15 March 2010
Inactivity here is not an indication of Savonnerie inactivity, be assured...except
for a brief break in January to catch our collective breath. The last ten weeks
have been filled planning for new products, as well as restocking favorites.
January saw the batching of Bastiles. Many will be delighted to know that Innocence, Sweet Forest
and Pur will be continued for 2010. This season's Innocence Bastile is the most
innocent of yellows, and a shade deeper this time around. The bars are curing away on the racks and will be ready
for sale just in time for Market season in May. Of course, they are ready for sale
anytime, but Bastiles are absolutely divine after a long cure of 4-6 months or longer.
Such is the nature of olive oil soap.
Mad Soap Woman cannot claim to be Mad Lotionista yet, but she is one step closer.
Formulation with the combination of rice bran oil and shea butter have shown promise,
so say our testers, and Mad Soap Woman herself. Plans are under way to launch a
limited edition batch in time for Market season to test the waters.
Re-stocks of our standard line are almost complete. Earl Grey has a new look, and
a fresher bergamot scent. This is a deep black tea colored soap with a creamy white
swirl. The contrasting colors are distinct, calming and utterly beautiful.
Earthy Man is back in stock and better than ever. Shea Garden and Forever Lavender
are cut and curing.
We are experimenting with the salt bar: an intriguing hybrid of
soap and sea salt. It is considered a scrub bar, is not "scrubby", but is
exfoliating. Huh? And is, strangely, not drying to the skin. Imagine a bar of
solid salt, that mildly lathers. Sodium chloride is useful for removing dead skin cells,
and is commonly used in scrubs that one scoops or squeezes out in the hand, is
rubbed on, then rinsed off. A salt bar is the lazy version of a salt scrub. The
final color is a crystalline silver leaf sage of French green clay, seaweed,
and sea salt. Oceanic/ozone notes from aroma chemicals are plentiful and easy, but achieving
a pleasant ocean accord from 'naturals' is a true test of Mad Soap Woman's nose.
Two test batches are found lacking, but we are not giving up that easily. We just
hope our supply of vetiver holds up through testing!
31 December 2009
Closing time for 2009
Mad Soap Woman Keeps a Promise
There are a few devoted supporters of the Savonnerie who have been patiently
waiting, with sleeves rolled up, to be lotion testers. The wait is almost over.
To celebrate the dawning of 2010, we hauled out the double boilers and got down
to some lotion crafting. We celebrate hard around here! Someone forgot the Bubbly to
help us along, so we satisfied ourselves, instead, with the delicious aroma of vanilla,
lavender, and honey. "Crème Brulée of the same would be divine", Mad Soap Woman noted
during mixing. Thick and very creamy, this lotion features avocado oil, and lavender
hydrosol. Blue bottles will set sail to testers, next week.
Happy New Year to all, and to all a warm thank you for all your support and
encouragement in 2009! Nothing would get done without you.
16 December 2009
Winter Season Soap
"Stocking Coal"
This seasons version of Naughty List soap hit the shelves this week. We are offering
a lovely peppermint, vanilla and orange scented number for '09...good enough to eat,
though we discourage this...unless you have been truly naughty and deserving of
a thorough mouth washing! These lumps of coal really do resemble the real thing, so
take care not to distress the little ones, who may take the coal much too seriously, and drip
big tears on the soap, creating a bubbly emotional mess. They (and you) will surely
require large amounts of chocolate for soothing anxious minds. But for the right person on
your naughty list, a few lumps of stocking coal are a lathery, festive addition to
holiday fun and games.
15 October 2009
Winter Season Soaps
"Narcissus"
The inspiration for the first of the Winter soaps is Narcissus, commonly known and
loved as Paperwhites. Narcissus, forced indoors from bulbs, brings Spring sweetness
inside during the dead of Winter. The scent is narcotic and spicy. The flower is
small, pure white, it's appearance oh-so delicate.
Narcissus is a white on white swirl, laced with Noble Sparks silver mica. The liquidy
sparkle festively sets off creamy dual toned whites. Pure jasmine sambac absolute creates
the sweet floral heart, aided by ylang-ylang and rosewood. Sweet orange and spicy
black pepper sing the high notes, while amyris sandalwood and patchouli vibrate below.
To gaze on this lovely, and drink in the sweet foreshadowing of Spring, is to have
and hold the unattainable...at least for a little while.
"Magdala"
Magdala. Rich, spicy and deeply resinous with precious gifts of amber, sacred
frankincense and myrrh. We think of Kingly gifts, fragrant anointing oils and rare
spices. There is floral ylang-ylang and vanilla at the center, redolent spices of
cardamom, nutmeg, clove, ginger, and the sparkle of tangerine to carry them.
Magdala is deep chocolate in the bottom layer: the top layer, pastry cream
white. Another nearly edible offering from the Savonnerie.
