Challenge #1 - In the pot swirl

Great Cakes Soapworks in hosting a challenge where she is pushing our soaping limits with new techniques. And since we don't need much pushing to do soap, we're having the times of our lives. For week 1 challenge we were supposed to do a in the pot swirl. I haven't really been successful with the technique but went ahead anyways. Here's how it went:



xoxo
Irene

New video up - faux funnel swirl

Wow...days go by sooo fast...sorry for the lack of posts lately! I wanted to share with you a video I made last week. In it I show the faux funnel swirl process with a crazy blend of colors (neon pink and neon green with white). It was really fun to make, the fragrance was great and matched the colors perfectly! It's in spanish but completely self explanatory. Enjoy!!

xoxo Irene

Savonnerie Mika - Review (finally!)

Where to start? Her soaps are amazingly wonderful, full of fragrance, smooth to the touch and bubbly. Each type of soap is different in itself yet possesses the same characteristics above. 

My favorite one was Crème Myrtille, but I'm a fruity sweet type of person (my husband would say fruitcake har har). I could actually imagine that particular scent as a marmalade I could eat, it was fresh, sweet, fruity and the soap's texture was wonderful too, just the slightest bit exfoliant but otherwise smooth to the touch. That soap went down fast! It was kidnapped by my 7 year old daughter as her favorite too.

My second favorite was Champ de Colza. It was the smoothest in texture of them all. The yellow part having a feel very much like a wax candle, and the orange part having a nice grittiness to it from the clay. I thought is was wonderful for the face, it provided just the perfect amount of fragrance and exfolliating action. I don't particularly like strong fragrances in soaps near my face, they make my nose itch and my eyes water, but this one was ust perfect. Really bubbly too.

Next up was the lavandin soap. What a soap! It goes beyond straight up lavender. There were like different layers of lavender fragrance in there, really hard to explain… When I first opened the package from Mika, this was the scent that was most overpowering, and it continued to smell strong even after it was just a sliver in the shower. It left my skin extra smooth and had really nice lather. The inclusion of lavandin for sure made a difference. I would have to say though, that I would include a hard butter to the mix, it was the one that lasted the least in the shower, although it might have been from overuse :)

Red clay  was lovely for shaving! The inclusion of clay and the fragrance made it a pleasure to shave my legs, even in almost freezing water (heater broke down :( ) I did not get nicked, it just helped me get a better shave. I asked hubby to use it for his face and he really liked it as well.

Zen had a very strong fragrance, it smelled really woodsy but sharp. I thought it would be better suited as a men's fragrance, but again I prefer sweet fruity smells. The lather on that one was amazing! And it was super smooth on the skin. From all the soaps, I liked this one the best in regards to feeling clean and soft after using it. I haven't given it to my hubby yet for him to test yet, I don't want to let go such a beautiful bar.

The one I'm using now is Cannelle Orange. It is a very nice bar, it's lasted forever in my shower (I now have hot water - yay!!) It's really bubbly and smells really nice. Not too strong, just right I would say, a perfect mix of citrus and woodsy. Can't really make out the cinnamon, but it's definitely not outright citrus I smell. The design on this one just blew me away, it super simple yet very pleasing. It looks exactly how it smells.

The only one I haven't tried yet is Ma douce. It sits here in my desk and I get to look at it every few seconds :) The feather swirls are just amazing, even after watching her video on how to make them I don't think I could accomplish such perfection. Eventually I'm going to run out of her soap and have to use this one, but for now, I will continue to admire it and feel inspired by it.

Thanks Mika for sending me such a wonderful array of your soaps!! I have enjoyed them a lot and my family has as well. I believe you have a perfectionist approach to your soap, and the love and effort is evident in each bar.

(All photos taken from Mika's website)

xoxo

Irene