highs and lows

Over the last couple of months I have had some very unwelcome inhabitants in my soap kitchen. Sometime in a soap makers adventures these little gremlins are present and quickly move on to greener pastures, leaving in their wake a batch or in my case batches of soap that you end up fragrancing your garbage can with. Yup, they are unsalvagable ..... is that a word ...... the ones that result in undesirable or unusable soap. All my mantra's, soap dancing, various genre's of music, silent prayers, loud ones too, and a plethora of threats thrown in for good measure probably had them in fits of laughter, entertaining them to bits and ensuring their stay to be lengthened. And some culprit was feeding them as they went from gremlins to devastating ogres. There were so many different issues that my silent nervous breakdowns were having a hard time categorising themselves.

"Jasmine" in all its glory sporting a crackled effect.

Let me just add here that these are part of restocking my standard line, no new ingredients, techniques or going out on a limb with a different or untried recipe.

"Chai" with an overly zealous attitude to outshining all participants in the crackle contest.

So in between the restocking with a batch here ....hmmph....... and there passing a quality control test, new products in the pipeline that I am hoping to branch out with have also been thrown into the mix; (thanks to all the willing human guinea pigs), sourcing jars, bottles and containers and designing labels etc. And a new addition to the "family" in the form of a website is ready to go, awaiting photos of products. 

While watching available stock levels dwindle, I went from panic to frantic to sabbatical. Not having lined up any markets gave me a certain peace in the decision, and I enjoyed the respite, allowing me to play with test batches of colour, fragrances, palm free recipes and infusions.

 

Last week I upped the ante and started soaping for real and threw out the challenge to the first restock soap that if she plays nicely with me she will get a new name.

Take a bow "Mucking Afazing"!



I'm typing this in a whisper, but I think the soap gremlins have left the building.

 

Greetings from Cape Town

Cynthia

 





marigold

I wonder if there is a soapmaker who has not added Marigold petals to their soaps. As soapmakers we all know the fragrance it gives to a soap, the natural color it imparts, as well as it's beneficial properties.

These hardy, robust, non-fussy plants bring sunshine and color to any garden. Marigolds are used in many cultures for festivals, rituals and daily worshipping.

Also called Calendula, it is the October birth flower, meaning the first day of the month. This refers to the fact that the Marigold blooms at the beginning of a month throughout most months of the year.

marigold

During the conservative Victorian era, it was considered totally inappropriate to express feelings of love or affection, and it is said that the 'language of flowers' originated in this period, enabling a lover to convey a hidden romantic meaning.

marigold

The meaning of the Marigold flower symbolises sorrow or sympathy.

Go figure that the hidden message would be "My thoughts are with you"!

For you, a bunch of marigolds!

Greetings from Cape Town.

Cynthia





adzuki bean powder

Some more Asian inspired ingredients used in this batch, and used some finely ground Adzuki Bean powder for a mild scrub, gently exfoliating the skin. The powder is reported to have been used in Japanese skin regimes for centuries to enhance the complexion, drawing out impurities and promoting circulation.




The alluring earthy spicy fragrance comes from a blend of patchouli, amyris and sandalwood essential oils.

I love the lingering, sensual and inspiring to the senses fragrance it leaves on my skin. Then again, I am being biased, as I know it comes from my dwindling bottle of precious (read expensive) Sandalwood.


Warm greetings from Cape Town, South Africa.

Cynthia
xx