Embrace Shower Indulgence with Our Luxurious Bubble Scrub Bars

In a world brimming with decadent bath products, the joy of indulging in a long, relaxing soak is a luxury many of us crave. But what about those moments when time is short or, heaven forbid, you only have a shower, and the thought of sinking into a tub feels out of reach? For many, including myself, this dilemma strikes a chord all too close to home. 

Enter our over-the-top Bubble Scrub bars - a game changer in the world of shower indulgence. Born out of a desire for luscious products that offer gentle cleansing, abundant later, and irresistably scented skin, these bars embody the essence of shower luxury.

What sets these bars apart is their ability to deliver a multi-sensory experience reminiscent of a lavish bath. With each use, they unleash a symphony of fizz, moisture, and exfoliation, transforming your shower into a sanctuary of self-care.

Crafted with care and infused with skin-loving ingredients like cocoa and shea butters, soothing oatmeal, and herbs, these bars offer more than just a cleanse. They envelope your skin in a cocoon of hydration, leaving it soft, supple, and delicately scented.

Perhaps the true magic, though, lies in their versatility. Thanks to the addition of emulsifying wax, these bars effortlessly transition from exfoliator to moisturizer, creating a rich bubbly lotion when applied to wet skin. Say goodbye to slippery tubs and hello to a shower experience like no other.

So, whether you're seeking a moment of relaxation amidst a busy day or simply craving a touch of indulgence, our Bubble Scrub bars are here to elevate your shower routine. Embrace the joy of showering in luxury and treat yourself to a sensory experience that's sure to leave you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

Indulge in the extraordinary with affordable luxury.

2024

Another market year has ended and a new one will be beginning soon. 2023 wasn't a great year as far as sales went but I know that times aren't easy for most people right now. Costs, including mine, are rising, causing increases in pretty much everything. It sucks. Hard. 

I have no intention of making this a depressing post. I can't do much about prices of supplies; I can, however, continue to make the best products I know how to make. I've decided that I will probably cut back on a few things so you may see fewer products on my table this year. 

What, you ask, will disappear? Well, my liquid soaps really didn't overwhelm so I think they'll be going on sale until they're gone. I may make some for personal use but that's about it. 

What else? Surprisingly, lip gloss. 

Yes, I said "surprisingly". I truly thought they'd be more popular than they were. By the end of 2023, I had quite a few left over even though they're a great product (I'm not a lip gloss person and I really like these!). I won't be making any more this year. Again, they'll be on clearance once the market season starts up again. 

I'm sure there will be other products we'll be thinking twice about. That said, if you have a favourite product you can't live without, let us know. We're more than happy to make custom orders. 

What can you expect to see on our tables this season? Well, soaps, of course. We're already busy making soap every weekend to get our table fully stocked. We've got some amazing new fragrances that we'll be using in soaps as well as hand/body lotions. Match a soap and a lotion for a perfect quick gift! 

Facial products have been very popular so we'll be bringing back our Instant Facials, as well as a few of our other popular face care products. If you haven't seen, or tried, the Instant Facials, you're in for a real treat! It's not a clay mask; it's more like a cleansing balm that turns into a thick, rich cream with the addition of water. Ingredients are added to turn this cream into a gorgeous, skin-loving mask that rinses off cleanly with water, leaving your skin feeling revitalized and pampered. There will be two or three varieties available; they sold out last year so you don't want to miss out!

Another popular item we'll continue making is our lip balm (as opposed to lip gloss). We have two recipes and both continue to be very popular; we won't stop making them. Our regular lip balm comes in a variety of flavours, including peppermint, orange sherbet, chocolate, and more. We've been using the same base recipe for over 20 years. Why fix what ain't broke?

Our Nourishing Nighttime Lip Masque has become a customer fave over the past couple of years. It's a rich, thick lip balm that sticks to your lips, made with the addition of lanolin and castor oil, helping keep your lips moisturized all night. Most people who use it, though, swear by it as an everyday lip balm that actually works! Me included.

I'm really looking forward to our 2024 season and I look forward to seeing all our new and usual customers. Our first market of the season is the All You Need Is Love market on February 11 at the East Kelowna Market. See you there!

Conundrum

There are times retail confuses me. Products I think will be popular aren't and products I wish weren't popular... are. Two prime examples are lip gloss and bath bombs.

Lip glosses are easy to make, relatively inexpensive, look and feel amazing. Unfortunately, they get very few likes on Instagram when I post about them (2 likes in a month) and they don't sell well. Lip balms, sure! Lip glosses, don't bother. I don't get it. 

Bath bombs, on the other hand.... I posted this picture on Instagram and within minutes, it had almost 10 likes (I know, that isn't a lot but you get my point, right?). I really don't like making them, though. They're finicky and messy, and I decided long ago not to make them for sale. 

 What would you do? 

More Adventures in Liquid Soapmaking

I'm having so much fun making liquid soaps! I've lost count of how many variations I've tried so far. Some haven't worked out as planned and were made to disappear but most have been very successful. I've got the process down now and each batch takes about three quarters of an hour, from start to finish. 

