The Lather Project: Soap Updates

I wanted to do an update on a few of The Lather Project Soaps, since they’ve had some time to ‘sit’ now for a few weeks.

If you recall, there were a few soaps that used fragrance oils that I knew would ‘morph’ a bit - change the color of the soap. Many fragrance oils with a vanilla scent base will do this - and I used several of them during The Project. There are color stabilizers and non-discoloring fragrance oils, but I prefer to use some ingenuity in combating this issue. I used layering, blind swirls and a few other techniques to actually take advantage of the discoloring and try to create a pretty bar of soap.

Amber Vanilla Shampoo Bar (Soap #15) is one that I knew would discolor over time, and I tried some layering that wouldn’t be visible for a week or so, so I didn’t post photos then - but here they are now! This is one of the prettiest bars - although not the best layering job - with the cream and browns. And I love that the coloring is all completely natural!


Another one was Soap #10 - Lemon Poppyseed. With this one, I had split the raw soap into two batches, coloring one with a little yellow oxide and adding the poppy seeds - but no fragrance oil - therefore no discoloring. I then added the fragrance oil only to the second half of the soap base, after removing about 2 tablespoons of raw soap. Then I swirled in the leftover 2 tablespoons - since this soap has no fragrance oil either and won’t darken. I had hoped I’d get a beautiful brown & cream swirled bottom half with a yellow-poppy seed top half - but it didn‘t quite darken as ‘brown‘ as I‘d expected.

And the last one with a big change is my Botanical-Infused Lavender Vanilla (Soap #6)! The Vanilla half turned a beautiful deep brown and created a really interesting-looking bar! And it smells soooo delicious…

Overall, I’m quite pleased with all The Lather Project soaps - even the ones that didn’t turn out exactly as I’d anticipated! But that’s all part of the fun!

I’m still offering The Lather Project Soaps at 10% off in my etsy shop http://BellissimaMinerals.etsy.com using the Promo Code ‘Lather Project’!

Choosing something else? Receive a free sample bar of a Lather Project Soap with any purchase using the same Promo Code!

Thanks again to everyone who followed The Lather Project! It was great fun and I look forward to my next blog series!

The Lather Project: 30 Soaps in 30 Days - Day 19, Soap 19

Today is Day 19!

Given the option, I will choose a milk soap over any other (oh, and a goat’s milk soap with shea butter wins every time!), so I decided to make a few in some of my favorite scents. Well, I could never make for others what I wouldn’t use myself, could I?

And, as you’ve probably noticed, I have an awful lot of faves. But that’s because I base a lot of my fragrance selections by mood:
~ If I’m tired and need a pick-me-up, I enjoy fresh and fruity.
~ If I have a lot of work to get done, I like crisp and refreshing.
~ If I’m tense and need to relax, I go for earthy and herbal.
~ If I’m feeling down or a bit blue, I prefer florals.
~ If I’m feeling romantic, I always choose spicy and exotic.

That makes sense, doesn’t it?

So I was torn between fresh & fruity and crisp & refreshing for Soap #19 - and decided on Prickly Pear! If you’ve never seen the Prickly Pear Cactus or tasted the fruit, you’re missing out on a sweet delicacy!

I tasted my first Prickly Pear while living in Arizona - I worked at the Grand Canyon Resort for a few years in my youth and fell in love with it. The flowers of this particular cactus ripen into fruit (also called Indian Figs) that can be eaten and prepared in a variety of different ways. Prickly Pear juice, candies, jelly, pies - even margaritas and mojitos (did I mention I was a Bartender while at the Grand Canyon?) - are simply delicious.

While it depends on the variety, I think prickly pear tastes most like a cross between strawberries, melon, bananas & fig - and what a delicious cross it is! If you ever have the opportunity, give it a try!

