Apple Sage Fragrance Oil Archives

Layered Handmade Soap Kit & Tutorial

August 16, 2017 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

Layered soap is a classic design. Depending on the technique, creating layers can be easy or difficult. This recipe is made using a technique known as the “spoon plop.” The soap is plopped into the mold, which is easy to do and creates a completely different bar each time.

To make the process even easier, the Layered Handmade Soap Kit includes all the ingredients and tools necessary for this soap. It was designed with complete beginners in mind, and includes everything from oils and lye to a stick blender and safety gear. It also SHIPS FREE to the lower 48 United States. Learn more about the kit here.

Layered Handmade Soap Kit
Ingredients:
33 oz. Basic Quick Mix
10.9 oz. Distilled Water*
4.7 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
2 tsp. Sodium Lactate
2.4 oz. Apple Sage Fragrance Oil
1 tsp. Kelly Green Mica

Tools You’ll Need:
10” Silicone Loaf Mold
Mini Mixer
Pair of Goggles
Pair of Disposable Gloves
Stick Blender
2 Quart Glass Bowl
Easy Pour Container
8 oz. Glass Measuring Cup
Spatula
Whisk
Thermometer
Scale
Measuring Spoons*
Two Stainless Steel Spoons*
Non-Serrated Knife*

The * indicates items not included in the kit

In the video below, you can see the spoon plop technique in action. The great thing about the technique is how imprecise it is. By layering uneven plops of soap into the mold, each bar comes out unique.

Once you make the recipe, you can order the Original Refill Kit, which includes more oil, fragrance, and colorant to complete another batch. If you’d like to make a slightly different bar, the Lavender Refill Kit includes a different colorant and fragrance oil for a new look and scent.

If you’re looking to give cold process soap a try for the first time, check out the other all-in-one soap kits below. Each features different colors, fragrances, and techniques to suit your preference.

Exfoliating Handmade Soap Kit
Swirl Handmade Soap Kit

Layered Handmade Soap Kit & Tutorial

This layered soap is easy to make, and each bar looks completely unique!

Author: Soap Queen

Recipe type: Cold Process Soap

Serves: 2-3 pounds of soap

Ingredients

33 oz. Basic Quick Mix
10.9 oz. Distilled Water
4.7 oz. Sodium Hydroxide Lye
2 tsp. Sodium Lactate
2.4 oz. Apple Sage Fragrance Oil
1 tsp. Kelly Green Mica

Instructions

Lye prep: With your safety gear on, measure out 4.7 oz. of sodium hydroxide lye flakes in the 8 oz. Glass Measuring Cup. In one of the Easy Pour Containers, measure out 10.9 oz. of room temperature distilled water. Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir with the spoon until the lye has fully dissolved. Never add the water to the lye or it may boil over. As you stir, the mixture will emit fumes; do not breathe them in. The lye mixture will heat to about 180-190 ° F. Label the container “DANGER: LYE” and place in a safe space to cool until about 120-130 ° F. This takes about an hour. Wash and dry the 8 oz. Glass Measuring Cup to weigh out the fragrance and wash and dry the spoon to plop soap into the mold.

Oil prep: While the lye solution cools, prep the oils. Fully melt the entire bag of Basic Quick Mix in the microwave or in a double boiler. If melting the oils in a double boiler, do not let the bag touch the sides or bottom of the pot or it can melt. You’ll know the oils are melted when there are no chunks or cloudiness in the bag. Once the oils are completely melted, give the bag a good shake. Weigh 33 oz. into the 2 Quart Glass Bowl.

Fragrance prep: This kit includes 4 ounces of fragrance oil. If you like a medium to strong scent, weigh out 2.4 oz. of fragrance into the 8 oz. Glass Measuring Cup. If you prefer a lighter scent, weigh 1.3-2 oz. Undiluted fragrance oils can degrade plastic, so it’s important to use a glass container.

Color prep: Add 1 tsp. of the green colorant into the disposable cup. Then, take 1 Tbsp. of melted oil from the Basic Quick Mix and blend the two together with the Mini Mixer. Don’t prep the color too soon, otherwise the oils can thicken. You’ll want to prep and use the color within about 30 minutes.