Once made, it needs to cool overnight; we let it sit for about a week just to mellow out a bit. That gives me plenty of time to plan fragrances and additions. 

Here are a few that came with us to our last market, this past Sunday.

From left to right: Cactus & Sea Salt, Golden Sunflower, and Cucumber Melon

Champaka Hemp

All are available in either a pump bottle or a regular bottle that you can use to fill your own pump dispenser or foamer bottle. There's a fragrance for everyone, from fruity (Apple Mango Tango) to hippy (Champaka Hemp) to medicinal (Tea Tree & Lavender Charcoal) to fresh (Cactus & Sea Salt). 

Transparent Soap - Let's Try Again

One thing I've often been told since I was a child is that I'm pretty stubborn. I certainly can be, especially when it comes to getting things to my own expectations. That can certainly be said for the transparent soap. I couldn't just make it once and let it go if it wasn't perfect.

So, I tried it again.

And, this time, it worked perfectly! The thrill of walking into my soap room to see if I could unmold the soap and finding it clear made me a little giddy. 

Here's the first one, so you can see the difference. 

As much as I enjoyed making this soap, I don't think it's one I'll make all the time. Don't get me wrong - it's a lovely soap but it isn't the cheapest to make and even though it can be used as a melt & pour soap, it seems to have a pretty low melting point that isn't conducive to a lot of creativity. I'll likely use it to make some fun little soaps for the next market and for some special occasions but it won't be a regular item in my booth.

Wine & Cider

 A couple of years ago, a local winery/cidery approached me to ask if soap could be made with wine or cider and, if so, would I be interested in working with them to create a line of soaps for them. I was all in!

I've been creating four different soaps for them since that time. This weekend and the next will be spent making another batch of each for them. The first one up is the red wine soap. This one is scented with Merlot fragrance oil. Unfortunately, this time it riced slightly, as you can see in this picture, probably due to a touch of over blending and perhaps the fragrance oil. I did get it into the mold before it became worse and I know it will end up fine; it's happened before and doesn't affect the final soap.

The three other soaps (white wine, rose, and a spiced cider) will be made over the next days.

Liquid Soap - Round How Many??

I've been making bar soap for quite a while, 10 years or so now. I've tried making liquid soap before but was never happy with the results and didn't like the process. It can take up to a week the way I used to make it.... when I made it. In addition, there was something about the scent of the raw soap that I just didn't like. 

When I found the Ultimate Guide to Liquid Soapmaking, it became a game changer! I'm not trying to advertise the book, I'm just so impressed with the book and the resulting soap. 

The photo shows three of the soaps I made within the past couple of weeks. All are made with animal fats (lard, tallow, and emu) and all are amazing.

And then, there's this one. Talk about dramatic!! This is Charcoal Tea Tree & Lavender liquid soap. It smells amazing and lathers beautifully. 

One thing I will need to remind customers is that hand crafted liquid soaps are quite concentrated. As little as 2-3 drops is enough to wash your hands. To get an idea of how liquid soaps can be used, check out this web page from Dr. Bronners liquid soap.

Transparent Soap - First Try

I've often looked at soapmakers who make transparent soap as nearly godlike. I mean, it's soap that's transparent! They speak of solvents and heat and it would leave me scratching my head, thinking there's no way I could ever do that.

Then, I came across a recipe on a Facebook group I'd joined (Ultimate Guide to Soapmaking) and a 10-minute Transparent soap recipe. I figured if it could be done in 10 minutes, it really couldn't be THAT difficult, could it? So I downloaded the recipe, realized I had all the ingredients and started reading.

It turns out, I was missing one ingredient but it had an easy substitution (sugar) and I was a little short of another ingredient.  I jumped in anyway and probably rushed things a little more than I needed to. However, look at what I made! 

It may not be perfectly transparent but it is soap and it's translucent. I can use it as a melt & pour soap with opens up all kinds of opportunities. Will I make it on a regular basis? I doubt it. But I will say that it's a nice recipe to have in my back pocket when I want to make something that incorporates melt & pour soap.

Will I try it again? You betcha! I really want to make a fully transparent soap. Stay tuned!

Adventures in Liquid Soap - part 2

 Maybe I should call this post Part 2, 3, 4, 5.... I think you get the idea, right? Yep, I've been experimenting with liquid soap. Just today, I made this one:

It's so beautifully clear that I had to take a picture in the bit of sunshine we had today. It's made with a combination of beef tallow, olive, and canola oils and is a single lye (KOH) soap. I'm so thrilled with this one. The only thing that concerns me now is how will a fragrance oil affect it? Will it stay as clear as it is now, or will it go cloudy?

Then there's this one. It's a very nice soap but look at how cloudy it is. This one frustrates me but I have a feeling I know what it might be, leftover saponifiables. I made this one a few days ago; earlier today, I made a 25% KOH solution and added a few tablespoons of that solution. It seems to be helping with clarifying it. It's a Honey & Almond soap. The lather is beautiful but it looks rather disgusting as is. I hope I can get it cleared up because it really is a nice soap.

