If soap could have a theme song, this Couture Confetti Cold Process Soap would sing, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper. Featuring a hot pink top layer, confetti-filled bottom layer and lots of sparkle, this soap is the epitome of fun and girly. The confetti layer is created by grating cold process soap with a cheese grater and stirring it into the soap batter. I used equal amounts of pink, purple and yellow soap, but you can use whatever colors you’d like. If you like the confetti effect, check out the Cherry Blossom Glitter Cold Process.
To match the feminine colors in this soap, I used Bramble Berry’s Juicy Couture Type Fragrance Oil. Inspired by the popular women’s perfume, these bars have a unique combination of floral and fruity notes. This fragrance oil does mildly accelerate trace, so I used it to my advantage. The acceleration made it easy to create layers and a dramatic textured top. If you’d like to learn more about trace in cold process soap making, click here.
What You’ll Need:
10″ Silicone Loaf Mold
Approx. 10 oz. Shredded Cold Process Soap
1.6 oz. Avocado Butter (5%)
1.6 oz. Cocoa Butter (5%)
8 oz. Coconut Oil (25%)
8 oz. Palm Oil (25%)
8 oz. Olive Oil (25%)
3.2 oz. Rice Bran Oil (10%)
1.6 oz. Shea Butter (5%)
4.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
10.6 oz. Distilled Water
2 oz. Bramble Berry’s Juicy Couture Type Fragrance Oil
Titanium Dioxide
Fired Up Fuchsia Colorant
Coral Mica
Fine Iridescent Glitter
Optional: Powder Duster
Click here to add everything you need for this project to your Bramble Berry shopping cart!
If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Pure Soapmaking. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.
SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.
COLOR PREP: To ensure that the Titanium Dioxide blends smoothly into the soap batter, we recommend micronizing it before dispersing it in oil. Please note this is an optional tip but it does help with the titanium dioxide clumping in the soap. =) To micronize colorant, simply use a coffee grinder to blend the colorant to break up any clumps of color and prevent streaks of white from showing in the final soap. We like to use a coffee grinder that has a removable, stainless steel mixing area for easy cleaning. Then, disperse 1 teaspoon of the colorant into 1 tablespoon of sunflower or sweet almond oil (or any other liquid oil). Then in a separate container, disperse 2 teaspoons of the Fired Up Fuchsia into 2 tablespoons of lightweight liquid oil. Use a mini mixer to get rid of any clumps. Have the Coral Mica and the powder duster nearby to use for the mica line.
FRAGRANCE PREP: Measure 2 ounces of Bramble Berry’s Juicy Couture Type Fragrance Oil into a small glass container and set aside.
SHREDDED SOAP PREP: Shred a few leftover or scrap cold process bars with a cheese grater. You can experiment with different grates, but we found the larger holes on the grater worked best and were most visible in the finished soap. Anywhere from 10 – 15 oz. makes for a good batch, but ultimately how much you shred is up to you. For this project, we shredded yellow, pink and purple soap. Set the shredded soap aside until step 4.
ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.
TWO: Combine the coconut oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, avocado butter, shea butter, palm oil and cocoa butter (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have both cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until you reach a light trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.
THREE: Add the 2 ounces of the Bramble Berry’s Juicy Couture Type Fragrance Oil and use a whisk to fully mix in.
FOUR: Split off about 2.5 cups of the batter into a separate container and add 1 Tablespoon of dispersed titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to fully mix in the colorant. If the soap is still at a thin trace, stick blend the batter for several seconds until you reach a thick trace.
FIVE: Add the shredded cold process soap until you’re happy with the amount. The more you add, the more pieces of confetti will be seen in your final bar.
SIX: Pour this soap into the mold, and tap firmly on the counter to help get rid of bubbles.
SEVEN: Add a small amount of the Coral Mica to the powder duster, and lightly cover the soap with a layer of Coral Mica. Close your eyes and blow gently on the color to help disperse it evenly on top of the layer. Watch out, this part can get a bit messy!
