I don't know how I happened upon this recipe, but of course all things Martha Stewart look so gorgeous and so easy, so I thought, I can do this.
I had some orange zest in the fridge which I was going to use in either biscotti or soap. Seeing how I didn't have enough eggs for biscotti, it went in the soap instead.
I decided to add some dried lavender into the mix as well for some colour contrast and a nice smell. Plus, I'm not much for using it in cooking, so what better place for it to end up than in some soap.
The first of the two soaps I poured ended up with way more of the orange and lavender on the bottom of the soap.
I'll know next time to spoon the soap into the mold so that it gets more evenly distributed. However, this meant the second pour came out much better.
What's your favourite natural ingredient to use in embedding?
I have never heard of litsea til now, I will see if I can find that locally and try in my diffuser (I love citus).
ReplyDeleteYour soap looks so pretty! I love the look of the lavender and orange embed! I bet it feels and smells wonderful to wash with.
My favorite natural embed product is poppy seeds :)
Litsea is a scent I picked up from Brambleberry (or more to the point, Otion). It is so lovely, I have the soaps sitting on my dining room table right now (because who uses their dining room table to eat, right? ) and it smells wonderful everytime I walk past.
DeletePoppy seed, what a great idea Michelle! I'll have to try that in another soap. Do you use a particular scent with it, or just leave it natural?
I've used lemon eo or lemongrass eo with the poppyseed only because it reminded me of the lemon poppyseed bread at Satrbucks. Lol! I love that bread :D
DeleteOh, that's so pretty Monica! One of my favorite natural ingredients for embedding is calendula :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Cee! Do you grow your own calendula to put in your soap? I'd love to use more from the garden, but I usually end up eating it first. ;)
DeleteI remember embedding something natural when the boys and I made soap one time...can't remember what it was, but did remember it turned all brown. Maybe lavender? Those soaps are very pretty!
ReplyDeleteOh, speaking of that, we're using your red Canada flag soap right now and it smells so good, I want to just walk around all day with it stuck up my nose...but I'd look pretty silly, wouldn't I? ;)
Thanks Teresa! You did either lavender or calendula I think. I might even have that soap still. I'm hoping it won't discolour since the lavender was harvested to keep the colour, but I'm going to leave the soaps for a while and see what happens.
DeleteI'm glad you like the Canada flag soap, although I can't remember what I used for a scent now. Was it the creamsicle again? I keep sniffing myself when I've slathered on the cocoa butter, but it is slightly more discrete than a bar of soap up the nose. ;>
I love how natural and earthy your soap turned out! One of my favorites to use in soap is Calendula as it tends to keep its might color longer than most botanicals. =)
ReplyDeleteThanks Anne-Marie! I'm hoping it doesn't discolour too much because I think it looks rather nice otherwise. Since both you and Cee like calendula, I think I'll have to try that next. Thanks for the suggestion.
DeletePretty soaps, Monica! My husband really likes ground oatmeal in soap, and it makes pretty flecks, too. I haven't done too much with herbs or plants, but I love the way calendula looks in soap. I hear that it doesn't discolor brown like most other botanicals.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenny! I love the idea of ground oatmeal in soap, it must be a nice mild exfoliant? From all the positive things being said about calendula, I think I'll have to source some out and try it. I wonder if dried flowers would work as well.
DeleteI love to use dried and crushed mint or basil - especially when the rest of the soap is tinted with parsley powder. Not too much or it gets scratchy, just enough for some interest.
ReplyDeleteAnd oatmeal. Gotta love oatmeal!!
Thanks for the ideas Lindsey! I have mint coming out of my wazoo, so that would be a great way to use some of it up. Parsley powder, I've never heard of that, time to put Google to good use again. :)
DeleteSo that's 3 votes for calendula and 2 for oatmeal. I'm going to have to try those out.
And I love your picture BTW, too cute! Thanks for stopping by.
I don't use herbs embeds,because I'm not sure I will like them falling apart in my tub,but I like seeing others use them. What does it feel like in the shower? Do you mind collecting leftovers and discarding them? I've used only poppy seeds,because they are small enough not to worry about cleaning. Your soaps look so rustic,natural and edible, I could hardly guess it's soap,looks more like some delicacy!
ReplyDeleteIt's a good point Maja. I've had bath bombs with herbal and floral embeds in them before, and they look so pretty in the water and they ended up washing down the drain.
DeleteI actually haven't tried my own soap yet (crazy isn't it?) but I'm going to have to see how it turns out in the shower. Maybe less embeds next time.
Poppy seeds are a great idea, I love the look of them and they would act as a bit of an exfoliant I'd imagine? Thank you for the compliment, hopefully no one tries to take a bite.