Temperatures: Check the temperature of your lye solution and oils. You want the oils and lye to be 110-130° F. If you took off your safety goggles and gloves, place them back on. When your oils and lye are in the correct temperature range, carefully add 2 tsp. of sodium lactate to the lye solution and use the spoon to gently stir in. Wash off spoon immediately. Sodium lactate is a liquid salt that helps the soap harden and unmold faster

Suit Up for Safety! Once all your ingredients are prepped, it’s time to make soap! Before starting, put back on your safety goggles and gloves. Wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and close-toed shoes. It’s important to leave on your safety gear during the entire soaping process.

Slowly and carefully add the lye solution to the oils. Set the Easy Pour Container to the side to use again to hold soap. Don’t worry about cleaning it out. Pulse the stick blender on and off to begin blending the oils and lye together. Continue to pulse the stick blender for 15-20 seconds and use the stick blender to stir the mixture.
Once you start blending, the mixture will begin to look creamy. After about 1 minute of blending and stirring, the oils and lye are combined and the soap will be the texture of thin pudding.
Add the fragrance oil to the soap batter. Use your whisk to combine thoroughly.
Split half of the soap into the Easy Pour Container previously used for lye. To this container, add all of the dispersed green colorant and whisk in. It turns a mossy/army green at first, but don’t worry! It will turn bright green after 24 hours.
You now have a container of uncolored soap and a container of green soap. You want the soap to be slightly thick - it should look like cake batter. If it’s still the consistency of thin pudding, stick blend each container from lightest to darkest color for 5-10 seconds. The thicker texture allows you to get defined layers.
With one of spoons, place 3-4 large dollops of green soap in the mold. Then, place 3-4 dollops of uncolored soap on top of the green soap. Keep plopping green and uncolored soap into the mold in this pattern until it is used up. Every once in awhile, tap the mold on the counter to get rid of air bubbles. Vary the size of dollops to create interest.
When the mold is full, tap it firmly on the counter again to release bubbles. Then, take a spoon and start pulling soap toward the center to create peaks. You can also create swirls or divots with the spoon. There is no right way to do this, so have fun with it!
Once all the soap is in the mold, tap it on the counter to help get rid of bubbles. If you'd like the soap to go through gel phase, cover and insulate the soap for 24 hours.
Allow the soap to stay in the mold for 3-4 days. To remove, pull the sides of the mold away from the soap to break the airlock. Push from the bottom to remove the soap. Cut into bars, and allow the bars to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!

Horse Sculpted Layers Soap Tutorial

November 3, 2016 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

I’m constantly blown away by the talent and innovation in the soapmaking community. There are so many amazing ways to manipulate soap to create various effects. One of the most impressive techniques that I’ve seen in the past few years is the Sculpted Layers technique made popular by Claudia Carpenter of Om Nom Soap. When I first stumbled on Claudia’s Winter Wonderland Soap made with this technique, my first reaction was “HOW!?” I had never seen any soap quite like it before.

Claudia graciously shared her technique, which involves creating sturdy shapes that slide across the length of the mold to “sculpt” firm soap, leaving behind various shapes. The next layer is then poured on top, allowed to harden, and sculpted with the accompanying piece. Amy Warden of Great Cakes Soapworks hosted a Sculpted Layers challenge in June. The entries were amazing. It’s a bit of a tricky technique to describe, so I recommend watching this video by Love Is Sweet Shop, this video by Kapia Mera Soap Co, or this video by Earth’s Raw Beauty to see it in action.

If you watched the videos above, you already know this technique is quite advanced. Between making the sculpting pieces, prepping the ingredients, and waiting the correct amount of time to sculpt each layer, it’s a long process. My team and I (thanks Caitlin!) came up with a fairly simple horse design which only required two sculpting pieces and three layers. The horse head template is already sized to fit inside the Silicone Liner for 5 lb Wood Mold; just download and print! To help the horse silhouette really pop, I chose a deep black color against swirls of white, pink, blue and yellow soap. Apple Sage Fragrance Oil gives the bars a sweet scent, and works great for this project because it gives you plenty of time to swirl.