EIGHT: To the remaining soap, add all of the dispersed Fired Up Fuchsia colorant. Depending on how thick the soap is, use a whisk or spatula to completely mix in the colorant. If the soap is not at thick trace, stick blend for several seconds until the soap is very thick.
NINE: Transfer the pink soap into the mold and spread evenly with a spatula. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of bubbles. Use a spoon to mound the soap towards the center, then create lots of texture using the spoon. Once you’re happy with the top, cover with fine iridescent glitter.
TEN: Spritz the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash and leave the soap in the mold for 3-4 days. Once unmolded, cut into bars and allow them to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!
How do you like to use leftover soap? If you’re looking for more ideas, check out this post.
- 10" Silicone Loaf Mold
- Approx. 10 oz. Shredded Cold Process Soap
- 1.6 oz. Avocado Butter (5%)
- 1.6 oz. Cocoa Butter (5%)
- 8 oz. Coconut Oil (25%)
- 8 oz. Palm Oil (25%)
- 8 oz. Olive Oil (25%)
- 3.2 oz. Rice Bran Oil (10%)
- 1.6 oz. Shea Butter (5%)
- 4.5 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
- 10.6 oz. Distilled Water
- 2 oz. Bramble Berry's Juicy Couture Type Fragrance Oil
- Titanium Dioxide
- Fired Up Fuchsia Colorant
- Coral Mica
- Fine Iridescent Glitter
- Optional: Powder Duster
- Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.
- Combine the coconut oil, olive oil, rice bran oil, avocado butter, shea butter, palm oil and cocoa butter (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have both cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until you reach a light trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 2.5 tsp. sodium lactate.
- Add the 2 ounces of the Bramble Berry's Juicy Couture Type Fragrance Oil and use a whisk to fully mix in.
- Split off about 2.5 cups of the batter into a separate container and add 1 Tablespoon of dispersed titanium dioxide. Use a whisk to fully mix in the colorant. If the soap is still at a thin trace, stick blend the batter for several seconds until you reach a thick trace.
- Add the shredded cold process soap until you’re happy with the amount. The more you add, the more pieces of confetti will be seen in your final bar.
- Pour this soap into the mold, and tap firmly on the counter to help get rid of bubbles.
- Add a small amount of the Coral Mica to the powder duster, and lightly cover the soap with a layer of Coral Mica. Close your eyes and blow gently on the color to help disperse it evenly on top of the layer. Watch out, this part can get a bit messy!
- To the remaining soap, add all of the dispersed Fired Up Fuchsia colorant. Depending on how thick the soap is, use a whisk or spatula to completely mix in the colorant. If the soap is not at thick trace, stick blend for several seconds until the soap is very thick.
- Transfer the pink soap into the mold and spread evenly with a spatula. Tap the mold firmly on the counter to help get rid of bubbles. Use a spoon to mound the soap towards the center, then create lots of texture using the spoon. Once you’re happy with the top, cover with fine iridescent glitter.
- Spritz the top of the soap with 99% isopropyl alcohol to prevent soda ash and leave the soap in the mold for 3-4 days. Once unmolded, cut into bars and allow them to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!
Question, if I am not fond of the . 10 oz. Shredded Cold Process Soap or simply just don’t have any available is there a substitute ? Can I use something else like more oil for example? i hope this makes since.
