Merry Christmas!!!

OH OH OOOOH! Christmas is coming soon :) Such a good news! I really love this period, the atmosphere, the decoration but above all, the occasion to make plenty of handmade gifts 

Let's call it a week! I had a looot of things to do. First of all, the Christmas tree of course. 

Then, I made some boxes, varnished them. After this, I made the labels, wrapped the soaps, made creams, bath bomb, balms and many staff like this. And I made some clay soap dish as well, waterproofed and varnished them and maybe painted them, I still don't know

Have a look by yourself

The trend for this year is for sustainable packaging. I find it simple and easy to match it with any colour you want in order to make it colourful for Christmas

 

For the soap dishes, I used air dry clay. They are still drying for the moment, I'm gonna take some picture of them later to show you. I really like them, they look very rustic. You'll see :)

I hope Santa clause doesn't forget me this year, I dreamt about a plexi mould. Hope he caught my dreams. We'll see :)


I'm flying to France for Christmas tomorrow and then to Reunion Island for 1 month!!! I'm so happy, I'll see my family that I didn't see for a while. It's gonna be so hot there, around 30 degrees. I'm so exciting!!! I'm ready, I've got my swimsuit and my sunscreen, I need nothing else :)

Hope you'll all have a very good Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Soap addict: Nettle macerat and flaxseed gel

How to recognise a soap addict? At his soap dish of course!

Have a look on mine, full of different soap end. And I still have more to test but I have to wait, not enough place in my soap dish. Or maybe I should ask for a bigger one for Christmas?

This last few days, I made a lot of macerate, filter them, made decoction, playing with different plants and oils

I obtained a beautiful green colour oil with a nettle macerate, the same green as hemp or avocado oil. I had to put a lot of dry nettle to have this deep green

Then, I made a flax seed mucilage. I'd like to try it into a soap as I did with carraghenane seaweed. I like the softness of the soap which contain mucilage

Finally, I made some oat bran cream and I played with essential oils to create new aromatic blends for soaps

 By the way, I started to make my Christmas handmade gifts which I gonna show you very very soon

French swap and craft factory experience

For my first swap, I was very spoiled!!! I did it with Léamarie, who I met on the french forum, CouleurSavon. She sent me 4 nice soaps, a candle, a smelling cushion and some tomato jam!

The tomato jam isn't here because it was sooo good and we finished it right away. But that was a really nice discovery :)

She sent one soap made with creme fraiche (double creme), oat milk, and honey and chocolate! Hummmm.... the smell is gorgeous, like a real cake believe me. That's the one with the gold mica on the top. I do love the swirl!

Then, another one made with clarified butter and cacao butter (pink) which smells very good and the grey one is a laundry soap, a stain remover, made with Earth of Sommière which is highly absorbent. I love the rustic look of the soap.

I'm really please with this swap, Thank you Léamarie. And I hope that's not gonna be the last one!

 
Yesterday I went to HobbyCraft, the temple of craft. The shop was huge! I spent 2 hours in it and I had to push myself outside after that because I could stay the whole afternoon there.

I was spoiled of choice as you can see (maybe to much choices in my opinion) and the shelfs were without end and full of different items. I've never seen this before! A real craft factory.

My brain was boiling of ideas. If you don't have any inspiration, believe me, you are likely to find it there.  

Fortunatly, I was reasonable, I didn't buy the entire shop and I only took that I needed for my christmas gift. I made a list before :)

  

 So I've got everything I need to make a beautiful gift for my friends and family. I will show you my Christmas boxes very soon


 

Gotu Kola soap

Centella Asiatica is a really interesting herb. It's used in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine for many goods properties. So I'm sure it can be a good active ingredient into soap, let's try it

 

Identity

Saponified oils: Olive, Coco, Canola oil, Shea butter, Calendula/Sunflower macerat

Superfats: Cocoa butter  ( 7%)

At trace:  Kaolin (5%),  Liquid extract of Gotu kola  (1%)

Essential oils: Bergamot, Petitgrain, Palmarosa, Patchouli, Benjoin (2%)

Colour: Natural white + Kaolin, spinach powder and green clay for the green, purple clay for the brow/purple


Results  

 

For the swirl, I tilted my mould on one side and I poured the different colour one by one. Then, I finished with the white colour. It was quite tricky because my trace arrived very quickly. It's due to the alcohol in the Gotu Kola liquid extract. I had a very thick pastry to pour in the mould and it wasn't easy. I wanted something with more delicacy, with a thinner line. But it's just a details because I do love that results!!

And the scent is gorgeous! With a earth note base and a hint of freshness for the top note. I really like it!

Fortunately, I could avoid gaps into the soap even with the thick pastry

So, why Centella Asiatica is good for our skin?

The herd is composed of flavonoids, terpenoids and saponins. The last one is rich in 2 active constituents, asiaticoside and madecassoside which are giving at this plant his properties such as:

•  increasing the synthesis of collagen
•  treat skin impurities
•  reducing scars
•  helping for burns
•  treat varicose veins
•  regenerating
•  psoriasis
•  healing
•  anti-aging skincare

 

The herb is active in Ayurvedic Medicine. In india, it's one of the most rejunevating and spiritual herb, it is used by yogis to improve meditation. 

