Blossom

The inspiration for Blossom was the feeling that Spring has begun.  For some reason the combination of Jasmine and Tangerine seemed appropriate.  I couldn’t help but sprinkle calendula over the whole thing – a little touch of sunshine.  Love this combination!

Jasmine essential oil – encourages love, sensuality and spiritual awakening; uplifts your spirit and calms your mind; cultivates positive experiences within intimate relationships.  For those of you that are interested in essential oils and their effects on the chakras, Jasmine balances and unblocks the Svadhisthana (2nd / sacral) chakra.

Tangerine essential oil – stimulating, mood-enhancing, uplifting; encourages you to be creative, spontaneous and joyful.  Balances and unblocks the Svadhisthana (2nd / sacral) chakra.

Aussie Bush

I had a request to create a soap containing Tea Tree essential oil.  Tea Tree (Melaleuca) is a plant that is native to Australian and I happen to also be Australian, so I decided to create a soap that was reminiscent of the Australian bush (it’s just another word for forest).  I combined Tea Tree and Eucalyptus essential oil, which are predominant in the Aussie bush, with Lemongrass essential oil.  You’re probably thinking, “Why Lemongrass?”.  Well, most things in Australia have an Asian influence and the Asian scent of Lemongrass blends beautifully with the other essential oils, so it made sense to me!  If you’ve ever walked through the Aussie bush you’ll know that the ground is always covered with leaf litter, so I decided to mimic that by adding Calendula flowers and Green Tea.  And, this is how it came out!

Wine Bar

Last year I attempted to make soap with wine and the result was visually interesting, and the smell was very unusual.  When wine goes through the saponification process during cold-process soap-making, it changes to a brown color and the smell is altered also.  This time when making Wine Bar (love this name!) I decided to add Madder Root powder to some of the mixture to return it to it’s original beautiful red wine color, and essential oil of Frankincense to enhance the scent.  As a final touch I added some dried Hibiscus flowers to play up the red coloring.  The result was this beauty below – sorry that I can’t include the amazing scent in this post!

Frankincense essential oil – comforting; helps to overcome stress and despair; assists in spiritual awakening; dispels negativity; allows us to let go of lies and deception; induces a feeling of mental peace, relaxation and satisfaction.  Frankincense can be used to activate the Sahasrara (7th /crown) chakra.

Red Wine – warming; relaxing