Special Edition Soap – Lavender & Rose Petal Infusion

I wanted to make a few special edition soaps for the holidays so I decided to use one of my oil infusions.

This is the outcome.

This is my lavender and rose petal infusion soap. The lavender was from Mt. Madonna and the rose petals were from my garden. I had been holding onto the oil for awhile and decided now was a good time to break it out. This is a special edition because I won’t be able to make this particle infusion again for awhile.

Once the bars harden up a little more, they will be available at the online store. Quantities are extremely limited (about 6 bars) so watch for them!

–Camille

Sneak Peek At The New Store

Well dear friends, I’ve admitted this many times, I am technologically ignorant.

BUT I have gotten the online store up.

Say what? Oh yeah, I have finally figured out how to do this. *smile*

Right now, the store is preview mode, so why don’t you mosy on over and take a quick peek? Not all products are listed just yet and some of the soaps will be released as they are fully cured. And as a special treat, all of you dear readers will have a special 25% off discount code ready for grand opening! (You may even get some other treats. Shhhhhhh!)

So for now, check the store out at http://havelinasoap.com. The grand opening is only days away…

–Camille

Nayko’s French Lavender

Lately I haven’t been taking great soap pictures, so please bear with me and this post. I made a batch of Nayko’s French Lavender and wanted to share the photos. The last time I made it I colored it lavender with white accents and this time I did just the opposite.

I loved the way the swirls came out and couldn’t wait to see what the bars would look like cut. It was a long two days as I waited for the bars to harden up. And here they are…

Well, the color faded a little, but the lavender essential oil fragrance stayed strong. The color will pop again once you start using the bar in the shower. I wish I didn’t have to wait another few weeks to try one, but alas, I must be patient.

These bars will also be available in a soapy 4 pack and as individual bars in the online store. Countdown 12 days…

-Camille

Beer Soap 2.0

After getting positive reviews on beer soap, I’ve started making more for sale in the online store. Today’s post shows some photos of the soap in progress.

This is what the soap looked like after I’d combined all the ingredients and poured it into the mold.

This is what the soap looked like after I unmolded it, 3 days later.

Unfortunately the picture I took doesn’t do the batch justice. There was very little soap ash and the colors were still gorgeously vibrant. I was also pretty happy with how the bars look cut.

The bars smell so good too, with hints of chocolate and spices. The colors will get brighter as you use the bar and will look almost as if they were just made. These will be available in the wine & beer 4 pack sampler and as single 4 oz bars. And don’t worry, the online store will be up and ready before the holidays hit!

–Camille

Sugarloaf Soaps In the News!

Sugarloaf Soaps is another awesome soap company owned by my good friend Rose Cunfer.

Rose is a soap design genius.

This is pure soap.

I love looking at all of Rose’s new creations. She can sense what people like and want, and does and amazing job of customizing a soap to fit each person’s personal needs. Recently, an article in the Hazleton Standard Speaker was published  featuring Rose and Sugarloaf Soaps showcasing all the work she puts into each soap she creates. It was a great article but only captured a little of Rose’s design flair. You really need to experience her soaps for yourself!

How fun are these little guys? What kid, or adult, would say no to these?

Sugarloaf Soaps is located in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania. Rose sells her soaps at craft fairs, special events and by private appointment. Her soaps are also sold at Abbey Gourmet Coffeehouse in West Hazleton, PA. Check out her website (www.sugarloafsoaps.net) for more details! I’m hoping to get out to the East Coast to hang out with this soap design guru soon myself.

-Camille

All Soap Is Not Created Equally

This summer, while on vacation with Fernando in Jamaica, I came across a store selling naturally crafted bath & body products. Of course, being a soaper, I was more than happy to buy a few of the local bars to bring home with me.

Blue Mountain Coffee Scrub (bottom) and Milk & Honey with Ginger

Blue Mountain coffee is my absolute favorite coffee to drink. It was only natural that I would totally pick this soap. Plus my own attempt at making a coffee soap had been disastrous at best, so I was more than happy to try someone else’s. Honey is another favorite of mine and I grabbed this bar as well.

I finally got around to using both soaps and I have to say I was disappointed. It reminded me that no matter what ingredients are used, not all handcrafted soaps are created equally.

The first thing I noticed was that the bars were much lighter than what was stated on the package. The package claimed each bar was 4 ounces, but in reality they were more like 3.2 and 3.3 ounces. (Yes, I totally busted out my scale to weigh these) In my experience, most soap makers will tell you the exact weight of the bar or give you a range, but will not sell you something that’s under weight. That’s just poor business practice.

The second thing I noticed was lack of suds between both bars, with the coffee bar being worse then the milk & honey bar.

Blue Mountain Coffee Scrub

Milk & Honey with Ginger

My friend and fellow soaper, Danielle of skycovespa also makes a honey soap that is amazing.