Here’s the Description for Soap #19:

Bellissima Prickly Pear Cactus & Coconut Milk Handmade Soap

Our amazing Coconut Milk Bar Soap in Prickly Pear Cactus is incredibly creamy and has impossible lather due to lots & lots of organic coconut milk! Our lavish blend of vitamin- & nutrient-enriched all-veggie oils keep this bar vegan friendly and luxuriously nourishing. I include olive & coconut to make this wonderfully cleansing and sunflower and rice bran to leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and hydrated.

Prickly Pear delivers a fruity, sweet-tart aroma with notes of melon, strawberry, plum, banana and fig that blend harmoniously with a hint of aloe & mint and nuances of glorious herbal elements and green florals. Refreshing and clean, this is a cool, crisp invigorating scent!

Look for Prickly Pear & Coconut Milk Soap for sale at

http://BellissimaMinerals.etsy.com in the next few days!

Tune in Tomorrow for Soap #20!

The Lather Project: 30 Soaps in 30 Days - Day 12, Soap 12

It’s Day 12!

And in keeping with our ‘utility theme’ this week - soaps that serve specific purposes, I thought I’d make a Mechanic’s Companion - pumice soap. Remember Lava - that soap that would virtually strip two layers of skin off your hands while also scouring dirt & grease? Well, handmade pumice soap will still remove the dirt and grease, but leave the skin on your hands - and keep it looking and feeling fabulous!

The difference is in the oils. With handmade soap, we can control the properties of the finished product by carefully choosing the oils. Oils like coconut and palm are cleansing, oils like castor and nut butters provide lather, oils like sweet almond and apricot kernel are conditioning, oils like rice bran and sunflower are gentle and emollient. Additives like chamomile or calendula for gentle soothing, orange essential oil to cut grease and tea tree oil to help with disinfecting can really turn a plain pumice soap into a spa treatment!

And I love a good pumice soap for my feet! I’m still plagued with callouses after spending years working on my feet during my youth. I find pumice stones and files too abrasive, but a good moisturizing pumice soap always does the trick! My feet are almost summer-ready!

So, here’s the description for Soap #12:

Bellissima Mechanic's Companion Orange & Tea Tree Pumice Soap

Our amazing Orange & Tea Tree Pumice Soap is incredibly lathering and deliciously creamy with our lavish blend of vitamin- & nutrient-enriched all-veggie oils. I include olive & coconut to make this super-cleansing and lots & lots of mango butter, sweet almond and grapeseed oil to leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and hydrated. Finely ground pumice adds to the deep cleaning and brings the exfoliating factor. Wonderful for the mechanic or gardener in your life!

Orange & Tea Tree Pumice Soap works as hard as you do! Pumice is fabulous for removing dirt, grime, tar, ink, paint, adhesives and more while the orange essential oil works overtime to help dissolve grease and oil. Tea tree oil is added for it’s antibacterial and disinfectant properties while a touch of black pepper essential oil adds a mild antiseptic. Super for either heavy-duty clean-up or for a spa foot treatment!

Look for it in my shop at http://bellissimaminerals.etsy.com/ in the next few days!

Tune In Tomorrow for Day 13!

The Lather Project: 30 Soaps in 30 Days - Day 11, Soap 11

It’s time for Day 11!

I’m so fortunate that everyone I know is a fabulous cook! The kitchen was always the busiest room in our house when I was growing up and there was constantly something on the stove or in the oven. And having married into an Italian family has just reinforced this tradition - although the aromas are just a little bit different from my family’s Irish cooking!

The biggest complaint that any cook has - while certainly not every one - is the lingering scents left on your hands after cooking with particularly pungent ingredients. Fish, garlic and onions leave odors that are really difficult to get rid of - and I'm embarassed to admit I’m guilty of even taking steel wool once to try to eliminate these overpowering smells!

So, in honor of my family of fabulous cooks, I decided on a Kitchen’s Companion for Soap #11. I chose oils that would be highly cleansing and provide lots of lather. I used double-brewed black diamond coffee and added a few tablespoons of coffee grounds, since coffee works wonders to absorb odors and the grounds work to gently exfoliate.

Oh, and if you choose to believe everything you read, coffee grounds are fantastic for helping to smooth cellulite! So it's not just for use in the kitchen!

