Anne-Marie Faiola, Author at Soap Queen

Coconut Macadamia Scrub

July 10, 2008 Filed Under: Soaks & Scrubs

This decadent Coconut Macadamia Scrub was given to me at the Alabama Soap Convention. I’ve just started using it. Diane at dearlyyours.comdeserves high praise for her formulation.It’s made with Coconut Oil, Macadamia Nut Butter and a variety of other skin loving goodies. The scrub has the refreshing scent of Cucumber Melon. Mmmmm! The attention to detail in this scrub is precious. Notice the glistening little citrus wedge soap in the middle of the scrub for that finishing touch. My skin feels soft, moisturized and (gasp!) young after using it.

Thanks Diane!

Because They All Look Alike

July 10, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

I just picked up a pair of sweet key covers to help me identify important keys in a flash. ModClothhas three key covers (cupcake, mushroom and elephant). It’s no surprise which ones I got.

Lovin’ the Daily Grind!

July 9, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

My latest Etsy purchase from Balsamis a huge hit with my staff. Even though we’ve had the soap here for weeks, I’ve been so busy that I haven’t taken them home. Normally, my awesome soap purchases head straight home for testing and obsessing over. But, since these little beauties have been at the office for a few weeks, the staff are calling dibs on which ones they want! They’re giving me hints left and right about possibly taking a bar home themselves. Maybe I’ll have a little competition to see which one of my Brambleberrians gets to take one of these beauties home?Of course, my caffeine-hooked team are cooing over the “Daily Grind Soap” with real bits of coffee and a soft vanilla scent. The stamp is a classy branding touch.

The other soaps I purchased are equally enticing. Our office is filled with Lemon Sugar, Raspberry Patchouli, Lavender Lemon and of course, the Daily Grind (our fave). We especially appreciate the swirling and embedding techniques. They help to create an interesting, eye-catching line of soaps while maintaining a concise clear brand look through stamping and bar shape.

Get your dose of The Daily Grind at www.balsam.etsy.com

Greetings from Alicia (video)

July 9, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Alicia Grosso, author of The Everything Soapmaking Book, sends her greetings:

We are so excited to have her teach at the Soapmaking Weekend Intensive happening next weekend in Bellingham at Otion. Alicia will be teaching Advanced Cold Process Classes and an Advanced Lotion Class focusing on emulsifiers.

If you’d like Soapy Schwag from the weekend, t-shirts, buttons, aprons and totes are available here.

Remember, if you subscribe in a reader or via email, Alicia’s video will not play. Head to Soap Queen to view it in full.

Cupcake Bag Schwag

July 9, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Thank you Amanda from Dancing Panda Soapworks for sending me this link to an ultra cute Cupcake themed bag.
Click here to buy one of your own (if you live in the UK).

Every Little Bit Helps

July 8, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Soapmaking is a creative outlet and a positive form of self expression. We were happy to donate to a support group for HIV Positive Women for a fun creativity day. Below is a lovely note from Victoria who runs this extraordinary organization.

“This praise report is a little late but here it goes… Thank you Anne-Marie for making it possible for our ladies to have a day of fun! Anne Marie donated soap kits, and other supplies to our HIV positive and battered women support groups. Since the soap making workshops, they ladies have continued to make soap once a month. This was the nicest thing you could have done for them. Thank you very much!”

It looks like a fun time was had by all. Creativity helps to create positive experiences and we were thrilled to be a part of their special day.

Moonlight Pomegranate Soap

July 7, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

“Purple” notes are all the rage right now. They’re popping up in any number of fine fragrance launches (including the successful Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir, Tom Ford Private Blend Collection Florals, Calvin Klein Euphoria and Baby Phat Fabulosity). Our Moonlight Pomegranate is luscious, dark and rich. It smells strongly of Pomegranate, Acai and Cassis notes while maintaining a deep musky undertone supported by Musk, Sandalwood and Vanilla.

Thank you Jude from Aussie Soap Supplies for sharing photos of her beautiful recent batch. She says, “I ADORE Moonlight Pomegranate. I have (so far) no discolouration from the batch made many weeks ago, and in lotions and conditioners it’s to die for.”

If you’re looking for a new Fall fragrance launch, definitely try the Moonlight Pomegranate. It’s rapidly becoming a “Must Have” for the latter half of 2008.

Doin’ the Burn Tests…

July 7, 2008 Filed Under: Home Crafts

For each fragrance that Bramble Berry adds, we’ve tested a minimum of 100 more. These are a couple of the burn tests I did this weekend. Notice how poorly the one on the left performed? These are two fragrances we won’t be adding (burn and poor throw). For the record, they were a Blueberry Martini and a Pomegranate.

What are we looking for with Burn Tests?

* Throw – This is the main hurdle to clear in a Burn Test. Does the scent fill the room? Does the fragrance strongly convey a pure smell or does it mutate into a horrible smelling sad version of its former self?

* Burn – Does the fragrance affect the burn? Some fragrances make the wax harder or softer or promote an uneven burn. We’re looking for an even, smooth, clean (non-soot-promoting) burn. What does the fragrance do to the wax?

* Seepage – Even if you mix the fragrance in fully, the fragrance can start to pool inside pockets in the wax causing sputtering, flame flares or overcome the flame, putting it out.

You can find Bramble Berry’s line of fully tested candle fragrances here or Candle Supplies here.

Cupcakes I Want-Want

July 5, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Underwater Cupcake Decadence courtesy of Cupcakes A Go-Go in Sarasota, Florida. They deliver to Sarasota, Siesta Key, Casey Key, Longboat Key and N. Osprey areas so if you’re hungry in Florida, give ’em a call.

