Soaperstar

Silicone Mould Liner

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 20:11:00 +0000

Just a note about Silicone Mould Liners... I love them!

Ok, I'll explain why ... no lining. There ya go, one reason but a BIG reason! Think about this.. you've melted all your oils, made your lye, prepped your colours, everything's ready to go and ... DAMN, you forgot to line your mould! And you're just itching to soap and what do you need to do ... go line the mould. And sometimes it goes really quickly but lots of times it gets all crinkly and you're annoyed cos you forgot to line the mould and cos now you know that you'll have ~~kinky~~ crinkly sides and you just want to soap!!!!

The answer is a silicone mould liner! My best advice is buy the mould and then get the box support for it. I bought mine and then got a friend of mine to make the boxes to support them. With the liners, all you need to do is pop them in the box, and pour your soap. Yay!!! No crinkles, easy demoulding, nice crisp corners. Honestly, these things are worth their weight in gold. Yes they cost at first but you use them over and over and over again, saving you time and money (because even if lining paper is cheap, everything adds up).

I bought my liner from http://www.themouldsshop.co.uk and it was a fantastic price and delivery wasn't too expensive. Anne is great and happy to help with advice... one of the great things about them is that she's made soap in all of these moulds, and has totally tested them so you can be sure that they work for all types of soap making.

And, even better news, they have added dividers for the moulds so that you can do Mantra Swirls!

And...they sell fantastic fragrance oils, not to mention glitters and mica and candle supplies. Honestly, this is a store worth checking out!

And no, I don't work for them but I do like their products and have used them and loved them so I'm just spreading the good news!

Check out http://www.themouldsshop.co.uk and say that Celine sent you via her blog ... Anne will be delighted to help.

(All photos courtesy of The Moulds Shop)

It's been too long!

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Wed, 16 Oct 2013 16:48:00 +0000

Oh wow... well I thought I hadn't written anything here in a while but I didn't realise it was last January! Goodness me... that is an awfully long time to say nothing on there. I'm sure everyone's forgotten about me by now, in Blogland.

I have to hold my hands up and I'm Sorry!

I found there was only enough hours in the day and the business, instead of slowing down for the usual post Christmas slump, sped up even more than pre Christmas. To say I was shocked is an understatement. But it does mean that I had less time to write on here. Which is actually a rather feeble excuse because how long does a blog post take? Well sometimes an age but sometimes a fantastic image is enough so no excuse Celine, get to the back of the class.

After Debbie from Nature's Garden Candles Blog contacted me to say that I'd been named in their very recent Top 50 Soapmaking Blogs, did I think that I needed to work more on the blog and bring it back into the social media fold.

So... to whet your appetites, here's an image of my very recent launch of our Christmas Pure Silk Irish Handmade soaps range ... in the next few posts, I'll put some images in of the finished articles plus links for the Making Of... and Cutting Of... videos.

Please, forgive me?

Sunday Soaping!

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 20:08:00 +0000

Lemongrass Verbena

Jasmine & Green Tea

This does look grey and green but it's actually green and white! The lighting was really bad here, sorry! But still, fab photos too.

Saturday Soaping Sneaky Peeks!

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Sat, 05 Jan 2013 21:04:00 +0000

Sandalwood Vanilla - smells sooooooooooooo good!!!

Spellbound Lovers - dupe of Love Spell, very lovely fruity floral

Enjoy!!!

More Sneaky Peeks!

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:04:00 +0000

Ciao Bella

Zest for Life

Lavender Song

Velvet Kiss

Lotus Blossom & Water Lily

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 20:10:00 +0000

Another soap ... loving it! Smells divine and I'm hoping cuts well too... sneaky peeky!

Lotus Blossom & Water Lily is a luxury handmade soap with Sweet Almond & Golden Olive Oils, Goatsmilk, Buttermilk, Yogurt, White Clay, Colloidal Oatmeal, Cocoa Butter & Pure Silk ... the soap is fragranced with a fresh, vibrant Lily scent with top notes of Bergamot, Tangerine & dewy green notes, supported by a heart of Lotus, Freesia & Rose smoothed by a musky Floral base.. very lovely indeed! The soap will be fully cured by 5 February 2013 and will be available to pre-order once it's cut and had it's photo taken!

