New Fragrances and Ideas

 Good Afternoon, Rose Garden.

How are you doing? I am doing well. I spent last week I decided to start adding fragrances that I have mapped out into my fragrance Excel spreadsheet. I have found a lot of lost loves and I wanted to start soaping them NOW. LOL. There are still about 45 recipes that I still need to add to my spreadsheet. In this fragrance blending life I get so inspired by foods and colors that it can be hard for me to narrow down what I want to make and when. 

Currently, I have mapped out my Monster Mash fragrances and found some ideas from last year that I never got a chance to blend together. Bummer. So, now I need to get my oil order together for Bramble Berry and Candle Science so I can finally blend them all together and then send them out to my soapy testers. Shelley of Noelle's Garden, Lydia of Butter Depot, and Brandi of Funky Fresh are my go-to businesses to test out my blends because they sell soaps, candles, and body butters with all different base recipes so then can then tell me how everything holds up. These women haven't steered me wrong in the last 6 years so why change now, right? Shelley makes hot process as well as cold process soaps. Lydia is the Queen of Body Butters, dry body oils, and linen sprays. Brandi is the Goddess of Candles and Hot Process Soaps. They are all different in their likes and dislikes so I am sure to get a well rounded response.

So on Clubhouse we have been discussing not leaving money on the table. Ways that we seem to do that frequently is by not looking at all customers and possible customers. Through two Clubhouse meetings we have identified:

1. Barbershops - Men love to smell nice and have their own regimen when it comes to grooming and appearance. A lot of times we have to meet them where they are in order to not have any distractions in sales.

2. Massage Schools - Many of the students don't know how to make their own products and could use the assistance of someone or company who already does and is set up to offer them their own exclusive line.

3. Clubs - How many clubs have you gone to where they have their own signature fragrance (masculine or feminine) for their dancers, waitstaff, etc. to use? I learned this in Texas when I had a woman who was over her dancers come in and purchase my body oils for her dancers because the scents were unique.

4. Teacher Appreciation - How many of you have gone to your local schools and offered a teacher or educator discount? A Sanitation Engineer Discount? A Food Service Discount? When I use to make solid cuticle oils for a nail salon I suggested going to the three surrounding schools and offering a discount. It went over well buuuuttt they didn't have the staff to be able to satisfy the demand. Also, at Christmas the nail shop owner purchased "Thank You" 1 ounce lotions as gifts from me to give to her best customers. The lotions were a hit and from there I went from selling solid lotion sticks to just one nail tech to selling 8 ounce lotions to the shop. Unfortunately, they had to close up shop not too long after that due to not being able to get reliable staff. It was a good run while it lasted.

Well, that is all for now. I am sure that I will have more to say after I have created my fragrances. Chat with you later, Rose Garden.

All Of the New Items On the Website

 

As you can see in our box we offer bath cookies (the reddish tabs in the upper left hand corner) which are perfect for bath time. They are a good mix of bath bombs and bath truffles. You can easily break them in half to use in a full tub without a lot of mess or crumbles. They are made with various French clays, vitamin E and skin softening butters. Most are scented with fragrance oils but I do occasionally make them with essential oils. On the website you will see there are masculine, feminine, and unisex fragrances. I had considered adding some of the fragrances from my Dessert line but then I realized that some people wouldn't be able to resist taking a bite and these bath time goodies are for your enjoyment and not meant to put you in the hospital. LOL

In the fizzy bath salts I decided to take a few more risks and add some of my Dessert fragrances and fruity fragrances to the mix. Soaking in a beautifully scented bath is such a delight. Adding some fun bubbles makes it perfectly whimsical time in the tub. Bath salt soaks have been used for centuries to relax or to draw impurities out of the body. I use my salt blends to create a relaxing fun environment in the tub. Each one is specially created to give the bather a unique experience at bath time.

Dry body oils are new to me as a product but I love them. Previously I made body butters and lotions for the soap boxes but I didn't like how they would melt or separate in the heat during shipping. Dry body oils haven't spilled, thus far, during the Summer in transit. I can add my oil blends right after I blend the base together and not have to wait for the oils and butters to cool down. A great savings in time and energy. I also love the fact that I can create a perfume-type product and not have to worry about the possibility of allergens from alcohol base or perfume base. So far I have had great feedback on them. I will keep them and then add a few more fragrances closer to the end of the year.

And lastly, I have soaps. These soaps have been a hit over and over again. In years past I would only make 1 skin care soap once a year for my daughter and a few others for them to use. This year I made a different type of skin care soap just to see how it would turn out. Well, it was a hit. I made more and decided to go ahead and add a Care line to the site which would allow people to be able to get  a soap for various skin types. In the next couple of months I will add a few more soaps: Sandalwood based, Benzoin based, and Rosehip based. I will keep you all posted. 

