I received my S.O.A.P. Panel test fragrances from Bramble Berry on Thursday. Fragrances often smell different out of the bottle than they do once they’ve gone through saponification, but here are my initial impressions of the eight fragrances:
- Piney type scent. Very pleasant. A bit floral. I like the way this one smells.
- A sort of apple or pear scent. A little bit of a sour bite. I detect more pear, but there is a definite bite to it. Smells good.
- Floral, very feminine. Clean. A honeysuckle-type note. Maybe jasmine. Smells very nice.
- Sort of masculine. A water/fruit note. Smells clean. Smells good.
- A sort of neem oil note to it. A grass note. Earthy. I don’t like this one out of the bottle.
- Fruity and floral. Summery. Citrus note. I like this one.
- Pretty, feminine, floral. Very springy. Smells good.
- Masculine. Smells sort of like a sexy man. A fruit note.
I handed the last one to my husband Steve and said, “Smell it. I think it smells like a sexy man.”
Steve replied, “Why yes, it does smell like me.”
Dork.
I will be testing each fragrance in a one-pound batch with full water and will take notes on how the fragrance behaves, particularly regarding acceleration, ricing, and discoloration. I will be using a recipe of 45% olive oil, 25% coconut oil, 25% palm oil, and 5% castor oil. I will use the fragrance at the rate of 6%, which I find is usually enough to have a nice, strong scent with a fragrance that sticks well. I will gel the soaps so I can determine whether gelling impacts the fragrances’ sticking power. Lastly, I will keep notes on how well the fragrance sticks after some time has passed.
I’m very excited to try the fragrances out!
RT @NESoaps: S.O.A.P. Panel Fragrances: Initial Impressions: http://t.co/PK7MPaOy39
So exciting that you got the samples and can't wait to see how they react in CP!
AnnaRose recently posted..Snowy South
AnnaRose, the first results will be up today.
Except for the neem-like scent, all of them sound great! Can't wait to see the results of your experiment. 🙂
Silvia recently posted..Lazy Daisy No-Knead Bread Recipe
Stay tuned, Silvia! I tried out the first one and will be posting an update today.
Fun! I want the grassy, neem-y, hippie sounding one.
Good! I will give it to you! Otherwise, I'm not sure what I will do with it.
I enjoyed reading about your first impressions, Dana! I'm on the panel, too, and posted my initial thoughts about the fragrances on my blog today. It's fun seeing how similarly or differently our noses interpret each fragrance. I enjoyed reading about your testing so far, too!
Jenny recently posted..S.O.A.P. Panel Fragrances: First Impressions
Thanks, Jenny! I read your post and started to leave a comment, but I was on my iPad, and it got eaten. Going to to go over and write it again now that I'm on my laptop. Your impressions of the fragrances matched mine, I think, but you seem to have a better nose for figuring out what they are.
How did I miss this post!? And your husband is hilarious =) And your nose is doing a fine job =) A-M
Thanks, Anne-Marie! I can't always pick out all the layers in a scent, but I'm giving it a try!