SudzBuzz

I shop most of the year for new scents for our soap, but at this time of the year, I have money to spend moreso than usual. I get to be just a little more free with the greenbacks, and I love it. 

Shopping for soap scents offers even more excitement for me than pouring over gardening catalogs, though that’s pretty cool too. Eventually those loose their appeal and I actually go outside and dig in the dirt. With soap scent shopping, I search with not just the scents themselves in mind, but also how I might combine the various aromas…

As I consider each oil, I refer to different websites on aromatherapy and perfumery, men’s and women’s. I’ve also done some reading on the human brain and olfactory centers and scent psychology and scent memory evocation. I find the science behind these fields very interesting. 

Just as viewing a painting can cause someone to feel very strong emotions, the “painting” created by a perfume artist with specific combinations of scents can also evoke very strong emotions. I enjoy making these kinds of special blends and adding them to the soothing blends of base oils we use for our soaps to make a luxurious combination of tantalizing aroma and silky-smooth skin.  

So, what have I dreamed up  this year?

The exotic wedding flower, stephanotis, will be part of our soap line  this year. It joins jasmine, lavender, lilac and rose in our floral line. I’m still shopping for different floral directions. 

I’ve found a more true tart green apple scent! I’m excited about this one–it’s not apple pie, not a baked apple, it’s a fresh, crunchy green apple! Same for our pear scent–just picked off the tree, nothing but pear.

We will be trying some patchouli blends. The specific patchouli oil does matter, as patchouli gets better with age after distilling. I’ll be blending with cassis, and lavender amongst other things.

We’ve had more than a few requests for eucalyptus blends, so I’ve found just the right oil for those…

And, we have upgraded and improved our soap base formulation to make it even more smoothing and softening to your skin, with richer and creamier lather. The bars will be harder and longer lasting as well. It was nice before, but sometimes I would try a different oil here or there, and found I liked some combinations better than others. I’ve always kept records of each batch of soap that I made, so when I was doing inventory at the end of the year, I took note of the higher qualities and which sold and which didn’t do as well. Our changes reflect my observations.

We’ve already started making soap for spring farm markets and our web stores, and those new batches will be ready around the beginning of April. Be sure to stop in and see what we have to offer!

Here’s to the beginning of a new year, looking forward to different things to do and see, and even smell in our soaps.
But first, a quick look back…
We started out the year researching everything we could find out about different soap processes, purchasing some small quantities of supplies and making test batches, even marveling at what a mess a soap volcano can make, then cleaning it up. We were also glad that our test batches were very small. We learned to make fantastic soothing soap, then worked out our unusual loaf molding system to get our oval bars. We ordered a selection of essential oils and experimented with 2-oil blends, and then more complex blends. Then we bought some fragrances for scents that we couldn’t find or were prohibitively expensive in essential oils to broaden our line. And we blended more…
Our first special scent blend was Drifter, originally intended to be called High Plains Drifter. I wanted to evoke images of Clint Eastwood and men like him, but I got a bit worried about copyright infringement, so we went with Drifter. It’s been a best seller for us.
Then there was Gypsy Wind. That one came about right when the wind changed from much too cold to be out on the motorcycles to that special warm and “snow-melting, sun-shining, grass-growing” smell. Horses, dogs who stick their heads out the windows of cars, and bikers are all alert for the smell of the gypsy wind, because it tells them when it’s time to get moving to a more hospitable and carefree place or else be stuck wherever you are for uncomfortable times…
And we have Brown Leather, which smells like a saddle shop or a leather garment store. As a young girl, I would go to the saddle shop even when I didn’t need anything, just to smell the new leather, inhaling deeply when I walked in the door.
Sylph, the more feminine cousin of Drifter, with high notes of lavender rather than sage, lingers more strongly after the bath, but not overwhelmingly. One of the first gentleman bikers who happened to greet me with a hug and smelled it on me did a double take and asked what perfume THAT was, with a sparkle in his eye…’nuff said for me!
Cavendish, my most recent creation, is a wonderful light scent reminiscent of fine fresh pipe tobacco before it’s burned, musky, grassy and smooth.
Now, looking ahead, we’re hoping to add more special blends, unique to Britewerkz Bubbles. We will also be saying good bye to some soaps that just couldn’t seem to find the door to new homes on their own. So far we’ve done pretty well with the special blends, and some of the single varieties, but we aren’t going to try to offer every kind of soap that every person would want.
Knowing what our customers want is VERY important to us however. We sell soap at farmers markets, on Etsy, Artfire, and here on our own site. We we would like to hear from you about your favorite scents, so feel free to comment! When we get multiple requests for an unusual combination or find a particular blend really intriguing, we may give it a trial run!
Wishing you and yours the best in the new year!