Summer 2015 S.O.A.P. Panel + Spring S.O.A.P. Panel Update

June 15, 2015 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Update, June 22nd: Thanks to everybody who entered to be on the S.O.A.P. Panel! It was so hard to choose only eight panelists. If you did not get chosen don’t fret…we will have another panel in the fall! Below are the eight awesome soapers who were chosen. Be sure to follow them on social media outlets to hear all about their tests in the next few weeks!

Summer 2015 S.O.A.P. Panelists
Jessica of Sea Holly Beauty Company
Madie of Madiecakes
Kristie of Seven Seas Soap
Kelly of Soaping Soprano
Lauren of Single Barrel Soaps
Sarah of Sunflower State Soap
Amy of Sole Sanctifier Soaps
Jessica of Spoon River Design

If you love experimenting with fragrance oils and trying new scents, you may be the perfect candidate for the Summer 2015 S.O.A.P. (Scent Opinion Awesome Panel) Panel! Here at Bramble Berry, we receive hundreds of fragrance oils every year. We thoroughly test each fragrance several times in cold process soap of varying batch sizes to ensure it behaves well. Then, the test soap is smelled after 2-3 months to ensure the scent sticks. Even with all our testing, sometimes it’s hard to choose exactly which fragrances to bring in and to test for every possible variation in recipe. That’s where the S.O.A.P. Panel comes in!

The S.O.A.P. Panelists will receive approximately 1 oz. of eight mystery fragrance oils to test. Each scent will be unlabeled to ensure opinions regarding the fragrances are unbiased. Each fragrance can be tested in cold process soap, melt and pour, lotions, or any other bath and body products.

After the testing period is over, the panelists fill out a survey. The survey includes questions about each fragrance, including how it performed and what it should be named. The S.O.A.P. Panel is also encouraged to post their opinions on social media to keep us updated on their testing process. Honest, clear feedback is encouraged…we truly want to know what you think.

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Spring 2015 S.O.A.P. Panel + Winter 2014 Results

February 23, 2015 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

It’s that time again; we are looking for eight new panelists for the Spring 2015 S.O.A.P. Panel! The S.O.A.P. Panel involves testing eight mystery fragrances in soapy projects. Throughout the testing process, keep us updated via Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or your own personal blog. The testing notes and opinions are then used to help us decide which new fragrances to add to the spring 2015 line. Sound fun? Scroll to read more, and see the four new fragrances chosen from Winter 2014 S.O.A.P. Panel!

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Winter 2014 S.O.A.P. Panelists + Fall S.O.A.P. Panel Outcome

November 5, 2014 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thanks to everybody who entered on Facebook to be a part of the Winter 2014 S.O.A.P. Panel! It was incredibly hard to choose only eight panelists out of nearly 200 entries. We are excited to announce the new panelists, and can’t wait to hear what they have to say about the mystery fragrances. Scroll down to find out who made the panel, as well as hints about the three new fragrances chosen from the Fall 2014 S.O.A.P. Panel!

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.

[Read more…]

Fall 2014 S.O.A.P. Panelists!

September 5, 2014 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

A big thank you to everybody who entered to be a part of our Fall 2014 S.O.A.P. Panel. It was so much fun to read every entry, and look through the fabulous tweets, pins, instagrams, blog posts, facebook posts and comments! It’s amazing to be part of such a vibrant and creative community. With so many wonderful entries, it was difficult to choose only eight to be on the S.O.A.P. Panel but it had to be done. Curious who was chosen? Of course you are!

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Searching for a New S.O.A.P. Panel!

August 21, 2014 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Do you love testing new fragrances in your soapy projects? Here at Bramble Berry, we receive hundreds of fragrance oil samples. To help choose the very best fragrances to add to our line, we are looking for eight new members to join our S.O.A.P Panel! As part of the panel, you will have the opportunity to test eight new mystery fragrances, and help us decide which new scents to add to our lineup.

