We’re delighted to announce all of our fragrance oils are now phthalate free. After hearing concerns from customers, we decided to reformulate around 300 scents. It took 4 years and hundreds of tests to ensure the fragrances still smell great and perform well in cold process soap. Learn more about the process below.

What are phthalates
Phthalates are a group of chemicals used in products like toys, detergents, nail polish, and hair spray. They’re used to make products more flexible and harder to break.

They’re added to fragrance oils for a few reasons. Certain aroma chemicals come in powder form, so a phthalate like diethylphthalate (DEP) is used to convert them into a liquid. That helps the fragrance blend better and burn more easily in candles. DEP is also a fixative, which makes scent last longer in perfume, soap, and lotion. Learn more about how fragrances are made in this post.

Why did we remove them
We started getting emails, calls, and social media comments from customers about phthalates. They were concerned about potential health effects and wanted to know if we could remove them. Because it’s important to our customers, we decided to reformulate all our fragrance oils.

To learn more about phthalates, check out this article by the FDA and this one by the CDC.

The reformulation process
The first step was generating a list of all our fragrances with phthalates, then contacting the vendors about reformulating them. Once we got the reformulations, we had to test them. Bramble Berry Research and Development Manager Caitlin said we did hundreds of tests to get the fragrances just right.

We wanted to make sure the reformulations smelled the same as the originals and that they stayed strong in cold process soap after 6 weeks of curing. Because DEP is a fixative, removing it sometimes caused the scents to fade.

“The vendors resubmitted the same fragrances 3-4 times on some of them,” Caitlin said.

Once she had test bars she was happy with, Caitlin had everyone in the office smell them a few different times over a few different days. Scent is a complex thing. If 2 bars are exactly the same but you smell them back to back, the second one won’t smell as strong. Caitlin also made sure not to share her opinion of the reformulation, as that can affect the results. If you say, “This soap smells like chocolate,” and hand it to a friend, they’re more likely to pick up the chocolate notes based on your suggestion.

Once everyone smelled the test bars at least 3 separate times and they were happy with the results, we brought the fragrances in. The project took about 4 years because of the complexity and number of fragrances. Cold Water was the last reformulation.

“I was so excited to send the email about Cold Water being phthalate free,” Caitlin said. “It was a good feeling.”

Find all our phthalate-free fragrance oils here. They can be used in handmade soap, lotion, bath bombs, and more.

The post We Heard You: Phthalate-Free Fragrance Oils appeared first on Soap Queen.

We have new items that are sure to inspire your summer projects. The Seascape Collection features crisp scents, natural exfoliants, and beautiful shades of blue. Shop all the new products here.

Pacific Pearl Fragrance Oil
As soon as you smell this bright and uplifting scent you’ll want to add it to all of your DIY bath products.

Sea Salt Fragrance Oil
The notes of seaweed and cucumber in this unique scent will remind you of a morning walk on the beach.

Coastal Rain Fragrance Oil
The mix of ocean mist, Argentina lemon, and white tea in this scent is hard to beat.

Midnight Waters Fragrance Oil
If you love deep and complex scents, pick this one up. It has notes of orange, lilies, and deep sea water.

Seascape Fragrance Collection
Keep the creativity flowing and try all four new water-inspired scents.

Pumice Sand
This powerful exfoliant will leave your skin feeling fresh and clean. Try it in DIY soap and scrubs.

Icelandic Black Sand
This product comes from the South Coast of Iceland. It has a beautiful natural color and mild exfoliation.

Pearl Powder
Set your recipes apart with pearl powder. It’s packed with nutrients like calcium and minerals.

Jagua Blue Extract
This colorant creates a stunning midnight blue shade in DIY bath products.

Seaweed Extract
This ultra-hydrating extract is ideal for all skin types. Try it in your soap, lotion, or facial skincare.

Sugar Pearls
Sprinkle a few of these cute pearls on top of DIY bath products.

White Foam Pump Bottle and Clear Foam Pump Bottle
This must-have product gives liquid soap a light and foamy texture.

Sea Sponges
These sponges are the perfect addition to handmade soap. They create amazing lather.

Pearl Bath Bomb Kit
Create adorable bath bombs with this kit, which comes with supplies and printed instructions.

Foaming Liquid Soap Kit
You only need a few ingredients to create this fun foaming soap.

