The Time Has COME!

Ok we've kept you guys waiting long enough. Without further ado, here are...SUGAR SCRUBS! Our "On The Rocks" Sugar Scrubs are finally available for purchase through our Etsy page!

It's about time!

Not only are they a sugar scrub, but they also double as a body wash. Finally, a non oily scrub that also cleans! Pro tip: Want to switch up your shower routine? Put a scoop of your scrub on your bath poof and agitate your poof to get some bubbles!

As of right now, we only have three scents that we are offering in the scrub, and only in the smaller sizes. If the public demands more, guess what we'll give them? :) And keep in mind, this little 4oz jar gives you 6 OZ of product, so you get more bang for your buck. Here's the line up at the moment:

Bourbon: Newly reformulated! Now a little sweeter and spicier. This is our most popular scent! A classic, kept classy. Smoky vetiver wrapped in a blanket of vanilla with just a touch of spice are blended to create this all time favorite scent. With just a whisper of oak, this scent has a very sultry depth that is cherished by men and women a like.

White Whiskey: Also newly reformulated! Another great unisex scent. White Whiskey is has been growing in popularity on the cocktail scene for the past year or so. It's typically a mildly aged whiskey, that has notes of an aged whiskey that's much lighter in flavor/color and has a greener note to it. It usually has the blendibility of vodka, with the flavor of a very mild aged liquor. This is no different. Green tea, may chang and a hint of balsamic (woody) vanilla give this blend a bit of sweetness as well as a green note

NEW SCENT! It's not even available in a soap yet :)
Elderflower Liqueur: A new scent! Elderflower liqueur has the ability to make even the blandest cocktail slightly more upscale. The flower petals themselves do not carry much scent, as the essential oil doesn't heavily reside in them, but the scent that it does carry is a very mild honeyed citrus fragrance, with a hint of white floral. This custom blend of fragrances, just like the others, is something that you won't find anywhere else. We blended honey, along with tangerine, white flowers, and just a touch of immortelle to take this fragrance to the next level. While this scrub does not actually contain honey, the fragrance may have traces of honey in it so it is not vegan.

As usual, this product is paraben, phthalate, sulfate, -cones, and harsh detergent free. So, go show how much you love us, and get some! Any feedback from buyers is greatly appreciated through Etsy feedback. Here's the link! https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheSoapDistillery

We haven't gone anywhere...I swear!

So, what's all this then?

So, things have been getting pretty chaotic around here lately. We've been busy busy busy with testing formulations, and there's been lots of ups and downs. Formulating new products can be a very rewarding experience, but I'll tell you, it's been a frustrating and difficult one as well. Choosing the right balance between raw materials is far more difficult than people assume it would be,  and making sure you are keeping temperatures consistent and following the process correctly can be trying! But, when it comes down to bringing our customers a good product, it's freaking worth it. So, aside from new fragrance blending, here's what we've been up to:

 Body cream: I'm debating on whether I want to offer a body cream or a lotion in the future, but it doesn't hurt to test out the waters! Look how creamy this is...it came out so well! It's thick, creamy, and loaded with shea butter, macadamia oil, as well as aloe, green tea extract, and beta glucan. I've been using it a bit, and it absorbs surprisingly quickly for how thick it is. This would be amazing in the winter. And I love that it looks like frosting...

YUM. (even thought it's not edible)

Body washes: So here's the sad bit: I originally posted a sneaky photo of a body wash that we made, and it came out, again, awesome, and after being tested for a while it was ready to sell. However, dude to human error, I must have written something down incorrectly, or missed something, because I can't recreate the recipe to save my life! So, back to the drawing board. Not really a big deal, because now we get to play around a little more with some new materials. Aloe has been a favorite, as well as glycerin. Just saying. I've used the creamy one in the middle and the clear one on the side several times myself, and my testers will be getting some samples of these soon. We'll also be getting the new recipes challenge tested once we decide on one or two we like the best, all for your safety!

Which would you prefer? Creamy or clear?

 New soaps: We're not called The Soap Distillery for nothing! While we've been messing around with some non soap bar products, we've also been improving our soap recipe (can you believe it gets BETTER?) and blending some new scents. This recipe has loads of cocoa butter, shea butter and macadamia nut oil. It's similar to the recipe that we use for The Hair of the Dog and White Whiskey soaps, but improved! This one in particular is Gin, and as you may have seen in the last post, we've been working to re-blend some old favorites, as well, to make them even better than they already are.

This Gin fragrance has strong notes of juniper (of course), fir, sage, honeysuckle, and bergamot. It's an earthy, but sweet, blend inspired by one of my favorite gins.

Creamy cleansing goodness.

Now, our sugar scrub is just about ready to go. So, if you care about your skin at all, you'll try it out! :) Perhaps it's release will be the next post...

See, we told you we haven't been sitting around doing nothin'!

New scents, new stuffs!

Blending some new scents, and re-blending some old scents. We've got lots of new stuff in the works! We are currently working on releasing some new products, and giving some old products a fresh new start. Here's a little sneak peek at the scents we blended yesterday:

We'll test these out and see how they change (if at all) in soap. Keep your fingers crossed! They all smell sooooo good on their own. Maybe we'll have to make some perfumes as well...

What's the difference?

So, here’s a question I get all the time as a soap maker. People wonder why they should use homemade soap in the first place. We've already covered the “it’s too beautiful to use” problem, but why even buy it over commercial “soap” in the first place?