What did we do to deserve this?

July 5, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Even before I started blogging, Linnie in California sent us her wonderful soaps and body products “just because.” All of us at Bramble Berry adore Linnie and are always thankful for her beautiful soapy presents. Click here to see the last box of goodies she sent.However, her latest package caused a little rumble at the office. We had a huge debate on which scent was our favorite. Adrienne loved the (custom blended by Linnie creation) Zen Garden, Amber’s favorite was theMango and Rhubarb Sorbet and Courtney loved the Mimosa (Champagne and Peach). My favorite was the Apple Rhubarb Tart! YUM! All of these soaps contain skin loving ingredients like Shea, Mango and Coco Butter. My skin can hardly wait.

Linnie also sent as some great smelling moisturizing creams as well. There was no argument on the best cream scent; we all agreed on the Peach Bellini– very fresh smelling.And to totally spoil us rotten, over the top, she sent us couple of her Sweet Dreams Bath Melts (an oil rich bath fizzy). I can’t wait to try all of our new goodies! A Sweet Dream Bath Melt is an excellent excuse to take a relaxing bath today.

Thanks Linnie! You really shouldn’t have, but we’re so glad you did!

Happy Fourth of July

July 4, 2008 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Here is our Cold-Process Fourth of July Celebration Soap. It didn’t turn out perfectly but it’s a good first attempt. Next time, we’ll be sure to blend the blue oxide a little longer. I hope you have a wonderful (and safe!) celebration tonight with your loved ones.

Bramble Berry’s COO, Norman has an adorable son (if you missed him driving the forklift, click here to see that photo). Jorgen just turned three years old! Our contribution to the party was a brand new drum set. His Mommy and Daddy loooooove us now and Jorgen? He’s celebrating the Fourth of July in a very loud and musical manner.

Mini Moguls in the Making

July 2, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

I had the great pleasure of mentoring two very special little girls today – Isabelle (in navy) and Eden (in pink). Isabelle especially is interested in being her own boss someday. She’s so interested in entrepreneurship that she’s started not one, but TWO businesses. Isabelle sells handmade jewelry to her parents’ friends and has a small concession stand at her Daddy’s biathlon races. She was intrigued to hear about Etsy as an outlet for her handmade jewelry. The impressive thing about her concessions business? She started it, on her own initiative, at the tender age of 7.

I met her Daddy (Dave) on a long plane ride to New York. We ended up talking so much that the poor guy in between us (in the dreaded middle seat) finally switched with Dave so we could jabber away with impunity. When he told me of his daughter, 9 year old Isabelle, and her natural inclination to make money, I was impressed!

It was an honor to host the entire family today. They took a tour of the Bramble Berry warehouse. Isabelle diligently took notes on unfamiliar terms (such as COGS, low cost provider, commodity) while her younger sister Eden added little nuggets to our conversation.

We finished the day with the fun part – making soap at Otion. The girls made creative and colorful soaps based on their interests (ponies and fish). They were a delight to be around at all times, quick witted and exceedingly bright. They both have impressive futures awaiting them.

Thank you Isabelle and Eden for an enjoyable afternoon. It was a pleasure to spend time with both of you. Isabelle, I’m looking forward to watching your business grow in the upcoming years.

Customer Service Team Soaps

July 2, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

I am positively bursting with pride over these two batches of soap and it’s not because I made them!

That honor goes to Courtney and Adrienne in Customer Service. They took an afternoon to invest time to learn about swirling and layering from Erik over at Otion. Their soaps turned out extraordinary.

Catch up with Courtney and Adrienne as they candidly interview each other about their soaping experience.

Courtney: So, Adrienne, was cold process as hard as you thought it would be?

Adrienne: Oh my gosh…NO! Honestly I was a little intimidated to try cold process. But Erik, the manager at our retail store, Otion, was so great! He walked us through it step by step.

Courtney: That’s what I though too. I was most nervous to use the lye, but Erik had all the protective gear that we needed including those stylish goggles. The safety gear made me feel better.

Adrienne: Those were attractive goggles, weren’t they? So, Courtney, what was the coolest thing that you learned from our afternoon of soaping?

Courtney: I learned how easy it was to swirl by just alternating our pours. I think some techniques include swirling with a knife, but we just poured both colors in and the batch turned out great…If we don’t say so ourselves.

Adrienne: I might have a biased opinion, but they do look good!

Courtney: What was your favorite part of the soaping experience?

Adreinne: I loved making our second batch because we did it without the help from Erik. That gave me the confidence to know that I actually can make cold process soap. I can’t wait to use it now! According to our “tongue test” yesterday, I think It’s ready to use. Don’t you?

Courtney: Totally! It’s time to test!

Adrienne: So what advice would you give to new soapers out there?

Courtney: Hmmm, I would say to just dive in and don’t look back! Do the first batch as an experiment knowing that it might not look the greatest. But you have to start somewhere.

Adrienne: That’s what I would say too! It was fun to have a partner in crime for the first time, so grab a friend and try it out!

Courtney: Is that a wrap?

Adrienne: That’s a wrap!

Thanks for the Kudos!

July 1, 2008 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Christine from Beauty in Real Life wrote a nice article about our Mineral Makeup Eye Shadow Kit. Christine tested it herself and said “What impresses me is how long it stays on and there is very little creasing.” We’re glad you liked it! Christine also appreciated the variety. “They give you recipes for violets, blues, greens, metallics, browns and grays. And for each color you can make it either shimmer or matte. So there are a lot of options.”

Thanks for the nice review. We’re glad you enjoyed the kit and all the color options.