Nom de Plume

This is what Geoff asked when he walked into the kitchen yesterday evening. It was the 1/2 oz of amber I melted into my oils. When I was at Zenith, I couldn’t resist picking up a packet of the stuff. Then, I couldn’t resist the idea of amber-scented soap. Would I add the powdered stuff at trace? Hmm … I googled it, and found a single reference to someone melting it into the oils. And granted, it’s not natural because it’s extracted with petroleum or some such stuff, but hey, I never said I was completely organic.

So, aside from the amber:

201 g lye
21 oz oo
16 oz coil
14 oz palm (YAY!)
19 oz water

I decided to add essential oils too: a combo of 10 tsp (yes, ten, the scents are disappearing!)

2 cedarwood
2 vetiver
2 ylang ylang
3 ginger
1 palmarosa

Unmolded and cut this evening. Very, very oily. Freaked out a little because Cavitch says not to use soap that has oil on top and very hard soap. The soap was pretty soft too, though, which makes me think that the lye discount — which started at 10% — was really very high with the amber and eo additions.

But I think this is the piece de resistance thus far. There is only the slightest tang of ginger and vetiver — no trace of the others — but the amber shines through it all. The overall smell is muted, but still rich and almost humus-y. I hope it doesn’t fade any more. If I have time tomorrow, I may just run back up to Zenith and get some orris root.

*** Update.
This has darkened to a deep rich brown, and is WONDERFUL. I am renaming it 60s Porn Star. The copy? “Pre-silicone, bush-friendly, and love-handle loving — seems like it was a lot easier to feel good about yourself back then. Go ahead, jiggle around in the shower with 60s Porn Star’s rich amber redolence and ginger zip. This is definitely one bar that makes you want to get naked — and stay that way for days on end. And if you want to get in front of a camera? Well, that’s your business.”