You can leave the shredded soap out of this recipe if you like. Because this recipe calls for 10 ounces, you may want to increase your recipe 10 ounces to fit the mold. Learn how to resize your batch here: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-resize-cold-process-soap-recipes/
I am going to be making the Confetti Almond Milk recipe from Pure Soapmaking, but since I didn’t have any scraps to use, I made 5 different colors tonight and will unmold tomorrow. I am assuming these should at least start curing so they aren’t super soft when I try to shred, but can I try grating them in as little as 4 or 5 days or should they full cure? I would love to have the Confetti Almond Milk bars done and cured 4 weeks by Christmas, but couldn’t find any information about how old the first batch of soap should be before grating and then using in the Almond Milk recipe. I look forward to your reply; thanks Bramble Berry crew!!! 🙂
The soap can be fresh when you put it in the bars! I think about 5 days is perfect because it should be hard enough to grate by then. If it’s still fairly soft, give it a few more days, then try grating again. The great news is the confetti bars work with both fresh and cured soap, so if you have to wait awhile don’t worry. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thanks so much Kelsey! 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂
I have made three different batches of the confetti soap using different colors they look great the next day then a few days later they all turned colors and no longer look good 🙁 what is causing them to turn color so fast. I made the soap white with pink shaving and it looked like a perfect beast cancer awareness pink. now the white is now yellow 🙁 help what did I do wrong the other main colors I used for the other two batches was a pastel orange on top and white base with colored shavings and it turned into a nasty orange burnt color and the second batch pastel blue on top and white bottom with color shavings and it turned into a nasty green color but the soap savings don’t turn colors at all. I’m only having this problem when it comes to the confetti soap
It sounds like it may be fragrance discoloration! If your fragrance has vanilla, it can turn the soap anywhere from a light yellow to a dark brown. What fragrance are you using?
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I have a question about confetti soap in general. I have tons of soap that I plan to shred and use in confetti soap – batches that were discolored or just didn’t come out right. My question is, all these batches were scented with a different scent! How do you work around that? I fear it will just be a hodge podge of scents that don’t add up to a pleasant scent once the batch is done.
Thanks!
Jenna
That’s a great question Jenna! Because you’re adding a relatively small amount of the soap with different scents, we haven’t found it’s too noticeable. That’s especially the case if you’re scenting the fresh batch, as it will cover up some of that sme4ll. However, you can add soap that smells great together! For instance, if you have vanilla scented soap and orange scented soap that would smell really nice in the final bar. You can also pile up all the soap you want to use and give it a sniff. If you like the way it works together, go ahead and add it! If not, try leaving out a scented soap that doesn’t work. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Awesome thanks! I’ll give that a shot so I can save some of those not so great batches haha.
You’re welcome Jenna! We’re big fans of using every last scrap of soap. This is a great way to do so. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I want to make this soap to be all one color-the fuchsia, with none of the Shredded Cold Process Soap. How much colorant exactly should I be adding for that? newbie at soap making. Also, when is best to try and un mold this soap? thanks!!
To color the whole soap pink, I would recommend mixing 4 teaspoons of Fired Up Fuchsia into 4 tablespoons of a lightweight liquid oil. Then, start adding that color 1 dispersed teaspoon at a time. Add the color, mix well and check the soap. You can keep adding the Fuchsia until you get a pink color you like! If you have any leftover colorant, you can store it in an airtight container. It will keep as long as the oil shelf life. Then, mix well before using again because the color can settle. 🙂
Read more about oil shelf lives here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/free-beginners-guide-to-soapmaking-common-soapmaking-oils/
I would recommend waiting about 3-4 days before unmolding. After that time, check the soap. If it’s still soft or is denting when you touch it, give it a couple more days! You want the soap to be firm to the touch before unmolding so there are no drag marks or dents. To help the soap unmold more quickly, we like to add 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils to the cooled lye water. 🙂
Read more about sodium lactate here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/sunday-night-spotlight-sodium-lactate/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I tried this one again this weekend with a bit of a change. I used the side of the cheese grater that works like a knife and got large slices of colored shreds and it shows up a lot better in the finished bar. I had more than I realized so I did two batches, one with Ultramarine Violet and the other with Nuclear Orange and they are both awesome! I don’t do facebook but check them out on youtube.com under theorgelmeister
That sounds amazing! I checked out the video and I love the way the longer pieces of soap look in the bottom. Very pretty. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I noticed it doesn’t mention insulating this batch. To cover or not to cover, that is my question. Love the look!
Hi Mary!