Christmas Soaping

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 21:15:00 +0000

I've not soaped in months (hence the silence on this blog - a multitude of apologies for that) but today, Christmas Day, the bug hit me and I really wanted to soap so hubs said... go for it!!! So I did!

This is Baby Doll ... I'll show more pics when it's cut .. oh and I tried to make a video but the battery was dead as was the spare one (ask Titch, she used it last!).

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 22:22:00 +0000

Candle Tests

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 12:13:00 +0000

Sales of our Soy Wax Melts are going so well that most of our Christmas stock is already sold out! I need to take note for next year and up my production and supplies!

Anyway, this made me think about making candles too and so I set out testing some fragrances ... and here is my first tester, Jasmine coloured with a wonderful lime green colour.

These are pics just taken with my phone, nothing fancy. I really like the glass jars too, I asked a question on our Facebook page if people would rather glass jars for candles despite additional postage because of weight or candle tins and the result was heavily weighed towards glass. So glass it shall be - which is excellent because I have a local supplier for these.. for once I'll be able to drive and get supplies! That almost never happens! Plus I've found out another supplier is selling soy wax too which is just great. So I'm going to be testing more fragrances in the next few weeks.

Busy Day

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 20:02:00 +0000

We spent the day packing orders, some just came in and some were pre-orders for our Couture Cupcake Christmas soaps... this is less than half way through the day, once everything was labelled, the table was covered! Plus I had to get some bigger boxes that I didn't have because of the amount going out!

We also packed some gift boxes today but we just didn't have time to take pics but we loved them... honestly, we so need to take pics of them cos they looked so good!

Fancy some goodies yourself.. check out http://www.iamhandmade.com and see what catches your eye x

New Soy Wax Melts

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 19:40:00 +0000

We adore candles in our house and we love to use our oil burner so it made total sense for me to make our own wax tarts or melts. A certain famous American company makes what they have trademarked as "tarts" so I can't use that name but I call them melts which makes sense because they do melt in the oil burner.

I love to use 100% natural soy for a variety of reasons - for a start, its biodegradable, renewable resource - it is a natural wax and is created from soy beans. Paraffin wax is often used as a alternative but this wax is a petroleum by-product, and, as such, this isn't a renewable resource (once it's gone, it's gone) nor is it biodegradable.

Soy wax burns cleanly - it is free from soot and carcinogens, it doesn't emit the toxins that paraffin wax does and it is a healthier wax to use in households were anyone has any breathing issues, ie asthma etc. Soy wax is considered a zero green house contributor because it gives out so little carbon dioxide when burnt.

Cleaning up after making soy wax candles and melts is a breeze! Once you've used your wax melts over an and over again, the fragrance lessens ... once all the fragrance is gone, all you need to do is, with the edge of knife, CAREFULLY, push the tip in and the wax will release and come away cleanly from the sides. You can simply wash with sudsy water and your oil burner is clean to use again. But what do you do with the wax? Well, if you have an open fire, you can make your own firelighters! Yep... just collect paper, old lint from your tumble dryer etc and place in a small container (what about those plastic boxes you get from the odd Chinese takeaway we all treat ourselves to from time to time).. melt the wax and pour over the paper and lint. Then, once cooled, break up and use as homemade firelighters!

For me, I love a strongly scented candle - I like that it can scent my main living room which is a very large room. Our house is open plan so, technically, a big challenge for any candle to scent the room because the scent actually goes all over the house. I've done a lot of testing of these melts and you really can smell them upstairs and down - not in an overpowering way (I know how too strong scents can be a little sickening) but is a beautifully scented way. I use the maximum fragrance load for my melts which allows them to scent more than one room but also to last longer over time. Also, it's said that soy wax will burn for 50% longer than paraffin because it burns at a cooler temperature.

On the site at the moment, I have three variations of Christmas scents but I actually have a lot more made and ready to be uploaded ... we just need to get some pictures taken so they can be uploaded! Here is our current offering, specially for Christmas:

This is Christmas Cabin and these are fragranced with a wonderfully festive blend of bayberries, cranberries, cinnamon bark & orange zest. Oh do they smell so good, very very Christmassy! They had a little silver glitter on top, this gives a lovely sheen when the wax melts and regular readers will know my love affair with glitter! Each of the packs of Soy Melts come in a golden organza bag (resusable and beautifully scented when you've used all the melts up) and there are four generously sized melts per pack... each pack is only €5 which you will no doubt find is cheaper than the said American company who use paraffin wax for their trademarked tarts.

