Simple and Beautiful

When I think of flowers, I think of color. But why not try something a little different? All you need for this basic melt-and-pour project is a clear soap base, shredded loofah, our flexible orchid mold, and fragrance of your choosing. I went with Ginger Blossom just to confuse everyone, cause you know, I could just use our Orchid fragrance ;-)

Start by melting the chopped base as usual (45 seconds in the microwave) and mix in about half a dropper or 2-2.5 milliliters of fragrance and about 1/4 tsp of shredded loofah per melted mug of soap. I used a green loofah-- we no longer carry colored loofah at Bramble Berry, but if you stop by Otion you can pick up violet or green while it's still here. The amount of loofah is really up to you--go with the "less is more" mentality, or throw a bunch in there for extra exfoliating action. I went with a pretty happy medium so that there's enough space between the loofah particles to make them stand out from one another.


The key to getting your loofah to suspend in the soap instead of sink to the bottom is to keep mixing until the soap is fairly cool and slightly thick but not clumpy. You know, it's the phase right before you end up frustrated because you have to re-melt it (usually followed by a "Grr!" or some form of bad word). Pour into the mold, spray with rubbing alcohol and pop it in the freezer for a few minutes to let it set up quickly.

De-mold, which is really easy with the flexible material, and there you go! Quick, easy, effective and very beautiful.

Here's another idea-- add some liquid blue to your clear base and shredded loofah to make a unique snowflake soap for this coming winter season!

Working Hard or Hardly Working?

I'll admit it, this job is way too fun to consider work! One of my favorite things to do here at Otion is test fragrances in cold process soap. It's a great opportunity to practice swirling techniques and try different color combinations, not to mention the thrill of using a totally new scent. Here, I used antique blue mica, yellow mica, and coral mica to create this fiery swirl for a Chipotle fragrance. Can't wait to see how the pattern changes with each bar!

October 17th Cold Process Class

What a stormy night! Talk about great weather to be inside making soap, not to mention perfect sound effects behind the instruction. It was pretty funny to be saying something like, "... and now we have reached trace!" and have it followed up with thunder and lightening. Made for a very dramatic presentation. I think we all had a lot of fun and the swirls keep getting better and better! There were a lot of very sharp, clean looking swirl patterns as a result of using more of one color than the other in the bar. Maybe it's just me, but the contrast seems to make more of an impact.

A special thanks to those who made the trip from out of town. We had a couple people that came up from Tacoma and one from Los Angeles. Now those are dedicated soapers!

Again, I am super impressed by the beautiful bars that were made in class and can't wait to see what next month's students produce.

Mmm... Black Cherry

This new fragrance is bursting with juicy, lip-puckering goodness! When you try a black cherry fruit and compare it to the common sweet cherry, you will notice that the Black Cherry has a sharper taste and is a bit more complex. This fragrance is incredibly long lasting and strong in cold process soap, retaining all the sweetness of Cherry while adding rum notes and deep red tartness. We love combining it with Champagne for a bubbly, soda pop scent.

And hey, there's even a Black Cherry Low Ph LabColor for the perfect tint!

Trick-or-Treat!

Wonderful, relaxing soap. Luxurious, soothing, fragrant indulgences that have the ability to lift and calm our spirit after a hard day's work.

Well, this month, we're doing a different kind of spirit lifting! We're breaking out the pirates and the skulls! Put aside those foo-foo floral soaps with rose petals. Argh! Halloween is quickly approaching and Otion is filling with some creepy creations.

How about handing out glycerin ghouls or sudsy skeletons this year? Trick-or-Treat, or both!

A New Addition to Our Fragrance Line

What? A fragrance that both women and men enjoy? That's right! We are thrilled to introduce a favorite scent among the staff here at Otion-- Vanilla Oak.

Over a year ago, a customer sent us a partially burned candle from an obscure vendor. We loved it so much that we spent the better part of a year trying to perfect this mystical blend. With notes of Light Camphor, Italian Bergamot, Cassia Root to provide flighty top notes, this fragrance really shines with the strong middle and base notes of Sweet Heliotrope, Soft Amber, Warm Oak, Sandalwood, Patchouli and Creamy Vanilla. It's a lot to fit in one small fragrance but we think you'll be enchanted. Discolors to brown in toiletries because of the Vanilla but smells so good you won't even care.