Amazing - The Sweet Smell Of Old Pit Potions

Time to put together the list of seasonal goodies old and new for Old Pit Potions.
Most of the lotions and potions are ready now. There are some soaps that I have made and are still curing which will be wrapped, labelled and ready by the end of November but all are available to order right now.
I will save the details for my next post but I will leave contact details if you'd like to receive a list.
As you have probably guessed I love to make and talk about all my potions but it is always interesting to discover what is most popular with my customers from all my products.
The funny thing is, that although I have "old favourite" soaps that I always make and keep in stock where possible, each year a different product seems to catch the interest of friends and customers alike and  I can't make enough of it. One year it may be lip balms, another it will be creams but it is always hard to predict what it will be
This year has been a very good year for perfume spritzers. I make a variety of these, some are old favourites, some are seasonally available and now and again I will make a bespoke blend  that will eventually make it into the O.P.P catalogue. One in particular has really done well and although I am proud of all my creations this one has really made me smile because it is my very favourite.
It is not the first one I blended, that honour belongs to the Sylvan Spritzer made to match my husband's favourite soap of all. He asked me if I could make a cologne or aftershave to match and guess what?
Much to my surprise I could. I was intrigued, there had to be a wealth of other blends just waiting to be put together.
I created my "Amazing" blend as a request for a friend, Suzanne who was searching for a particular fragrance and gave me an idea of what she would like in it. I set to work with  high proof alcohol and my stash of essential oils. In went Patchouli, Sweet Orange, rosewater and one or two more intriguing ingredients, shook the mixing bottle and Ohhhh! It was so amazing it named itself.

I made enough for my friend and another for myself and I have worn it ever since. I have lost count of the bottles I have made for people who have come up to me and said "You smell amazing!" I have also gone on to make bottles for their friends and acquaintances who have done exactly the same. I have a friend called Rachel who had worn Amazing for almost as long as I have and she has brought me lots of customers who want to "Smell as good as Rachel does"  It's not only for women. My friend Lynne's husband Mick wears it to work and has become an unofficial spokesman for Old Pit Potions. They and many others have my undying gratitude for bringing me publicity and custom I would not have imagined.  I also make a soap called Amazing Face which uses some of the same essential oils and contains green clay. I have recently added an body scrub to the collection so now it is possible to layer your fragrance and be Amazing all over!
So that's the  story of O.P.P's signature scent. Like the very best potions it came into being with a request. Actually that would be a good subject for another post so watch this space...
In the meantime if you want a seasonal list you can email me on oldpitsoaps@yahoo.co.uk  or drop me a line on facebook and I'll do my  best to make your festive season smell even better.

Finding my way

This could just as easily refer to my new experience of learning to blog as much as making soaps and potions. Big big thanks to my lovely, talented friend Pixie Sue/ Poppie at  http://the-creative-spirit.blogspot.com/ for suggesting that I start this blog and for being so encouraging too. Not to mention for being a willing tester for my experiments with whipped shea butter face creams.
I'm sure that the more I blog the more I'll learn.
When I started making soaps I quickly became hooked on finding and sourcing ingredients and moulds. For me it is still as fascinating as the making. When you're fussy about what goes into the stuff you're going to put on your face and body it is vital to know the origin of the ingredients.
The decison not to use anything artificial was easy, realising that a standard 10ml bottle of Lavender essential oil was not going to stretch very far when it came to perfuming my soaps was less so. It was also expensive.
I knew  very early on that I'd hit on something that I loved doing. I knew that I wanted to make more than just the odd batch of soap so with the help of a friend I found a supplier who could do beautiful Lavender oil in 100ml bottles. Buying this was was cheaper too so I was off to a good start. Their catalogue was like a treasure trove of exotic smelling oils.
I was still working in the wholefood store which was a great resource, when I needed a decent quantity of beeswax The man who sold us his local honey came through with a sweet smelling block weighing about a kilo at an excellent price. I discovered that Asian grocery stores were the perfect places to buy all sorts of base oils, not to mention having an excellent range of  Rose & Orange flower waters, more herbs and spices than I could dream of and lots of other fab things I saw as potential ingredients. They were cheaper than a lot of cosmetic supplies companies too.
Another challenge was finding the moulds to shape the soap. No piece of tupperware, plastic packaging or juice box was safe. Again the Wholefood store came up trumps as their weekly yoghurt deliveries arrived in plastic trays that could turn out six beautifully hexagonal soaps. They didn't last long but I felt happier reusing something that would have otherwise had to be thrown out. When things took off I invested in some purpose made moulds but I still use pringle tubes to mould my circular soaps, as you can see in the picture. People pass on the empties for me to clean and use.
The first bath fizzers I made used a small pot of bicarbonate of soda and a packet of citric acid from the pharmacist. These days my bicarb comes in 12 kilo sacks, which greatly amused my neighbour when she came to borrow a spoonful. The garden has herbs and flowers that become ingredients. A friend has taken up beekeeping and brings me the most wonderful beeswax. The essential oil bottles multiplied as did the bottles, jars and boxes. Where was I going to put them all?   Well that's another story...