Christmas Cabin with silver glitter

Christmas Cabin - 4 per Pack

This fragrance is DIVINE! My mouth waters when I smell these - it's Gingerbread Eggnog and it's so creamy and yummy, soooooooooo good and it really really smells so Christmassssssssssyyyyy too. I used a fab golden glitter with these and again, they come in a set of four for €5.

Gingerbread Eggnog - ohhh my word, creamy nommy fabulousity!

Glittering golden Gingerbread Eggnog Soy Wax Melts

The final version, for now, is Holidazzle - these fabulously coloured pink melts are fragranced with a truly dazzling blend of sweet crisp cranberry juice, vanilla, cloves, bayberry and fir. Oh these are juicy and creamy and Christmassy and just soooooooo good too. Again I've used golden glitter because it just looks so lovely against the pink. Plus it matches the golden organza bag!

Holidazzle in a golden organza bag

Holidazzle - pink and gold and beautiful

Here's a cute combo pic, just cos I can :)

Combo!

And another ... three stages of fabulousity!

Hope you enjoy the pics ... if you fancy getting your mitts on some of these cuties, check out the website at http://www.iamhandmade.com/ourshop/cat_650616-Natural-Soy-Wax-Candle-Melts.html ... why not treat yourself and make your house smell of pure Christmas?!

Some other things ...

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 17:38:00 +0000

It was my birthday in September and I didn't know what I wanted as a present so told my hubby to put the idea on hold and, when I saw something I wanted, then I'd ask for it. No point in getting something totally useless... I'm not really a handbag or shoe person, I don't really wear jewellery, I see the point of having one watch but no more.. you get the idea.

So I decided I fancied a ceramics/pottery class and I duly signed up. It's something I've always wanted to do and I love it. It's all handbuilding so far and we've just finishing coiling .. it's only 3 hours a week, at nighttime so not much time and oh my, does that time fly way too quickly. So now I'm a little obsessed with it and would love to be able to do more but, as ever I'm limited by space, time and money!

Here's a pic of what I've made so far... not a stunner by any stretch of the imagination but I'm happy with it, even with the wonky top!!

No classes this week (le sigh, cue tears) but it starts back next week (cue unending joy). Guess what I'm getting for my Christmas present?

Soap Travels ...

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 20:21:00 +0000

Ages ago I joined in an international soap swap ... a box of soap, with three soaps inside, was sent across the globe and has been from America to Australia and Europe and a ton of places in between. Originally the idea of Julia from Cocobong Soaps, this has taken quite some time to get to me.. in fact, I'd forgotten about it entirely!

The box arrived in my house in the middle of a very busy time at home so I, sadly, had to wait a little to be able to really give it attention - apologies to anyone who's been waiting on the box next and I hope you understand that, sometimes, life takes over from the soaping world.

Anyway, out of the three soaps, I picked my choice based on a) fragrance b) quirky looks and c) incredible ingredient list. The soap I choose is from Les Savons de Chauvirey based in France. Sylvie Cecini is the soaper (waves Hi and Hello!) who started soaping in 2008 after visiting Canada to learn cold process soaping.

The soap has some fab ingredients including Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Hemp Oil, Olive Oil, Castor Oil and Sunflower Oil and is fragranced with May Chang or Litsea Cubeba.. a fab ingredient list you'll agree. Now, there's something odd on the label and it says "Pommes de Terre Cuties" which means Baked Potato and I don't know if there's actually baked potato in there! You can see what I mean by quirky! Also , at the side of the label it says "Patate Câline" which means Cuddly Potato!!!

Now keep in mind the potato theme... the soaps comes in a little hessian bag which made me think of a potato sack and when I opened the bag, there is a soap that is oddly shaped, light pink and not unlike a potato so I'm thinking the whole theme is a potato in it's own potato sack! I'm still wondering if there is real potato in there!!!

So we took some pics of the box and the other soaps, along with the Cuddly Potato soap too:

The contents of the box as it arrived

The three soaps together

One of the other soaps

Another of the soap box contents

The Cuddly Potato soap wrapping

The Cuddly Potato soap wrapping and ingredient list ... you can see the Pommes de Terra Cuites which means Baked Potato

And the Cuddly Potato Soap!!

