Author Archives: Rose

Soap Testing: Summer Soap Panel 2012

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In this 2nd installment of the fragrance testing for the Summer Soap Panel of 2012 for Brambleberry I have gone ahead and made cold process soap! (you can read the 1st blog post here).

Fragrance can do many different things to cold process soap. The fragrance oil can fade after the soap has been made or it can change the color of the soap base. It can even make the soap set up super fast with no time to pour into the mold.

It’s safe to say that none of the fragrances caused my basic soap recipe to seize up on me…no soap on a stick here.

I made the following soaps using a simple recipe with no additives. I even made a “control” soap so you can see what the natural color of the soap base is without any fragrance.

Wow! Check out the results

For soapmakers: I allowed this batch to gel – waited 2 days to unmold as the soap will still be too soft due to the high olive content.

Some of the soaps stayed light whereas some soaped out to a yellow tint.

Soap#1 pretty much stayed the same as the control soap.

Soap #2, 3, 4 and 7 have a yellow tint.

Soap #5 has a nice yellow hue.

Soaps #6, 8 and 9 offer a beautiful tan/beige color to the soaps.

Check out the last soap! Fragrance #10 definitely darkens the soap base. I knew when I saw that the fragrance oil was amber in color that it will definitely darken the color of my soap base. A friend of the family that was visiting told me the scent reminder her of the air freshener they use in portable bathrooms!

Next up, I will make a batch of lotion using all 10 fragrances and determine what I would be willing to wear on my skin.

Soap Panel Summer 2012

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We’re super excited to have been elected as part of an 8 member panel team of soapmakers to test out new fragrances for the Summer 2012 fragrance line at Brambleberry! (catch all the exciting updates from the other panelists starting here)

We received our package right before I headed to NYC for the weekend so imagine how badly I wanted to postpone my trip.

It didn’t stop me however, from doing the OOB (out of the bottle) whiff test before I left on my trip.

So far my first impressions of the fragrances:

Mystery Fragrance #1: Smells like cucumber melon with a hint of floral notes hidden in somewhere. Fragrance oil is a clear liquid.

Mystery Fragrance #2: I’m thinking black currant here or berry notes. Fragrance oil is a clear liquid.

Mystery Fragrance #3: Lemony notes here. I’m thinking lemon jellybeans! Yum – so tempting is this scent. Fragrance oil is a yellow liquid.

Mystery Fragrance #4: A linen type scent. I couldn’t get much out of this since I rarely use this type of scent. Fragrance oil is a clear liquid. Not crazy about this scent in toiletries or even soap. Maybe in home fragrance products?

Mystery Fragrance #5: Nice fruity notes of maybe papaya…nectary notes? I just recently got back from Puerto Rico so how badly do I want to go back now huh?! Fragrance oil is a light yellow liquid.

Mystery Fragrance #6: Pineapples! “If you like Piña Coladas, and getting caught in the rain.”…Oh did I say/write that out loud?? haha! Fragrance oil is a clear liquid.

Mystery Fragrance #7: I’m stumped on this one big time. It has a velvety note to it. I know I know! What does velvety mean? I’ll have to return to this one later on. Fragrance oil is a light yellow liquid.

Mystery Fragrance #8: This one has a bamboo type of teak smell to it. It reminds me of Nature’s Garden Candles “Midnight Romance” fragrance oil. This is a clear liquid.

Mystery Fragrance #9: Pez…as in Pez Candy. I also thought of those candy hearts. Fragrance oil is a clear liquid.

Mystery Fragrance #10: This last fragrance clearly stuck out from amongst all the others. It has a a nutty scent dare I say maybe almond notes? It is also amber in color.

Stay tuned next time when I dive into the fragrance testing in cold process soap. Will the soap naturally turn darker? Will it make the soap seize aka soap-on-a-stick?

Happy New Year – 2012

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BrooklynBath and I (Rose) would like to wish you many great endeavors for 2012.

We are so thankful to you our readers, customers, friends and family who have helped us prosper greatly this year. Because of you we have been able to make incredible bath and body care products that you have all come to love!

Ring in the New Year and make 2012 the year to make things happen!

Saludos! (Cheers)

1st Farmer’s Market Appearance

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Brooklyn Bath will be making its first public appearance at the Natick Farmer’s Market in Natick, Massachusetts on Saturday, November 19th 2001. Market hours are from 9am to 1pm.

Here’s a snapshot of what bath and body care goodies you can find at the Market.

Swing by, meet me (Rose) owner and soap crafter and see what Brooklyn Bath is all about!

Fresh New Look: Lavender Breeze

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Check out this new fresh design of Lavender Breeze!
I wanted to try something different with our best-selling Lavender Breeze soap. Same size, same scent but a fresh look. I wanted to make sure that this would be a hit so as usual I made a 1 pound test batch. Why 1 pound? It is a controlled measured batch while still being able to incorporate the fresh white swirls on this soap.