Here’s the description for Soap #11 on Day 11:

Bellissima Kitchen Companion - Handmade Black Diamond Coffee Exfoliating Soap

Our amazing Black Diamond Coffee Soap is incredibly lathering and deliciously creamy with our luxurious blend of vitamin- & nutrient-enriched all-veggie oils. I include olive & coconut to make this super-cleansing, castor oil for extra lather and lots & lots of mango butter, grapeseed oil and sweet almond oil to leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and hydrated.

Black Diamond Coffee is a gently exfoliating hand soap made with double-brewed black diamond coffee and lots of finely ground fresh coffee beans. This soap is fabulous for nourishing the skin while eliminating grease and removing strong kitchen odors. Some of the coffee aroma remains, but I’ve left it fragrance-free to give you a pure, refreshingly cleansing experience!

Tune in tomorrow for Day 12!

The Lather Project: 30 Soaps in 30 Days - Day 10, Soap 10

Today is Day 10 of The Lather Project!

Time is just flying by and there’s still so much I want to do! So many soaps, so little time…

Soap #10 is a bit of a follow up to yesterday’s hot-process soap making tutorial (Day 9). We used a very simple recipe, ready available tools and even an cardboard box mold to show how accessible soap making is for the home crafter.

So, I wanted to use the same 3 oil recipe for Soap #10, but show how we can dress it up! And even though iron oxide colorants, additives and fragrance oils are not as readily available, I still wanted to show that even a simple recipe can produce a beautiful bar of soap with a little creativity!

I know from past experience that my Lemon fragrance oil will, over time, darken my soap to a deep brown shade. Many fragrance oils with a vanilla scent base will do this. There are color stabilizers and non-discoloring fragrance oils, but I prefer to use some ingenuity in combating this issue.

I split the raw soap into two batches, coloring one with a little yellow oxide and adding the poppy seeds - but no fragrance oil - therefore no discoloring. I then added the fragrance oil only to the second half of the soap base, after removing about 2 tablespoons of raw soap. Then I swirled in the leftover 2 tablespoons - since this soap has no fragrance oil either and won’t darken, I’ll get a beautiful brown & cream swirled bottom half with a yellow-poppy seed top half.

I hope. it’ll actually take about 10 days to 2 weeks for the fragrance oil to completely discolor the soap, so I’ll have to update you at the end of the Project! But you can actually already see a bit where the soap will darken.

So here’s the description for Soap #10 on Day 10:

Bellissima Handmade All-Veggie Oil Lemon Poppyseed Soap

Our amazing Lemon Poppyseed Soap is incredibly lathering and luxuriously creamy with our simple blend of vitamin- & nutrient-enriched all-veggie oils. Coconut oil makes this soap super-cleansing and one third olive oil leaves your skin feeling soft, smooth and hydrated.

Lemon Poppyseed Soap delivers a citrusy-fresh and totally tempting bakery-style fragrance! Tart lemons, a hint of orange & lime and just a pinch of mint merge harmoniously with buttery graham, sweet vanilla cream and spicy nutmeg & cinnamon to produce a rich and deliciously inviting scent! Poppyseeds add a touch of gentle exfoliation and dash of authenticity!

Soap #10 won't be available for sale until the color finishes 'developing', but be sure to look for it in about 10 days at

http://BellissimaMinerals.etsy.com

Tune In Tomorrow for Day 11!

The Lather Project: 30 Soaps in 30 Days - Day 8, Soap 8

We’re on Soap #8!

I can’t believe we’re already on Week #2 - the first week went by so fast! Over 20 lbs of soap down, less than 70 to go!

The last few soaps in the Project have had kind of a pale palette, and I realized I totally needed something bold and colorful - a true feast for the eyes! I wanted some serious eye candy!

Since I normally only use cosmetic grade mica, oxides and ultramarines for soap colorants, I know I’ll never achieve some of those brightly hued soaps that are produced by using liquid soap dyes. What I also know, however, is that some amazing colors can be achieved through completely natural sources - things like alkanet, turmeric and even pumpkin puree can create gorgeous colors in soap. And I can’t wait to experiment with them to see what I can create!