Very quirky, funny soap with a fab ingredients list and an incredible scent of May Chang... this did make us laugh and I don't mean badly, it was just a funny soap that tickled our sense of humour.

Thanks to everyone involved in the soap swap, apologies again for the delay in sending out the box again but life does have a way of taking over. The box, with my own soap in replacement of the Cuddly Potato, is being posted out on Tuesday of this week (as Monday is a Public Holiday). I hope whoever decides to keep my soap is happy with it.

If you'd like to check out Sylvie's site her website can be found at http://www.les-savons-de-chauvirey.fr/content/4-le-lavoir-de-chauvirey.

Snow Angel

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 02:30:00 +0000

Snow Angel - a pure polar white glistening beauty, with a deep dark heart of sheer luxurious naughtiness.

Snow Angel is made with our best selling formula of Sweet Almond & Golden Olive Oils with lashings of Cocoa Butter. Added to these incredible skin loving oils, we've included our Triple Milk formula of Goatsmilk, Yogurt & Buttermilk which are natural sources of AHA's, then we added Colloidal Oatmeal, White Kaolin Clay and Tussah Silk... sheer luxury for your skin!

Snow Angel is pure and white with a glistening coat of icy glitter and, despite looking very angelic, her fragrance is deep and dark, sumptuous blend of pomegranate, raspberry, plum & spicy pink pepper on a base of patchouli and frankincense.

Making of Snow Angel Pure Silk Handmade Irish Soap:

http://youtu.be/8bOEa9hG-OI

Cutting of Snow Angel Pure Silk Handmade Irish Soap:

http://youtu.be/CIqEnrbAnEQ

Here are the final cuts pics courtesy of Titch Holland:

The soap will be fully cured on 15 October and is available for pre-order right now on our website... hope you enjoy!!!

Glitter Berries

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 01:30:00 +0000

Glitter Berries - imagine deep dark shining berries, swirled with warming spices.

The sheer luxury soap is made with our best selling formula of Sweet Almond & Golden Olive oils with lashings of Cocoa Butter. Along with this skin loving formula, we've added Goatsmilk, Buttermilk & Yogurt along with White Kaolin Clay, Colloidal Oatmeal and, of course, Tussah Silk.

Within the swirls of deep luxurious purple, warm pink and deep red, the soap is fragranced with a scent explosion of Cranberry, Lemon, Clove, Mistletoe, Pink Pepper, Cardamom, Frankincense, Patchouli, Lily, Raspberry, Green Apple & Black Grape on a warm Amber base. The soap is completed with a glistening carpet of frosty glitter.

Making Glitter Berries Handmade Pure Silk Soap:

http://youtu.be/pYco_Df3ZE4

Cutting Glitter Berries Handmade Pure Silk Soap:

http://youtu.be/zSDue0bCb1o

Here are the final cut pics of the soap, I love it! Thanks to Titch Holland for her amazing work, make sure to check out her Facebook Page:

The soap will be fully cured on 15 October and is now available for pre-order on our website... hope you enjoy!!

Are you Naughty or Nice?

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 02:00:00 +0000

Naughty & Nice - between the whirls of cerise pink, apple green and glistening gold, this luxury soap is fragranced with a with delicious blend of tart, juicy apples, sweet strawberries, red ripe raspberries, dark blackberries with a hint of warm cinnamon.

Naughty & Nice luxury handmade soap is made from our best selling formula which includes Sweet Almond & Golden Olive oils with lashings of Cocoa Butter. To this we've added our Triple Milk formula of Buttermilk, Goatsmilk & Yogurt along with Colloidal Oatmeal and White Kaolin Clay and, of course, pure Tussah Silk for extra luxury.

Making Naughty & Nice Pure Silk Handmade Soap:

http://youtu.be/Svm0QuljIR4

Cutting Naughty & Nice Pure Silk Handmade Soap:

http://youtu.be/F3m_d_ZT92w

Here are the final cut photos... you'll notice that the swirls are more muted than my usual style but I love the pastel pastel of this which plays nicely against the Naughty & Nice name:

The soap will be fully cured on 15 October and is now available for pre-order on our website... enjoy!!!

