This picture is from our resident peacock. One afternoon we returned home after shopping in the valley and there, lo and behold, was a peacock in the front of our property! And now we have a permanent peacock resident. So, a few evenings ago he was resting on the side of my truck with his beautiful train hanging down reaching the ground and all I could think about is GO GET YOUR CAMERA! This is one of the pictures that I took and as soon as I viewed it I knew this was going to be my new color scheme for a new soap. Now mind you, I know a lot of you will have a picture in your mind of a peacock soap, but this will just be my color scheme. Emerald green, Peacock blue (ha, ha!), copper and black! My only issue at this point is a fragrance, hmmmmm. What to scent this beautiful color combination with? That is where I am going to ask my customers, friends and family to help. I need some ideas for a scent that will do this palette of colors justice! So I decided to ask all of you to post your recommendation to this blog post with your ideas and if your scent is chosen you will receive a FREE BAR WITH A 15% OFF COUPON FOR AN ANY SIZE ORDER! This contest will run from today until June 4th 2021. Just post a comment with the description or name of your scent with your name (can be first name only) and we will announce the winner June 5th, 2021! Can't wait to hear your ideas! You all have a beautiful weekend!

So this blend of ours will remind you of a winter holiday but there is more to this bar than the reference to the gifts brought to baby Jesus. If you want to know the essential oils of frankincense and myrrh were revered oils of that time and still are. I can imagine that the representation of the kings bringing these oils to this child showed how important he was, just because they were oils that not just anyone could have possession of. They were ceremonial oils that were important and I can imagine quite expensive, along with the gold that was given. Today the oils of frankincense and myrrh have purported benefits that have become very popular, it is an oil I frequently  use in our household. I use a 3% dilution frankincense for joint pain on my knees, ankles and hands and I use both of these oils in a salve that I make for personal use. I will encourage you all to research these oils and the magnificent history and benefits they offer.
The third oil we add to this bar is Ceylon cinnamon. This is not the Chinese cassia cinnamon that is used for baking, this is the therapeutic type of cinnamon, yes there is a big difference! This is another oil I will encourage you to research, I will never tell you any essential oil will do something for you, I believe you need to research it for yourself to make an informed judgement. Another point I would like everyone to make a note of will be that I never, ever recommend using an essential oil in its pure form. Always dilute! My safe recommendation is 3%, especially when using a "hot" oil like cinnamon or oregano. 
This bar also contains the skin loving oils of jojoba and sunflower and the luxurious cocoa butter. These oils are added to this bar to make it less oil stripping. You will never hear me say that a bar of soap will add moisture, instead I will tell you it will remove less oil. The fact that some will mention that soap will add moisture to your skin is debatable. Soap is a wash off product, it is meant to clean. So this bar is less stripping. Which is a real treat for your skin!
Also added to this bar are the "natural" colorants of cocoa powder and white kaolin clay, then we add silk protein for a very silky lather. On top we add a beautiful gold and purple mica swirl, love this bar!
These bars will be available May 22nd 2021 and this batch will be the last batch until fall, so get them while they last!

We have a new bar! This beautiful, light, lemony bar is our new Lemon Lift. We used our goat's milk base for this luscious bar and added the essential oils of Niaouli (a species of tea tree), lemon and clary sage. It is has a pale lemon color achieved by adding a filtered tea made with turmeric root. We swirled a contrasting white base with added white kaolin clay through the light yellow. Such a pretty contrast. So far I am loving this soap! I think this is going to make a perfect kitchen bar, although anyone that loves lemon will enjoy this in the bath as well. This bar was a customer inspiration and we always love requests for bar scents or looks. Sure to be a favorite this bar will be available end of May 2021! We will announce its presence on the website as soon as it finishes curing. 
And to all our mother's out there have a super Mother's Day tomorrow, enjoy your day!