I also thought I’d try more layering with Soap #8. Now, layering hot-process soap is not an easy task. At the end of the cooking process, the soap is a hot, thick, glossy mass that has to be maneuvered - I believe the technical term is ‘glopped’ - quite carefully into the mold to prevent air bubbles and other catastrophes. Scenting & coloring hp soaps are skillful talents in themselves, but layering adds a higher degree of difficulty. And because I’m an unbelievably impatient person, this is always a particularly tricky challenge for me.

But it was so much fun! And I love the festive, ‘ice cream cake’ quality of the soap loaf!

So, Soap #8 on Day #8 is:

Bellissima Handmade All-Veggie Oil Blend Bath Soap in Exotic Orchid

Our amazing Exotic Orchid Soap is incredibly lathering and deliciously creamy with our lavish blend of vitamin- & nutrient-enriched all-veggie oils. I include olive & coconut to make this super-cleansing and sunflower and rice bran to leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and hydrated.

Exotic Orchid delivers the lush, heady aroma of fragrant orchids and notes of ylang ylang, frangipani, white lily, hyacinth, gardenia and creamy vanilla add interest and complexity to this delicious fragrance. Passionate and romantic, vibrant and intoxicating, luxurious and exhilarating, this is an incredibly unique and distinctively glamorous scent!

Soap #8 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 of your Exotic Orchid Soap purchase!

Choosing something else? Enter the Promo Code to receive a Exotic Orchid Sample Bar! (Either wait for a revised invoice or I’ll refund the discount back after payment)

Tune In Tomorrow for Day 9!

The Lather Project: 30 Soap in 30 Days - Day 6, Soap 6

Soap #6 is another special request.

One of my very first sales after I opened up my Etsy Shop was from lovely woman with a true passion for handmade soap! I firmly believe she has bought from and tried some from every single soap seller on etsy, bless her heart!

She had left me flattering feedback and sent a convo asking if I had her favorite scent - Lavender Vanilla Soap - and at the time, I didn’t. But I offered to make her some - and unfortunately, I moved on and completely lost track of her request.



I forgot about it.

It happens to all of us. And when I discovered her request yesterday as I was sorting through and filing old emails (thank goodness I save everything!), I was horribly embarassed and wracked with guilt! And decided immediately that Soap #6 would be hers. This one’s for you, Emma!

Here’s the description for Soap #6 on Day 6:

Bellissima Handcrafted Botanical-Infused Lavender Vanilla Soap

Our line of Botanical Infused Bath Bars are a special treat for your skin - infusing teas, flowers, plants and herbs in oils or water and adding it to soap not only imparts the amazing benefits to the soap, but also allows for the most nutrients and enrichment possible from the botanicals!

With this amazing Lavender Vanilla Soap, I infuse both distilled water and sunflower oil with Lavender to get the absolute most out of it’s healing and aroma-therapeutic qualities. I added a bottom layer of vanilla to warm up and complete the scent profile - the herbal elements of the Lavender and the creamy, spicy yet sugary sweet notes of the Vanilla are perfect together! And then I sprinkled real lavender buds on top and between the layers for both their beauty and for gentle exfoliation.

Soap #6 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 Lavender Vanilla Soap purchase!

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


Tune In Tomorrow for Day 7!

The Lather Project: 30 Soaps in 30 Days - Day 5, Soap 5

Soap #5 is purely for stock replenishment - and one of my scent faves!
It's so complex & sophisticated!

I was down to one bar of my Avocado & Lime Soap and couldn’t relist it in the shop until I made more!




I tend to sell my soap in pairs - it may not be the smartest marketing choice, but I think it gives buyers the most bang for their buck! I can ship two bars for slightly more than it costs to ship one, so I can offer a much better deal to my customers on the purchase of two bars. And with the size of my bars, it’s like getting four bars for the price of two!