Midnight Star

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 21:18:00 +0000

Midnight Star - imagine inky dark, bruised purple sky shot through with golden starlight.

This beautiful soap is made with our best selling formula of Sweet Almond & Golden Olive oils along with lashings of creamy Cocoa Butter. To this we've added our Triple Milk formula of Buttermilk, Goatsmilk & Yogurt which are natural, gentle sources of AHA's, vitamins and minerals. We've also added White Kaolin Clay which helps to clarify even the most sensitive of skins and Colloidal Oatmeal which helps soothe the skin.

We have fragranced the soap with a blend of rich dark winter plum, sweet tangerine & luscious black grape within a heart of woods & frankincense on a base of warm vanilla & deep musk - it smells incredible!

Making Midnight Star Handmade Pure Silk Irish Soap:

http://youtu.be/MvLLfsG_5HU

Cutting Midnight Star Handmade Pure Silk Irish Soap:

http://youtu.be/QBLe1mWgCaY

Here are the final cut photos courtesy of Titch Holland (do check out her page, you'll see some fabulous photos):

The soap will be fully cured by 15 October and is available now for pre-order on our website. Hope you enjoy!!!

Blue Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 21:09:00 +0000

Blue Christmas - imagine twinkling blue lights shining on glittering snow on a cold frosty Christmas morning.

This stunning soap is made with our hugely popular formulation of Sweet Almond & Golden Olive oils along with lashings of Cocoa Butter. We've added our Triple Milk formula of Goatsmilk, Buttermilk & Yogurt to give incredibly creamy lather and to add to your skin feel, plus white kaolin clay for skin clarity and, of course, pure tussah silk for that extra hint of sheer luxury.

Within it's trio of blue swirls, the soap is fragranced with a blend of rich cranberries within a fruity floral heart of strawberry, ripe red raspberry and zesty orange with sweet honey and notes of tea rose, all on a base of cedarwood & vanilla. We finished the soap by covering it in a frosty carpet of glistening glitter.

Making Blue Christmas Pure Silk Soap:

http://youtu.be/alYaKhTNdOI

Cutting Blue Christmas Handmade Pure Silk Soap:

http://youtu.be/iXgk1PBmt-Q

Here are the final cut photos, courtesy of Titch Holland:

The soap will be fully cured on 15 October and is available for pre-order now on our website. Hope you enjoy!!!

Pumpkin Kisses ... Autumnal Goodness!

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 20:58:00 +0000

Pumpkin Kisses - Imagine the warm scent of sweet Pumpkin Pie baking in the oven, the scent of lightly spiced sweet orange and vanilla filling the room.....

This wonderfully creamy soap is fragranced with our own blend of warm sweet pumpkin, gently spiced with a hint of cinnamon, clove and anise and sweetened with juicy fresh orange and drizzled with creamy vanilla.

We've used our signature formulation of Sweet Almond & Golden Olive oils along with lashings of creamy Cocoa Butter and, to this, we've added a trio of milky goodness - Yogurt, Buttermilk & Goatsmilk (all of which are fantastic sources of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and are natural sources of AHA's) plus Kaolin clay which helps to clarify and cleanse even the most sensitive of skin types.

Pumpkin Kisses is made using natural pumpkin puree - pumpkin is a fantastic source of vitamins A and C and Zinc plus it's natural sugars will make for lovely bubbly soap!

For those mad to see something going a big haywire with soaping, check out the making video because the soap went a bit nuts on me but I saved it, with a ton of hard work!

Making Pumpkin Kisses Handmade Irish Soap:

http://youtu.be/I7dBEz_G3tk

Cutting Pumpkin Kisses Handmade Irish Soap:

http://youtu.be/nV0LSCNi1SM

Here are the final cut photos, courtesy of Titch Holland ... hope you enjoy!

The soap will be fully cured by 8 October and is currently available for pre-order on our website... hope you enjoy!!!

Polar Pear ... Autumn/Winter Collection

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 20:42:00 +0000

Polar Pear - between it's swirls of polar white and the palest minty green, this soap is fragranced with our own blend of crisp juicy Anjour pears cooled by an icy drizzle of fresh minty Peppermint.

