Sunday, December 20, 2015

Haul: Brambleberry December 2015


Mini Mixer: Initially I scoffed at the idea of getting this. I don't need to disperse my pigments! That's what my stick blender is for!
After several batches where stick blending in a pigment was not an option - I wanted to keep the batter from thickening up and stick blending is no bueno for that - I thought, hmm, maybe Anne-Marie has a point. So I picked this up. This has come in very handy with dispersing my pigments into a lightweight oil as well as mixing kaolin clay into my fragrance oil.
Mini Mold: Seriously, these are tiny. But the mold was $2 and I liked the shapes. I can make embeds with these! I can make tiny soaps because why not??
Tussah Silk Fiber: This is evidently good to add shine, more lather, and silky feel to your soaps. Between this and the goats milk and my own superfatting, I think my soaps are next level shiny, moisturizing, bubbly, and silky. So far I'm liking this, though I do have issues with figuring out how to add it to a 100% goats milk substitution lye solution because the temperature stays very low, preventing the silk from dissolving.
Mango Butter: I like that this butter is very firm and yet skin loving so I repurchased this. It's a bit on the pricey side, but I'm a splurger when it comes to my soaps.
Shea Butter: Repurchase. I feel like everyone who delves into bath and body products needs some of this in their stock. It's a relatively cheap product but is insanely good for your body. I like to mix this 50/50 with cocoa butter and use that melted as an oil for my skin after a shower and these two keep my skin very soft and smooth.
Titanium Dioxide: Repurchase. I got one of these in my first brambleberry order and I used it all up so I figured why not pick up another few. This has really helped my whites be more white and it also helps mellow out some otherwise strong colors.
Sodium Lactate: After another batch ended up softer than I'd like, I decided I needed to do something about it. After some research I figured out I had to either sub in other oils and butters that allowed for harder bars, or add in some sort of extra additive that helps the bars retain their shape. I decided no, I will not sacrifice my butters an oils, and went for this. It makes a difference even at .4-.6% in my recipe. My tricolor swirl batch that ended up with a dead scent was able to be unmolded and cut less than four hours after I had made it. The soap was still warm as I was cutting it!
Sesame Oil: Repurchase. I like this as a superfatting oil and have taken to using it to disperse my colorants. Nothing particularly special about it besides it's moisturizing and cheap.
Sunflower Oil: Repurchase. I bought two of these. Stable, conditioning lather, and I can also use this to disperse pigments.
Castor Oil: Repurchase. I bought two of these as well. Castor oil is good for bubbles. It has other properties but I care most about the bubbles. I'm a bubble whore.
My free sample was a fragrance oil in white rose. It's a very authentic scent and I like it but I try to stay away from flowery scents because my Dad is not a fan. He associates flowers with funerals and cemeteries.

This concludes my most recent and probably last haul from Brambleberry for several years. I like their pricing and speedy shipping. They have lots of resources to help new soapers, as well as good recipes that they have tested. I get a sense of pride and love in what they do from the company, and that's a good feeling to have when buying something. Whenever I next am able to buy soapy supplies it will most likely be from here.


  1. The tiny little soaps are good for samples in orders. You know, when you open your Etsy shop.....

    What are you going to do once you're "over there" as far as your soaping? Will you try continue making it?


    1. You know, I've had an Etsy store all set up for about four years now. All I'd have to do is post the darn things :P

      I will try my hardest to continue making soap once I get over there. If possible I'd love to find local suppliers so I can both support local businesses and get the allure of more exotic ingredients in my soaps. If I were to be able to make soap over there I would most definitely start posting it on my Etsy shop. I can already see what makes my stuff special: it comes from OVERSEAS! Such exotic products! Ooooooh, aaaaah, locally sourced -insert random ingredient here- and I get to buy this soap and pay shipping as if I'm in the US!