The only downside to this technique (in my opinion) is it does result in a lot of “extra” soap. The technique requires you to scrape away soap to leave behind a shape. This requires you to make a lot of soap that you ultimately remove from the mold. If you want to save the soap that is scraped away, I recommend having an extra mold nearby to plop the soap into. My bars made with the leftover soap weren’t the prettiest (rainbow swirls and black soap mushed together is an interesting look) but they were still wonderful bars of soap!

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Winter & Spring 2016 Fragrance Oil Blends

August 24, 2016 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Tips & Tricks

Did you know that with each Bramble Berry order, you receive a free .5 ounce sample of fragrance oil? The sample changes each month, and there is no minimum order required. With each Sample of the Month, we create fragrance oil blends and vote on our favorites. The key to a good blend is being able to smell various notes of each scent, rather than one fragrance oil dominating the other. If you want some tips on creating your own fragrance blends, check out this post.

In addition to fragrance blends, we create a project with each Sample of the Month. Below are the Sample of the Month blends and projects for the first half of 2016. There have been several new fragrances, including Pineapple Papaya Fragrance Oil and Apple Sage Fragrance Oil. If you still have one of your samples hanging around, check out the blends and projects below for a little inspiration! =)

Butter Mints Fragrance Blends (January 2016, click here to see the project)
2 parts Butter Mints Fragrance Oil
2 parts Smoldering Embers Fragrance Oil
1 part Sandalwood Vanilla Fragrance Oil

2 parts Butter Mints Fragrance Oil
1 part Warm Flannel Fragrance Oil
1 part Cinnamon Sugar Fragrance Oil

2 parts Butter Mints Fragrance Oil
1 part Moroccan Mint Fragrance Oil

3 parts Butter Mints Fragrance Oil
2 parts Pure Honey Fragrance Oil
1 part Almond Cybilla Fragrance Oil

2 parts Butter Mints Fragrance Oil
2 parts Espresso Fragrance Oil
1 part Turkish Mocha Fragrance Oil

Juicy Couture Fragrance Blends (February 2016, click here to see the project)
3 parts Bramble Berry’s Juicy Couture Type Fragrance Oil
1 part Sandalwood Vanilla Fragrance Oil
1 part Cedar and Saffron Fragrance Oil

3 parts Bramble Berry’s Juicy Couture Type Fragrance Oil
1 part Yacht Club Fragrance Oil

2 parts Bramble Berry’s Juicy Couture Type Fragrance Oil
1 part LoveSpell Type Fragrance Oil

3 parts Bramble Berry’s Juicy Couture Type Fragrance Oil
1 part Champagne Fragrance Oil
1 part Grapefruit Bellini Fragrance Oil

Green Fig Fragrance Blends (March 2016, click here to see the project)
2 parts Green Fig Fragrance Oil
1 part Spellbound Woods Cybilla Fragrance Oil
1 part Relaxing Fragrance Oil

2 parts Green Fig Fragrance Oil
1 part Rain Cybilla Fragrance Oil

1 part Green Fig Fragrance Oil
1 part White Tea and Ginger Fragrance Oil
1 part White Rose Fragrance Oil

2 parts Green Fig Fragrance Oil
1 part Pikake Flower Fragrance Oil

Bamboo Mint Fragrance Blends (April 2016, click here to see the project)
2 parts Bamboo Mint Fragrance Oil
1 part Crisp Anjou Pear Fragrance Oil

2 parts Bamboo Mint Fragrance Oil
1 part Crisp Apple Rose Fragrance Oil
1 part Baby Powder Fragrance Oil

3 parts Bamboo Mint Fragrance Oil
1 part Almond Cybilla Fragrance Oil

1 part Bamboo Mint Fragrance Oil
1 part Sea Moss Fragrance Oil

2 parts Bamboo Mint Fragrance Oil
1 part Clover and Aloe Fragrance Oil

Apple Sage Fragrance Blends (May 2016, click here to see the project)
1 part Apple Sage Fragrance Oil
1 part Lavender Fragrance Oil

3 parts Apple Sage Fragrance Oil
3 parts Southern Peach Fragrance Oil
1 part Smoldering Embers Fragrance Oil