We've made the soap with our signature formulation of Sweet Almond & Golden Olive oils along with lashings of creamy Cocoa Butter plus we've added Yogurt, Buttermilk & Goatsmilk for extra skin conditioning and creamy creamy lather. All three milks are a natural source of AHA's, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. White Kaolin clay helps to clarify and clean even the most sensitive of skin types.

The soap is completed with a glistening carpet of irridescent glitter.

Making Polar Pear Handmade Irish Pure Silk Soap:

http://youtu.be/nnWE0B43mWA

Cutting Polar Pear Handmade Irish Pure Silk Soap:

http://youtu.be/swUQWPrrBPc

Here are the final cuts photos courtesy of Titch Holland:

This soap is available for pre-order on our website and will be fully cured by 8 October... hope you enjoy!!

Frosted Evergreen

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 20:19:00 +0000

Frosted Evergreen.... I love the sound of that; green soap is very popular and I don't think I make enough green soaps! So I wanted to do something swirly, green and frosty .. something that made you think of a walk in a green forest during Winter, with crisp snow underfoot, crunching as you go.

As always I use my favourite combo of Sweet Almond & Golden Olive oils with lots of creamy Cocoa Butter ... and then added the Triple Milk formula of Yogurt, Buttermilk & Goatsmilk for incredibly creamy lather and Kaolin clay to help clarify even the most sensitive of skins .. and, of course, we always use our favourite Tussah Silk. Why? Because, believe it or not, actually silk does add a really wonderful silkiness to the soap, a lovely glide.

The fragrance is divine ... a fresh, spicy blend of crisp pine needles, spiced with notes of clove, cinnamon & pimento on a base of cool fir balsam & precious woods - a fresh air walk in the woods! It has to smelt to be believed.

Making Frosted Evergreen Handmade Soap:

http://youtu.be/pAJXIbXBwnw

Cutting Frosted Evergreen Handmade Soap:

http://youtu.be/H6Nb-0F5big

Here are the cut photos of the final soap, courtesy of Titch Holland

The soap will be fully cured on 1 October and will be available for pre-order on our website. Huge thanks to Titch Holland for all her help & support.

Deck The Halls aka I'm Crazy for Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 20:04:00 +0000

Yep, it's true... I'm nuts about Christmas and I know it's unfeasibly early to be thinking of it but, as I said in my previous post, when you have to work 6 - 8 weeks ahead, you need to start thinking about Christmas stock in September.

So this is the second in our Autmn/Winter Collection and it's called Deck the Halls. It's unashamedly Christmassy with it's colours and scent and I make no apologies for it!!

Its made with our best selling formula of Sweet Almond & Golden Olive Oils with tons of creamy Cocoa Butter plus Yogurt, Goatsmilk & Buttermilk for their vitamins and minerals and White Kaolin Clay (to help clarify even the most sensitive of skins) and Pure Silk... just cos I love it and it really makes the soap more silky and wonderful.

The fragrance is a rich, festive aroma opening with fig slightly sweetened with warm blackberry, clove and peppery notes resting on a woody backdrop, enriched by aromatic notes of cedarwood, raspberry and sultana. And oh boy, it's soooooooooooooooo lovely.

I've coloured it with traditional Christmas tones of gold, red and green and used the Celine Swirl and textured tops glistening with cosmetic glitter.

Making Deck The Halls Pure Silk Handmade Irish Soap:

http://youtu.be/oK05ssGvL5E

Cutting Deck The Halls Pure Silk Handmade Irish Soap:

http://youtu.be/r-4qxBUPhPM

Here are the final cut photos ... all coutesy of Titch Holland:

It will be fully cured by 1 October 2012 and will be available for pre-order on http://www.iamhandmade.com/ourshop/prod_2203819-Deck-The-Halls-PreOrder-Cure-Date-1-October.html.

Enjoy!!!!

The leaves are turning... and my thoughts are moving to Autumn

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 06:00:00 +0000

I have to say that I love Summer... I love the longer, brighter days, I love the sun, I love that everything feels warmer, happier, shinier even. But, you know what, I love the change of seasons, feeling the colder mornings nip at your toes even though I'm still wearing my Birkenstocks. And my thoughts move to Autumn and then on to Christmas. Yep I said it, Christmas!!!

