Category Archives: Bubbly Reviews

Hill Country Haiku

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I’m sitting here holding a bar of soap in my hand just mesmerized by it.  As I turn it over in my hand or rotate it- it seems as if I’m looking at it for the first time all over again.  Each time I view it…it’s new.  And it’s beautiful.  And it makes a big grin spread across my face.  This is the real deal.  These soaps were made by a true artist.

These were sent to me from Margie Lemmons of Hill Country Haiku. 

Moroccan Mint

Jolt

Wavy Gravy

  

Lone Star Limited – Demo soap from the Lone Star Gathering

She sent along two of the Wavy Gravy and Lone Star Limited.  So I’m going to pay those forward along with some other soaping goodies (a surprise)!  Visit her site, come back here, leave a comment and let me know which soap you liked the best (and why) from her beautiful lineup.  We’ll draw a winner on Mon, August  15. 

Website | Facebook

-Amanda

 

Some seriously good buys on Etsy

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I was blown away by all of my most recent purchases on Etsy.  From design to scent…and especially packaging…these soap artists made some awesome products!

First up is Buttermilk Creek Soap Studio. 

My favorite thing about this soap was the packaging.  I love the natural look of the paper and clear see through labels. 

The soap is awesome!  It is hard as a rock and lathered abundantly.  I couldn’t believe how hard it was…seriously.  The color was stunning…I don’t think my picture did it justice.  And the scent, Violet and lime, was amazing.  The lotion was wonderful as well and was scented with Lemoncello.

And then we have The Soap Seduction.

Again…the labels and packaging were very professional and just plain cute.  The little sample jars were adorable. 

One of my favorite things about this shop is the soap descriptions…

“After a long night of hard partying or late night studying (yeah, right), you need a gentle, yet effective pick-me-up. Shower up with this all-natural soap! Scented lightly in pure peppermint essential oil, it’s not over-powering, but the steam will gently release waves of minty bliss while the poppy seeds tickle and buff away the previous day’s gunk…”

Yes…I knew ”The Morning After Pure Peppermint” soap was for me.  :)   I have a thing for peppermint and a thing for scrubbies…so this soap rocks!

The lip balm is amazing…I haven’t tried the scrub and lotion yet though both smell amazing. 

You’re probably familiar with her blog…which frequently makes my day by mixing soap porn and her wonderful humor.  But in case you’re not…go visit…you’ll be glad you did.

This soap I found on SMF in the gallery and immediately went and purchased it.  This soap artist is seriously talented with the gemstone looking soap design.  I was blown away when I received it.  I’m going to have a hard time using this soap…I just want to stare at it!

You can find ADKaromatherapy here on Etsy. 

And last but certainly not least…I ordered soap from Lippincott Soap Co.  Again…beautiful packaging!  I especially loved how she packaged the lip balm in the paper with ends twisted. 


The soap is orange clove…a scent I’ve been wanting to try.

One of the coolest things about this shop is they offer two sample packs.  You can get a sample pack of four soaps or ten.  I ordered the ten pack.  Each sample comes with a label and in it’s own package.  I love it.  

Like I said…some seriously talented soap makers!  I loved every single product I received. 

-Amanda

New mold! Bramble Berry 9 bar slab!

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I’ve been wanting a slab mold with dividers for a long time and finally decided on trying out Bramble Berry’s Baltic Birch 9 Bar Wooden Mold (that’s a mouth full).

Yes, you have to line it but that is super easy.  Here’s a video.  I also ordered some of the Baby Rose Fragrance.  So for the first soap in my new mold I decided to do a swirl.  With Baby Rose Fragrance.  A swirl.  With a floral.  Probably not the smartest thing I’ve ever done.  It got thick but I think it worked out okay. 

The recipe:
Palm oil – 12 oz
Olive oil – 10 oz
Coconut oil – 8 oz
Shea butter – 2 oz
Avocado oil – 2 oz
Castor oil – 2 oz

Water – 11 oz
Sodium hydroxide – 4.8 oz

Melted oils.  The lye solution is in the sink cooling down. 

Stick blend until emulsified.  I didn’t want to see trace since I knew the fragrance oil would speed things up.

Pour into your coloring container.  I used red mica from Supplies by Star.  Add your fragrance.  I just added it to the base and not to the pink soap. 