You’d think this question would infuriate a soap maker. However, once upon a time, many of us were in this same spot. We didn't know why we should buy, let alone make, soap. I know I personally grew up on liquid soaps that we made purely with artificial surfectants, and that was the only thing I knew.  When someone said “soap bar”, I thought of all those commercial soaps that exist on the market these days, and didn't know that they weren't actually soap. They looked pure to me. But what are we really using? When I found out, this is what drove me to buy REAL soap, and it was my crafty spirit that forced me to make it. Well, let me share some info with you.

Here’s the long and short of it. And for the sake of time, we’ll only talk about soap bars today, and save shower gels/liquid soaps and lotions/body creams for another post, okay? Okay. Well, here’s the skinny: Real soap is made with oils that are carefully chosen, not because they are cheap, but because of the different properties they have. Now, we can’t talk about healing skin issues, curing diseases, or treating specific afflictions because, well, the FDA doesn't like that. But what we can talk about is how nice these oils make your skin feel. When handmade soap is made, the most basic form is mixing water and oils with an alkali and it turns it into soap. However, if you only use enough alkali to turn 94% of the oils into soap, and leave 6% of the oils untouched, that left over oil is what prevents your skin from drying out. It doesn't leave your skin feeling oily, just soft and clean. And the glycerin, which is a natural byproduct of soap, stays in the soap and draws moisture to the skin.

No. I don't want you on me.

So what do commercial “soap” manufacturers do? Well typically if they are making an actual soap, they do not leave these excess oils in the soap because taking them out prolongs the shelf life. That means this soap can last for years and years sitting on the shelf in a warehouse somewhere. They also manufacture out the glycerin so that moisture is not drawn to it. Then, they add artificial surfectants as lather and foam boosters. These chemicals, most commonly sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLS, SLES) are the same chemicals we use in floor cleaners, dish washing powders, degreasers, and other powerful cleaners, and can be extremely irritating to the skin. It’s also commonly used in toothpaste, and if enough is ingested, it can cause some, well, unwanted digestive issues…Since the free oils and glycerin is taken out, and irritating chemicals are used, they tend to add cheap waxes to give you the illusion of being moisturized. But, who are they kidding? They aren't fooling anyone. Not anymore!

I mean, if Tyler Durden says it's ok...

So what sounds better to you: Handmade soap made with real ingredients, or a pressed bar of floor cleaner? Yep, that’s what we thought. And this is why we do what we do!

(please note, no organized fighting clubs take place in or around our soap making studio, unfortunately)

The Violet Hour

If you love high quality, beautifully crafted cocktails and you live in Chicago, you've probably heard of The Violet Hour. Well, since it's one of my favorite places to go, I thought there would be no better way than to honor them than to create a soap inspired by their cocktail, "Juliet and Romeo". Made with four simple ingredients (Beefeater, Mint, Cucumber, Rose Water) this cocktail is everything you didn't even know you wanted in a refreshing drink. And thanks to its creator, The Violet Hour partner Toby Maloney, we were given the green light to turn this into a soap.

OH. JOY.

Every time I smell this soap, I want to take a bite out of it! But, alas, I know it won't taste like the delicious cocktail it was inspired by.

This soap is simple, just like it's counterpart. We didn't want to make the design too complicated, but we also didn't want the soap to be too simple. The drink itself appears to be a very pale green (it's difficult to see the exact color in the darker atmosphere) with a couple of drops of deep magenta at the top. The soap, has a similar design, with an added dark green component added to compliment the cucumber. We also added french green clay to the soap to also give it a pale green appearance and stuck a dried pink rose bud on the top. The fragrance is a simple but delicate blend of cucumber, rose, rosewood, juniper berry, and bergamot.

We are so excited  and honored to be able to bring this soap to you! It's currently on the curing rack, and will be available for sale at the beginning of April 2013.

Kinda lazy, but only a little bit...

Ok, so we haven't been posting as much lately, but it doesn't mean we haven't been doing anything...I swear! We just listed (finally) our Spiced Rum soap on Etsy and we're also working on developing a sugar scrub and a body lotion. I'm hoping it will all be ready in a few months, but we'll keep you all updated. Go check out our new listings!

New stuffs!

We just added a few new soaps to the Etsy store! Soaps include Bloody Mary, Mimosa, and Corpse Reviver 2, as we all know that the second variation is the best :) Here are some pics of the newbies:

Bloody Mary, sprinkled with tomato powder and black pepper

Mimosa, made with honey and calendula petals. I love when I can use gold mica on something.

Bloody Mary again. The carrot juice and tomato powder made the soap real yellow orange.

Corpse Reviver. This one really comes alive in the shower!

 Here's some more information about them:

Bloody Mary has a very herbal scent. It's main notes include cedarwood, eucalyptus, lilac, rosemary, hawaiian ginger, lemon, and melissa. It's yum.

Mimosa ended up being a very oriental scented soap, with notes of patchouli, white musk, ylang ylang, ginger, orange, honey, and plum. Plus the soap has honey in it. It feels awesome!

Corpse Reviver 2 is such a brightly scented soap. It's a real eye opener will be sophisticated as well. Scent notes include juniper berry, orange, lemon, white grape, and anise. This soap scent truly blooms when the water hits it.

That about sums it up. Go check out our etsy shop for more info!

http//www.etsy.com/shop/thesoapdistillery