Love is in the air!

It's about 2 weeks until Valentine's Day, and I've been preparing for this by making some Love inspired soaps. Here's a small selection of what is available to buy from my website.

'Mathilda' - Limited Edition Strawberry Shea Butter Soap

Treat your Valentine with this luxury SLS-free glycerine and organic shea butter soap, coloured with a creamy strawberry pink with romantic red swirls throughout.

Fragranced with a gorgeous mouth-watering strawberry aroma and comes specially gift-wrapped (as pictured) with a handmade heart-shaped gift tag for you to write a personalised message to your loved one.

Mini Gingerbread Soap Valentine Couple

This happy couple is made lovingly out of luxury SLS-free glycerine soap consisting of two layers: a 'gingerbread' layer - scented with a custom blend of spicy ginger and buttery biscuit and a pale pink cherry almond layer, giving these soaps a gorgeous snuggly fragrance, reminiscent of a hug from your loved one.

They come giftwrapped in their own little box with a love poem inside.

There are also three different sets to choose from: gingerbread man and woman, gingerbread women and gingerbread men (all pictured above).

Champagne Kisses Sugar Scrub Soap

A gorgeous SLS-free glycerine soap bar, made with added moisturising apricot kernel oil and topped with a sprinkle of exfoliating sugar.

This soap is scented with a light and fruity sparkling sweet Champagne fragrance oil and coloured with iridescent gold mica with a cheeky hint of pink.

Cherise Pink & Classic Red Heart Soaps with added Apricot Kernel Oil - choose your own fragrance!

The perfect gift for your Valentine!

Pretty hearts, made with luxury SLS-free glycerine soap and lashings of moisturising apricot kernel oil. Personalise by choosing your own fragrance - just pick an option from the drop down menu on the website.

Comes gift wrapped in a cello bag, tied with a matching ribbon.

Why not take advantage of the Sale happening on all Valentine soaps on the site at the moment - prices marked down by 15%!

Blog Giveaway at NRjewellerydesign

Hello and happy Monday morning.  I was just browsing around the Blogiverse and found this amazing giveaway over at NRjewellerydesign.

By entering, I have a chance of winning this beautiful bracelet:

Fingers crossed!

Vetivyr Satyr Soap with added Natural Hemp Oil

I'm so proud of my latest soap, I just had to show him off!




Vetivyr Satyr Soap with added Hemp Oil

This cheeky chap is made out of luxury SLS-free glycerine soap with added natural hemp oil. Hemp oil is very easily absorbed and is excellent for dry, irritated, aging and damaged skin.

Fragranced with deep woody vetiver and coloured a moody shade of black with dry-brushed chocolate brown mica to highlight his features, this satyr makes the perfect soap for any loveable rogue!

Available to buy now from www.melusinesoap.com.

Solid Shampoo Experiments

A few days ago, I received a much awaited delivery of supplies, which contained an extra special ingredient for me to use in my soaps. This ingredient is Polyquarternium-7 (yes, try saying that after a few glasses of wine!) which is used in shampoos and conditioners as a conditioning agent.
It works by reducing static build-up in the hair, making it smoother, easier to comb and better at holding styles. What everybody wants in a shampoo, right?

So, I got straight into the kitchen and made up a little solid shampoo sample to try. I used some left over soap from a batch of Peppercorn soap, which contains Shea butter. I thought I'd better not add any other oil or butter to the soap as Shea is quite a good 'all rounder' and my hair tends to be quite greasy so went for less is more!
I then stirred in some Polyquarternium-7 and poured the soap into a little mould. Here's a picture of the finished product:




So far, I have used this beauty for 4 hair washes - just this as well, no extra conditioner or serums. I must say I'm very happy with it so far!
It's made my hair feel completely different than it normally does - which is fine, flat, straggly and greasy again within a day.
Now it feels thicker, manageable and no frizz or straggly bits. It's also retained it's shine (which is something I've always had the luck to have, even when using commercial shampoos).
Only one slight complaint - my hair isn't very easy to comb anymore. Which isn't a huge problem, but it would be nice. Maybe I need to add more Polyquarternium-7 or use something other than Shea butter.

Here's my plan anyway: keep using this sample for a few more days, then try out a different formulation (I'm thinking one with Golden Jojoba oil) and see how that compares. I may need to try out several different samples, but that's all part of the fun, isn't it?!

I will also be looking for some volunteer testers with dry/damaged hair. Please apply by leaving a comment or writing a message on my Facebook page wall (Sorry, UK residents only please). I'd love to hear from you!

Oh, and a belated happy new year/2011 to all my readers! May this year bring you much prosperity and happiness.