I love getting sample scents with my orders! It is just a fun little surprise inside each package and I get to sniff before I buy. My only problem has been deciding what to do with the scents once I have them. They are only .5 oz, so it would be less than a pound of soap and I don't have any molds that small. I could blend them, but I'd like to know what the scent will be like first. I have used a few to make special lotions for friends, but overall, I'm stuck.
That was before I found the perfect
12 bar mold at Bramble Berry! It is not just any 12 bar mold, it is 12 individual bar molds. Light bulb! I purchased my mold and made a batch of soap that I separated into 6 equal portions to make 2 bars of each scent.
So, you can see here, I set everything up and had a game plan before I did anything else. I chose my scents and labeled where each one would go. I even put a little piece of tape at the top of my mold so I could remember where the top was. You can also see that my plastic wrap is attached to my cookie sheet and ready to go.
I also lined up 6 plastic cups and put in popsicle sticks for quick blending of the scents. I didn't know how the scents would react and I didn't want to have to scrape any out of a cup because I was taking too long. So, I was prepared for everything I had to do.
Then, I mixed my lye water and let it sit and cool. As that was cooling, I mixed and melted all of my oils. I actually let the lye and the oils sit a little extra because I wanted to soap at a lower temperature, just in case!
My scents were (from left to right) BB
Sweetgrass, Passionfruit Rose, Spiced Mahongany, Summer Fling, Amber Musk (not a BB scent), and some unknown that I absolutely love (love, love, love) but the name was rubbed off :( Here I am ready to mix my soap and then separate to scent.
I didn't have any true seizing of the soap, but the unknown definitely accelerated trace. I then covered these and insulated well ('cause I love gel).
When I pulled these out two days later (I hate waiting that long) they looked great! The Spiced Mahogany had already discolored and the Passionfruit Rose was a little discolored. The Amber Musk (you can see in the photo it looks pretty orange) is a strange whitish-brown color. The scents have all held up nicely in the soap and the discoloration actually enhances the soap. I will admit that Summer Fling is not my favorite, but I seem to be in the minority. All the others I just adore. I think I like the Sweetgrass better in soap!
What do you do with you sample scents?
