Recent content by evatgirl73

Rebel yell is fairly easy to work with, some A IIRC. Discolors to a dark tan/light brown. I *love* DS and use a lot of FOs from there, but I have found most of them to accelerate to some degree. Worth it usually, but most of them are pretty speedy...

Stacey is usually really good about getting back to people, but I think she's having a good sale and might be very busy. :) This particular FO is one of my favorites and I have some here stored in amber glass bottles *and* some stored in plastic (ran out of glass so some FOs had to make do with...

Soapsupplies has one that others tell me is really good. I have soaped it and like it, just haven't smelled the original. :) It goes dark tan in CP, is nice and strong and sticks.

The NG one is VERY faint in soap, even at *more* than 1oz/PPO it barely smells at all. It's nice in other applications though. I've tried soaping it 3 times, and it's extremely faint and fades IMHO. Discolors to a medium/dark tan. The WSP one smells good, but not as nice as the NG one. Have...

Just soaped a sample of Cybilla almond from brambleberry last night.... so far it smells lovely. It's a straight almond scent, not foody at all and with no cherry notes whatsoever. I take that back.... I just went to sniff it, and there is some cherry notes in it. Daystars fluffy almond icing...

I work almost exclusively with FOs. It's my personal preference, I like sweet and fun scents. :) I can see the beauty in working with EOs and applaud the people who do it well, but it's not my thing.

I've tried lots of different suppliers, and these are the ones I keep coming back to and ordering again and again: Scentworks Daystar Brambleberry to slightly less degree soapsupplies. With FOs, you really do get what you pay for. Some of these suppliers are slightly more expensive, but...

Sandalwood Vanilla (Scentworks) is scrumptious on men, as is Bois De Vanille (Daystar) and I could see other "dry" vanillas work really well as unisex/manly soap. The sweeter "orchid" type vanillas wouldn't do it for me on a guy, nor would the foody ones.

Scentworks's version is the best IMHO, it's divine. That said, it does discolor to a VERY dark brown, with lovely lemon yellow lather... Soapsupplies' "non discoloring" Pink Sugar smells nice, although not quite as nice as SW, and it discolors to a light tan/butter color. I use both of these...

I think it's a totally *personal preference* thing. I'm not really into them myself, I prefer really fun artificial scents, LOL! I can see the draw of using only EOs (and natural colorants) to make your line as "natural" as possible, but for me, it's not important. Bring on the fruity...

I've tested ends before the cure is done, but I very rarely use the actual soaps before 6wks is up, and never sell or gift them before that. I know the soaps would be safe, just wouldn't be at their best (and for some formulas, I prefer to wait even longer for more hardness) and therefore not...

Straight up floral favorites are Jasmine, Honeysuckle, Lilac and Violet. DS has a Pink Magnolia that's wonderful as well, and a big summer favorite for me is Pikaki flower from soapsupplies.

I am not a fan of Lush's actual products, but I do like their scents. I really like every single Lush Dupe I've bought from DS, some better than others but all are nice. I haven't tried the Karma one yet but I'm just not a Patch person... the Rock Star and Alkmaar dupes are my personal favorites!!

I think 1-2yrs shelf life is pretty standard, and I would expect most quality handmade soap to last even longer. I have bars here that are 3+yrs old and still look/smell great.

I've only added jojoba beads to a few batches for fun, mostly for my DHs soap. They add a little spot of color and some texture. As for Tussah silk... I use it in every batch. I love a smooth, creamy, lotion like lather and I feel it contributes to that.