14 October 2009
"Wicked Kitchen"
How do we love thee Coffee? Let us count the ways. We love thee more than sleep. We love thy
scent for conjured memories of pancakes on Saturday. We love thee for giving our hands occupation and warmth.
We love thee more than the people we are sharing thee with {wink!}. We love thee more than
what we are supposed to be doing at the moment.
We love thee for washing our hands!
Here is a soap, bought forth at the beginning of last month, for the coming high
intensity cooking season. Onions, garlic, beware! Cutting boards and hands shall
be free of your potent--heavenly in food, but not on hands--odor.
We quadruple brewed some of our local favorite Lone Pine Coffee, for the liquid
in this soap, and added the fine spent grounds as scrub to the mix at the end of the process.
The essential oil blend of folded orange and rosemary are utterly complimentary to
coffee, and strangely enough, smell of cardamom during and after the pour. A
delightful craving for Sparrow Bakery's Ocean Rolls settled over us all.
Wicked Kitchen is almost as good as your morning cup...with an Ocean Roll.
8 August 2009
"Earthy Man"
Earthy Man lives! After too long a dry spell, he's back. EM's devoted have been
patiently waiting for the next batch. For the uninitiated, Earthy Man is a landscape
layer soap resembling mountains and sky.
Pine, juniper, cedarwood, oakmoss, and patchouli waft among the swirling greens
and blues of the sky layer. The "earth" holds neem, Dead Sea Mud, Rhassoul and
French green clays, coffee and cocoa.
Be warned, dear readers, Earthy Man is not for the faint of heart. If you have
ever fallen face down in that ancient medium and loved it...this soap is for you!
25 July 2009
"Skeet Skoot Spray"
A year of research and tinkering has lead to the Savonnerie's newest release: Skeet
Skoot Spray, a natural insect repellent.
You must understand, mosquitoes own the high country in July around these parts.
Humans are guests, who become dinner during this special time in the woods. So
the challenge was to develop a formula that is utterly disgusting to biting insects,
but not to people. In our humble opinion, shall-remain-nameless-over-the-counter
products, while somewhat disgusting to insects, are truly disgusting to humans.
The chemical scent is noxious enough, but the active ingredient, DEET is actually
a neurotoxin, harmful to humans. See the following link re: a 2004
Duke University study.
Plants have endlessly fascinating and effective ways of both attracting and repelling
insects and humans. I think of plants, such as honeysuckle and stinging nettle, as
examples. It stands to reason that essential oils of certain plants might be used
safely and effectively on humans to repel insects. Actually, there are almost too
many choices for this purpose.
Lemon eucalyptus, eucalyptus citradora, for instance, is quite interesting, in that
it has been studied and compared to DEET. The
CDC finds
lemon eucalyptus as effective as DEET*. Chemical companies stand to gain much from
these endeavors, which may be why the effectiveness of lemon eucalyptus as an insect
repellent is not widely known. I digress. ;-)
Catnip is a potent repellent, but requires the accompaniment of peppermint, otherwise
it attracts ants. Other effective oils are lavender, tea tree, cedarwood, patchouli,
lemon myrtle, pennyroyal, citronella and neem. All but pennyroyal and citronella are in Skeet Skoot Spray.
One of the best testimonials comes from a friendly volunteer and her family, who
used our spray on a recent river trip during the worst part of July. Skeet Skoot
Spray performed better than another well known product. The tester found it pleasant
to use, but perhaps the best illustration (and cautionary bit) came from a description
of test family husband, who used the spray, spent time with the boat in water partially
up his legs, but did not reapply it to said area. Later, the poor man was covered in
mosquito welts on his lower legs, but from the water line up, was bite free. Moral of
story: it works! But reapply after time spent in water, and about every 1-2 hours.
Oh, and by the way, ticks and black flies hate the stuff too. Yay!
*I must not leave the reader with the impression that all lab created chemicals
are "bad" and naturally occurring chemicals are "good". There are plant chemicals
which are, indeed, toxic and dangerous to humans. Just ask Socrates!
1 June 2009
"Kama"
Luxury Bar
Abject apologies, dear readers, for the longish hiatus. This mad soap woman finds
twenty four hours lacking for day length, and has put in for thirty six. Should
hear back soon from the powers that be!
Kama has been made and cured by now, but, of all soaps, deserves more ink than than
most. It is an alluring and illusive blend of sandalwood, cardamom and lemongrass, suggesting
reverence, pure joy and love. To have and to hold, it is a bar of gratitude.
Breathe deeply...all that brings deep pleasure and happiness is here. The Indian
God of Love, Kama knows and treasures one's true essence. When you hold Kama,
you will love and be loved.
