Embrace Shower Indulgence with Our Luxurious Bubble Scrub Bars

In a world brimming with decadent bath products, the joy of indulging in a long, relaxing soak is a luxury many of us crave. But what about those moments when time is short or, heaven forbid, you only have a shower, and the thought of sinking into a tub feels out of reach? For many, including myself, this dilemma strikes a chord all too close to home. 

Enter our over-the-top Bubble Scrub bars - a game changer in the world of shower indulgence. Born out of a desire for luscious products that offer gentle cleansing, abundant later, and irresistably scented skin, these bars embody the essence of shower luxury.

What sets these bars apart is their ability to deliver a multi-sensory experience reminiscent of a lavish bath. With each use, they unleash a symphony of fizz, moisture, and exfoliation, transforming your shower into a sanctuary of self-care.

Crafted with care and infused with skin-loving ingredients like cocoa and shea butters, soothing oatmeal, and herbs, these bars offer more than just a cleanse. They envelope your skin in a cocoon of hydration, leaving it soft, supple, and delicately scented.

Perhaps the true magic, though, lies in their versatility. Thanks to the addition of emulsifying wax, these bars effortlessly transition from exfoliator to moisturizer, creating a rich bubbly lotion when applied to wet skin. Say goodbye to slippery tubs and hello to a shower experience like no other.

So, whether you're seeking a moment of relaxation amidst a busy day or simply craving a touch of indulgence, our Bubble Scrub bars are here to elevate your shower routine. Embrace the joy of showering in luxury and treat yourself to a sensory experience that's sure to leave you feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

Indulge in the extraordinary with affordable luxury.

Naughty Soap!

The soapmaking process is what is known as an exothermic process; the process of turning oils, water, and lye produces heat. Additives like honey, or milk can increase the temperature in the mold even more. Oatmeal Milk & Honey soap is a notorious heater and this time was no different. I expected that.

I purposely waited for subzero temperatures before making a batch of this soap, one that overheats for me almost every single time. This past weekend, our daytime temperatures were hovering around -12C so I decided it was the perfect time to make a batch. The intention was to leave the mold outside, in the subzero weather. 

Everything was nice and cool; it was looking good. At one point, I lifted the mold to feel the underside; it was pretty warm to the touch so I put a baking rack under the mold. Once the temperature stabilized, after a couple of hours, I brought the soap inside and left it overnight in my unheated soap room.

The next morning, it was time to cut the soap. The first bar was as expected; there was a bit of a gelled circle so I knew it had gotten warm enough in the middle to gel the soap. The second bar surprised me; as I was cutting it, liquid seeped from it as it did from all the other bars until the last bar. And, there was a hole right through the entire loaf. I wasn't sure if the liquid was lye-heavy (caustic) so I was happy I'd put on my gloves.

This is a classic case of overheating. You can see the darker ring just inside the outer edge and then the sponginess in the middle. This soap really wanted to volcano (expand out of the mold) but didn't. Insead, it created a hole throughout the length of the mold.

Seeing this made me think of monster teeth and I couldn't help but play a little...

2024

Another market year has ended and a new one will be beginning soon. 2023 wasn't a great year as far as sales went but I know that times aren't easy for most people right now. Costs, including mine, are rising, causing increases in pretty much everything. It sucks. Hard. 

I have no intention of making this a depressing post. I can't do much about prices of supplies; I can, however, continue to make the best products I know how to make. I've decided that I will probably cut back on a few things so you may see fewer products on my table this year. 

What, you ask, will disappear? Well, my liquid soaps really didn't overwhelm so I think they'll be going on sale until they're gone. I may make some for personal use but that's about it. 

What else? Surprisingly, lip gloss. 

Yes, I said "surprisingly". I truly thought they'd be more popular than they were. By the end of 2023, I had quite a few left over even though they're a great product (I'm not a lip gloss person and I really like these!). I won't be making any more this year. Again, they'll be on clearance once the market season starts up again. 

I'm sure there will be other products we'll be thinking twice about. That said, if you have a favourite product you can't live without, let us know. We're more than happy to make custom orders. 

What can you expect to see on our tables this season? Well, soaps, of course. We're already busy making soap every weekend to get our table fully stocked. We've got some amazing new fragrances that we'll be using in soaps as well as hand/body lotions. Match a soap and a lotion for a perfect quick gift! 

Facial products have been very popular so we'll be bringing back our Instant Facials, as well as a few of our other popular face care products. If you haven't seen, or tried, the Instant Facials, you're in for a real treat! It's not a clay mask; it's more like a cleansing balm that turns into a thick, rich cream with the addition of water. Ingredients are added to turn this cream into a gorgeous, skin-loving mask that rinses off cleanly with water, leaving your skin feeling revitalized and pampered. There will be two or three varieties available; they sold out last year so you don't want to miss out!

Another popular item we'll continue making is our lip balm (as opposed to lip gloss). We have two recipes and both continue to be very popular; we won't stop making them. Our regular lip balm comes in a variety of flavours, including peppermint, orange sherbet, chocolate, and more. We've been using the same base recipe for over 20 years. Why fix what ain't broke?

Our Nourishing Nighttime Lip Masque has become a customer fave over the past couple of years. It's a rich, thick lip balm that sticks to your lips, made with the addition of lanolin and castor oil, helping keep your lips moisturized all night. Most people who use it, though, swear by it as an everyday lip balm that actually works! Me included.