In Chinese Medicine, it covers a wide range including infertility, insomnia, chronic sinusitis... and more diseases.
Some people use it to treat respiratory infections such as colds, and it was used for that in the past in China

The active constituents in Gotu kola are water-soluble, they can be extracted by infusion or tincture (liquid extract)

I look forward to test this soap

French soap challenge

I've participated to a soap challenge on a french forum, couleur savon

About the challenge, we had to make a soap with the hanger swirl technique. It was a first try for me, I've never used this method before. And to be honest, my first attempt was quite tricky

Ok ok, I'll show you the picture, you'll see by yourself

Identity

Saponified oils: Olive, coco, grapeseed oil, cacao butter, shea butter, castor oil

Essential oils: Patchouli, Geranium, Bergamot, Myrtle

Colour: French yellow clay for the yellow, cacao powder for the brown and annatto seed powder for the orange

Results 

It's not that bad, for the hanger effect, but the colour... Look at this orange colour, make with annatto seed powder. A disaster... It bleed on the soap... 

I wanted a last orange colour, my annatto seed macerate wasn't orange enough for me, so I decided to put the raw powder into my pastry. Such a bad idea!!! It was a nightmare to dissolve it properly in the pastry and my trace started thicken. I had to be quick and that's the result. Never again I'm gonna use this powder in that way. Or maybe I should have put less powder... I have no idea

Anyway, after this, because of a light trace, I had a soda ash lay on the top of my soap. I tried to eliminate it by steaming the top. The result is ok

Before and after the steam

I separated my mold like this for the swirl

I really enjoyed to participate at this challenge. You can have a look at all the creations here, they are stunning

It push yourself forward and give you an opportunity to try new method. I can't wait for the next challenge

By the way, I'm going to France tomorrow for an organic fair, Marjolaine. I'm so happy!!! I'll be able to see a lot of cold process soap makers and their soaps. I'll take some picture for you, promise

Soap Making time

Christmas is coming soon...  And if I want to offer my soap gifts to my family and friends on time, I have to start now. What a good news!! I've got a good reason for making a looot of soaps!!

The 2 batches that I've made today

And I found a nice shelf on the pavement yesterday!! I repared the wheel and look at the result...  A nice curing shelf for my soap!! I'm so happy with this, it cost me nothing and it's very useful

I've really enjoyed my soaping day. I had some time only for myself and my passion. A peaceful moment.

Hope you had a good day as well

Avocado soap

I'm sure you know how avocado is good for our bodies. So, Imagine it in to a soap... What a marvel !!

Look at this beautiful natural green colour

I decided to make a simple soap with a high amount of avocado oil (25%)

It will be a good soap for very sensitive skin

 

Identity

Saponified oils: Olive, Coco, Avocado oil, Shea butter

Superfats: Cocoa butter  ( 7%)

Essential oils: Geranium, Lavender, Petitgrain, Elemi (3%)

Colour: Natural white/yellow, spinach powder and charcoal for the light green/grey


Results 

I made a faux funnel swirl and I do love the result! With a light trace, it was very easy to do it

The swirl is a little bit to regular, I should have alternated the space between the lays

I'll do it for the next time, I've got an excuse to make an other batch 

  

Avocado oil is a very good skincare. It's rich in oleic acid which is a good moisturiser. It also contains vitamins D, E (good anti oxidant), and A (beta-carotene). This oil has, as jojoba oil and shea butter, a quantity of unsaponifiables (1% to 2%) . That means the benefit components of avocado oil will remain intact into the soap even after the saponification process. That make it healing for skins and therefor, avocado oil is a very good superfatting oil. Rich in sterol, this oil have a healing, soothing and restorative benefits

 Properties of avocado oil    

• regenerating cells
• moisturising
• soften hard skin
• stimulating hair growth
• aids healing of wounds
• anti-ageing
• soothing

The scent is gorgeous! It smells fresh with the Petitgrain essential oil and you've got a hint of pepper on the after smell with the Elemi, really nice! An unusual smell but very enjoyable

The lather is rich and creamy. Avocado oil gives a good lather to soap

But above all, this soap is incredibly soft. It's like washing your skin with cotton! So imagine how soft it is! I really enjoy it. You should try avocado oil in your soap. It's magic...

 

 

Tell me what you read and I'll tell you who you are

I do really like books!!!!! But I'm talking about real books, not the electronic one you can see everywhere nowadays. This is not book for me. I like to feel the page, the sound it's made when you turn it, the smell... A real pleasure oh my god!!

Your library directly reflect your personality. Fiction and fantasy books for dreamers, romance books for romantics and sensibles, psychological books for curious and Cartesians, Art and culture books for imaginative and artistes, and more and more. Then, I'm gonna share a part of me with you. I'm sure you already guess what is gonna be. My love for nature... Natural books for simple person? maybe

This 2 books are my bible

There are full of information about synergies of plant and oil, a real treasure indeed

And as you can see, my passion for Herbal medicine (phytothérapie), aromatherapy and soap making represent a big part of my library of course 

All this books help me to find inspiration for creating soaps and I have to thank the authors who were generous enough to share their knowledge with us

But the most beautiful book we all have at home and we can share  is ... nature, simply