I’m finally back in the swing of things! As I mentioned in my last, very short post, my job has been taking up a lot more of my free time than normal. Add to that some business travel out to beautiful Colorado, a quick vacation up to Baltimore to attend Maryland Deathfest (our sixth in a row!), followed by a nasty sinus infection — and I just haven’t been able to whip out a batch of soap in ages. But this past weekend, I was finally able to get in the kitchen and knock out a couple batches. Today, I’m bringing you a brand new fragrance and design — Dragon’s Blood!
Yep, you guessed it! This fragrance is based on the Dragon’s Blood incense, and let me tell you, it smells superbly true to life. I ordered this fragrance oil from Essential Depot. I’ve purchased other items from them before — curing racks and ingredients such as a shea butter — but never fragrances. I’ll admit, I was a little put off at first because unlike some of my other suppliers, Bramble Berry and Wholesale Supplies Plus, Essential Depot does not provide MSDS sheets for their fragrances, nor do they provide recommended/safe usages per product or even per fragrance. They just give you an overall usage for the entire line, and don’t distinguish between usages for soap versus lotions versus bath bombs, etc.
That said, I am really pleased with the performance of this oil. The Dragon’s Blood FO smells just like the real thing, and it didn’t seem to dissipate at all throughout the saponification process. Additionally, I used less of this oil than I would have of other brands, and I still think this turned out to be my strongest smelling soap yet. Score!
As for the design, I attempted a simple spoon swirl. Did I do it right? I have no idea. It didn’t turn out exactly like I was expecting, but I do like the overall effect. And based on this soap’s outcome, I know exactly how I want to try my next spoon swirl.
I think the only thing I’m not super happy about with this soap is how the colors turned out. I really wanted my swirled in colors to pop more. I should have used more of the micas, especially the red and orange. This color combination would be fantastic for a silhouette sunset design, though. I was just shooting more for… fire.
Let me know what you think of this Dragon’s Blood soap in the comments below! How do you think you’d feel showering with a unique scent like this? Stay tuned for another video soon featuring a second Essential Depot fragrance and another new design. I’ll also soon be filming a video on how I package my soaps, including cigar bands, ingredient labeling, and shrink wrap. And as always, if you have any comments on this video or suggestions for future projects, let me know. I’d love to hear from you!
Slow-Moving CP Soap Recipe
40% Olive Oil
25% Coconut Oil
17% Palm Oil
12% Avocado Oil
6% Shea Butter
Scents and Swirls
Dragon’s Blood Fragrance Oil
Activated Charcoal
Crimson Red Wine Mica
Siesta Sunset Orange Mica
Golden Pineapple Yellow Mica
