The Lather Project: Day 2, Soap 2

I've had so much fun with Soap #2!

I’ve been meaning to add to my line of completely natural, vegan soaps - no animal byproducts (like tallow or beeswax), no synthetic fragrance oils, no chemical dyes - and this project is such an awesome opportunity to develop fabulous new products for this line!

So, Soap #2 started with my all-veggie oil soap recipe and I decided I’d create a fragrance blend with my essential oils - something uncomplicated to start with. Since I’m a beginner at fragrance blending, I wanted something straightforward and traditional - a two-note blend well-loved and instantly recognizable.
I chose orange & clove.

And getting the blend right was much easier than I thought - probably because I already knew that I wanted just enough clove to ‘warn up’ the scent, but not overpower the orange. A ratio of 2:1, orange to clove, worked perfectly.
And then I took to my spice grinder.

Orange essential oil is famous for it’s ability to cleanse and cut grease, so I felt it would be a natural progression to add in some exfoliants. I ground up some dried orange peel and added about 1.5 teaspoons to the cooked soap (since I have a 3 pound batch). I knew I also wanted a really pretty soap - so I ground up some cloves for a bit of color contrast and texture. I added only about ¼ tsp to the batch, since the clove - even finely ground - is quite abrasive.

And lending to the pretty factor, I noticed that the orange essential oil added a gorgeous light peachy tint to the soap, so I couldn’t resist a mica swirl - I chose a deep orange, almost pumpkin colored mica to swirl in.

And to ‘top’ it all off, I dropped a few whole pieces of the dried orange peel and just a pinch of the ground cloves into the mold before I spooned in the soap. This gave me an elegant and colorful surface to my loaf.

And so, here’s the description of Soap #2:

Bellissima Handcrafted All-Natural Vegan Sweet Orange & Clove Soap

Our amazing Sweet Orange & Clove Soap is an all-natural, vegan soap including luxurious all-veggie oils - featuring olive - but also with sunflower and rice bran to nurture and leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and hydrated! With real ground orange peel & cloves, this soap offers gentle exfoliation for the shower or makes a wonderful super-cleansing, super-moisturizing hand soap!

Sweet Orange & Clove is a year-round, uplifting and rejuvenating fragrance favorite for both men and women. It offers a well-balanced blend of citrus - pure, sweet orange - and just enough spicy clove to warm up and round out this refreshingly clean, classic scent.

Soap #2 is available for sale at

http://BellissimaMinerals.etsy.com

Mention Promo Code ‘Lather Project’ in the Message to Seller Box for a 10% discount off your Sweet Orange & Clove Soap purchase!

Choosing something else? Enter the Promo Code to receive a Free Sweet Orange & Clove Sample Bar! (Either wait for a revised invoice or I’ll refund the discount back after payment.)

And here’s wishing you all a Happy Mother’s Day!

Tune In Tomorrow for Day 3!