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.

Recently, the Spring 2015 S.O.A.P. Panel wrapped up, and we are completing our final tests on the top picked fragrances. Once they pass the final quality check, they will be introduced to the Bramble Berry line. Below are some of the fun social media updates that were created by the Spring 2015 S.O.A.P. Panel.

Mama Juju made a variety of videos, including a Sniff Test video, and testing the fragrances in melt and pour soap, along with testing in bath bombs. She also blogged about it on her blog, The Mama Juju. I loved her fun name suggestions for each fragrance! You can watch her videos below.

Andrea from DJ’S Creek Farm posted her testing results on her blog. You can read about her testing experience here. Andrea even took her soaps to a show and asked her customers which scents they liked best. Overall, they loved mystery fragrances #1, #3, #5 and #8…maybe you’ll see them on the site soon =)

Shelly from Lion and Rose Soaps also shared her testing results on her blog. In addition, Shelly made videos for her testing process in cold process soap, you can watch her “Part One,” video below! Click here to see watch her first impressions of the fragrances, as well as part two of testing.

Kevin from Devinely Designed also created several YouTube videos to demonstrate and share his testing experience. You can watch him unwrapping and smelling each fragrance oil and testing them in cold process soap via the videos below.

We were so thrilled to have a very active S.O.A.P. Jennifer of Skyline Soapworks made several awesome videos as well. Click here to watch her first impressions. Below, you can watch Jennifer testing her #1 and #2 fragrances in cold process soap. You can watch her test fragrances #3 and #4 here, #5 and #6 here, and the final fragrances #7 and #8 here. 

Instagram is an inspiring way to share the testing results. Maureen of Reeny’s Butterflies Blooms and Bees posted photos of her testing methods on her Instagram page. Maureen tested the fragrances in cold process soap, bath bombs and balms. Below are some of Maureen’s creations using the mystery fragrances.

Want to be a part of the Summer 2015 S.O.A.P. Panel? Entering is easy!

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. The fragrances are only able to ship to the lower 48 U.S. states.

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. Panel.
• Comment on this blog post, with links to your social media updates. When choosing our panelists, we will be combing through the comments, so be sure to enter here on the blog in addition to any social media updates =)
• The last day to enter is this Thursday, June 18th. 
• S.O.A.P. Panel will be announced on June 22nd and samples will be sent out by June 24th.
• Completed surveys need to be returned by August 24th. Ready, Set … Apply! =)

The post Summer 2015 S.O.A.P. Panel + Spring S.O.A.P. Panel Update appeared first on Soap Queen.

Each member of the panel will receive eight bottles of approximately 1 oz. 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!

After testing, each S.O.A.P. Panel member fills out a survey about the fragrances. The survey includes questions such as, “What would you name this fragrance?” and “Which fragrance was your favorite, and least favorite? Why?” Information posted to social media outlets are also taken into consideration when reviewing the feedback about each mystery fragrance. We love hearing your honest opinions regarding the fragrances, so an ideal member of the panel won’t hold their feelings back.

Below are some of the fun social media updates made by the Winter 2015 S.O.A.P. Panel. It’s so fun to watch the videos and read the blog posts about each mystery fragrance. Nicole from Stargazer Soaps made an awesome video which demonstrates the testing process for each scent. The video also shows Nicole cutting into the soap and sharing her opinion for each scent. I love that Nicole gave away the sample soaps in a contest via her Facebook page.

Heather from Fatty’s Soap Co. created great blog posts for the first four scents she tested…just take a look at her beautiful projects below! From the top left going clockwise are Heather’s Berry Happy Soap, KaPow! Soap, Island Joe Soap and the beautiful Petals and Whispers Soap. The names that Heather gave each soap are so fun.

Curious about the winning fragrances from the Winter 204 S.O.A.P. Panel? They went live today on the BrambleBerry.com! Normally, only three fragrances are added from each panel. The Winter S.O.A.P. Panel had so many awesome fragrances that we brought in four! The four fragrances are Island Escape Fragrance Oil, Electric Lemonade Fragrance Oil, Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil and the Made to Measure Fragrance Oil.

Top Row, left to right: Crisp Cotton Fragrance Oil, Island Escape Fragrance Oil
Bottom Row, left to right: Electric Lemonade Cocktail Fragrance Oil, Made to Measure Fragrance Oil

 Want to join in the fun? Entering is easy!

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.

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 this Thursday, February 26th. 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 on February 27th and samples will be sent out by March 4th. 
• Completed surveys need to be returned by May 4th. Ready, Set … Apply! =)

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

Announcing the 2014 Fall S.O.A.P. Panelists

Amanda of Butterfly Butters

Tammy of Soapy Starfish

Ginger of Champ de Fleurs

Heather of Homestead Soapery 

Bella of The Little Bubble

Erinne of Twootie Tarte

Amy of Nelson Farms, TN

Anna Rose of Ladybee Soaps

Top left, clockwise: Butterfly Butters, Soapy Starfish, Champ de Fleurs and Homestead Soapery and Crafts

Top left, clockwise: The Little Bubble, Twootie Tarte, Nelson Farms, and Ladybee Soaps

Congrats panelists! We are thrilled to have each of you on the S.O.A.P. panel, and can’t wait to hear what you think about the eight new mystery fragrances! Please e-mail us at sma2(at)brambleberry(dot)com with your contact and shipping information so we can get you the mystery fragrances. We will package and ship the fragrances out no later than September 12th. 

