IN MY SOAP POT

Explore the vibrant world of lakes for your soap and bath bomb creations! Lakes add rich, intense colours to your products, but knowing how to use them is crucial. Check out this handy guide!

FD&C is an American labelling standard, which stands for Food, Drugs and Cosmetic.  FD&C dyes have gone through rigorous testing, which makes them safe for use in foods and cosmetics, however, they are artificially made (not natural). The main difference between lakes and FD&C dyes lies in their composition and application: FD&C Dyes: These are water-soluble synthetic dyes certified by the U.S.…

I’m doing a huge clear out! I have lots of spare recipe cards from my DIY Boxes and because they’re so awesome (I mean, hey, they’re professionally printed in full colour on glossy stock card), I’m selling them at cost!!!!

Looking to try your hand at soap making? These DIY Box Soap Recipe Cards are the perfect starting point. Learn new techniques and get creative! For $10 get 10 professionally printed full color recipe cards with step-by-step instructions. Plus, receive 3 extra soap recipe cards and 2 bonus recipes. Please note, the cards are random, but there will be no duplicates. Start crafting your own handmade…

Orange and chilli - the perfect combination, even in soap! Using pre-blended oils from Cocavo and the delicious Sweet Orange and Chilli fragrance from Zen Aroma, this soap is so easy to make - even for beginners!

Sweet Orange Chilli Soap is a different take on the very popular Orange Soap. It’s an orange soap with a kick, although the kick is just in the name. No chilli kicks in using the soap! I promise! When I saw the Sweet Orange & Chilli fragrance at Zen Aroma, I knew it would be the perfect combo with Cocavo’s Chilli and Lime oil. But I wasn’t sure if it was going to work (chilli and soap hmm 🤔). So…

Do you love the warm, sweet, spicy scents of Christmas? This delicious Gingerbread body scrub not only captures the essence of the season but is also quick and easy to make. Perfect for a last minute gift!

Do you love Christmas scents as much as I do? The warm, sweet aromas of ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon have a magical way of ushering in the holiday spirit. This delicious Gingerbread body scrub not only captures the essence of the season but also leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth. So that you look radiant and your best for the upcoming festive parties! PS it also makes for a quick and…

In my Advanced Diploma of Cosmetic Science we are learning about reverse formulation. That’s when you look at the ingredients of a product, and try and figure out the formulation of it. It’s a great way of making your favourite skin care product yourself, or even improving on it! The one I’m working on at the moment for my final project is Trilogy’s Hydrating Moisturiser, but in the meantime I’m…

Choosing fragrances is always difficult, especially when making soap. Which accelerate, which discolour? Unless you test yourself, you don’t really know in advance how a fragrance behaves in soap. So here are some fragrances that are available in NZ

Over the past weeks, and with the help of my students, I’ve been testing some of the Christmas fragrances available here in New Zealand. I checked for acceleration and discolouration, and tested fragrances from Zen Aroma, Pure Nature and Candle Creations. These are suppliers who provide high quality fragrances, which have been independently tested and certified by IFRA, the International…

Pure Nature was so kind to send me a sample of their LMW (low molecular weight) hyaluronic acid. The low molecular weight means it has smaller molecules than the ‘normal’ hyaluronic acid. This allows the hyaluronic acid to penetrate deeper into the skin, bringing more hydration and benefits to the skin. Hyaluronic occurs naturally in our skin, helping to retain moisture and keep our skin plump,…

Kawakawa (Piper excelsum), a traditional Maori medicinal plant found in New Zealand. In rongoā Maori it is revered as taonga and has been used in many ways, most commonly medicinally as a balm, but also ingested as teas, to relieve toothache (chew an leaf) and used in cooking. It has a peppery taste and, not surprisingly, is a relative of black pepper (Piper nigrum). I, myself, use it dried and…

This term is going to be a busy month. The 6 week Soap Class at Mairangi Arts Centre is well underway, and was booked out really quickly. I have 2 new one-day weekend workshops at Mairangi if you can’t make it to next term’s evening classes. There are also weekend workshops at Selwyn College (Kohimaramara), Rutherford College (Te Atatu Peninsula), and at Uxbridge Arts & Culture Centre…

These are my favourite Christmas soaps to make, because, you gotta admit, they look incredibly cute! Check out my cold process piping soap recipe, how to pipe Christmas trees, and how to get a bright green colour for your Christmas trees!

My Formula Botanica Final Project – Part 7 (final part)

This is my experience of doing the final project of my Diploma of Organic Skincare Formulation with Formula Botanica. It’s a two year course, but you can do it in one year if you can spend more time on studying than I did. I dedicated one full day to practicing formulating and some more time during the week and weekends for studying. In case you missed the first part, you can find it here. And…

My Formula Botanica Final Project – Part 7

My Formula Botanica Final Project – Part 5

My Formula Botanica Final Project – Part 4

Ready for my first attempt? But first, here’s my first formulation and why I chose these specific ingredients in the Soapmakers Hand Cream.

This is my experience of doing the final project of my Diploma of Organic Skincare Formulation with Formula Botanica. It’s a two year course, but you can do it in one year, if you can spend more time on studying than I did. I dedicated one full day to practicing formulating and spend some more time during the week and weekends for studying. In case you missed the first part, you can find it…