My next few posts will have fragrance reviews. Stay tuned. Catch me on Clubhouse in the meantime.

New Item On the Website

I don't know why it took me so long to do this but I am now creating a care line. This line will consist of soaps that I have been creating since 2012 but normally as a one off and not as a steady item. The first soap that I am offering on the website is my Patchouli, Rosemary, and Tea Tree soap. I first made this soap to help my daughter combat her acne. Her skin went from looking like the underside of a Nestle crunch bar to normal after 3 washes with this soap. Of course, I know not everyone will have this type of quick success but I still make it once a year and it consistently sold out. One would have thought then "Hey, maybe I need to offer this more than once a year!" Nope, not me. I am a little slow on the uptake.

I made 7 smaller bars for my daughter and her stash is almost gone. I will be making this soap again in another week or so. I already sold out of the Orange, Lavender, and Oatmeal soap I had made back in May. I only made 8 bars and those sold out they day they became available. I will have to start making double batches of those soaps as well.

I will be adding more French clay soaps to my Care Line. I just have to research which essential oils will work best with each clay. I want to maximize everyone's bathing experience. Once the  cooler weather sets in I will be adding more skin nourishing bath salts and bath cookies. 

Please visit the site via the link listed below.

https://thefragrancenook.com/products/care-patchouli-rosemary-and-tea-tree-soap 

New Soaps

 Hello, Rose Garden!

I took a long hiatus. Partially due to the pandemic and partially due to figuring out what will make me happy when it comes to making products. I have found that happy medium. I started making soaps again to offer in boxed sets.  The ones below are part of my $18.00 boxed set. They aren't full sized bars. In the set there are three 2 -3 ounce bars that are from the same batch as my $65.00 Deluxe box.

 Ultra: Garden Party is the tan and purple soap you see. It is a blend of soft Gardenia, Lily of the Valley, and Hyacinth. With that list I am sure you are asking yourself "how can that smell good?" but I promise you it does. Soft fragrance on the skin and long lasting, too. 

Bamboo and Sugar Cane is the pink and yellow soap that you see. I love this fragrance oil from Rustic Escentuals because it it fruity and floral and such a terrific blend of both that you cannot decide which note is top. I have been soaping this fragrance oil since 2012 and I am still in love with it.

The other bars you see above are Citron Peppercorn and Fig from The Chemistry Store, Ultra: Yapple Apple, a proprietary blend, and Lavender Orange and Oatmeal, another proprietary blend.

It's Been A Long Time

 Hello, Rose Garden.

It has been a while and I have been busy for the last 5 months. I will post an update with pictures in a day or two. 

I am doing something a little bit different this year. I am offering subscription boxes only.

Pirate's Cove: Mermaid's Tear

Hello, Rose Garden!!

I am back to spin you the yarn about my latest soap. Many people forget that the original tales of mermaids were hideous water sprites or beautiful sirens that lured sailors to their deaths. The original tales were dark, murky and frightening. Today we have bright technicolor gorgeous merfolk who want to be human, love humans or will turn humans into merfolk so they can live happily ever after. That, folks, is not the inspiration behind Mermaid's Tear.

This is a dark tale of murky waters, tossed seas, love of all things tumultuous and dangerous. The fragrance is nautical with a slight spice to it. If you have ever been under water and seen the changing of colors due to the sunlight and the water overlapping itself then you can see how I was able to come up with the color combination.

I love this fragrance because it is unisex and smells really mild. It will keep you in the shower long enough to sprout gills and fins. LOL This soap will be ready for the Pirate's Cove line on April 15th.

Pirate's Cove: High Seas Cut Photos

Good Evening, Rose Garden!!

How are you? I have been prepping for April's Soap Boxes which will feature my Pirate's Cove Line. I created this line starting back in 2012 and on into 2013. I left it behind back in 2016 but decided in 2017 to not only revisit it but add some new fragrances to it. I have already shown you First Mate, twice on this blog. Next up I will show you High Seas and the next post will be The Sea Witch.

So this is a wet soap look. I have two different blues in here now rather than just the normal solid blue with black band. I wanted to showcase how the waves can be two toned as well as give a nod to the Black Pearl.

It is so hard for me to not make pretty swirls at the tops for the masculine soaps or to pipe them in a particular patter. Yeah, some guys don't like "frilly" topped soaps but a lot of guys don't care as long as it smells good and makes the skin clean.

This cut has so many fun patterns in it. There is a black heart in the soap below and it also looks like the Eye of Thoth. Love the varying blues anyway.

You get to see a little bit of a sneak peak of the next soap that I will blog about, Mermaid's Tear.

All in all, this is a fun fragrance to soap. It does accelerate a little but not to the point that you don't have any play time with it. It will super heat on you so take that into consideration when making this one. I would not recommend CPOP. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. Make sure to comment below. Invite a friend.