I made the same basic recipe of olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, mango butter and castor oils, fragrance lavender and skin-safe colorant. The only tweek to this recipe was the added pinch of titanium dioxide to do the white swirls and top white layer. When it was time to pour my soap I decided to pour it ounce by ounce and in different angles in my mold. That’s the beauty of the incredible art form of making soap – you can’t get it wrong!

Once I was finished pouring all the oils like a Mama Bear I covered, wrapped and placed my soap to nestle for 24 hours to cure and do it’s magic. When I unmolded I was excited to see how it look in its entirety.

Uncut Lavender Breeze

So imagine how excited I was when it was time to cut this block into bars….and….the FINAL REVEAL!

Only 4 bars were made and will be ready to sell in our Online Shop: www.brooklynbath.etsy.com

Mark your calendars! Ready Date: 9/29/11

2011 Central NY Soapmakers Gathering

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On Saturday, July 30th 2011, 30 bath and body company owners from all parts of New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts got together in near the Binghamton area for the annual Central New York (CNY) Bubbles and Blazes Gathering. This all-day gathering held every year at a chosen destination gives owners like me a chance to meet and discuss shop, network and make new friends in the bath and body industry. For me, it was my first time and I was excited months before the date.

We were met by our gracious hostess Maria Gelnett of Soap Studio Brookside and were treated to vendor bags full of great samples from various bath and body suppliers.

We were able to participate in a product swap – which was fabulous! I participated and went home with 17 different bath and body goodies! There was a mixture of different types of soaps, creams, hair products, dream pillows and scrubs just to name a few.

 

CNY Product Swap


In addition, some of us participated in a Yankee swap also. It was actually my first time and it was so much fun. I went home with a brand new crockpot

New Crockpot
 – perfect for making larger batches of hot process soap! Some of the goodies scored included: mud bath kit, gourmet oils, and gift cards to fine restaurants.

Demos shown were: how to make felted soap, the latest craze – column swirling, and making whipped cold process soap.

Everyone participated in a potluck and so we were treated to some amazing cuisine from our colleagues including lavender water which I absolute fell in love with.


Door prizes were awarded to every single attendee. I received a jug of grapeseed oil! I love using that oil in toiletries. And also, raffle for great prizes were awarded to 4 very lucky people. I wasn’t one of them – but next year!

If all that wasn’t heavenly enough all attendees were encouraged to bring soapmaking tools for the garage sale. I scored a few things as I couldn’t pass up the deeply discounted wares.


I made some amazing new friends, reunited with colleagues including my first soapmaking instructor The Handmade Soap Coach who did the demo on whipped cold process soap. Of which I must try of course! and learned a great deal more about the art of making bath and body products.

 

CNY 2011 Gathering


Needless to say I am clearing my calendar already for next year. If you are interested in learning more about the gathering or the group please visit their site Central New York Soapmakers.

Become a member, participate in the discussions, make new friends and learn so much from them.

 

In Other Words…Cosmetic Language

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Recently a customer of mine asked me why the ingredients on products are always in a “different” language – why can’t they just be written in plain English.

The “different” language he’s referring to is the INCI form of the ingredients. INCI stands for Ingredient Nomenclature Classification….

If you can refer back to biology class and recall that animals fall under the classifications of different species, classes and kingdoms. The same holds true for the ingredients used in cosmetics. Lavender essential oil comes from different parts of the world. There’s Bulgarian lavender (Lavandula angustifolia), French lavender (Lavandula dentate), Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas), and so forth. But while these may be all lavender some components are not the same. Therefore they all have a distinct name or INCI.

It’s also important for formulators to know what the INCI is for their ingredients as different suppliers can sell the same ingredients but can be comprised of different components. For example, emulsifying wax used as an emulsion in body products can be different from one supplier to another. One supplier will list it as emulsifying wax NF but another will list it as Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Polysorbate 60 . The difference in the two that they both can lend a different “feel” in an emulsified base such as lotion. They’re both good! but one may give the lotion extra “glide”.

INCI is important because it is what the FDA requires of every cosmetic product sold for the purpose of safety to consumers. We all have different reactions to different things either man-made or natural. Knowing the ingredients on the label is very important to recognize to prevent an allergic reaction.

Shaving Soap

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Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Shaving Soap



Lovely round bar of shaving soap made with olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil and a little bit of castor oil for bubbly goodness.  Also added is Bentonite Clay.  Bentonite Clay is said to help lift impurities off the face and gives “slip” to the skin when shaving.

This bar of soap is scented with Brambleberry’s Oatmeal, Milk & Honey. It’s description reads, blended with utmost care, this is the perfect melding of three fabulous scents. Sweet and toasty, this is one soap that you’ll want to take a bite out of!

You can grab one at the online shop of BrooklynBath. Each bar is $5.00

Batch Test: Salt Bars

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I made a batch of salt spa bars via the cold process method. I used a blend of two fragrance oils that really remind me of Apple Jolly Ranchers!

The great thing about these bars is that they bring a “polish” feature to the skin whilst cleaning.

They will take about 4 weeks to dry and should be ready at the end of August. I can’t wait to try and report!

 

 

Salt Bars