We have a new bar! Introducing our Pumice & Clay! This rugged looking bar is our first pumice soap bar. We have had several customers ask us about doing a pumice bar and we finally have one! We choose to combine several qualities into this bar the first being a ruff exfoliating soap geared toward removing those stubborn grease and dirt stains. So then we wanted to add the benefit of a salt bar, so we added Himalayan Pink salt in the mix. Salt helps deep clean, balance oils on the skin and thwart bacterial growth. It also softens skin. What a perfect combo, don't you think? The little white specks you see on this bar is the salt. We also added coconut activated charcoal and Pascalite clay for color and their attributes as well. We decided to scent this bar with a combination of peppermint & rosemary essential oils, both of these oils have an astringent scent and we do not have another bar with this blend. Then we added a splash of Midnight Waters fragrance oil to the essential oils, it has a very pleasing fragrance. The look turned out to resemble granite which we are very happy with. If you are a mechanic or spend a lot of time tending to a garden or yard work or if you have ruff heals or elbows this just could be the bar for you. This bar is currently still curing and will not be ready until May 22nd, the salt in the bar attracts moisture and needs more time to dry. 
Well that is this weeks Soap Spotlights, more to come next week! You all have a fabulous weekend!

This bar, the Fresh & Clean, is our number one seller! Every batch sells out after three to four weeks on our website and I really think it is because of the ingredients. It is also a very nice looking bar but the oils and raw ingredients in this blend are what make it our hot item. The oil base is simple but is a nice balance for most soap bars, it includes olive oil, sunflower oil (our newest edition to this base), coconut oil, palm oil and castor. We are now only using organic non-gmo oils except for the olive oil (organic non-gmo olive oil is very expensive even at wholesale). Our palm oil is a rain forest safe brand which is sustainably produced. This bar has been our favorite blend since we started this business and it shows as our customers number one pick. 
Now lets talk about the additives, essential oils (yes, this bar is one of our essential only bars, no fragrance oils allowed!) and raw ingredients. The essential oils in this bar pack a punch! We start with peppermint and spearmint then add lemon, rosemary, thyme, wintergreen and litsea cubeba (a fixative lemon-like scent to extend the lemon scent). This blend of oils gives this bar it's wow factor! So, we don't stop there, next we mix in a bit of menthol crystals. It does not take much of this raw ingredient to add a little pow! We color this bar with coconut activated charcoal and French green clay, both of these products are used in this bar to bind and lift away oils, dirt and foreign debris from your skin. We have now added to this mix of raw ingredients Pascalite clay, another superior ingredient that lifts and binds toxins, it is definitely worth your time to research this amazing clay! In this current situation our world is in everyone should have a bar like this in their bathroom, all these ingredients are geared toward anti-microbial and anti-bacterial removal! Watch out coronaviruses!
So, we have one more bar to showcase! Our new Pumice & Clay! We will post it this afternoon, then on to our next batch releases! Will keep you all posted :)

Introducing our newest limited edition floral bar! The Japanese Cherry Blossom! We have introduced ever so often a new floral bar and this is our newest scent. This tradition for our company started with a request for a honeysuckle scented bar and from there we continued to make bars scented with fragrances that were not available or were extremely expensive as essential oils. After making our Honeysuckle & Calendula we released our Jasmine & Coconut Milk, then a lilac bar that was just lovely, then the Island Plumeria (which will be back in June of this year) and now we have the Japanese Cherry Blossom. The Japanese Cherry tree (also known as the Sakura) is a fruitless blooming ornamental cherry tree with it's origins in Japan. The scent of some varieties has been described as faint, sheer and powdery. The scent usually has soft rose and lilac qualities followed by almond, honey and vanilla notes. Our scent that we used has these scents with a cherry fruit coming out at the end.  I am enjoying this bar sample in my kitchen and I have to say this just might be a keeper! We chose the coconut milk oil base for this bar because of it's creamy and silky lather for a luxuriant bath experience. Then colored it with a blue mica (representing the beautiful blue sky), pink mica mixed with rose kaolin clay (for the blossoms) and a sparkly amber mica (for the tree branches). Then dusted the top with a white mica, love this look! These will be on the website late next week and will be a limited edition bar. These bars will go fast!