Right now, I have six batches of soap almost ready for bottling, or sampling. I have enough liquid soap to last me a lifetime! I need more friends willing to be testers. 

Digging In The Dirt

Yesterday was a gorgeous sunny day here in the Okanagan. I decided to take advantage of that and wandered around the yard for a bit, just to see if I could find any signs of awakening. I did. The Cannas are starting to come up! In the front garden, the tulips and irises are beginning to show themselves, too. Spring really is right around the corner.

Of course, once you know that spring is almost here, its time to get your hands in the soil. And that means you need a good, scrubby yet gentle soap to get those hands clean. Our Gardener's Hand Soap is the perfect answer. With the addition of poppy seeds, corn meal, dried orange peel, and pumice, this gentle hand soap will get the dirtiest of hands clean!

The base is made with Beef Tallow, Coconut,  and Sunflower oil. I know the use of animal fats in soap can be a contentious issue for some but I will never apologize for its use. As long as we are a planet of meat eaters, the fats from those animals largely ends up in landfills. I would prefer that it be used to make other products, beneficial products. Beef tallow, and lard as well, are very close in nature to our own body fat and make for hard, long lasting, yet gentle bars of soap. 

So, get out there, get dirty! Then, come in and get clean!

Thrice Rice Soap - Rice Three Ways

 A while back, on the SoapMaking Forum, one of the makers mentioned that she adds rice to her soap and it's one of her favourite soaps. After some discussion, I decided to try it... and immediately fell in love with it.

I decided to use Jasmine rice, just because I happened to have some Jasmine fragrance oil and a large bag of Jasmine rice. First, I washed the rice thoroughly and used that wash water to dissolve the lye. Because of the starches from the rice, the lye liquid quickly turned into a mush, thickening up almost like a pudding. I've never seen that before.

Once the rice was rinsed, I cooked it in more than double the  amount of water usually used for cooking rice and I overcooked it, almost to the point of mushiness. I drained the water, reserving all of it; the rice was blitzed in a Magic Bullet, along with enough of the cooking water to create a fairly loose slurry. 

When I was ready to put it all together, the slurry, along with some rice flour (that's the thrice part) was added to my oils. The lye rice water was added and, once the batter reached trace, I added the Jasmine fragrance oil.

So, what does rice bring to the soap? Rice has been used for centuries in Asian skin care. According to articles I've read, the geisha used to wash their faces in rice water; they were known for their flawless skin. According to an article in the Daily Times of India, rice "revitalizes and protects the skin from sun damage. It comes loaded with antioxidants that fight free radicals and give you a more youthful-looking skin. It helps in skin brightening too. It's considered a mild exfoliator, making it ideal for daily use."

Granted, the article is talking about a rice puree used as a masque and washing with rice water. Truth be told, soap doesn't really stay on your skin long enough to provide any real benefits, other than cleansing. 

In this soap, the rice provides an amazingly silky, creamy lather. I was pleasantly surprised the first time I washed with it. I have dry skin and I found that it didn't strip my skin, leaving that dry, tight feeling. I still used a moisturizer because, as I said, I do have dry skin. The light scent of the Jasmine fragrance oil made this soap feel like an indulgence. I can see why rice soap is as popular as it is.

Soaping Again

It feels like it's been forever since I last made soap. In reality, it's only been a couple of months since making a batch for a challenge on the Soapmaking Forum but, still, it feels like a long time.

This week, I received a phone call from a friend, giving me a heads up that she will soon be out of one of her favourite soaps (and mine), Salt Soap. After explaining that I'm all out and that it would take about six weeks before I would be able to sell it to her, she was very understanding and did let me know that she was down to one bar. That should suffice until the new batch is ready.

And so, today is soaping day. The Salt Soap is already in the molds; some time tomorrow, it should be ready to unmold and then the cure begins. This soap really does benefit from a longer than normal cure. Most soaps are ready to use (not necessarily at their prime) by about 4-6 weeks. I know of people who have left their salt bars for six months to two years before using them and they rave about the soap.

As I'm on my last bar, as well, I'm glad my friend called. I use it daily as a face soap and love it!

The other soap I've had a request for is my Tooth Soap, a peanut oil based soap that contains xylitol, activated charcoal, calcium carbonate, as well as peppermint and anise oils. Surprisingly, the request came from my neighbour's son, a young man in his early 30's. He told me he loves it and some of his friends would like to try it as well.

The Tooth Soap bars are small bars, about 1 oz. each (I suppose I could have made a bigger batch... next time). One bar lasts me about four months, with daily use; I only use it at night, though. In the morning, I use regular toothpaste but I find minty toothpastes too strong to use at night. They burn my mouth and the flavour tends to be a stimulant; I don't find that with tooth soap. And, trust me, it's nothing like having your mouth washed out with soap for swearing. Honest!