Fragrance Testing in Cold Process Soap: Bitter Orange Orchid, Spiced Fig, Plumberrry Spice, and Heliotrope

I have more photos for our Fragrance Testing Series! This is a long series of blog posts that will show the testing of our fragrances in Cold Process Soap. We are testing ALL the fragrances in our catalog at their maximum recommended usage rate for Cold Process Soap and showing you pictures of what the finished soaps look like in a side by side comparison with an unscented control batch. Since these fragrances were tested at their maximum recommended usage rate, I wouldn’t recommend using more fragrance! These soaps are strongly scented and will smell much stronger when wet!

Our first fragrance today in Cold Process Soap is Bitter Orange Orchid. According to our catalog, Bitter Orange Orchid “Our staff has gone nuts for this one! It is grown up and fun. The orange scent isn’t like a sweet orange but more tart and spicy. It works great in gel candles and we are making lotions galore to slather on this fragrance. Try some in your next creation and sit back to watch people clamor over each other to find out about this intriguing scent.” Don’t let the Bitter in this fragrance intimidate you. This has become a top requested scent in my family. A great combination of simple sweetness and holiday spices. A great fragrance to use lightly in lotions and strong in room sprays. There is a minimal discoloration of note, a soft pale barely there tan. We used the maximum suggested usage rate of 2.5%, which is 0.4 ounces of fragrance in our 1 pound test batch.

Bitter Orange Orchid scented soap on the left and control on the right.

Spiced Fig scented soap on the left and control on the right.

Our second fragrance in Cold Process Soap is Spiced Fig. According to our catalog, Spiced Fig is “The perfect holiday scent of clove studded fruit and baking pies. This scent is like no other, it says welcome to all who enter the home as though they are good friends who have come for coffee and pie.” A great pick me up scent, it wakes up your senses with a sweet fruity fig and fresh holiday baking. What could be better than that! There is a minimal discoloration of note, a soft pale barely there tan. We used the maximum suggested usage rate of 2.5%, which is 0.4 ounces of fragrance in our 1 pound test batch.

Our third fragrance in Cold Process Soap is Plumberry Spice. According to our catalog, Plumberry Spice “Our seasonal favorite is back! Sweetened plums, currants, blackberries and raspberries, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla. This scent is more universal than a mere candle scent, even though when used heavily it does smell like a candle. The fragrance is strong due to the spices so start with a little and increase!” I had a friend’s 10 year old son that love to drench himself in a body-spray scented with Plumberry Spice. It got the attention of all the girls at school that loved how he smelled. His mom had to hid the body-spray and apply for him or he would have use the whole bottle. There is a minimal discoloration of note, a soft pale tan. We used the maximum suggested usage rate of 2.5%, which is 0.4 ounces of fragrance in our 1 pound test batch.

Plumberry Spice scented soap on the left and control on the right.

Heliotrope scented soap on the left and control on the right.

Our fourth fragrance in Cold Process Soap is Heliotrope. According to our catalog, Heliotrope this “scent has a sensual musky note that is under the top layers of vanilla, powder and floral. This sweet and delicate scent is certainly suitable for many applications including soaps, lotions, candles.” A pleasant and enjoyable scent, you get that musky notes and sweet powder fresh aromas. A great choice to use in your soap. There is a minimal discoloration of note a soft pale barely there tan. We used the maximum suggested usage rate of 2.5%, which is 0.4 ounces of fragrance in our 1 pound test batch.

Thank you for joining us today! We will be releasing more pictures as we continue testing soaps. If there is a fragrance you would like to see, let us know and we will put it at the top of our list!

Here are the details about our test batches before we added any fragrances!

Recipe:

Our temperatures for lye and oils are between 125°F and 130°F to handle our currently cool weather. We make our soap with a 6% superfat. All of the batches we make are mixed to light trace and then the fragrance is added. After the fragrance is added we mix until the fragrance is incorporated and then we pour into the mold.