I poured the red into a squirt bottle and squirted some in the bottom of the mold.

Note to self:  Don’t worry with a squirt bottle when you are using a floral fo and have already added it to your base.

Okay…then pour some of your base.  Squirt some more of the red.  Pour some more of the base and then finish off with some squirtage of red in perpendicular lines.  

The base is pretty thick at this point. 

Then insert dividers.

Well…even though it got really thick…I think it will turn out okay.

I LOVE THESE MOLDS.  This nine bar size is perfect as I don’t make a ton of soap anymore.  Although they do sell bigger sizes. 

-Amanda

Beacon Creations! And a giveaway!

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I was blog surfing the other day.  And I came across this! 

I don’t know if it was the stark whiteness of the soap (a Lush dupe called Snowcakes), the fluffy star shaped peaks on the top or the happy shimmer of the glitter…but I fell in love!  When decorating for Christmas I love silver, whites and light blues…so this to me is a Christmas soap.  I had to have.  Unfortunately I got over to the Etsy shop, convo’d…and alas…it was gone.  I placed an order anyways as there were other great selections!

This is what arrived in the mail!

And here’s what was inside!

She sent Key Lime Pie, Polar Express, Geisha, Sandalwood Vanilla, a sample of Snowcakes (yay!) and a sample of Monkey Farts. 

Two of the fragrances she sent, which I wouldn’t normally order, happen to be my favorites!  The Sandalwood Vanilla is amazing and the Monkey Farts smells wonderful.  I guess it’s just the name.  Nothing with the word farts in it should smell so good! 

I love the fluffy high top on the Polar Express and the “whipped cream” on the Key Lime Pie. 

Kia was very generous in sending some extra goodies so I think a giveaway is in order!

These two are mine to stay.  Sandalwood Vanilla and Geisha.  Hence their new found nakedness…  ;)   Sandalwood Vanilla will be joining me in the shower tonight for sure. 

But I’m thinking these two…Polar Express and Key Lime Pie…need a new home. 

Certainly not because I don’t want them!  But in the spirit of the season…I’m in the mood to brighten someone else’s day by bestowing on them these two beauties!     

So if you want a chance to win simply comment below telling us what your favorite Christmas memory or tradition is.  Comment  by Tuesday, Dec 14 and the winner be announced on Dec 15.

Looking good, Kia!  You can find Beacon Creations’ blog here and Etsy store here.

-Amanda

Ginger’s Garden

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I love daisies.  I have a thing for them…I really do.  They’ve been my favorite flower since I was in high school…give me daisies over roses any day. 

I love them so much I named my first dog Daisy!  She’s the sleepy Jack Russel Terrorist on the left. 

So when I ran across this daisy soap on Etsy by Ginger’s Garden (soapbuddy)…I just had to have it! 

It came in a super cute give box with a lip balm!  It’s an absolute work of art…DONE BY HAND!  The scent was amazing…a great floral but not heavy.  Very refreshing.  The whole presentation was extremely cute!  It would make a great gift. 

You can visit her here, on Etsy and on Artfire!

Some eye candy… ;)

-Amanda

FinchBerry!

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Ashley of FinchBerry Handmade Soaps makes some seriously cute soap!  Not only that…but the packaging is adorable!

I love how she uses color…

…and texture…

…and packaging…to give her soap a one of a kind look.

 

Her photography is amazing…

So of course I had to purchase some things…;)

I purchased a bar of Vanilla Almond Goat Milk soap and a Black Tea Vanilla shea butter lotion.  She was kind enough to send a couple of extra things for me to try including a bar of Lavender and Lily and a whipped body butter (I forgot to take a photo).  Everything was wonderful.  The soap not only lathered great…but just the cheerful design brightened up my morning.  Purple is one of my favorite colors and the purple in the Lavender and Lily bar was just beautiful. 

The lotion comes in a HUGE container.  I still can’t get over how big it was.  It smelled amazing!   

The whole package and presentation was adorable.  This is where I was really impressed.  Everything was packaged inside a muslim bag that was stamped with her cute logo.  There was even a little thank you card with her logo.  I was very impressed. 

 

You can find FinchBerry here on Etsy, her website here and her Facebook here.

This shampoo rocks!

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Oh. My. Gosh.