Full Seascape Collection
Add all of the new Seascape items into your Bramble Berry cart. They can be used in handmade products like soap, lotion, and bath bombs. With this collection you can try one of each.

We can’t wait to see all the fresh designs you create with this collection. Share using the tag #BrambleOn.

The post Introducing the Seascape Collection appeared first on Soap Queen.

Have you ever started to make a batch of soap and realized you didn’t know how much fragrance or essential oil to use? Trying to figure out how much scent to add used to be a bit of an experimental process, and it didn’t always turn out so well. It’s frustrating to add too much of an expensive essential oil or not enough fragrance oil and end up with a beautiful but unscented bar of soap. Knowing how much to add can save you both time and money.

One of the best features on the Bramble Berry site is the Fragrance Calculator. It’s a handy tool that takes the guesswork out of soaping and gives you complete control over your recipes. Read on to learn how to make the Fragrance Calculator work for you.

ONE: Find the Bramble Berry Fragrance Calculator here. You can also find it near the bottom of the website in the pink area pictured. The calculator has options for lotion, liquid soap, cold process soap, melt and pour soap, salts and scrubs, rebatch soap, candles, and shampoo and conditioner.

TWO: Start by typing in the fragrance you’re using and then click “Next.” In this example we’re using Moonstone Fragrance Oil.

THREE: Select what you’re making, the weight, and the unit of measurement. When making cold process, enter the total weight of your soap, including oils, liquid, and lye. Our example is 16 ounces of cold process soap. Click “Next.”

FOUR: The results section gives you the recommendations for a light, medium, or strong scent in ounces and grams. You can change the scent, project, or weight by clicking the “Edit” buttons next to them. At the bottom there are options to buy the oil, print the recipe, or start over. 

Finding out how much fragrance or essential oil you need is really that simple. You can also use the calculator to create custom blends – this post talks about how to blend fragrance oils, and this post talks about how to blend essential oils. You can also follow the general recommended amounts for various products below. They are medium strength.

Essential Oils:
Cold Process Soap: 0.7 ounces per pound
Melt and Pour Soap: 0.3 ounces per pound
Rebatch Soap: 0.4 ounces per pound
Lotion: 0.2 ounces per pound
Liquid Soap: 0.2 ounces per pound
Salts and Scrubs: 0.3 ounces per pound
Candles: 0.8 ounces per pound
Shampoo and Conditioner: 0.2 ounces per pound

Fragrance Oils:
Cold Process Soap: 0.7 ounces per pound
Melt and Pour Soap: 0.3 ounces per pound
Rebatch Soap: 0.4 ounces per pound
Lotion: 0.2 ounces per pound
Liquid Soap: 0.2 ounces per pound
Salts and Scrubs: 0.3 ounces per pound
Candles: 0.8 ounces per pound
Shampoo and Conditioner: 0.2 ounces per pound

Some fragrance and essential oils are light or exceedingly strong in soap, so you can always use a little more or a little less to your preference. For instance, English Rose Fragrance Oil is very strong, so you don’t need to use a full 0.7 ounces per pound of soap to get a strong scent. Always adjust to your personal nose and fragrance preference.

The post Using the Bramble Berry Fragrance Calculator appeared first on Soap Queen.

When fragrance oils are added to the high pH environment of cold process soap batter, interesting things can happen. Fragrance oils have the potential to cause ricing, acceleration and even separation. That’s why it’s important to only use fragrance oils that have been tested in cold process soap. Bramble Berry has an extremely thorough testing process to make sure all our fragrance oils behave well. We only bring in the best of the best!

Acceleration is perhaps the most common issue caused by fragrance oils in soap. Acceleration is when the soap batter thickens more quickly than usual. Sometimes acceleration can be quite extreme, or it can be a slight. Depending on the design of your soap, acceleration can be a good or bad thing. If your soap requires a thick trace, an accelerating fragrance oil can be helpful. If the design requires lots of time to work in order to create swirls, an accelerating fragrance oil can be a huge problem.

Non-accelerating fragrance oils are important for creating swirl techniques, like in the Red Hanger Swirl Cold Process Soap Tutorial. 

If you’re looking for a non-accelerating fragrance oil, check out the list below! According to our tests, these fragrance oils will not cause your soap to accelerate. That being said, keep in mind other things can lead to acceleration, including the oils in your recipe, temperatures and additives. Learn more about how to manipulate the trace of your soap and avoid acceleration in this post.

