Allergies or Itching for Something New?

Spring has sprung with a vengeance. Allergies are at an all time high in these parts. Achooo!!!
One simple  measure you can take is to shower and wash your hair after you are inside for the night.
Trust me, this works! In addition to washing off all the pollen and dust that have accumulated during the day, a shower naturally produces beneficial negative ions.
Now, if you are like me, you will need some additional enticement for this evening ritual.
Why not switch up your soap?
How about a classy, hot processed, sweet Honey and Beeswax bar (below)?

Or would you prefer the classic indulgence of one of our pure extra virgin olive oil Castiles? We have an unscented, a very light floral and a sweet and lightly spicy smelling Smooth Colloidal Oat (think Aveeno) and Caramelized Honey. No finer choice for preparing the skin for rest and rejuvenation.

Fragrance can interfere with, or enhance sleep. Be careful what you choose if you like fragrance at bedtime. For a light, yet grounding scent, try our delectable "Rosewood" bar with cedar and other wood essential oils.

Lavender is the go-to essential oil for deep relaxation...find it in our "French Breeze" soap.  "French Breeze" also has light touches of clove and geranium essential oils which result in a surprisingly clean and ultra-fresh scent.

For a seductive fragrance, "Amber Blue Moon" is hard to beat. With amber and night blooming jasmine, "Blue Moon" is a perfect choice for introducing a little sultriness into your night slumber.

I hope that these soaps give you a few new fresh ideas for that mundane, routine shower.
Ready, set,  lather!
With Love, Truth and Beauty....

Uses for Coffee Soap

Years ago, I used lemon juice to remove kitchen odors from my hands after food prep. Lemon juice does a good job of removing those garlic and onion smells that linger on the fingers.  However, I do not always have lemons on hand and the juice can be irritating.

I soon discovered the reason why nearly every soap maker has a coffee soap in their line - coffee grinds remove those same stubborn odors.

Coffee grinds also exfoliate mildly and their caffeine is used in some skin care.

Another terrific use for coffee soap? 

Shampoo your canine critters with coffee soap. Just be sure to use handmade soap - not detergent soap!

I do not want to be indiscreet, but Lea and Shaggy could certainly use a bath with odor-removing coffee soap!

The soap we create is called "Coffee House Soap". This bar is super-fatted for moisture, scented with a sweet, sexy musk and vetivert with  fine grinds of organic French roast laced throughout the soap.

When humans use "Coffee House Soap", other people tend to remark "Oh! What is the scent you are wearing"? and then follow you around, so be careful!

When Lea and Shaggy use it - well...they are a lot more pleasant to invite into the home - which is where they naturally want to be - as close to the human(s) as possible. I think you understand this point.

You can find "Coffee House Soap" in our Etsy shop. Or, scroll down the page here and click - shipping costs are already added in to your purchase.
In addition to washing the canine and the cook, this soap makes a great hostess gift!
In Love and Beauty....

Our Etsy Shop's Great Review!!

http://www.mybeautifulletsy.blogspot.com/

Thank you!

Happy Easter!

This Made Our Day!!!

A big THANK YOU to Tierra Verde Handmade Soaps for this terrific award!!

In Love, Truth and Beauty.....

Butter Cream Soap Addiction

As much as I adore scent (and I do!), my sensitive skin will not allow any fragrant soap.
My solution?
I created a soap for myself called "Butter Cream".

"Butter Cream" has no added fragrance or color. YAWN....
This is what it does have - indecent and scandalous amounts of unrefined cocoa butter, coconut cream, coconut milk and luxury vegetable oils. This is one secret recipe that I protect at all costs!
Decadence and Heaven. Sinner and Saint. Diet and Dessert. Vegan and Milk!...you get the idea.
I have found that people are attracted to soap through: 1). scent and, 2). appearance. If the soap is beneficial to the skin, most people take that as a bonus.
Soap is soap, right? If it smells great, that is the major point, right?
WRONG.
"Butter Cream", nice, vegan and coconut milk-based, tends to get overlooked in favor of the fancier soaps next to her.
How deceptive is "Snow White" the "Butter Cream"?
I will tell you that one try and many are addicted to sweet "Butter Cream"....look at me.