2 parts Apple Sage Fragrance Oil
1 part Sensuous Sandalwood Fragrance Oil

2 parts Apple Sage Fragrance Oil
1 part Baby Rose Fragrance Oil

1 part Apple Sage Fragrance Oil
1 part Sunny Herb Garden Fragrance Oil
1 part Green Tea Fragrance Oil

Pineapple Papaya Fragrance Blends (June 2016, click here to see the project)
1 part Pineapple Papaya Fragrance Oil
2 parts Island Coconut Fragrance Oil

1 part Pineapple Papaya Fragrance Oil
1 part Blueberry Jam Fragrance Oil
1 part Yuzu Cybilla Fragrance Oil

1 part Pineapple Papaya Fragrance Oil
1 part Grapefruit Bellini Fragrance Oil

2 parts Pineapple Papaya Fragrance Oil
2 parts Fresh Mango Fragrance Oil
1 part Lime Fragrance Oil

3 parts Pineapple Papaya Fragrance Oil
1 part Grass Stain Fragrance Oil
1 part White Tea and Ginger Fragrance Oil

Which Sample of the Month has been your favorite so far this year? I enjoy them all, but Apple Sage Fragrance Oil is a new go-to for me!

Red Hanger Swirl Cold Process Tutorial

June 30, 2016 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Cold Process Soap

Red is bold and dramatic. It conveys a variety of feelings including love, anger, passion and courage. When brainstorming a soap design to represent the color red for #SoaptheRainbow, I wanted it to be bold and daring. I decided on a hanger swirl design with a vibrant shade of red paired with black and white. It’s scented with a combination of Apple Sage Fragrance Oil and Yacht Club Fragrance Oil for a blend that’s fruity with hints of musk.

The technique in this tutorial uses a bent hanger to swirl the soap. In this case I used the Hanger Swirl Tool, which is bent to fit inside the mold lengthwise. First, the black, white and red soap are carefully layered on top of each other. Then, the Hanger Swirl Tool is pushed up and down within the soap to swirl the layers. This technique can be modified in many ways depending on how you layer the soap and move the Hanger Swirl Tool. For example, the Butterfly Swirl made famous by Zahida of Handmade in Florida is a modified version of the hanger swirl technique. Click here to see Zahida’s Butterfly Swirl in action.

Red is a bit of a tricky color to achieve in cold process soap. When you add red colorants to a white batter, they tend to take on a pink shade. To create the vibrant red in this soap, I used a combination of Magenta Mica, Merlot Sparkle Mica and Sunset Orange Mica. On its own, Magenta Mica has a pink shade. The Merlot Sparkle Mica deepens the color, and the Sunset Orange Mica helps get rid of the pink hue. To see more red shades in cold process soap, check out the Quest for the “Perfect Red” in Cold Process Soap post.

Don’t forget to keep sharing your #SoaptheRainbow red photos until Sunday! I will be choosing my favorite red photos on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. The winners will be posted on the Bramble Berry Instagram account, and will win a $10 Bramble Berry gift certificate. There is also a Grand Prize worth more than $250 of Bramble Berry goodies. Click here to enter. But wait, there’s more!

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New Products at Bramble Berry!

June 29, 2016 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

The team and I have been busy sourcing new products at Bramble Berry. Before each product is brought in, it’s thoroughly tested in a wide variety of applications to ensure the highest quality. Below are some of the newest items. Have you tried any of them yet? To keep up to date with new items, you can always click the “What’s New” button on the Bramble Berry homepage. It’s directly to the right of the search bar. =)

Top left, clockwise: Raspberry Mica, Buttercup Mica, Magenta Mica, Blue Slushy Mica

New colorants offer a variety of new design possibilities. We’ve been busy testing micas, and decided on the Buttercup Mica, Magenta Mica, Raspberry Mica and Blue Slushy Mica. All four colorants work wonderfully in cold process soap without morphing or fading. I recently used the Magenta Mica in the Watermelon Cold Process Tutorial for a reddish-pink hue. Which colorant is your favorite?

