Cracklin' Birch FO

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My thoughts: Birch trees often have a cracked appearance to their smooth bark. I never really questioned the name... to me it's kind of "whatever"... lol. I don't really get any smoky notes - which can be present in vetiver notes. To me I pick out the tonka bean and patchouli more - but I like those so maybe that's why I notice them more.

Funny, when ladies come to shop for their hubbies, they don't pick the CB soap. But when their hubbies are with, the guys will pick it first and their wives will tell them it stinks. I think those ladies are wrong, but that's just me... because I personally would use CB if I had to choose.
 
My thoughts: Birch trees often have a cracked appearance to their smooth bark. I never really questioned the name... to me it's kind of "whatever"... lol. I don't really get any smoky notes - which can be present in vetiver notes. To me I pick out the tonka bean and patchouli more - but I like those so maybe that's why I notice them more.

Funny, when ladies come to shop for their hubbies, they don't pick the CB soap. But when their hubbies are with, the guys will pick it first and their wives will tell them it stinks. I think those ladies are wrong, but that's just me... because I personally would use CB if I had to choose.
Oh your probably right w/ the "crackly bitch fire' scent. I haven't smelled it, but I like "Patchouli & what's not to love about vanilla" yummy'.
 
Well I'm not sure I get any of that smell but I don't know what tonka bean smells like. To me it smells woodsy with a spicy touch. I personally like it, but not enough to buy again. And it doesn't move fast here. Perhaps I need to change the visuals.
 
I rarely go by the manufacturer's FO name when I market a FO (unless it's a one-note FO). For example, BB's Tobacco and Bay Leaf I've renamed as "Sexy Lumberjack" because that's what it smells like to me. I have a soap I've called "Ziesta!" because it has strong bergamot, lemon, lime, and salty sea air notes. The FO is BB's "Midnight Waters" but what the heck are "midnight waters?"

Tonka beans have a strong vanilla aroma with a little cinnamon, which is likely where the "cracklin'" comes from.
 
Tonka beans have a strong vanilla aroma with a little cinnamon, which is likely where the "cracklin'" comes from.
In this FO it catches more of the cinnamon/clove aspect rather than vanilla. I think if it were more vanilla women would like it more (but that's just been my experience, most women will buy anything if they see "vanilla").

I usually call soaps by the FO name - otherwise I don't remember what I used off the top of my head - unless the FO is a dupe or just an unpleasant name for customers. For example, NG's Chocolate Orchid is wonderful. Last year I tried selling it as "Chocolate Orchid" it didn't sell at all. Halfway through the year I changed the name to "Dark Orchid" and sold better. This year I changed the name to Skin Smooches (a play on BBW's Dark Kiss which is what it smells like to me) for my B&B lineup, and I can't keep up with it. My customers do not want anything named Chocolate - I've had several different chocolate soaps through the years and they never sell with chocolate in the name. As soon as I change them to something else, they'll sell. On the flipside of that, when I first made WSP Sea Salt & Driftwood I called the soap "Ocean", it sold like gangbusters. The next year I renamed it to match the FO - same soap design, same soap description - didn't sell. I relabeled them back to Ocean, and they've been my best seller for two years. People are forking weird y'all.

Anyways, I mention that because if you have talent for naming soap other than the FO name... I'm jealous. It's not natural for me and I usually have to go through a couple tries before I get it right.
 
Chocolate Mint at Christmas time
I do the same! I have chocolate mint cupcakes that I sell for christmas (about the only time I can sell soap cupcakes go figure) but they wouldn't sell if I called them Chocolate Mint, so I renamed them Grasshopper Brownie. Go.figure. I use WSP Fudge Brownie and Peppermint Bark FO's. Mostly people buy the cupcakes for kids, so I'm always a bit hesitant to put peppermint EO in kid related things. Their skin can be so sensitive, and peppermint EO is a common irritant.
 
Anyways, I mention that because if you have talent for naming soap other than the FO name... I'm jealous. It's not natural for me and I usually have to go through a couple tries before I get it right.
I usually start with an idea and then choose a fragrance that feels like a good fit with that concept. Like "Hmmm, let's make a Southern Gothic soap. What should that smell like? It should evoke thoughts of eccentric characters, decaying plantation houses, madness, and mystery." My choice of a 50/50 blend of FB Rose Goddess and WSP Patchouli fit the bill perfectly to my nose!
And sometimes things go off the rails - like I have a plan in mind and then I end up just going where the moment takes me. For instance I was making a soap with FB dupe of the Lush 'Flying Fox' scent and changed the soap name mid-stride because my cat Minou was being such a pest and yowling because he was locked out of my soaping area. Minou is my little monkey and I told him to stop being such a naughty monkey and let me soap in peace! So that soap became 'Naughty Monkey', which led to the soap I was making in the same soaping session scented with DayStar's Toffee Sugar Crunch being dubbed 'Sugar Monkey' instead of the name I had originally planned for the soap. Of course I HAD to add a Monkey Farts scented soap to complete the trifecta and that one is named 'Silly Monkey'. I'm still surprised how many customers buy these as a set since they have such wildly different scents!!
BTW, my company logo is a monkey and this is why:
http://www.minoubleu.com/Minou.htmlI realize that obscure soap names aren't popular with everyone, but IMHO scent is so objective/personal that I would rather name my soaps for what they mean to me on a creative level so there isn't a pre-conceived expectation of the scent. I've found over the years that people will say they don't like the smell of <whatever> and then proceed to choose bars of soap that include that very scent! It's all about perception :)
 

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