<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005' xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493512456194624260</id><updated>2011-07-07T16:27:12.092-07:00</updated><category term='demon in the dark'/><category term='low sweat melt and pour base'/><category term='lush'/><category term='brambleberry.com'/><category term='fragrance oil'/><category term='soap'/><category term='oatmeal milk honey'/><category term='UK'/><category term='intro'/><title type='text'>My Soap Diary</title><subtitle type='html'></subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://my-soap-diary.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/493512456194624260/posts/default?max-results=100'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://my-soap-diary.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><author><name>My Soap Diary</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04835489761913698350</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>3</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>100</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493512456194624260.post-1328198735704235676</id><published>2010-02-23T11:24:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2010-02-23T18:03:35.752-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='UK'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='demon in the dark'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='soap'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='lush'/><title type='text'>Lush's Demon In The Dark Soap</title><content type='html'>Not only do I love to make soap, I love to try other people's handmade soap.  Buying soap is really an addiction, so come along as I share my addiction with the world :P&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://lush.com/"&gt;Lush&lt;/a&gt; is such a fun soap shop and every time I go, I always spend almost an hour smelling everything.  Though I'd love to buy a ton of stuff every time, I have to control myself because this stuff isn't cheap!  That's why I've realized that buying online and especially from the &lt;a href="http://www.lush.co.uk/"&gt;Lush UK website&lt;/a&gt; is way cheaper even though I'm in the US.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Soaps on Lush's UK website are sold by 100 grams on average and that comes out to about 3.5 ounces.  To check the shipping rates for you, check their &lt;a href="http://www.lush.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=16896:shipping-rates&amp;catid=43:lush-life"&gt;Lush UK shipping rate&lt;/a&gt; page.  I paid £7.95 which came out to be about $12.25 which is almost the same as the &lt;a href="http://www.lushusa.com/customers/about-shipping/"&gt;Lush US shipping rate&lt;/a&gt;.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Now that we've got the shipping cost out of the way...checkout one of the first soaps I purchased off of Lush UK's website.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-weight:bold;"&gt;Demon In The Dark&lt;/span&gt; smells dark and minty.  I'm not sure why I think dark is a scent... but it just doesn't have the straight up minty smell that you would normally get from a "mint soap."  The website describes this soap as having apples in it but I really don't pick that up when I sniff it.  I received a sample of this soap from the Monterey Bay Lush soap store and though I didn't love the scent at first, after using it I realized that I loved the way it left my skin feeling after the shower.  The mint really tingled on my skin (and um.. my privates) and it woke me up...lol.  I'm not sure if using mint down there is ok, but I guess if they sell it as a soap, it can't hurt!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The piece I received originally as a sample did not have the layer of wax but after buying a full piece (which had the wax), I noticed that it was soft and peeled easily.  Though the soap looked like it had texture, it really didn't when I used it.  I spent £2.85 which was about $4.40 which is still cheaper than the $7.50 I'd spend for about the same size on the Lush US website.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;Here's the packaging it came in:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4382938972_dff69fe812_o.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4382938972_dff69fe812_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4382939072_4b3d17fe0b_o.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4382939072_4b3d17fe0b_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Texture of the Demon in the Dark soap:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4382939130_1613057c40_o.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4028/4382939130_1613057c40_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Better view of the black wax around the soap:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4382939196_8e982fabd2_o.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4382939196_8e982fabd2_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Texture of the soap up close:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2741/4382178735_8be37d15f9_o.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2741/4382178735_8be37d15f9_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Have you tried Lush's Demon in the Dark?  Let me know if you liked it as much as I did :)&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/493512456194624260-1328198735704235676?l=my-soap-diary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://my-soap-diary.blogspot.com/feeds/1328198735704235676/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://my-soap-diary.blogspot.com/2010/02/lushs-demon-in-dark-soap.