When I'm creating a new soap, I have a picture in my head of what it's going to look like ~ A white base, with gold mica swirls and mint green to suggest leaves. Then reality hits when the soap misbehaves. I thought about putting this on into the zombie zoaps page, gut it's not quite ugly enough to make the cut.

Titanium dioxide is used to make white in cosmetics, and I use it sparingly in soap to make a whiter base. I use a lot of olive oil in my soap recipe, and it has a darker cast to it, so sometimes TD is necessary. But TD has a tendency to speed things up, as far as soaping goes. And that's what it did, made this soap move quickly. One second it was nice like a cake batter, the next is was soap on a spoon!

Good thing I can move faster than a speeding bullet. I also leap tall buildings in a single bound. Well, more like tall laundry piles in a stuttering trip. Hehe.

This coconutty fragrance is sweet, has a goodly portion of vanilla in it, so I expect it to darken some (though the TD may slow that down). It's got a hint of something like pineapple, but I'm told there is no pineapple in there. Check it out for yourself and see what you can smell. It's truly lovely. Or completely yummy. Or both.

Happy sudsing!
~AnaB

Sometimes things don't always go the way we plan. I like to plan things. Makes me feel like I'm in control. But color in soap can sometimes be like the hair on your head ~ there to remind us we're not really in control after all. ;)

So meet, Lilikoi. Lilikoi is the passion fruit in Hawaiian. Lilikoi is pronounced lil-li-koi, think lil as in slang for little, li as in lick, koi as in the fish (sounds like coy). This li'l girl was intended to be a bold red with deep gold, but she apparently has a mind of her own.

So what does she smell like? Well, the passion fruit is popular in many drinks in Hawaii and certainly not just for adults. The fresh and sweet notes are incredible. If you have never had a passion fruit let me try to explain. Citrus notes like lemon peel have a soft peachy highlight, then juicy raspberries and blackberries sweep the senses and bring in the violet undertones. Vanilla amber takes care of the dry down and you have a passionate thrill right in a bar of soap!

Ask me for a sample with your next order, and I'll include it free!

Yours ever and ever,
An-na-na-na-na

My nephew is crazy talented in graphic design. He's an inspiration to me. Here's a little something he cooked up for me just because. 

Happy Thursday!

I cut this soap today. It was one of those soaps I just knew was going to come out perfect. Ahh...I love my job!

This is made for a promotional gig for an author. You might be lucky enough to get some of this if you buy her book. I'll let you know what the details are on that.

If you'd like me to make you something, let me know! I love working on new and beautiful projects!

Hi. My name is Ana and I'm a coffee addict. Well, I was! That is until coffee and I had a falling out over a small issue of digestion, whereupon I swore off coffee and it sentenced me to worshiping at the porcelain queen for a full day, accompanied by a migraine that would make Thor cry. I have yet to decide who won that round.

Even though I no longer drink it, I still find coffee useful. I use it in my soap! Here's what it brings... Coffee strips odors off your skin. Gently. Fish, onions, garlic, even gasoline are all conquered by coffee, although I admit, when I spilled gasoline on my hands while playing with the lawn mower, I was sincerely skeptical. I reeked! It did take a couple of returns to the sink and soap, but it did work. Amazing!

The soap I make has no added fragrance. That would be counter-whatever... you know.  Anyway, it does have coffee grounds and ground luffa for scrubbiness, so if you're mitts are especially grungy (expected when you're cooking!), this cuts right through the goo, and you're clean in no time. I've also designed this recipe with an excess of fats so it doesn't dry your skin. It's a dense bar that lasts a long, long time. Enjoy!!

Yours Truly,
AnaBanana, the recovering coffee addict.

I've been working on a special order for a soap that combined both a masculine and feminine fragrance and had colors to match a book cover. Chocolate Sandalwood has both elements ~ chocolate for the ladies and sandalwood for the gents. The combination is out of this world, btw, if you haven't already tried it. I settled on a graduated color pour with a dash of red toward the top. Then, just by a happy chance, my middle daughter picked some violets for me and made a lovely chain, which I couldn't resist adding to the photo. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the way they turned out. They're finished with packaging in a cello bag with a sticker on the front that has the book cover on it. It looks fabulous, darlings! Fabulous!

Forever yours,
AnaBananananana.... dang... when do I stop with the "nanana's?"

This is just a tiny, intseee, weentsee little batch (one pound) I brewed up yesterday. I wanted to see how this technique would work for a project I have in mind. I like it! Yeah, there's a few flaws here, but the effect is so nice that I'm going to definitely be working with this some more. I hope you likey too!

Sincerely and ever yours,
AnaBanana

My chidrens (yeah, I spelled it wrong - pronounced CHID-rens) love "Firefly," which if you haven't seen it or watched the entire series in one 24-hour period, then you've got some 'splainin' to do! It's a sci-fi western, just in case you haven't seen it yet. One of the character's name is Jayne. He's a tough macho gorilla kind of guy - all brawn, very little brains, you've met the type... I digress. Sort of. Actually, Jayne's name is the inspiration for the spelling of Playne Jayne.

What is Playne Jayne? Soap. Pure and simple. Mostly. I've created a new recipe using some of my favorites ~ shea butter, avocado oil, rice bran and olive oil are among the cast. This is a coconut milk soap. I wanted rich creamy lather, lots of moisturizing and nothing extra. No fragrance or color has been added, and no scrubbies. As much as I love scrubby soaps, sometimes it's pure bliss to have a soap without.

I hope you enjoy Playne Jayne as much as I do! Available May 3rd.

Some days I need to put on my "mad scientist" hat to go with my maniacal laugh as I get to work. Um, well, more like play. Who can't love chemical reactions that don't involve mayhem and are relatively safe? I say "relatively" because when you've got an eleven-year-old boy roaming free in your space, everything is relative when it comes to safety, and my boy so can't resist a bath bomb. For him, I make them gnarly looking, but he loves the fruity and fun fragrances I have like "Monkey Farts" (what boy can resist such a name?) and "Monster B Gone!" It's easy to tempt him to soak in the tub with a giant bubbling brew making getting clean almost as fun as getting grimy.

The boy helped me make these particular bath bombs, but yours will be constructed minus the fuses, looking more like a tablet.

Check 'em out! Bath bombs for the kid in all of us!

So, what exactly is a bath bomb? Think giant Alka-Seltzer with a huge smell-good factor. The fizzing action of the bomb releases the fragrance into your air space, providing either fun or relaxation. As the bomb dissolves, it conditions the water and your skin.

I have about half a million fragrances to pick from, so if you don't see one you love, let me know, and I'll make a batch of your favorite for you. The bombs have a page of their own, so check 'em out on the "More" tab.

Ingredients: Sodium bicarbonate, citric acid, corn starch, rice bran oil, and fragrance.

Safety Tip: Store in a dry location. No glass jars! (Glass in the bathroom is probably not a good idea anyway, right?) Water starts the reaction, which then releases carbon dioxide gas, which under pressure creates a "pop can" effect. Keep out of the reach of unsupervised children (yeah, even if they are legal age). Crazy kids. ;-)