One of the things I love about certain companies is that I will always receive a free gift when I order from them. Sometimes they are not really things I will use, but I like getting free stuff anyway! Some companies send tiny little fragrance samples that I can't use, but I can sniff away just the same. Pens are always great to get because those walk off at shows a lot! One of my favorite companies sends 1/2 oz sample scents with every order and I really like that because it would be enough to use. I've just never really been able to use them in much, until I found the perfect size
mold! You can read the details
here and I talk about the scents and what I did.
Today, I'm sharing photos of the finished, cured soaps!
First, I must apologize because I don't have pictures on the
Spiced Mahogany or the
Summer Fling. I made the soaps and a bottle of lotion out of those and then took them to my family reunion for the auction. I will say this, the two bars of soap and the 8 oz bottle of lotion sold for a ridiculous price because of bidding wars. The Spiced Mahogany was a beautiful dark brown color that I think would have covered up any colorant used, but it was so lovely, I'd just go with it. The Summer Fling did not discolor at all and smelled much better in soap than in the lotion (I mentioned, I'm not a fan). Neither accelerated trace.
I know the soaps all look a little dark, but it is more the lighting than any discoloration that is not mentioned. I use a high percentage of olive oil too (I can't help myself).
First we have...
Sweetgrass!
I love this scent! It is very mellow and soft. I can't stop sniffing it. It is very herbal and down to earth, I'm thinking a St. Patrick's Day soap next year! It soaps perfectly, no acceleration and no discoloration.
My favorite...
Passionfruit Rose! (Psst...this one is a fragrance and a flavor oil, I didn't know that or I might have made some lip balms too) Sorry there is only one bar, someone wanted the other.
This one will discolor slightly, but I think it is lovely. A very light brown color, what I would call "latte." How does it smell? Wonderful! This scent held up well in the soap and smells just like it did before it went in to the soap, which doesn't always happen with CP.
Next we have...
Amber Musk, I can't find it on their site, so it may be discontinued, but this is where I purchased it from. No, this one was not a free sample, but it was worth the chance I took (I hate buying before sniffing).
You can see that it did discolor and it has a strange mottled look to it, but it smells wonderful. It may have mottled like that because of incomplete gel phase or I unmolded too soon, who knows. If I knew I could repurchase this oil, I would experiment more before counting this FO out because of the look of the soap. It smells great and soaped wonderfully (other than coloring).
Last (but not least)...I have no idea! It is a
BB scent, but the name rubbed off the label :( It is a masculine scent, almost like a cologne, but that is all I have for you.
I can say that it smells so HOT! It discolored slightly, but again, more of a "latte" color. No acceleration. The soap smells just as good as the original FO and I could definitely see this being a great "guy" scent. Too bad I can't tell what it is!
Stay tuned because I have more "Test Drive" scents coming soon! They will all be available at the markets and craft shows I do, but not online. If you are interested and can't make it to any shows, let me know and we'll work something out!