In Truth, Love and Beauty.....

Springtime and Happy Birthday to Aries?

 "I daresay you haven't had much practice,"

said the Queen....

"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible

things before breakfast."

Lewis Carroll

I have been thinking about how the astrological Cardinal signs usher in the seasons. In the most simplistic explanation, the commandant Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) welcome their respective seasons ... leaving the stewardship of same to the steady Fixed signs (Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius and Taurus) and then let the fluid Mutable signs (Sagittarius, Pisces, Gemini and Virgo) pave the way for the inevitable changes.

Specifically, I was pondering why Aries, Cardinal Fire, designated by a Ram, would be the herald of Spring.

...and then - ah ha! I got it!  Aries, arguably the most impatient of the signs - the "baby", as it were ... simply cannot wait for Spring to - well, spring!

He (for Cardinal Fire is masculine) literally pushes the tender buds and blooms and flowering trees into action. Why wait? We have not got all day, Darlings! Let's go!

I have some Aries is my natal chart. I just had to go and plant those annuals as soon as the temps creeped into the upper 50s....and now, sadly, Mother Nature (The Commander-in-Chief) is throwing rain, hail, winds and snow down on the first day of Spring.

One-upped again.

Drat!

But hey - ACTION is the Ram's favorite modus operandi - so - I am quite certain that I will repeat my gotta-get-it-done-now business next year.

The dear Aries is a General in the army of this planet (as all Cardinal signs are) - but Mother Nature is the CEO.

Arie's symbol is the Ram's horns, or the Fountain of Youth - depends on how you want to see it, Alice.

It is a pushy fire sign that charges in with all of its Martian-ruled energy and wipes the opposition out.

Admire the Aries in your life....where would we be after the desolation and death of Winter without Aries promise of a bursting Spring?

Aries want to be FIRST! They want to WIN! Most of all - secretly - down deep inside - they want you to like them. (Shhhh....do not tell anyone!)

So....when you see those bulbs and tender greenery peeking up in March......remember....Aries has tender spots too....and after the gentle submission, close-to-resignation of Pisces, all beings that share this planet need the nudge of the Ram's horns (or the Fountain of Youth).

In honor of Aries and the very, very, very first day of Spring, I have created a special soap. There are only three (3) bars. They are reserved for the first three Aries who post a message to my Facebook page. (Whew! This is stressful for me. Is it hot in here?)

It is called "Veldfire".... vetivert, musky, triple-strength fragrance (did you expect anything less?)...nice glycerin, olive oil base swirled with sparkly mica of hot pink, orange, coral atop creamy castile.

I wanted it to have more RED in it, but it is HOT, Baby.....and there are only 3 bars.

Everyone - out of the way!!

A Ram and a resplendent Spring coming through!

In  Love, Truth and Beauty....

Soaps of Taste and Class...

Listing some new soaps for spring over the next two days that are classics, reinterpreted. Most of the new soaps are made in the hot process method, that is, over a kettle on a stove. This method produces a rustic looking, almost translucent soap that is mild and always seems to retain a slight softness to the bar.
The new soaps include Honey-Beeswax (swoon), Pure Castiles, Caramelized Honey and Smooth Colloidal Oat Castile, Rosewood, Vanille-Fig, just to name a few.
Here is a group shot of the lovelies...

I see some cold process bars in the photo too - particularly a larger bar of the much-beloved "Mermaid" - an outrageous combination of decadent cocoa butter and coconut cream with all of the colors and pearl of abalone shell. There is also an Ayurvedic Vata Soap (Perfect for Spring!!) of my design that has been my personal facial cleanser for many years. 

Cold process soaps typically are silkier in texture, many times swirled with fine arabesques of colors.

I find that my cold process soaps cure to a harder consistency than the hot process soaps. They are mild and last a very long time.

I am excited about these new soaps.

I am listing these on Etsy and hope to be finished by the end of business on March 18, 2010.

I will keep you posted.

Thank you for reading....

In Love, Truth and Beauty.......