Thanks again to everybody who shared tweeted, pinned, Facebooked instagrammed or gave shout-outs in the social media-sphere about your favorite Bramble Berry product. We had so much fun going through your entries and seeing all your favorites. Next time you see these S.O.A.P. panel soapers, they’ll be giving their verdict on the mystery fragrances we send. Stayed tuned to hear what they think about the new fragrances!

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

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:

Congratulations to our Panel members:

Jenny of I’d Lather be Soaping

Jess of Rustic Relevance

Dana of New England Handmade Soaps

Shannon of Smellicious Soaps

Leanna of Panda Lee Soaps

Erin of Costa Productions

Marjorie of Soap and Honey

Sue of La Femme Knitkita

Soaps made by our S.O.A.P. Panel members!
From top left clockwise: Jenny of I’d Lather be Soaping, Jess of Rustic Relevance, Dana of New England Handmade Soaps and Shannon of Smellicious Soaps.

From top left clockwise: Leanna of Panda Lee Soaps, Erin of Costa Productions, Marjorie of Soap and Honey and Sue of La Femme Knitkita

Attention S.O.A.P. team: First of all, congratulations and thank you (!) to all of you! Please e-mail us at soap(at)brambleberry(dot)com with your contact and shipping information so we can get you the mystery fragrances. We will package and ship the fragrances out no later than  Friday, January 24.

Thanks again to everyone who made Pinterest boards, did a shout-out on Facebook or otherwise told the social media-sphere about your favorite Bramble Berry product. We had so much fun going through your entries and seeing all your favorite products. Next time you see these S.O.A.P. panel soapers, they’ll be giving their verdict on the mystery fragrances we send. Stayed tuned to see what they have to say, and happy soaping!

The post S.O.A.P. Panel-ers revealed appeared first on Soap Queen.

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!).

The highlight of the weekend was Grandma and Grandpa Faiola visiting. Chris and I even got in a date night (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa staying in after Jamisen went to bed).

We did our traditional early-morning hike. Every single hike, Jamisen walks more and more himself. This time, we didn’t even bring the Baby Bjorn front pack. He walked himself into a full 3 hour nap later on.

We timed the train just perfectly. Jamisen is obsessed with trains right now. He flaps his little arms and makes happy-boy noises.

Take a good look at these baby boy curls because they’re all gone.

We cut Jamisen’s hair this weekend (eeek!). We got him a little hair-cutting smock (that will double as an art smock in the future) and he took the entire experience like the little man he is. As soon as we cut his hair, I ran out for the all-day business retreat so there are no great photos of him without his little curls yet but I’ll post them in the next few weeks.

I hope you had an equally lovely weekend (I can’t wait to catch up on your blogs to read all about it!). I’m excited for this week and to hit the ground running on choosing our new S.O.A.P. panel fragrances based on tester feedback (the suspense! the suspense!).

The post From Washington to Washington appeared first on Soap Queen.

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!

First up: Lavender Green Tea (fragrance #4)- It’s fresh and clean smelling with a delicately sweet green tea note.

“Makes me think of Spring and the grass you put in Easter baskets.”

“Like herbs and flowers, but more of a woodsy herbal scent, like the scents Aveda uses.”

“This one I LOVED, thought of floral, pine, cedar, juniper, like a florally Christmas tree…spring rain on pine trees.”

Next we have Honey Beeswax (fragrance #10): It’s rich with honey, dripping with sweet beeswax and finishes with notes of orange blossoms and almonds.

“This scent immediately struck me as FUN. It’s super spicy with a wild streak of sweetness running through it.”

“This fragrance is weird. Like there is white flowers like jasmine in it and then almonds.”

“Reminds me a bit of Bramble Berry’s Karma Essential Oil Blend. Description: Alluring, rich, dark, heavy and sultry.”

And finally we have Pikake Flower (fragrance #7): Based on the bloom used to create Leis, this deep jasmine-based fragrance is like a scent of tropical paradise.

“This is a very nice floral scent. I don’t care for most florals, but this was jasmine-like to me.”

“Reminds me of Hawaii. Description: A sweet floral with a hint of green.”

“More of a ‘deep’ floral than a ‘high-pitched’ floral like roses.”

“This smells just like a carnation which is one of the few flowers I actually like the smell of. I do think I needed to take a lighter hand with the FO as it seems overpowering.”

All of these fragrances performed like champs in cold process soap and pretty much everything our S.O.A.P. panelists tried them in. Curious to see how they work for yourself? We’ve got them all in an easy “Buy It Now” button kit for you below.

 Get a little of each by clicking here.

The post S.O.A.P. Winners! appeared first on Soap Queen.

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

The post S.O.A.P. Team Mash appeared first on Soap Queen.

[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]

We had nearly 50 people enter the contest this time! Wow. Thank you ALL of your interest in the S.O.A.P. Team and for the wonderful BB fragrance oil shout outs! You don’t know how fun it is for me to read about peoples’ favorite fragrances (I know, I’m kind of a soap nerd in that way). S.O.A.P. started out as a market research project for us but we soon realized how much fun everyone was having and decided to make it a regular part of our fragrance picking. It was really hard for us to pick the team this year (as it always is) but the ha reality is that we only have eight spots available.

[SIGH]

The good news is that we’ll be doing many more testing panels in the future so if you haven’t been picked yet, keep trying! We want to give everyone a chance to experiment and play!

[CHEER]

Check out our “go to” recipe that we use to test our new fragrances in cold process: Testing 1, 2, 3!

[SOAP]

The post Summer 2012 S.O.A.P. Team [CHEER] appeared first on Soap Queen.