I'm really looking forward to our 2024 season and I look forward to seeing all our new and usual customers. Our first market of the season is the All You Need Is Love market on February 11 at the East Kelowna Market. See you there!

Meanwhile, over on Instagram...

I've never been afraid of the computer and anything related so, when ChatGPT arrived, I was more than happy to dip my toes into the AI pool. I've watched You Tube videos about the app and I've learned a lot. I'm also a Canva Pro user and, using the two together has completely changed my use of both.

Using the two together, I've created a couple of series of posts, 10 posts each. The first series is a "Did You Know?" series about things you might not know about soapmaking and soapmakers. 

The second series features Ingredient Spotlights of ten ingredients commonly used in the skin care industry. 

I had a lot of fun creating both series and am looking forward to creating more of these educational and, hopefully, fun posts. Let me know what you think!

Oh right! Do you follow us on Instagram? You can find us here.... MMSoapery

More Adventures in Liquid Soapmaking

I'm having so much fun making liquid soaps! I've lost count of how many variations I've tried so far. Some haven't worked out as planned and were made to disappear but most have been very successful. I've got the process down now and each batch takes about three quarters of an hour, from start to finish. 

Once made, it needs to cool overnight; we let it sit for about a week just to mellow out a bit. That gives me plenty of time to plan fragrances and additions. 

Here are a few that came with us to our last market, this past Sunday.

From left to right: Cactus & Sea Salt, Golden Sunflower, and Cucumber Melon

Champaka Hemp

All are available in either a pump bottle or a regular bottle that you can use to fill your own pump dispenser or foamer bottle. There's a fragrance for everyone, from fruity (Apple Mango Tango) to hippy (Champaka Hemp) to medicinal (Tea Tree & Lavender Charcoal) to fresh (Cactus & Sea Salt). 

Transparent Soap - Let's Try Again

One thing I've often been told since I was a child is that I'm pretty stubborn. I certainly can be, especially when it comes to getting things to my own expectations. That can certainly be said for the transparent soap. I couldn't just make it once and let it go if it wasn't perfect.

So, I tried it again.

And, this time, it worked perfectly! The thrill of walking into my soap room to see if I could unmold the soap and finding it clear made me a little giddy. 

Here's the first one, so you can see the difference. 

As much as I enjoyed making this soap, I don't think it's one I'll make all the time. Don't get me wrong - it's a lovely soap but it isn't the cheapest to make and even though it can be used as a melt & pour soap, it seems to have a pretty low melting point that isn't conducive to a lot of creativity. I'll likely use it to make some fun little soaps for the next market and for some special occasions but it won't be a regular item in my booth.

Wine & Cider

 A couple of years ago, a local winery/cidery approached me to ask if soap could be made with wine or cider and, if so, would I be interested in working with them to create a line of soaps for them. I was all in!

I've been creating four different soaps for them since that time. This weekend and the next will be spent making another batch of each for them. The first one up is the red wine soap. This one is scented with Merlot fragrance oil. Unfortunately, this time it riced slightly, as you can see in this picture, probably due to a touch of over blending and perhaps the fragrance oil. I did get it into the mold before it became worse and I know it will end up fine; it's happened before and doesn't affect the final soap.

The three other soaps (white wine, rose, and a spiced cider) will be made over the next days.

Liquid Soap - Round How Many??

I've been making bar soap for quite a while, 10 years or so now. I've tried making liquid soap before but was never happy with the results and didn't like the process. It can take up to a week the way I used to make it.... when I made it. In addition, there was something about the scent of the raw soap that I just didn't like. 

When I found the Ultimate Guide to Liquid Soapmaking, it became a game changer! I'm not trying to advertise the book, I'm just so impressed with the book and the resulting soap. 

The photo shows three of the soaps I made within the past couple of weeks. All are made with animal fats (lard, tallow, and emu) and all are amazing.

And then, there's this one. Talk about dramatic!! This is Charcoal Tea Tree & Lavender liquid soap. It smells amazing and lathers beautifully. 

One thing I will need to remind customers is that hand crafted liquid soaps are quite concentrated. As little as 2-3 drops is enough to wash your hands. To get an idea of how liquid soaps can be used, check out this web page from Dr. Bronners liquid soap.

Transparent Soap - First Try

I've often looked at soapmakers who make transparent soap as nearly godlike. I mean, it's soap that's transparent! They speak of solvents and heat and it would leave me scratching my head, thinking there's no way I could ever do that.

Then, I came across a recipe on a Facebook group I'd joined (Ultimate Guide to Soapmaking) and a 10-minute Transparent soap recipe. I figured if it could be done in 10 minutes, it really couldn't be THAT difficult, could it? So I downloaded the recipe, realized I had all the ingredients and started reading.

It turns out, I was missing one ingredient but it had an easy substitution (sugar) and I was a little short of another ingredient.  I jumped in anyway and probably rushed things a little more than I needed to. However, look at what I made! 

It may not be perfectly transparent but it is soap and it's translucent. I can use it as a melt & pour soap with opens up all kinds of opportunities. Will I make it on a regular basis? I doubt it. But I will say that it's a nice recipe to have in my back pocket when I want to make something that incorporates melt & pour soap.

Will I try it again? You betcha! I really want to make a fully transparent soap. Stay tuned!