The Inspiration:
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!