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! =)

S.O.A.P. Panel-ers revealed

January 17, 2014 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thank you to everyone who Tweeted, Pinned, Instagrammed and Facebooked entries to be part of the 2014 S.O.A.P. Panel. We are truly surrounded by a community of talented crafters, and it was difficult to whittle more than 90 entries down to just eight panel members.

After much debate, we finally choose the soapers who will help us add a few brand new fragrances to the Bramble Berry line. To learn more about the S.O.A.P. Panel, check out this post. Wondering what S.O.A.P. means? It stands for Soap Opinion Awesome Panel! To meet the 2014 S.O.A.P. Panel, read on:

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From Washington to Washington

September 23, 2012 Filed Under: Personal Ramblings

Wow, has it been a busy last 4 days. In the last 4 days, I’ve flown to Washington DC and back, made halvah from scratch and a from-scratch halvah cheesecake (yes, recipes will be posted! Until then, you can feast your eyes on this photo), spent a day with my family and participated in the annual Mastermind Business retreat. I am energized and tired, all at the same time!

Washington DC was an efficient, productive trip. Though there are no cosmetic-legislation bills that have made it out of committee this legislative session, it’s important to continue educating lawmakers and their staff on our handcrafted industry and urge small business exemptions for any future legislation. Lawmakers were receptive to the message that small business does not function like a large, mass-scale-production line and that it’s important to preserve over 200,000 jobs in the U.S. by including small business exemptions in any upcoming legislation. New to this issue? Lots of historical information at these blog posts here (going back over 4 years!). [Read more…]

S.O.A.P. Winners!

March 19, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

I know you’ve all been dying to know the winners for our latest S.O.A.P. fragrance testing round – especially the panel themselves! This was our fifth group of testers and we love hearing and seeing the experimentation and the opinions. It’s so great getting your feedback, we only wish we could have more of you! Fragrances go through a rigorous testing process at Bramble Berry before they even make it to the S.O.A.P. panel. For every fragrance the soap panel tests, we’ve personally tested a minimum of 50+ to get that one winner that heads to the final rounds. If you’re interested in that process, here’s a previous post about our testing process and our go-to testing recipe. If you missed the S.O.A.P. mash up blog post, it’s here. And, enough stalling… new fragrance announcement below!

This was a difficult round. The group really didn’t unanimously agree on any particular fragrance, but we think the 3 that ended up winning will really appeal to many of you. And, one of the Panel fragrances will be introduced in a special project kit designed by SoapyLove in the near future. A 4 out of 10 fragrance hit rate isn’t bad! [Read more…]

S.O.A.P. Team Mash

February 27, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thank you to the wonderful S.O.A.P. Team for helping us pick our fragrances for the Summer 2012 season. Don’t know what the S.O.A.P. team is? Read about it here. Our dedicated team tests 10 different fragrance oils in lotions, melt and pour, cold process, candles, lotion bars and more! They report their findings, likes and honest dislikes (which makes for hysterical reading material). The team then reports to us by taking a survey at the end of the process. Finally, the Brambleberrians get together to look at the results. We pick the top superstar fragrances to add to the Bramble Berry fragrance oil line. It’s definitely not a requirement, but many of the S.O.A.P.(ers) update their blogs and Facebook pages with testing results along the way. We LOVE reading the updates. Don’t worry, we’ll definitely keep you updated with the final results. We’re still waiting for a few of the survey results to come in (down to the wire; it’s a nail biter!) before we decide on the final fragrance additions.

