Testing Time!!!!!
As you guys know I ordered a few things from Bramble Berry a few weeks ago. One of those items happened to be a fragrance oil, Almond Biscotti. Of course I had to test this out to see how it carried and how discoloring it was. Along with this fragrance oil I tested some colorant samples that I ordered from Coastal Scents a few months ago during their Black Friday sale.
To use in my melt and pour soaps I mixed approximately 1/4 to 1/2 of a tsp of colorant to 1/3 cup of liquid vegetable glycerin. As you can tell I have four test bars, and each bar weighs about 4oz or less.
The first colorant I tested out was Interfine Blue. It’s a really gorgeous mica; white with a blue reflection. It’s hard to pick up in the photo above, but off camera it’s beautiful. Not much is needed to mix in with your soap, you only really need a few drops.
The Ultramarine Blue turned out really great as well. Although, I have to say that I certainly put to much colorant in this bar. I had to test for staining of course, and…well, when I let it soak for a minute or two it came out with some blue pigment leakage. So I need to cut back the usage on this. Just the smallest amount will do. Other than that it worked out very well!
The last colorant I tested was Maganese Violet. This turned out really great, no color transfer, and only took a few drops to get this deep gorgeous purple. I have yet to test these colorants in cold process soap, but from what I hear the Maganese Violet morphs to a brown. The other two I’m not so sure of yet.
Last but not least, Bramble Berry’s Almond Biscotti Fragrance Oil. I waited about a week or so before taking these pictures to see to discoloration that would occur in clear melt and pour soap. The yellow cast in the soap is a little darker in person, but as you can tell it does discolor your soap, so remember if you are going to use this fragrance oil to use a Vanilla Color Stabilizer to keep your soap from discoloring.
This fragrance smells so good! It only took very little to scent two bars of soap, so keep that in mind when you are using this fragrance oil. Again, I have yet to test this in cold process soap, but I will be using this in the upcoming soap swap. Overall, I’m satisfied with the colorants and the fragrance oil.
I’ll keep you updated on my soap swap project!