Non-Accelerating Bramble Berry Fragrance Oils

• Almond Biscotti
• Almond Cybilla
• Amber
• Ancient Sedona
• Apple Sage
• Apple Macintosh Candle & Soap
• Apricot Freesia
• Autumn Fig Harvest
• Baby Powder
• Bay Rum
• Beach Breezes
• Beau Brummel Cybilla
• Berrywine
• Black Amber & Lavender
• Black Raspberry Vanilla
• Black Tea
• Blackberry Cybilla
• Blackberry Sage Cybilla
• Blue Man
• Blueberry
• Blueberry Jam
• Burnt Sugar
• Butter Mints
• Butter Cream and Snickerdoodle
• Chai Tea Cybilla
• Chamomile Bergamot
• Chamomile Cybilla
• Champagne
• Chocolate and Amber
• Christmas Tree Cybilla
• Christmas Forest
• Cinnamon Sugar
• Clementine Cupcake
• Clover and Aloe
• Coconut Citrus Sorbet
• Coconut Cream
• Coconut Cybilla
• Coconut Mango
• Cranberry Chutney
• Cranberry Fig
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• Creamsicle Cybilla
• Crisp Anjou Pear
• Crisp Apple Rose
• Crisp Cotton
• Cucumber Kiwi Fragrance Oil
• Cucumber Melon Candle and Soap
• Cucumber Melon Cybilla
• Cucumber Melon
• Dogwood and Ginger Blossom
• Drakkar Type
• Electric Lemonade Cocktail
• Energy
• Espresso
• Frankincense and Myrrh Cybilla
• French Vanilla Candle and Soap
• Fresh Mango
• Fresh Snow
  
• Fresh Zucchini Flower
• Ginger Ale
• Gingersnap
• Grapefruit Bellini
• Grass Stain
• Green Fig
• Green Tea
• Green Tea & Cucumber
• Hazelnut Toffee
• Hello Sweet Thang
• Holiday Candy
• Honey Ale
• Honey Beeswax
• Hot Cocoa
• Indian Sandalwood Cybilla
• Island Coconut
• Juniper Sage
• Key Lime Tart
• Kumquat
• Lavender and Herb
• Lavender Bouquet Cybilla
• Lavender Candle and Soap
• Lavender Chamomile Huggies Type
• Lavender Forest
• Lavender
• Lavender Green Tea
• Leather
• Lemon Cake
• Lemongrass Sage Candle and Soap
• Lily of the Valley Cybilla
• Lime
• Lovespell Type
• Lychee Red Tea
• Mahogany
• Mango Mango
• Mayan Gold
• Milk & Honey Candle and Soap
• Mint Chocolate Chip
• Moroccan Mint
• Nag Champa
• Neroli & Shea Blossom
• Neroli
• Oatmeal Milk and Honey
• Oatmeal Stout
• Orange Grove
• Orange Peel Cybilla
• Patchouli
• Pepperberry
• Pikake Flower
• Pineapple Cilantro
• Pink Grapefuit
• Pomegranate and Black Currant
• Pumpkin and Brown Sugar
• Pumpkin Pie Candle and Soap
• Pumpkin Souffle
• Pure Honey
• Red Berry Rhubarb
• Rejuvenating Eucalyptus
• Relaxing
• Rise & Shine
• Rosehip Jasmine
• Rustic Woods and Rum
• Sage and Lemongrass
• Santa’s Spruce
• Sensuous Sandalwood
• Shave and a Haircut
• Sleigh Ride
• Smoky Patchouli
• Spearmint Eucalyptus
• Spellbound Woods Cybilla
• Spiced Amber Ale
• Strawberry
• Sugar Plum Fairy
• Summer Melon Spritzer
• Sunny Herb Garden
• Sweet Pea
• Tobacco & Bay Leaf
• Tomato Leaf
• Tropical Punch
• Tropical Vacation
• Turkish Mocha
• Vanilla Bean Candle & Soap
• Vanilla Rosewood
• Vanilla Select
• Vanilla Vanilla Cybilla
• Vanilla Tahitian
• Vetyver Type
• Warm Flannel
• Warm Vanilla Sugar Candle & Soap
• Warm Vanilla Sugar Cybilla
• Wasabi
• Watermelon
• White Ginger & Amber Cybilla Fragrance Oil
• White Tea & Ginger Candle & Soap
• White, Tea & Ginger
• Wildflower Honey
• Woodland Elves
• Yacht Club
• Yuzu Cybilla

Do you have a favorite well-behaving fragrance oil? When I’m making a complicated swirled recipe, some of my go-tos are Energy, Blackberry Sage Cybilla, Tobacco & Bay Leaf and Yuzu.