All love begins with desire, then the effort of the quest. There are many precious
essences across this kaleidescopic planet, but only a few which are, at once, within
reach and without. We know of true musk, ambergis and precious Oudh, but who
of us will ever breathe a single molecule of any of these? Indian sandalwood, however,
we may have...at a price. It's allure rests, surely, in creamy, soft, sweet woodiness
which makes anything it touches better, but more, perhaps, because the having is attainable.
Be warned, there will be sacrifice. So it is with love.
Sandalwood (santalum album) is a parasitic and extremely slow growing tree, taking 30-80 years
to reach full maturity. The precious heartwood has been used as sacred unguent,
medicine and fragrant material in many cultures, the most prized wood coming from
the Indian provinces of Mysore and Tamil Nadu. The peculiarities of it's growth
and use have rendered the species endangered due to long years of overharvesting.
It is not surprising, then, that it is one of the most adulterated oils on earth.
Sourcing quality sandalwood is expensive and time consuming. It requires knowledge
and a relationship with reputable suppliers, which is easier said than done.
So, the parallels to love are revealed, dear reader. For the purposes of Kama,
the Savonnerie has found sandalwood, but not the precious Mysore, due to its expense
and our desire to support growers who use sustainable practices. We use a combination
of sandalwoods from west India, Africa and Vanuatu. That is not to say that we are
satisfied to end the quest...love does not die that easily!
9 March 2009
Research and Experimentation
Judging by dates, it appears to be time for my monthly "blogligation". The 'to do'
list is long, but a little headway was made in experimentation this month. When
the year turned over, I set a few modest goals: one was lotion formulation, the
other, natural perfume creation.
I formulated my own recipe for a basic lotion, based on a tried and true recipe
found on The Dish. It is an olive oil, honey lotion. I made a few modifications,
added preservative, reduced suggested stearic acid and added an essential oil
blend I've been working on for perfume. To my delight, it came out! The process
is intriguing and very different from soap making. Temperatures and timing are
essential, which I find less true of soap making. Other differences surround the
care taken in making anhydrous (water based) solutions. I am far from mastering
the art with this meager attempt...it gives me great appreciation for all those
lotionistas out there.
Perhaps even more humbling is the daunting art of perfumery, which has so keenly
interested me over the years. Perhaps it is obvious to anyone who has read here,
that my favorite aspect of soapmaking, is essetial oil blending to create unique scents for our soaps.
Perfume blending is another order of magnitude beyond. The potenital combinations of various plant based
oils, extracts, absolutes, concretes and resins are endless. Even acquiring an olfactory
memory base for all these components seems like a lifelong endeavor.
Yet, I naively blend on! The blend, aging in fractionated coconut oil as I
write, is a stab at Eau de Cologne. Eau de Colognes are typically male or unisex
blends, which are citrus, herbal or green with a hint of woods, at least to my nose. This one
is still under construction, and while I am happy with how it's progressing, it
seems unfinished. I find a little reassurance in the fact that some creations can be
15-20 years in the making, and some are a perfumer's Magnum Opus. For me, of course,
these are the first crude utterances of language, let alone song.
5 February 2009
Infusions and Castiles
The new year brings the sense of starting over, no matter how much was left undone
in 2008. Preparations are underway for new soap in the line. And, as always, the
first order of business in the new year is the making of Castiles.
The Castiles
(or Bastiles, our case) are based on infusions of various organic
herbs and flowers in organic extra virgin olive oil. The first
gets its butter yellow creaminess from organic Calendula flowers, which were grown
here in Central Oregon on a local organic farm. Calendula flowers (pot marigold)
are bright yellow and are used widely in products for sensitive skin. Chamomile
flowers were also infused to impart more skin happiness, scent and color. The
essential oil blend for this Bastile is predominantly lavender and chamomile...happy
and comforting. This soap would make a great gift for a new mom to use for herself
and baby (after six months, that is. We don't recommend soap of any kind for newborns).
It is aptly named, Innocence.
The next infusion is of organic lavender flowers and organic rosemary. It will
be ready this weekend for Bastile number two. The essential oil blend is still
"infusing" in the writer's head, but will be herbal with a touch of wood.
I'm cheating by sneaking in the rest of the Bastile line up long after 5 Feb. It is,
in fact, 9 March. But the remainder of the Bastiles came off swimmingly. The
lavender, rosemary does, indeed, have a touch of woods and a floral heart, thanks
to jasmine's soft touch. Two mls of jasmine absolute in ten kilos of soap was all
it needed. I am still amazed and unable to name her.
The last of the Bastiles, this year, is often requested of, suggested by, but heretofore,
not made by this mad soapwoman. It is simply 90% organic extra virgin olive oil
and 10% castor oil. It is creamy...the color of the palest fruit of avocado.
It takes an act of will to refrain from scented additions, but as promised, here is
Bastile Pur.
Dawn Mead
PO Box 795
Sisters, OR 97759
541-548-6424