as my CP. It's not pretty, though, as you can see. But my soap has only been "prettied up" for the last couple of months. My soap was always "plain" and I was o.k. with that UNTIL I really started looking at everyone elses pretty, and I wanted to be pretty TOO! : )You would think by now I would be content with myself and my soap, but I guess I'm not quite that mature -yet!

TheSoapSister said...

Maggie, what surprises me even more is that it doesn't "flash" or explode! I guess that's why you turn the heat off (and I drag my feet a bit)...I was a bit paranoid the first time I added it...it still makes me a bit uneasy. If you haven't tried HP, you may want to. I think it's really fun!

Cocobong Soaps said...

drats! I forgot..do you except applications from abroad as well? well..we can always swap soap to make things fair and square. try the 25% recipe (25 coco/25palmkernel/25olive/25...solid or liquid whatever)btw ..just but a few years your junior,m'dear (so few that it doesn't count, so we're in the same league;)

TheSoapSister said...

Oh Dear Cocobong! A swap sounds lovely! Let's do. So, you're a member of the somwhat sagging, bagging, "Old Gray Mare" set, too? Some days I feel like fighting it, other days I trot through my day and don't give a rats heiny about what I look like! Ha! That's the fun part of getting older! I try not to complain (except in jest)about my grays -I know so many who weren't here long enough to get gray...so I try to be thankful for them. Besides, I don't have to highlight my hair anymore...the grays add body! Who knew? I'm hoping for the EmmyLou Harris look someday! : )p.s. thanks for the "oil advice" I have to get this HP thing down...I think it suits my personality! ; )

FooFooBerry said...

Oh your new soap sounds divine and I love the scent of almond.

AromaBeauty Natural Soaps said...

Oh boy! does that sound soooo good, I've never smelt a almond soap before and it sounds like I'm really missing out. If you feel like doing a swap in Aussie, I'm all for it too:)

Springvale Soap said...

Ooh ooh ooh, enter me too!I've never done hot process, never given it much thought, but the one thing that would tempt me into it is that you can use it so soon after making it. Now that you say the scents stay true and strong I might have to consider this technique!~Deb

indigo doe said...

Hi there! returning the visit and you have some of the prettiest soap ever! Always glad to see a 'real' natural soap maker at work. Will follow, glad I found you back!

Ambra said...

Hate to burst your bubble, Becky, but I'm definitely your senior :D - Those streaks in my bangs are not paid for, but they took over half a century to perfect!I am waiting for a shipment of EO's and them I'm going to go wild in soap making. I see I have to give HP another go if it holds it frangrance so well.

Lilli said...

I LOVE HP soap! Ok, it may not be quite as pretty as cold process, but the smell more than makes up for that. Almond, mmmm....can I neter the nutty give-away too pretty please?

Tierra Verde Handmade Soap said...

Hi ya sister, sign me up. Almond yum - sounds fabulous.How brave you are to try hp.

Amy Warden said...

Having tried your Lavender-Vanilla HP soap, I'd have to say Almond would be a winner as well! I'm in!

Courtney R Beard said...

Giveaway? Did I hear someone say giveaway? :) I have yet to try HP, thus far I've done CP and CPOP. I really want to get some HP and liquid soap under my belt though. Just need to figure which of my crockpots to sacrifice. :)