The post Complete List of Non-Accelerating Fragrance Oils appeared first on Soap Queen.

I introduced these four fragrances LIVE on Thursday. I gave my color palette suggestions as well as related product ideas. You can watch that 28 minute video here. These four fragrance oils were chosen out of hundreds of fall scents. We tested each fragrance in several different batches of cold process soap, to make sure they are tried-and-true and didn’t perform poorly. We found that all of these fragrances behaved awesome in cold process soap, with only some mild acceleration. Read more about each fragrance oil below.

Honey & Leather Fragrance Oil: Mild acceleration, discolors to ivory. 
Top Notes: juicy nectarine, bergamot
Middle Notes: honey, orchid, jasmine
Base Notes: leather, cedarwood

Cinnamon Sticks Fragrance Oil: Mild acceleration, discolors brown. Some of the “bready” notes fade in cold process soap.
Top Notes: butter, sweet icing, warm baked bread
Middle Notes: cinnamon, clove, anise, cardamom, ginger
Base Notes: vanilla bean, brown sugar, maple

Warm Flannel Fragrance Oil: Behaves wonderfully in cold process soap, discolors to dark brown. 
Top Notes: simple citrus accord of bergamot and orange
Middle Notes: sweet nutmeg atop vanilla orchid accord
Base Notes: cedar, patchouli and creamy sandalwood blended with a balsamic ambery background

Rustic Woods and Rum Fragrance Oil: Behaves wonderfully in cold process, discolors to a light brown. 
Top Notes: white citrus, ginger
Middle Notes: hay, cinnamon
Base Notes: rum, birch, tobacco

I was so inspired by these new fragrances that I created Pinterest boards for each, along with a custom color palette. You can find all the boards on my Pinterest page. If you make projects with these fragrances, I would love to see them. Share them on the Bramble Berry Facebook page and on Instagram with the hashtag #SoapShare. I can’t wait to see your projects! 

The post Introducing the Rustic Fragrance Collection appeared first on Soap Queen.

How much fragrance or essential oil used in the recipe plays a big role in scent retention. For a strong scent, with regulations taken into account, you can add .8 ounces of fragrance or essential oil per pound of cold process soap. For melt and pour, you can add .25 ounces of essential oil per pound, or .5 ounces of fragrance oil. This number will vary based on the scent selection. For instance, Almond Fragrance Oil is on the stronger side. Just .16 ounces per pound of cold process soap will provide a hefty scent. To find out exactly how much to add to the recipe, check out Bramble Berry’s Fragrance Calculator. Find out how to use the calculator here.

The Bramble Berry Fragrance Calculator amounts are based on safety guidelines created by IFRA (International Fragrance Association) and RIFM (Research Institute for Fragrance Materials).  Each fragrance and essential oil have a maximum usage rate that is deemed safe for bath and beauty products. The “strong,” amount of fragrance recommended by the calculator is based on this maximum usage rate recommended by IFRA and RIFM. Using more than this amount can cause skin irritation.

Even with the highest scent recommendation, some scents don’t make it through cold process soap making. Cold process is a harsh environment, as it goes through several pH changes. Coconut scents, like Coconut Cybilla Fragrance Oil, can be very light in cold process soap. This is also the case for citrus essential oils, like Lemon Essential Oil and Orange Valencia Essential Oil. Still want a coconut or orange scent that lasts? You can use Coconut Cream Fragrance Oil or 10X Orange Fragrance Oil. Check out the tutorials using those fragrances below.

Left to right: Juicy Orange and Sweet Rose Cold Process Soap, Coconut Cream Pie Cold Process Soap

Don’t give up on citrus or coconut scents just yet! They work great in melt and pour soap and other bath products, like the Coconut Oil and Pink Salt Scrub. That tutorial uses Island Coconut Fragrance Oil and Lime Fragrance Oil. You can also anchor light scents. That involves pairing them with a deeper, earthier or more complex scent to “anchor” the fragrance in soap. Some examples of anchoring scents include Amber Fragrance Oil, Patchouli Essential Oil and Sensuous Sandalwood Fragrance Oil. In the Lime in the Coconut Milk Cold Process Soap, Lime Distilled Essential Oil was paired with earthy Coconut Lemongrass Fragrance Oil to help it stick.

This Lime in the Coconut Milk Cold Process Soap uses earthy lemongrass to anchor the lime scent.

Some soapers like to use kaolin clay in their soap to help hold scent. While we haven’t done a lot of scent testing with kaolin clay, we have found it adds a nice “slip” and subtle color to soap. Kaolin clay was used in the Sea Clay Swirl Cold Process Soap. To add it to your soap, mix 1 tsp. of clay in 1 Tbsp. of distilled water beforehand. That helps it disperse evenly. It also prevents clumping and acceleration, as clays tend to absorb moisture. Read more in the Sunday Night Spotlight: Brazilian Clay.

Kaolin clay gives the Sea Clay Swirl Cold Process Soap a subtle white color.

Temperature is another factor to consider when soaping. Each fragrance and essential oil has a flash point, which is the temperature at which, under certain circumstances, the liquid in question can ignite with a flame. This means the liquid needs to be at the flash point temperature and come in contact with an open flame. Some people believe if a scent is heated to the flash point temperature in recipes, it can cause the fragrance to fade.

We haven’t noticed substantial scent fading at higher temperatures, but it is something to take into consideration. If you’re using a low flash point scent, you may want to avoid gelling the soap. During gel phase, soap can get as hot as 180 ° F. Read more about gel phase here. It may be something to consider when making hot process soap as well, as the soap temperatures are typically around 160 ° F or hotter.

Some soapers only use medium or high flash point oils when making hot process soap, like the Marbled Clay Hot Process Soap.

To ensure the scent stays strong during the cure, store it in a cool, dry place that’s not in direct sunlight. Learn more about storing your products here. You can also dip a cotton ball or balled up paper towel in the fragrance or essential oil and place it by the soap while it’s curing. That is thought to help the soap “absorb” some of the scent as it cures. Just remember that fragrance oils and plastic do not get along, so be sure your cotton ball is not sitting on a plastic surface. Click here to read more about how plastic and undiluted fragrance oils don’t mix.

Storing your soap in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight can help that scent stick.

For the best scent retention, make sure the fragrance or essential oil you’re using has been tested thoroughly and is approved for use in soap. We test all of our scents and include performance notes in the essential oil and fragrance oil descriptions.

Do you have any tricks for making scent last? Personally, I like to scent my soap recipes on the stronger side to ensure my fragrance really comes through. 

The post How to Prevent Scent Fading in Soap appeared first on Soap Queen.

Vanilla discoloration is a natural occurrence. Fragrances containing vanilla notes are created with a component called vanillin, which is the primary component of the extract of vanilla bean. Vanillin is the organic compound that gives vanilla its flavor, and is widely used in fragrances to impart gourmand sweetness. The chemical nature of vanillin leads it to cause a darkening or browning, especially of white products. This effect also occurs with natural vanilla extract.  The higher the level of vanillin within the fragrance oil, the more darkening will occur. Even fragrances with a small amount of vanillin content of .4% (such as Almond Fragrance Oil) will still cause slight discoloration.

Fragrance discoloration becomes noticeable in cold process soap within the first 24-48 hours. When soap begins to discolor, you may notice a darker ring of color on the outside of the soap. Vanilla discoloration is accelerated by light and air, known as oxidation. Once the soap is cut and light/air is able to reach the center, the discoloration will rapidly progress throughout the soap. The photo below is an example of the beginnings of vanilla discoloration starting from the outside, and working towards the center. (Bonus technical information: that crack at the very top of the soap that is barely detectible? That’s from heat. Soap that gets too hot expands and can crack down the middle.)

Vanilla discoloration is accelerated by contact with light and air. It is common to notice the discoloration on the outside of the soap first. Eventually, the discoloration will occur throughout the soap. 

There are stabilizers for vanillin, such as the Vanilla Color Stabilizer for melt and pour, however they only delay the inevitable. Using a white colorant such as Titanium Dioxide can lighten discoloration, but eventually the soap will still darken over time. To learn more about vanilla discoloration, along with a list of fragrances containing vanillin, click here.

Because of the deep brown color vanilla can cause, choosing the right fragrance oil is critical to your soap design. To help make the process of selecting fragrance oils easier, the most popular Bramble Berry fragrance oils were tested for fragrance discoloration. The soap was then documented two weeks and one month later. It’s so interesting to see the colors change over time! To help compare to unscented soap, a “control” was poured in the top left corner of the tray.

As you can see, some fragrance oils have an immediate effect on the color of the soap. Notice the Almond Biscotti Fragrance Oil and Dragon’s Blood Fragrance Oil; both have already started to change the color of the fresh soap batter.

Best Selling Bramble Berry Fragrance Oils

Best Selling Bramble Berry Fragrance Oils, Two Weeks Later

After two weeks, the vanilla discoloration is well under way. Keep in mind, some of these samples (ie: Relaxing Fragrance Oil) have a small amount of soda ash, which makes the color appear slightly lighter. Click here to read more about soda ash.

Best Selling Bramble Berry Fragrance Oils, One Month Later (Turned Over)

After one month, the soap is fully discolored. It will no longer continue to darken. The samples below have been turned over to show the discoloration without soda ash. Look how dark the Relaxing Fragrance Oil and Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil have become! The Pumpkin Spice will eventually go entirely brown as it is fully exposed to air.

If you are planning a soap with lots of bright colors, look for a fragrance oil with minimum discoloration. You can use fragrance oil discoloration to your advantage. You just need to plan your design accordingly! In the Vertical Sandalwood Vanilla with a Twist uses Sandalwood Vanilla Fragrance Oil, which discolors to a deep brown soap. The entire batch is fragranced, while half the batch is lightened with Super Pearly White Mica. The result is two brown hues; the deep brown looks fantastic against the light brown color.

Another beautiful example of fragrance discoloration is the Espresso Shot Cold Process. The discoloration from the Espresso Fragrance Oil along with Brown Oxide creates a striking stripe down the center of the soap. Coffee grounds give the bar exfoliation as well. The result is a bar with striking contrast and plenty of texture.

Have you ever used fragrance discoloration to your advantage? I would love to see photos on Instagram, and the Bramble Berry Facebook page! 

The post Best Selling Bramble Berry Fragrance Oils + Discoloration appeared first on Soap Queen.

Winter 2014 S.O.A.P. Panel

Lisa of Village Soap Works
Lena of Lena Jeanne Cosmetics
Stacey of Star Hitched Wagon
Donna of Cherry Tree Lane Soap Company
Nicole of Stargazer Soaps
Heather of Fatty’s Soap Co. 
Carl of Rustic Oak Soapworks
Jerralyn of Butterfly Dreams Co. 

Top Row, left to right: Cherry Tree Lane Soap Company, Lena Jeanne Cosmetics
Bottom Row, left to right: Rustic Oak Soapworks, Butterfly Dreams Co. 

Top row, left to right: Fatty’s Soap Co., Stargazer Soaps
Bottom row, left to right: Village Soap Works, Star Hitched Wagon

Soon the panelists will be receiving their eight mystery fragrances to test and share their opinions on. Earlier in the week, we gathered the opinions from the Fall 2014 S.O.A.P. Panel, and are excited to bring in three new fragrances!

The first fragrance features notes of grapefruit, peach and bright citrus scents. The second is an earthy scent, with hints of warm rose and sandalwood. The third fragrance features notes of tropical pineapple, coconut and papaya. I can’t wait for you to try them all! Expect to see these fragrances in several weeks.

Below is a collection of videos and blog posts created by the Fall 2014 S.O.A.P. Panel regarding their first impressions of the fragrances, along with testing notes. Thanks so much to everybody who participated in the panel! All your diligent testing, social media updates and honest feedback is so appreciated.

Blog Posts by Soapy Starfish
S.O.A.P.Y. 1st Impressions
S.O.A.P. Update 1 Week Later

Blog Posts by Ladybee Soaps
First Impressions
S.O.A.P. Panel Results Part 1
S.O.A.P. Panel Results Part 2

Twootie Tarte’s First Impressions
The Little Bubble First Impressions

Below, Amanda from Butterfly Butters and Amy from Nelson Farms shared their first impressions via YouTube. It was so fun to watch these videos and hear what the panelists had to say after their first whiff of each mystery fragrance.

The post Winter 2014 S.O.A.P. Panelists + Fall S.O.A.P. Panel Outcome appeared first on Soap Queen.

Each member of the panel will receive eight 1 oz. bottles of fragrance oil. These fragrances can be tested in cold process, melt and pour, lotions or other bath and body products. To keep opinions unbiased, the fragrances will not have names, but instead will be labeled with a number. Not knowing the name is part of the fun!