We left this soap uncovered at room temperature. If your house is fairly cool right now and you want the soap to gel, you can insulate it. 🙂
Read more about insulating soap in this post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/when-to-insulate-handmade-soap/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I really appreciate all the great ideas given here. Some are variations on my own, and a lot are brand new to me. I like to take old bars and chop them into blocks of various shapes and mix them into HP soap with a contrasting color, but I never thought of using shaved soap in cold process! I did one for the guys using the brambleberry silicone column mold (which I love) and did the inner ring with yellow and browns mixed in a light tan base and a solid black outer ring and I used soaps that did not turn out the way I expected so they did not go to waste. I am going to do a similar one with Spring colors for the gals, but I’m out of oils now.
Did you know your old soaps (even used bars too small to hold) can be used other ways? I would never use used soap to make new for other people, but used soaps make great laundry soap, I use mine to hand wash dishes with a little bit of bleach just in case (NEVER EVER use in the dishwasher!) and I washed the car this evening with 1/2 cup soap shreds dissolved in one gallon of hot tap water. Thanks for all the GREAT ideas here. The people I give my soaps to are under resourced so they probably can’t afford the luxury of pampering themselves with homemade soap and you all help accomplish that!! Thanks a million!
Hi James!
You’re very welcome! Thanks for sharing all your great ideas for using leftover soap scraps. It feels so amazing on the skin, we want to make sure none of it goes to waste. I will definitely have to try the soap for car wash, that sounds amazing. 🙂
This blog has some more great ideas: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/use-leftover-soap-scraps/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I was wondering, can you use makeup as colorants for the soap? Love all the recipes btw I can’t wait to make the banana cream pie from the book!!!
Hi Paula!
Because makeup is not intended to color soap, it may do some odd things in your batch, like morph, fade or bleed. It can also have additives that affect the soap. I would recommend using soap colorants, like micas or oxides! Read more about those colorants and how to use them here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/talk-it-out-tuesday-colorants/
Have fun making the Banana Cream Pie soap! If you get a picture of the final soap we’d love to see it on our Facebook page. 🙂
Bramble Berry Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrambleBerry/
Pure Soapmaking: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pure-Soap-Making-How-to-Create-Nourishing-Natural-Skin-Care-Soaps-P6298.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I’ve been making these for years, they are a lot of fun and its a great way to use soap pieces. It works great with either MP or CP, and you can use them in each other interchangeably. Depending on what the season is or what design I’m going for I will also add jojoba beads, chopped spearmint leaves, whatever I happen to have. I call mine “Frankensoap”.
I love the way leftover soap looks, and it’s great that none goes to waste! The jojoba beads and spearmint leaves sound like they’d make a pretty bar. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I thought your new book was Pure Soapmaking.
Whoops, great catch Anna! Sorry about any confusion. I updated the blog post. 🙂
Pure Soapmaking: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pure-Soap-Making-How-to-Create-Nourishing-Natural-Skin-Care-Soaps-P6298.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I’ve done similar confetti soaps too. Love it!
I thought you said you’ll be putting percentages in recipes recently. I really appreciate it when you do. Thanks! 🙂
So glad you love it Martina! Also, looks like we forgot the percentages, sorry about that. I’ll get those added. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
OK, I have to save my masculinity first. I’m not girly at all. I’m 6’3″, 200 pounds, fully bearded, hairy chested, deep voiced, I love country music: spit, clear my throat, etc. However, I still love this. I often use scraps suspended in thick soap like this, but I never thought to make a contrasting color on top. Most of the people I give my soap to are women and they would love this. I’ll make another masculine batch just for the guys. I love getting new ideas or improving my own ideas and I get most of them here and of course my supplies from Brambleberry.com. Soaping is my way to replace my old former habit of drinking. By the way, I also love Jack Daniels. OK, enough masculinity!! Thanks to you all!
Ha, so glad to hear you love this soap James! Everybody needs a little glitter in their life now and then. Also, we would love to see your masculine batch on our Facebook page if you get pictures. 🙂
Bramble Berry Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrambleBerry/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry