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Plain Ol' Brown Soap

Confession: I made my first batch of soap about 14 years ago and in all the years since, I have never once made a batch of vanilla soap.  Sure, I've accidentally bought the occasional fragrance that contained more vanilla than I realized, like my lovely yellow lemon poppyseed soap that magically tuned to bland brown in mere hours.  But I've avoided the straight vanilla fragrance, as much as I like it.

However, I recently bought a bottle of the most amazing vanilla fragrance.  It is incomparable in sugar scrubs and the sort of scent that you almost have to take the teeniest lick, just to convince yourself that it's really not edible. But I figured it was high time for some vanilla soap.

When working with vanilla-based fragrances, I've found that it just doesn't work to fight it.  Titanium dioxide, vanilla stabilizer--the effects only last so long, if at all.  Brown soap is just so....brown. And boring. I wanted to make a vanilla soap that popped. Day one of the batch consisted of unscented white and brown-striped embeds.  Day two--the vanilla scented base.


I sliced the batch literally minutes before leaving for vacation.  (Priorities...) This is how the bars looked right after slicing. I was excited and optimistic.


I couldn't wait to see what they looked like a week later.  I think I nailed the "pop."  And the scent is perfectly vanilla.  Why did I wait so long?!
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Comments

  1. LatherBeSoapingJuly 26, 2014 at 10:07 AM

    Oh, wow, that is really cool, Amy! Those embeds are so neat! Great job working with the natural color from the vanilla.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amy@10th Ave.July 28, 2014 at 8:53 PM

      Thanks, Jenny! I was really pleased by how they turned out, with just two colors.

      Delete
  2. SoapJamJuly 26, 2014 at 10:19 AM

    That's the snazziest brown soap I've seen? Love it! Likewise, I don't fight the natural brown color of vanilla. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. SoapJamJuly 26, 2014 at 10:20 AM

    Oops, the first sentence is supposed to end with a period, not a question mark. :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. SoapSudsationsJuly 27, 2014 at 11:25 PM

    Love how it looks like fudge with marshmallows! And the scent must be amazing. Keep it away from any dieters. ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amy@10th Ave.July 28, 2014 at 9:01 PM

      My mister keeps mentioning how good the soap smells. While he's very supportive of everything I make, he's been super enthusiastic about this fragrance, suggesting I get another batch made in preparation of this one disappearing quickly.

      Delete
  5. LauraAugust 1, 2014 at 5:26 PM

    Gorgeousssss!! Looks like a birch forest :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousAugust 18, 2014 at 3:53 AM

    How playful! This is the cutest brown soap I have seen so far :-)

    ReplyDelete

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