Now, I could possibly sell more by offering them as single bars… probably would sell more. And actually, I have this internal debate quite often, but I feel like I’m being a bit stingy sending out one bar or a single soap sample - irrational and ridiculous, I know. And I am honestly so passionate about the benefits of handmade soap that I really should be doing everything I can to get some into the hands of potential users.

Okay, this is it. I am officially announcing that Bellissima will now be selling sample bars and single bars of handcrafted soap! Aahhh, I feel so much better now that the decision’s been made!

So, onto the description of Soap #5 on Day #5:

Bellissima Handcrafted All-Veggie Blend Avocado & Lime Soap

Our amazing Avocado & Lime Soap is incredibly lathering and deliciously creamy with our luxurious blend of vitamin- & nutrient-enriched all-veggie oils. I include olive & coconut to make this super-cleansing and sunflower and rice bran to leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and hydrated.

Avocado & Lime - thinking Guacamole? THINK NOT!!! This incredible scent offers one surprise after another: an amazingly complex blend of ripe avocado, cilantro, sweet lime, sugared lemon, mint and lots of delicate white florals. This is a bright & confident, refreshingly different and oh so sparkling fragrance!

Soap #5 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 Avocado & Lime Soap purchase!

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

Tune In Tomorrow for Day 6!

The Lather Project: 30 Soaps in 30 Days - Day 4, Soap 4

Soap #4 is a special request by my husband.

When I first started on my soap making journey years ago, I had made this soap with him in mind - and it‘s been his favorite ever since! He’s not a coffee drinker - strictly tea. Me, I’m a coffee-by-the-pot kind of girl, but I enjoy drinking tea occasionally.


What I do love about tea, though, is all the anti-oxidants! Rich in polyphenols, Vitamin C and Vitamin E, tea just might provide as many benefits when applied to the skin as when ingested internally! Honey, too, has anti-oxidant as well as anti-microbial properties - and is famous for, among other things, it’s natural ability to attract and retain moisture which may aid in maintaining skin’s softness and elasticity.

And this is another soap for our all-natural line!
This one’s not vegan, however, due to the honey, but it has no synthetic fragrance and no colorants. I love when I can scent and color a soap without using additives!

I used strongly brewed mix of earl grey tea (for the aroma & color) and green tea (for the benefits) as the water element of this soap, and then added about 3 tablespoons of honey once the cook was done. The soap is a rich, deep caramel brown shade as a result of the tea - and the scent is both delicate and distinctive.

So, here’s the description for Soap #4 on Day #4:

Bellissima Handcrafted All-Natural Sweet Tea & Honey Soap

Our amazing Sweet Tea & Honey Soap is all-natural with our luxurious blend of vitamin- & nutrient-enriched all-veggie oils. We incorporated brewed tea and lots of honey for the wonderful skin-healthy benefits, used lots of olive & coconut oil to make this gentle but cleansing and lots of sunflower and rice bran oils to leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and hydrated.

Sweet Tea & Honey imparts the scent of traditional earl grey tea - a relaxing blend of citrus with a hint of bergamot. With the golden amber, slightly floral perfume of honey and the aromatic notes of fine, black tea leaves, this is a uniquely subtle and highly sophisticated fragrance!

Soap #4 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 Tea & Honey Soap purchase!

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

Tune In Tomorrow for Day 5!

The Lather Project: Day 1, Soap 1

Today’s the first day of 'The Lather Project: 30 Soaps in 30 Days’ - I’m so psyched! This is definitely the biggest, if not one of the most exciting events since I started my business. This endeavor really has me rejuvenated, and has got my creative juices flowing. I have so many electrifying things planned for this Challenge - and I just couldn’t wait to get started!





And so we’re on Day 1, Soap 1.

I thought for the first soap in my challenge I would go back to the beginning… well, sort of.

Many, many moons ago, the very first soap I made was a cold-process, 1lb test loaf created with a very simple 5 oil recipe. I’ve never used a borrowed recipe - I’ve always created my own using an online soap calculator. I decided early on in my business that Bellissima’s recipe’s would - and forever will- be our own proprietary formulations. And that goes for everything from our mineral cosmetics to our solid perfumes to our laundry soap.