Enjoy the photos from We Love Soap, Peach Blossom Cosmetics, Soap Art, EcoSations, Sudsie Q Soaps, Brooklyn Bath

Previous S.O.A.P. panel fragrance winners were: Plum Tea, Bordeaux Blend, Pinot Grigio,

Southern Peach, Tropical Punch, Exotic Fruit Smoothie

Cherry Blossom, Eucalyptus Blossom, Orange Grove

2012 Summer Soap Team:

Andi from We Love Soap: Twitter, Blog

Alanna from Peach Blossoms Cosmetics: Facebook

Dawn from EcoSations: Etsy, Facebook

Rose from Brooklyn Bath: Blog, Etsy

Jean from Soap Art: Website, Blog

Nicole from My Quest for Health: Blog, Facebook

April from April’s Soap: Blog, Facebook

Lucky Lucky Neko: Artfire, Blog

Summer 2012 S.O.A.P. Team [CHEER]

January 24, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Announcing the new S.O.A.P. Team for Summer 2012!

[APPLAUSE]

Andi from We Love Soap: Twitter, Blog

Alanna from Peach Blossoms Cosmetics: Facebook

Dawn from EcoSations: Etsy, Facebook

Rose from Brooklyn Bath: Blog, Etsy

Jean from Soap Art: Website, Blog

Nicole from My Quest for Health: Blog, Facebook

April from April’s Soap: Blog, Facebook

Lucky Lucky Neko: Artfire, Blog

Attention S.O.A.P. team: Please email SOAP(at)brambleberry(dot)com with your contact and shipping information! We’ll be packaging up your fragrances and getting them out the door by the end of the week. Oh the suspense of not knowing what fragrances you’ll receive! Could one be Bacon? Or Wet Dog? You’ll soon find out!

[LAUGH] [Read more…]

Apply for the Summer S.O.A.P. Team

January 17, 2012 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

S.O.A.P. Summer 2012

We’ve got some great fragrances that we can’t wait to try out for the next round of the S.O.A.P. panel, Summer 2012! We need to enlist 8 soapy soldiers to help us decide on the new fragrances for Summer 2012.

What’s up with the S.O.A.P. panel? Soap Opinion (Awesome) Panel members will receive 10 one ounce fragrance samples of our top fragrance choices for Summer 2012. Give the cutting-edge fragrances a sniff AND test them in any product you like (CP, MP, lotion, scrubs, body balms, candles, anything!). Then fill out a survey to help distinguish the top choices. We want your honest opinion and notes on testing! In the past, we’ve really enjoyed the fact that our S.O.A.P. team members have taken no liberties in expressing exactly how they feel about some of the samples. If the fragrances don’t pass with the SOAP Team then they don’t pass with the BB testing team either.

“Smells foody, but then a bit antisepticy at the end, a bit like acetone at the end but at first foody…not sure which food, cookie, vanilla but definitely acetone, burning to the nose at the end.”
“Fruity, orange (dreamsicle), popsicle scent or fruity chewing gum, kind of want to lick it.”
“Fruity again but with some floral at the beginning, strong at first but then relatively subtle, a bit perfumey, not something I would want to eat.”

Thanks Mommy You Soap It for those super creative and funny quips, taken from this blog post: The actual notes from my sniffer when I first popped the bottles open {SOAP Panel}

How do I get in on the action? Tweet, Facebook or Blog about your favorite Bramble Berry Fragrance Oil (including links) and why you should be selected for the S.O.A.P. team. You have until Tuesday January 24th to get your links out there, and then we’ll choose and announce the finalists soon after. Be sure to get your tweets, posts and blogs done by next week! Note: your Tweets should have @brambleberry someplace in the body of the Tweet (but make sure they don’t just get directed directly to @brambleberry or else no one else can see them)!

Fine Print: We will be sending the fragrances out by the end of next week and we would like the surveys complete by February 27th, which gives you about a month to test the fragrances. Please keep these dates in mind before you enter. We are looking for an accountable and enthusiastic panel, so be sure that this works out with your schedule! Because these fragrances can’t ship internationally, we are not able accept international entries.

Still curious? Check out the results from previous S.O.A.P panels!