If you’re looking for a fruity scent for summer projects, the new Pineapple Papaya Fragrance Oil will be a new favorite. Slightly sweeter than Pineapple Cilantro Fragrance Oil, the new Pineapple Papaya features more melon notes. It smells just like a tropical vacation! Click here to get some blend ideas using the new fragrance, as well as a fun bath bomb recipe.

The new Pineapple Papaya Fragrance Oil smells tropical, sweet and absolutely delicious!

The new Apple Sage Fragrance Oil is another fruity scent that’s sure to please. Great for summer, it will be suitable for fall as well. It features notes of juicy apples, coconut water and an earthy base. It also behaves wonderfully in cold process soap with no discoloration. In the Apple & Sage Salt Scrub DIY, Apple Sage Fragrance Oil is used with various green micas for a layered look.

The Apple Sage Fragrance Oil is used in the Apple & Sage Salt Scrub.

If you’re not a fan of sweet and fruity, the new Green Smoothie Fragrance Oil may be right up your alley. It’s a crisp green scent with notes of fresh cut kale and delicate florals. It really does smell like healthy green smoothies! It accelerates quickly in cold process soap and has no discoloration. It would be the prefect fragrance for gardeners soap.

Green Smoothie Fragrance Oil smells just like freshly cut kale.

In addition to colorants and fragrances, we have been busy testing exfoliants. We have four new types of sea salt: Black Sea Salt -Fine, Black Sea Salt – Coarse, Kauai Red Sea Salt – Fine, Kauai Red Sea Salt – Coarse. Both types of salt are from the Pacific Ocean. The Black Sea Salt (fine and coarse) is coated with activated charcoal from Hawaiian coconuts. The Kauai Red Sea Salt (fine and coarse) is coated with Kauaian red alaea clay.

Top left, clockwise: Black Sea Salt – Coarse, Black Sea Salt -Fine, Kauai Red Sea Salt – Coarse, Kauai Red Sea Salt -Fine

To celebrate summer and Shark Week, we brought in two types of mini aquatic toys: Toy Fish and Toy Sharks. The sharks are so popular they are already sold out, but more are coming soon! They were used in the Shark Week Melt & Pour Tutorial along with white and blue soap to create the look of waves. I can’t wait to make a project with the little Toy Fish!

Left to right: Toy Sharks, Toy Fish

For cold process soapers, the new Organic Cocoa Butter Cubes are sure to be a new favorite. The cube shape is easy to handle and melt. This cocoa butter has a strong, chocolate-like aroma. In addition to soap, it is wonderful in lip products, balms and more. I can’t wait for you to get your hands on it! In addition, we introduced Ultra Refined Lanolin. Lanolin is a wax-like butter produced from sheep wool. It’s commonly used in balms, lip products and cold process soap.

Left to right: Organic Cocoa Butter Cubes, Ultra Refined Lanolin

What new product are you most excited about? To stay up to date with new products, sign up for the Bramble Berry newsletter!

Apple & Sage Salt Scrub DIY

May 17, 2016 Filed Under: Bath & Body Tutorials, Soaks & Scrubs

With summer quickly approaching, now is the perfect time to prep your skin for swimsuits and tank tops. Scrubs help get rid of dry winter skin. They also help moisturizer absorb, leaving your skin soft and smooth. Handmade scrubs are even better because you can customize the ingredients and create a fun design, like the green and white layers in this Apple Sage Salt Scrub.

The recipe features the new Apple Sage Fragrance Oil, which has notes of juicy apple, sage, pineapple and coconut water. It’s a perfect blend of sweet and herby. Evergreen Mica and Apple Moss Green Mica complement the fresh notes in the fragrance. The scrub also has Epsom salt, avocado oil and Stephenson Organic Liquid Castile Soap for a cleansing, gently exfoliating texture that also moisturizes the skin.

This scrub works great for the body. In our tests, we found the micas wash off and don’t stay on the skin. Epsom salt is finely grained, so the recipe may be gentle enough for the face. If you have sensitive skin, you may prefer to use it on the body only. Because the scrub will be applied near the nose, you may want to decrease the fragrance amount so it’s not as strong.

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Find the supplies you need for this project below