Salt Bars

A while back I made some salt bars.  A simple 100% coconut recipe.  I love them, but not for my body, more for my face.  I use mine religiously as a facial bar, and its fantastic for combination skin.

However, I have decided that I needed to revamp this simple recipe and add a little bit of luxury to them.  So I have now made a batch with coconut oil, Shea butter and a tiny bit of Castor.  I'm so excited about these, they are scented with Eucalyptus and peppermint and are 99.99% natural ( I just had to add a couple of drops of colour) -  these need a super long cure, so I'll let you know what I think in 6 months ;) lol

A new Look?

I hadn't made soap for a while, until I received a few new fragrances last week.  Since then, I have been making up for lost time.

I have a new recipe, as I am now planning on going palm free.  My new recipe has lots of Shea butter in it, which seems to give my batter a creamer texture, is slower to trace and beautiful to work with.  So my new batches are now taking on a life of their own.  They are simpler, less colourful and I guess less technical.  But I like it.  

When I first began soaping, I decided I would call my business K.I.S.S as I was once told on a forum to 'keep it simple sweetie', and it's something I have to remind myself every time I make a batch.

Sometimes there is beauty in simplicity.

So here are some of my 'simpler' soaps

This is a Vanilla and Cinnamon soap - I didn't use ANY colour in this, just a little TD.  This could be a first for me!

The dark swirl is vanilla, the tan is cinnamon and the white is unscented

Berry and Cherry - O.k this has a little bit of colour and a touch of glitter, but I only used one colour

and a tiny swirl ;)

and a beer, oat and honey soap, scented with sandalwood. Simple.

8 colour swirl

Today I attempted my second in the mold swirl.  I have discovered a fragrance from Sweet Cakes called Cucumber Melon.  It slows down trace, so is perfect for multi swirl, so I decided to to try 8 colours.  It is a mix of pinks, purples and blues, with a little black and white.  The pics have come out a little darker than the soap, and as it has cured the purples and pinks have come out more:

My colours

The colours after pour

First swirled with a spoon

Then with a skewer

After cutting

Gold Bar

I ordered some organic unrefined beeswax from a farm that was selling on Trade Me.  There name is Huttons Honey. 

When I picked it up wrapped from the post office, the lady behind the counter said 'for some reason this reminds me of a gold bar!'.  When I got it home and unwrapped it, I thought she couldn't have been more spot on!

I just think it looks delicious

Only $20 for 1kg

Or maybe it's just because it reminds me of a block of soap!

Cupcakes :)

So yesterday I made 'real' cupcakes.  I thought it might be an opportunity to brush up on my piping skills.  Hmmmm....I think I'll stick to soap - they didn't go quite to plan :(

But here are some soap ones that did!

I've got 2 batches - one is Hazelnut, coffee and cinnamon, the other Cranberry.  I've also managed to source these cute little boxes that fit perfectly.