05.20.10
Spice of Life
New for spring, Bluegrass Spice of Life
In the spring, soapers’ thoughts lightly turn to new recipes and the soap pot. It’s no exception here in the Bluegrass, and I can report that Anna’s EsSCENTials Bodycare has two new products for spring. Our soap pot produced…drum roll please… “Bluegrass Spice of Life” … with a fragrance combination of essential oils including vetiver, coriander, clove and other mouth-watering spicy scents. I topped the soap with ground oatmeal and coriander…a pretty combination.
Last week it got a debut which is important because you never know how a soap scent will be received until you watch your customers’ faces as they take the first whiff. This one got rave reviews from those folks who like a spicy fragrance, and not everyone does.
And that leads us to an interesting point. It seems to me I encounter waves of interest…for a while customers will respond to calming, soothing fragrances like lavender. Then I’ll see more interest in uplifting, wake-me-up combinations. Usually the spicy soaps are especially good around the holidays, but this year it seems to me I’m still getting calls for the spicy options, and I wonder if that means something. Could it be that the pall of economic collapse of the last few years is shifting, and people are exhibiting a bit of cautious optimism? If so, that might be good for us soapmakers!
Whipped Shea Butter
I said I completed two new products for spring, and the second is a whipped shea butter. It is almost pure shea butter, and I tried a new recipe that was supposed to whip up without getting grainy, as shea butter is prone to do. It did not. I tried again and got the same results. I’m using unrefined shea butter to get as close to the original as possible, but I don’t think that should make a difference. Finally, I went back to the tried-and-true method of heating followed by cooling the shea butter in the freezer, and it worked just fine. I’m using it at home and I like the product a lot. But will I spend the time and effort to do it again? Hmmm. Not sure.
And good baby news
Some of you will remember that last year my granddaughter, Eva Leilani, was born, to my great elation. She’s over a year old now and is the light of my life. This spring I was very privileged to spend two solid weeks with her, and it was pure joy. I am reminded of what hope and trust look like in that little girl’s eyes. It’s the same hope and trust I take to the soap pot in spring, but this time it is reinforced by two weeks with Eva! Here’s my sweet girl!
Sharon