At the end of the testing and reviewing process, each S.O.A.P. Panel member will fill out a survey regarding the fragrances. We then review this survey, and choose the very best fragrances to add to our line. While not a requirement, many S.O.A.P. (aka: Soap Opinion Awesome Panel) members share their opinions and test results on their blog, Facebook pages or other social media outlets. We love hearing your honest opinions regarding the fragrances, so an ideal member of the panel won’t hold their feelings back!

Previous S.O.A.P. panel fragrance winners were: Mandarin Oasis Fragrance Oil, Mahogany Fragrance Oil, Autumn Fig Harvest Fragrance Oil, Lavender and Cedar Fragrance Oil, and Heavenly Honeysuckle Fragrance Oil.

Note: S.O.A.P. Panel members have about 7 weeks to test the fragrances. Please make sure you will be able to commit to testing all fragrances before entering. Because these fragrances can’t ship internationally, we are not able accept international entries.

This old post is a great example of what previous S.O.A.P. panel members have done for testing, blogging and tweeting. If you’d like to see more examples of how S.O.A.P. Panel members have shared their opinions and test results, check out the links below!

• Costa Productions: SOAP Panel Testing
• I’d Rather Be Soaping: Testing SOAP Panel Mystery Scents!
• Rustic Relevance: SOAP Panel Fragrance Review
• Presque Isle Soap Co: Soap Panel

Want to join in the fun? Entering is easy!

To Enter:

• Tweet, Facebook, Pin, Instagram or blog about your favorite Bramble Berry product (including the links) and why you should be selected for the S.O.A.P. team.
• Comment on this blog post, with links to your social media updates.
• The last day to enter is August 28th. You can still post about your favorite BB product, but you won’t be considered for the panel!
• S.O.A.P. Panel will be announced by September 5th and samples will be sent out by September 10th.
• Completed surveys need to be returned by November 3rd. 

  Ready, Set … Apply! =)

The post Searching for a New S.O.A.P. Panel! appeared first on Soap Queen.

Undiluted fragrance and essential oils can deteriorate some plastic surfaces, such as containers and molds. To avoid this, store fragrance and essential oils in glass containers. Of course, certain plastics can be used to store fragrance oils for a short amount of time. The container should be made of a chemical resistant plastic (HDPE is an example). At Bramble Berry, if you order 5 pounds or more of a fragrance or essential oil you will probably get it in a plastic pouch or drum. This saves immensely on shipping due to the lighter weight of the container. But if you aren’t going to use up that fragrance within a few weeks, we recommend transferring the oil to glass containers.

Orange Valencia Essential Oil took about 7 minutes to disintegrate the disposable plastic cup below.

This is a great example of why it’s important to quickly clean up any fragrance or essential oil spills on your counter or work space. If a fragrance or essential oil bottle breaks, place the aroma oil into a glass container, rather than plastic. Mason jars work great.

While this example of plastic deterioration is extreme, similar effects are seen when straight fragrance oil or essential oil is placed onto a plastic mold. Shown below, is an example of a plastic mold that came in contact with undiluted fragrance oil. Notice the plastic has begun to degrade.

Another way to prevent plastic mold damage is to ensure your fragrance and essential oils are fully mixed into the product. If the oil forms a pocket, it could begin to degrade the plastic mold or container. Using a whisk is a great way to fully incorporate the fragrance for both melt and pour and cold process, without accelerating trace.

So you may be wondering, if fragrances and essential oils do this to plastic, what’s it going to do when I put it on my skin? That’s a great question! Fragrance oils are safe when used at the correct usage rates. That’s because they are diluted when you add them to a product. Usage rates vary depending on whether you rinse off the product (like a soap) or leave it on (like a lotion) but that’s where we have made it really easy for you. Find recommended fragrance and essential oil usage rates by using the Bramble Berry Fragrance Calculator. Simply choose the type of product you are creating, the amount you are making and select the fragrance or essential oil. The Fragrance Calculator will calculate three different usage rates, depending on how strong of a scent you prefer, but they will all fall within the approved usage rates for the fragrance oil. To learn how usage rates are determined read this post about fragrance oils.

For a more detailed explanation on how to use the Fragrance Calculator, and general fragrance and essential oil usage rates, check out the Using the Bramble Berry Fragrance Oil Guide.

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