Fall 2011, Summer 2011, Floral Edition 2011

The darling soap above was made by Emily from Soap and Restless. She was on the Summer Soap Team for 2011 and did a fabulous job testing the fragrances in her cold process soap. Check out Emily’s Blog Posts about her testing experience: SOAP Opera Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5.

Remember to Tweet, Blog and Facebook about your favorite Bramble Berry Fragrance Oil.

New Fall Fragrances (S.O.A.P. Approved)

November 1, 2011 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thank you S.O.A.P. Team!

Try all three new fragrance oils in the click of a button!

Pinot Grigio: This fragrance was a winner of the 2011 SOAP Panel for Fall. It is ideal for wine based soaps and products though stands on its own rather nicely. The main notes to make up this fruity wine scent are sparkling bergamot, peach nectar, apple, Italian white grape, black plum, violet rounding out with supporting notes of warm clove bud. It smells like a very adult, fruity floral grape juice. This scent softens a bit in cold process soap and goes a warm yellow

Bordeaux Blend: This fragrance is designed to be a big, bold spicy red wine fragrance. With notes of tawny port and cognac being sweetened up with lighter softer pinot noir, vanilla and raspberry, Bordeaux Blend is toughened up with spicy notes of cinnamon, clove and vineyard dirt. This fragrance can move quickly in CP soap so be prepared and after a full cure, the spice notes come out more than the grape notes.

Plum Tea: This clean fruity floral has a beguiling soft freshness that one 2011 SOAP Panel Tester described as “autumn rain on flower garden”. After beautiful white tea and damask plum and herb notes, this fragrance is beautifully supported with sweet notes of honeydew melon, quince apple, lily of the valley and chamomile. The fragrance finishes with a touch of black tea to add depth and tamp down on the sweetness.

Soapy S.O.A.P. Mash Up

October 18, 2011 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thank you to all of the S.O.A.P. team members who tested the new fragrance oils for Fall. Three fragrances made the cut and they’ve already been ordered. In fact, we’re expecting them any day now. I can’t tell you what they are yet…you’ll have to wait just a couple more days to see which scents made the final fragrance oil roster. I also wanted to give a shout out and big THANK YOU to each and every S.O.A.P. team member. You gals blew it out of the water with your creativity and variety of testing. I can’t say it enough! I had so much fun reading your results and blog posts. You’ve definitely set a high bar for the next S.O.A.P. team!

[Read more…]

2011 Fall S.O.A.P. Team

August 17, 2011 Filed Under: Bramble Berry News

Thank you to all for blogging, tweeting and Facebooking about your favorite Bramble Berry products for the S.O.A.P. Team “applications” (see blog post here)! I had an extremely distracted morning reading all of the blogs, tweets and Facebook posts. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it (all smiles here).

Congratulations Fall S.O.A.P. Team 2011!

Nichole from Simply McGhie

T.A. Helton from Coffee House Suds

Jill from Calise Soapworks & Such

Christina from Natural Mountain Body Care

Amanda from Seven Runs Soaps

Jennifer from Jennifer’s Handmade Soap

Jennifer from Perfectly Natural Family Soaps

Monica from Green Lady Creations

Attention S.O.A.P. team: Please email SOAP(at)brambleberry(dot)com with your contact and shipping information! We really want to get these fragrances out the door this week so you can get to work…er…play.

I wish that everyone that entered could chosen to be on the panel but we have a limited amount of fragrances to go around. If you didn’t get chosen this time, please, please, please, enter to be on the next S.O.A.P. Team. I want to give everyone a chance to play with new and upcoming fragrances. Plus, I love seeing what you make with the fragrances we send. It’s a joy to see the blog posts come trickling out and get everyone’s varied opinions on the fragrances.

Amy from Great Cakes Soapworks did such a great job testing on the Summer S.O.A.P. Team. See her testing pictures above. Thanks, Amy! We hope to see you on another panel soon!

Click HERE to see the fragrances chosen from the Summer S.O.A.P. Team.