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/493512456194624260/posts/default/1328198735704235676'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/493512456194624260/posts/default/1328198735704235676'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://my-soap-diary.blogspot.com/2010/02/lushs-demon-in-dark-soap.html' title='Lush&apos;s Demon In The Dark Soap'/><author><name>My Soap Diary</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04835489761913698350</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493512456194624260.post-5034006164687335455</id><published>2010-02-05T13:12:00.001-08:00</published><updated>2010-02-18T15:51:53.533-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='fragrance oil'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='low sweat melt and pour base'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='brambleberry.com'/><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='oatmeal milk honey'/><title type='text'>May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey</title><content type='html'>I recently found these photos of some soap I made in May 2009.  I don't have the exact notes but I do remember some things about it...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;* 1 lb of Low Sweat Soap Base from Brambleberry.com&lt;br /&gt;* Added a tbl of Shea Butter and whipped it with the stick blender&lt;br /&gt;* Added 1 tbl of Oatmeal but didn't pour at a lower temperature so the soap set in layers... I guess I don't mind it...&lt;br /&gt;&lt;center&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/47175632@N05/4330863848/" title="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com by MySoapDiary, on Flickr"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2739/4330863848_128c80df28_o.jpg" alt="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com" height="375" width="500" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/47175632@N05/4330863772/" title="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com by MySoapDiary, on Flickr"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4034/4330863772_f155d480c7_o.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here are the soaps cut:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/47175632@N05/4330128209/" title="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com by MySoapDiary, on Flickr"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4330128209_60f3d8f8c1.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/47175632@N05/4330863516/" title="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com by MySoapDiary, on Flickr"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2760/4330863516_14492963bd_o.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;I poured a little into this small silicone cake mold:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/47175632@N05/4330863640/" title="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com by MySoapDiary, on Flickr"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/4330863640_4b219539ce.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Here are just a few flowers I made with what was left:&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/47175632@N05/4330128325/" title="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com by MySoapDiary, on Flickr"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2677/4330128325_eb75fb71c3_o.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/47175632@N05/4330863720/" title="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com by MySoapDiary, on Flickr"&gt;&lt;img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4330863720_067ff1a8fa.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance oil from Brambleberry.com" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/center&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/493512456194624260-5034006164687335455?l=my-soap-diary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://my-soap-diary.blogspot.com/feeds/5034006164687335455/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://my-soap-diary.blogspot.com/2010/02/may-2009-oatmeal-milk-and-honey_05.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/493512456194624260/posts/default/5034006164687335455'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/493512456194624260/posts/default/5034006164687335455'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://my-soap-diary.blogspot.com/2010/02/may-2009-oatmeal-milk-and-honey_05.html' title='May 2009 Oatmeal Milk and Honey'/><author><name>My Soap Diary</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04835489761913698350</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media='http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/' url='http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4330128209_60f3d8f8c1_t.jpg' height='72' width='72'/><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-493512456194624260.post-5681535103217974117</id><published>2010-02-05T13:08:00.000-08:00</published><updated>2010-02-05T13:12:02.238-08:00</updated><category scheme='http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#' term='intro'/><title type='text'>Hi everyone!</title><content type='html'>Hi everyone!  My name is Jen and this little space on the net will be a diary for my soap obsession.  I love to buy them, use them, and make them (or at least attempt to..lol). &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;So feel free to follow along and learn from my successes and mistakes :P&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/493512456194624260-5681535103217974117?l=my-soap-diary.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</content><link rel='replies' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://my-soap-diary.blogspot.com/feeds/5681535103217974117/comments/default' title='Post Comments'/><link rel='replies' type='text/html' href='http://my-soap-diary.blogspot.com/2010/02/hi-everyone.html#comment-form' title='0 Comments'/><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/493512456194624260/posts/default/5681535103217974117'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/493512456194624260/posts/default/5681535103217974117'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='http://my-soap-diary.blogspot.com/2010/02/hi-everyone.html' title='Hi everyone!'/><author><name>My Soap Diary</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/04835489761913698350</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='http://img2.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:total>0</thr:total></entry></feed>