I ordered one of these solid shampoo bars from GetLathered after doing some research on The Dish and running across posts after post about these solid shampoo bars. I really like Jason’s Tea Tree shampoo but it leaves my hair heavy, stringy and just nasty. I’ve tried other handmade shampoos and just haven’t found anything that does it for me. So of course when I ordered one of these I did so with low expectations. Here is what they say about the bar…

“It produces abundant, mild lather that is gentle, even to processed hair. I have added herbal extracts of yarrow, nettle, sage, lavender, and horsetail, as well as proteins, and panthenol to promote healthy, shiny hair. The fragrance is an essential oil blend featuring of luscious, juicy lemons paired with the lovely floral bouquet of lavender. It is zesty and bright.”

I bought the Lemon Lavender…it’s definitely more lemon than lavender (which is just fine by me). I love lemon. Usually I’m a morning shower kind of girl but after I received it in the mail yesterday I had to jump in the shower to try it out.

I got my hair wet, rubbed the bar on my strands and lathered it on. I wouldn’t say it produces a huge amount of lather but it produces enough to get the job done. As I was rinsing I noticed my hair was pretty squeaky clean. Running my fingers through my hair after I got out was pretty impossible because it was so squeaky clean. It was a bit in tangles. I didn’t want to use conditioner or anything because I wanted to see how it was without it. I brushed it and let it air dry.

Up until now it felt like using Jason’s or some of the other handmade shampoos I’ve tried. Same sort of lather, same sort of squeaky clean. But after it dried was when I noticed the difference and it BLEW ME AWAY! After it dried my hair was soft…light- not weighted down. I could run my fingers through it; it was smooth and silky…almost like I had used conditioner. I really couldn’t believe it. I definitely plan to order again and will probably get a conditioning bar also. I’m not sure if it’s really needed but I would like to try one. If you haven’t used a solid shampoo bar before I highly recommend getting one of these and trying it. GetLathered on Etsy. You’ll be glad you did!

Udderly Delighted…

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Udderly delighted was I,
Pleasant Grove goat milk soap did I try,
it lathered and bubbled,
and left me less troubled,
skin smooth, silky soft, nary dry.
 

It’s true.  Pleasant Grove Goat’s Milk Soap inspires poetry!  So does this little girl.  I’ll try to hold back.  I think I’m going to add her to my Christmas list though.  So cute! 

What goes best with a goat? Honey, almond and oatmeal! I received a big hunk of soap from Deborah of Pleasant Grove Soaps scented with the wonderful aroma of honey and almond. Delightful, comfortable…and sort of hunger inducing. I love to bake and this lovely fragrance made me want to whip up a batch of cupcakes. Yum. The soap lathers beautifully starting with a fluffy bounty of bubbles reducing to a rich lotion-like lather. Oh…my skin loves this soap.

And…what are cupcakes without icing? Deb also sent a bottle of Goat Milk Lotion Mist…and this is the icing. Scented with Warm Vanilla Sugar, this spray is simply…yummy. This super sweet lotion mist is super light. Spray it on, rub it in and try not to put your arm up to your nose smelling it every 15.4 seconds. Then try not to reapply it every hour because you’re suffering from sugar withdrawals. Just try not to. Impossible…this spray is super addicting and so easy to apply.

I also received a bottle of Goat Milk Lotion scented with Honey and Almond. Like the soap, it smelled wonderful.

You can find Deb’s website here.  I love her website.  She’ll introduce you to her goats and share with you some great information on the benefits of using goat milk soap.  Do you happen to have a funny goat story?  She wants to hear about it.

Thanks Deb for the wonderful products. Okay, now pass me some more of that Lotion Mist.

Amanda

Bebe Collection – Soap Stamps

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I ordered a stamp from Richard at Bebe’s Collection and finally had the chance to play with it over the weekend.  Love it!  It’s a thick acrylic block which you can see through so you know where you’re stamping.  Bebe’s Collection is a group of designers that create stunning soap molds and stamps.  They are located and ship from Taiwan, but don’t let that scare you away…shipping is very reasonable.  My soap stamp was under 3 bucks for shipping.  You can visit their Etsy site here and website here.  Sometimes you’ll find him on the Soapmaking Forum…Richard is one of the nicest people I have communicated with on the web.  You won’t be disappointed!

Pictures from their Etsy.