Although my very first soap wasn’t a fabulous success, I keep one bar from that batch for posterity - so I can periodically look back to see how far I’ve come. And the scent was Calla Lily - one of my very favorite floral fragrances!

I decided that for Soap #1, I would use my all-time favorite soap recipe - mmmmm, featuring Olive Oil & Shea Butter - and the first fragrance I ever used in soap making: Cally Lily.

I decided, too, to use an in-the-pot swirl technique and add in a bit of gold mica. I wanted something delicate and ethereal for this soap - just a barely-there hint of color - just like the classic wedding-white flower.

And so, here’s the full description:

Bellissima Handcrafted Soap w/Olive Oil & Shea Butter in Calla Lily

Our amazing Calla Lily Soap with Olive Oil & Shea Butter is enriched with luxurious all-veggie oils - featuring olive - but also with sunflower and rice bran to nurture your skin - and lots & lots & lots of Shea Butter to leave your skin feeling soft, smooth and hydrated!

Calla Lily is a harmonious blend of fresh white florals and green herbal elements. Notes of freesia, cyclamen and white roses - and just a whiff of cashmere - round out this sweet and alluring scent.

Soap #1 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 Calla Lily Soap purchase!

Choosing something else? Enter the Promo Code to receive a Free Calla Lily Sample Bar!

Either wait for a revised invoice or I’ll refund the discount back after payment.

Tune In Tomorrow for Day 2!

Same Recipe, Different Soap: Soap Surprises

I LOVE to make soap!

And as long as I've been doing it (not that long - really!) I'm always surprised by something about every batch! I think that's one of the reasons it's so appealing to me: no two loaves are ever quite the same. Every single batch - and every single bar - is uniquely different from the next... even when using the exact same recipe!

I use the hot-process method of soapmaking, and usually in a crockpot. I find there are fewer variables that take place during the hot-process method, greater chances for the success of every batch, and of course instant satisfaction: I don't recommend it, but a hot-process bar of soap is ready to be used fresh out of the mold. While I've tried other soapmaking methods (cold-process, in-the-mold oven process, even whipped soap), I think this particular method allows for greater control of the finished product. It's certainly a debateable topic - which is evident on the many soap boards and forums!

As to the variances that do take place, the temperature of one batch may have gotten just a bit hotter than another one, I may have blended one just a bit longer than the other, or source ingredients may differ widely.

Case in point: check out the photo. This is my All-Natural Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Facial Bar Soap. I used the exact same recipe to formulate both bars. The one on the left is obviously lighter, creamier-looking, definitely has a purer 'oatmeal' appearance to it, and is overall just more attractive. If I was offered both bars, being told they were both oatmeal soaps, I know I would certainly choose the bar on the left.

What's made such a dramatic change in my soap?

A different brand of coconut oil. That's it.

The oil I normally use is actually considered a higher quality oil, and I can get it in bulk quantities online at wholesale pricing. The other oil is considered 'inferior' and is more expensive (as I can only get it in 32oz containers) - but it produces the aesthetic qualities I'm looking for in my oatmeal bar. As to the general properties and qualities of each bar? I, and my testers, found them exactly the same.

So... what to do.

This is a quandry that all formulators - of anything - find themselves in from time to time. I run across this problem with mineral makeup, too. Due to the inherent nature of organic ingredients (my only meaning here is from the earth), some products will just be different from batch to batch, supplier to supplier.

How do I solve the problem? Well, one of my thoughts is to become a supplier myself, rather than buying from them. That way, I would have control over not only the quality of my ingredients, but where they come from, as well. Unfortunately, it's something that's not in my immediate future, however.

In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to decide not only which ingredients go into my formulations, but also which brand of ingredients I'll use in each recipe. More to track, but well worth it. I want finished products that are consistent and that I can be proud of, and I'll do whatever is necessary to achieve that goal!