The theme was Valentines day, and this presented me with a few problems to figure out from the get go.
You see, while of course I have lots of female customers, who are most appreciated of course, The Black Stuff is primarily positioned as a masculine brand. The scents I create, generally aren't hugely appealing to my wife...
So with that in mind, I didn't want to create a feminine soap featuring typical Valentines imagery. I didn't necessarily want to create a product that would be bought as a gift for others.
This lead me to settle on relaxation as the theme for my limited edition launch. I wanted something that could be purchased around Valentines day, but for ones self.
I started to brainstorm names, and research essential oils and ingredients that have calming properties. While I realise that soap is a wash off product, and a lot of the essential oil properties is likely consumed during the saponification process, I thought this might be a great way to come up with the scent.
Out of the list of essential oils that I created, there was one that jumped off the page at me. Once I got a sample of it, I knew I needed to try and use it. That oil was Neroli, or Orange Blossom Oil.
It takes 1000kg of Orange Blossom flowers to create 1kg of Neroli Oil. It's very concentrated, and incredibly expensive. But the scent is out of this world. It's used in a lot of perfumes and colognes. It is however, quite feminine.
Combine the feminine scent with a very expensive oil and I quickly realised I only wanted a teeny tiny bit of it in each soap. Just enough to fill your nostrils on first sniff, but not over power and dominate the scent (and break the bank).
The rest of the essential oils I settled on were as follows:
A base note of ylang ylang. I use this in my Eucalyptus on Ice to great effect so this was an easy choice for me. It is also quite floral, and very relaxing.
A second base note of Cedarwood. This was used to level out the ylang ylang, and keep the scent from becoming too floral. It also supposedly reduces stress.
My middle notes of White Camphor and Coriander are two new oils that I haven't worked with before. The white camphor which is purported to reduce anxiety and relieve tension, has a great woody smell. Not to far removed from birch oil which I love. Coriander, has a really interesting scent. Spicy, herbal and exotic. But one I had to adjust a few times as it's quite overpowering.
The top notes of the scent are from the neroli oil, and I added fir essential oil to it, to balance it out and keep it masculine. It also matched the white camphor really well and is supposedly very calming and relaxing.
I then decided to add crushed rosemary to the soap. I wanted to include something unique to this soap, and my research through up rosemary as a good candidate due to it's interesting benefits around relaxation and alertness.
Finally I wanted this to be a bubbly, smooth bar. So I decided to add brown sugar and honey to help it create better lather and feel softer. The sweetness of the honey is also detectable in the scent, and it creates the color swirl in the soap.
As for the name, many were brainstormed, but the second one of my friends said "Relax the Cacks" jokingly, I knew that was the one!
Overall, I was delighted to launch this soap, and even happier (and relieved) to read the superb feedback from my customers, old and new.
At the time of writing I have about 100 of these soaps left to sell in the USA and about 60 in Ireland. When they are gone they're...
Have a look at some of the great feedback I have received on Facebook (I've asked permission to share these but blurred out their personal details):
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On the west coast of Ireland, in Connemara, about an hours drive from Galway you will find the quiet seaside village called Roundstone. A few minutes drive up the windy road towards Clifden, you will reach a junction where cars are parked on both sides of the narrow road, leaving barely enough room for you to squeeze by. You've reached your destination - Dogs Bay Beach.
This beautiful beach, which backs onto its sister beach (Gurteen) is the inspiration for this soap. I visited there this summer during one of the hottest weeks of the year. Originally, I thought of including sand from the beach in the soap, which is unusual in that it is entirely made from crushed sea shells, however it is a protected area due to erosion.
The beach is unique in that on a sunny day, it's as nice a beach as any in the Caribbean, the only inkling that you are in Ireland is that when you look around, you have a good chance of spotting a cow or a sheep grazing in the green sand dunes overlooking the beach. That, and when you dip your toe into the ice cold Atlantic Ocean!
The Soap
Instead of sand, I sourced some natural Irish Carragheen seaweed, and combined that with another algae called Spirulina which also gives the soap its green color. The two combine to give it a slight scent of 'seaside' as well as adding to the texture and the exfoliating properties of the soap. I also added my rougher blend of oatmeal and volcanic pumice to give it a rough texture.
The majority of the scent is derived from a unique blend of essential oils which complement the seaweed superbly. The top note consists of Black Spruce with a subtle splash of Sweet Orange Essential Oil, sits nicely over a blend of Juniper and Cinnamon Bark Oils which are anchored in a Patchouli base. As always, no fragrance oils are used, just my own proprietary blend of essential oils.
As I wrote on the box "Wild Berries and Sand Dunes" is a perfect way to describe this soap, which is one of our larger 5.5 - 6 oz soaps.
It truly is a unique smelling soap.
I hope you enjoy it!
]]>Meet Ginger Honey Tea.
I cannot stop smelling this soap. I have the one I used for the above photo on my desk, and seriously, I keep finding myself picking it up and inhaling deeply.
It's seriously good.
The first smell you get is that tart lime smell, accentuated with a tiny amount of bergamot to give it an edge. As you inhale deeper, this top note dissipates into a warm ginger smell. The middle notes of pepper, clove, and lavender can be distinguished only by the finest nose, they serve to take away the acridity of the ginger and round out and support the scent beautifully.
The liquid part of the soap itself is made purely from Barrys Irish Tea, brewed with distilled water. I then added organic honey to give it that deep brown color - the honey also helps create a luxurious lather. Pre soapmaking, the essential oils are anchored in kaolin clay overnight, which not only has beneficial skin properties but also serves to keep the scent fresh and help the essential oils survive the saponification process.
For texture, I also use a small amount of pure sieved oatmeal flour, which is known to have beneficial properties for your skin. It helps with many skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema. There is a reason people have oatmeal baths to calm irritated skin.
These factors, alongside my base soap ingredients which are of very high quality, and were chosen for their benefits to the soap rather than based on their cost; combine to create a soap that not only smells incredible and is a delight to use, but actually has ingredients that are great for your skin. Once you use this soap, you will know the difference.
The soap itself weighs in at about 5.5 oz, and has been cured for 4 weeks to ensure a longer-lasting soap.