Danielle’s Honey Bar

Look at the difference between the suds of the top two bars compared to Danielle’s bar. And with Danielle’s bar, I didn’t have a tacky feeling after I got out of the shower. It could be the Jamaican bars are not balanced between the ingredients used, but either way, I would not buy these again. I think that they are okay for kitchen/garage sink use because they will get you clean, but I’d prefer something else for whole body use.

Even though these soaps were a bust, I’m glad I got to try them. In the future though, I’m going to stay away from coffee soaps. I just don’t have any luck with them. But to drink, pour away!

–Camille

New Products!

Hi gang,

Just a quickie post…

I’ve just discovered some awesome new products and guess what? They will be at the grand opening! Unfortunately, this does push back the store open date, but I’m sure you will love what’s coming aboard.

Some new gift aways will be coming up, so as always, stay tuned!

–Camille

Infused Oil Update

Last week I finally decanted the infused oils from the herbs I harvested in August at Mt. Madonna.

I made three infusions:  calendula, rose petals/lavender and rosemary/lavender. The calendula and rose petal/lavender oils came out exactly like I expected them to: deep gold, a little cloudy and with little beads of essential oils floating around. But the rosemary/lavender came out completely unexpected.

Rosemary and lavender when I first made the infusion:

Rosemary and lavender infusion decanted after one month:

What the?

Sometimes I just have to laugh at myself because I was completely dumbstruck at how dark my oil had become. I knew rosemary would not create a light golden color based on it’s own coloring, but man, this looked like swamp water. I tried some of the oil on my skin and it felt a little heavier than the rose petal oil. As rosemary and lavender are both strong aromatic plants, the dueling scents overwhelmed me a little but I got used to it. I think this is one oil that I may have to use in moderation, whether I use it for food or soap. I know it sounds like I’m disappointed in how my infusion turned out but I’m actually just surprised at the outcome.

Any thoughts on how to use an infused blend like this? I’d love to hear your ideas.

-Camille

Hearts Ease Herb Shop

NFL Sunday!

While most of America is watching football, I wanted to show you some pictures of Kathryn’s herb shop (Heart’s Ease) in Cambria, California. Just to refresh your memory, Kathryn is one of my good friends that I met in an herbal class series last year. (She was also going to be my savior in case the Blair Witch got me in this post)

Hearts Ease is the kind of shop you don’t want to leave. When we first met and Kathryn told me about her store, she mentioned it was an herb shop and that she also sold soap and other things. Boy, does she ever sell “other things!” I thought she meant she had a small collection of things other than herbs, but she has a whole houseful of goodies that every woman (and man!) could ever want.

Here is her wall of herbs. The jars are 2 rows deep.

All of the dried herbs smelled and looked so beautiful. Kathryn gave my aunt two ounces of dried peppermint and I could not stop smelling it on the car ride home. It was such a clean and refreshing smell, but it also made me think of fall and leaves falling off of trees.

In front of the herb wall, Kathryn had a table filled with herbal potpurri and tea blends. Next to the table, were all her essential oils.

My little cousin checking out the potpurri blends.

Speaking of other things in the room, I was immediately attracted to these foodie items:

Flower syrup? Rose petal confit? Right up my alley of wants!

Another wall of more edible goodies:

 

Looking for lotion and soap? Oh yeah, she’s got that covered too.

Lotion, soap and perfume. I just love the perfume. Mmmmmmmm…

I did mention she had a lot of soap selections right?

The soap wall

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that in addition to all the must have products inside the store, outside is just as amazing. Kathryn has a huge open garden for you to meander through. She even has two minature faerie villages! Her garden is a magical place where you can sit for awhile and just enjoy the scenery.

 

 A little sneak peak of the garden

Around a bend is one of the faerie villages…

I want this sign!

Oh and before I forget, she also has seeds and fresh plants you can buy too.

The seed wall

See how easy it is to fall in love with Heart’s Ease? If you ever find yourself on the central coast, or you just want to check out Kathryn’s shop, it’s a great place to stop. You can also visit Heart’s Ease website by clicking here (or try http://www.heartseaseshop.com/) Kathryn is one of those rare shop keepers who can answer just about any question you have on selecting the perfect gift, picking the right essential oil and really, anything you want to know about the products in her shop. And with that said, I’m ready to go back myself. Anyone want to join me?

–Camille

 

Skycove Spa at “Day in the Park” – Saturday, Sept. 11th

Come out to Oakland’s “Maxwell Park – Day in the Park” celebration on Saturday, September 11th, to meet Danielle Kersch of Skycove Spa.

Don’t you just love how these bars look?

Danielle creates beautiful, one of kind soaps and candles and will have them available for you to check out. Plus, there will be bands, food, kids activities and more. What an awesome way to spend a Saturday!

Details:

Location: Maxwell Park – Fleming Ave, between Courtland and Monticello in Oakland, CA

The celebration runs from Noon until 5 pm.

See you there!

–Camille