Such a beautiful bar with a wonderful scent! Our own Honeysuckle & Calendula has so many wonderful ingredients. From the fragrance to the oil and butter base, this bar is  special! Since we introduced this bar almost two years ago it has quickly became a customer favorite. So, lets look at why this bar continues to be a favorite.
The most important factor for soap has to be it's oil base, this bar combines both oils and butters to make the creamy lather. The oils included in the ingredients are olive oil, sunflower oil ( infused with calendula petals, hence the name), palm oil, coconut oil and castor oil. Then we add in Shea butter and mango butter for a more moisture promoting bar. Later we started adding silk protein to the ingredients which makes the lather that much more silky. Next we add a wonderful fragrance oil, which has been created by blending natural oils. This floral scent is just lovely, sweet and intoxicating much like the flower itself. Then we swirl the top with a golden mica and add another dusting with a sparkling white mica, what a stunning bar of soap this is. This is a perfect gift for anyone that loves the floral scent of honeysuckle or that special treat for yourself, either way your going to love this bar!

This next bar is the perfect all around soap for the entire family. Mild and gentle without a scent, this bar has been formulated for everyone! We use fresh goats milk along with olive, sunflower, coconut and castor oil and finely ground organic gluten-free oatmeal as a gentle exfoliant. To add to the gentle nature of this bar we combine two wonderful essential oils and add this to the mix. First is Copaiba essential oil. This oil is derived from tree resin collected from the copaiba tree. The tree is primarily grown in South America mainly Brazil. The oil has properties known to ease symptoms associated with pain and inflammation. It also has been known as an anti-microbial and they are even studying it for using against cancer. This is one oil I always have at hand. The next oil is Benzion essential oil. Another resin oil that has been used for centuries in the perfume industry as a light vanilla like scent and as a fixative for other scents. It has been known to tighten skin and address issues like psoriasis and eczema. Together they give this bar a wonderful very light vanilla like aroma. This is one of our top sellers, we just love this bar and it will always be on our list!

This wonderful bar is one of our goat's milk bars and one of the original blends we put together when starting our business. We blend goat's milk with olive oil, coconut oil and castor oil for a creamy lathering base. Then comes this awesome blend of scents created by the Bulgarian lavender, orange and patchouli essential oils, yes this is an essential only bar! Coloring for this bar is created with mica and orange wax, lightly colored lavender swirled with a bright orange. Simple and beautiful! 
Both lavender and patchouli oils are known for a soothing and calming effect to help ease tension and relax. Orange essential oil is uplifting, what a perfect blend to help wind you down. This bar will be available April 30th 2021 for purchase on our website and available at Inspire Farms May 12th!

Just look at these new bars! We are so excited to offer new batches of our customer favorites and also two new blends, Pumice & Clay and our new floral Japanese Cherry Blossom. Both of these bars are made with two different oil bases, Pumice & Clay is made with our olive, coconut, palm and castor base and the Japanese Cherry Blossom has our coconut milk base. These two very different bars are sure to be liked by two very different personalities. The Pumice & Clay is sure to be a hit with mechanics, gardeners and those wanting a bar to rid their hands of grease and grime. The bars also have added Himalayan Pink Salt and Pascalite Clay to help with the cleansing properties. Scenting this bar are the essential oils of peppermint & rosemary with a splash of Midnight Waters fragrance oil. 
Next is our Japanese Cherry Blossom, this bar has a beautiful light floral & fruity scent, much like a certain bath and body store's famous product. We paired this scent with our coconut milk base that has silk protein added for a luxurious creamy lather. We colored this bar with blue, pink and amber mica along with a bit of rose kaolin clay. We couldn't be happier with how this bar turned out.  A perfect gift for a special someone in your life.
We also have included a picture of these gift bundles we are offering to promote our Japanese Cherry Blossom bars. We will have only three available. They will contain one each of the following items: one fabric basket, one hand towel, one washcloth, one scrubby, one bar of the Japanese Cherry Blossom, one jar of Japanese Cherry Blossom body butter and a wood soap pallet. There will be one blue basket with fuchsia scrubby, one tan basket with light green scrubby and one tan basket with light pink scrubby. These bundles will be $45.00 each and are the perfect all in one gift especially for Mothers Day. They will be available for purchase on the website starting tomorrow and can be shipped as well.
Also starting tomorrow we will be doing a single bar showcase of each of these bars. Keep a look out!

From left to right: Fresh & Clean, Honeysuckle & Calendula, Pumice & Clay, Sweet Lavender, Goat's Milk & Oatmeal and our new Japanese Cherry Blossom.