People have raged at me (tongue in cheek of course) on Facebook when I mentioned it ... but, you know what, soapers have to work a season ahead of where they are. Like fashion designers or even educationalists, you have to work right now but you have to plan for the next season too. I cure my soaps for a minimum of 6 weeks at a time which means that I have to work at least that far ahead of myself if I want to reach my targets. So yes, in August, I began to think of the Autumn/Winter collection for this year.

Whilst on holidays, I had a fabulous jam (I am a big fan of toast and jam, it's an addiction)... this was Apricot & Vanilla and I immediately said that I just had to make a soap in this combination, it just screamed Autumn at me.

Below are videos of my Spiced Apricot Vanilla soap ... I made it using skin loving Sweet Almond & Golden Olive Oils with lashings of creamy Cocoa Butter. To this, I added Yogurt and Goatsmilk as they are natural sources of AHA's, vitamins and minerals and are so good for your skin. Then added White Kaolin clay which is one of the best clays for sensitive skin (but works really well with all skin types) and it helps to gently clarify and cleanse your skin. Finally I added Colloidal Oatmeal & Pure Silk to give that extra luxury touch!

The jam gave me the idea of the fragrance and I blended fresh luscious apricots and sweet juicy orange essential oil, gently spiced with cinnamon & nutmeg and drizzled with pure Tahitian vanilla .. its a warm, spicy, divine fragrance blend!

The colours were chosen to reflect to the fragrance and are also very Autumnal. I hope you like it!

Making Spiced Apricot Vanilla Handmade Pure Silk Soap:

http://youtu.be/LnJKx6nQcsQ

Cutting Spiced Apricot Vanilla Handmade Pure Silk Soap:

http://youtu.be/M6PalVf0Mp4

Here are the final shots of the cut soap courtesy of Titch Holland of http://www.facebook.com/takenbytitch

I really hope you enjoy the soapy goodness... Spiced Apricot Vanilla is available now to pre-order on http://www.iamhandmade.com/ourshop/prod_2203786-Spiced-Apricot-Vanilla-PreOrder-Cure-Date-1-October.html

Aqua Haven ... holiday memories

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 19:29:00 +0000

Well I haven't posted in a while have I? Very naughty of me... but I do beg forgiveness as I've been hugely busy, as you'll see in the following post.

Well we got back from our holidays in the middle of August, the sun was still shining (sometimes!) and I still had a few days before I went back to the day job so I decided to make a tribute soap to our time in West Cork. For regular readers, you'll know that West Cork is the place that we feel most at home.. it's in the South West of the country and where we stay is right on the coast (the cottage is literally two minutes walk to the sea, and the pub less than 3 minutes walk in the other direction!) and it's the place where we feel most at home, most comfortable, most alive. So it had to be celebrated right?

I decided to make a new soap and called it Aqua Haven. I used our best selling formula using Sweet Almond & Golden Olive oils with tons of creamy Cocoa Butter - to this I added our new Triple Milk formula of Buttermilk, Goatsmilk & Coconut Milk along with Kaolin Clay, Colloidal Oatmeal, Aloe Vera & Pure Silk. A very luxurious soap indeed and how good is this going to be on your skin?

I fragranced it with blend of Grapefruit & Lemon, with hints of Blackberry & Champagne cooled with notes of Fresh Linen, Lavender & Violet on a base of Amber, Musk & Vanilla and the colours are inspired by West Cork countryside. There is a particular flower that grows in the hedgerows there and is the brightest orange ... against the blue sky and green sea, they are just stunning.

I've used the Celine Swirl for the design and swirled the two colours together ... take a look at the videos and photos below and you'll see what I mean.

Making Aqua Haven

http://youtu.be/7CepZH1ZWmg

http://youtu.be/HD_5qNCrNII

And here are the final shots, courtesy of Titch Holland of http://www.facebook.com/takenbytitch

Hope you enjoy the photos... the soap is available now for sale on http://www.iamhandmade.com/ourshop/prod_2192168-Aqua-Haven-.html.

Featured Tutorial on the Soap Bar Blog

noreply@blogger.com (The Lazy Lacquerist) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:22:00 +0000

For all those who want to learn new techniques, I wrote a tutorial on How to Use the Hanger Swirl and it's been featured on the Soap Bar blog, there's even a video! Make sure to check it out. And I so want links to see your photos of your finished soaps!

Thanks so much Jo for featuring the tutorial and for giving me an opportunity to show others a new technique!