Testing New Micas….and Really Pretty Soap!

August 14, 2011 by | 15 Comments

After the successful faux funnel pour soap that my younger daughter and I made, I was itching to make more. Only we used up most of my micas making that soap, so I had to order more. I had received those micas second-hand from another soapmaker, but couldn’t find them online no matter how hard I tried. So I did a few more searches and found a company that sells a lot of micas, but they’ve never been tested with soap. I ordered their minimum amount in a variety of colors – with the Cranberry Yuzu fragrance in mind.

Here we have same song, second verse. That is, same soap recipe, same method, different colors and fragrance, and different daughter!

My older daughter getting ready to help with the faux funnel pour.
My older daughter getting ready to help with the faux funnel pour.

I chose to test the bubblegum pink, ruby rose, ruby red, and peach sunset micas. They actually went together quite well!

Mid-pour - this is the photo I shared on the Great Cakes Soapworks facebook page!
Mid-pour – this is the photo I shared on the Great Cakes Soapworks facebook page!

Here it is, all poured and ready for bed:

It was starting to set up by the time we were finished!
It was starting to set up by the time we were finished!

A few hours later, I peeked at it while it was in the gel phase. I noticed that the orange was almost neon and the lighter, bubblegum pink seemed sort of greyish. I realized the next morning that what I was actually seeing was some yellow seepage on top of the soap. Not much though, so I just wiped it with a paper towel and skimmed the top part of the soap off. I smelled it, but it didn’t have any odor, so it wasn’t fragrance oil. It had to have been regular oils out of the soap. Not sure why. The only thing I did differently was to pre-mix the micas with water instead of oil. I also noticed that the soap was a bit stickier out of the mold. Next time I will subtract some of the oils out of the recipe to mix with the micas.

Ok, getting ready to slice it up! We’re excited now!!

What will they look like?? What's inside?? Oh, the suspense!
What will they look like?? What’s inside?? Oh, the suspense!

It would appear that these micas are good to use in soap! Last time, with the old micas we used a teaspoon and a half for each 10-ounce part of soap. This time, I decided to try and back that down to just one teaspoon to see how it would perform, and the color is just as vibrant:

Cranberry Yuzu Soap by Great Cakes Soapworks
Cranberry Yuzu Soap by Great Cakes Soapworks

We only have 7 of these soaps, which obviously isn’t going to be enough. So now that I know the micas work, I will make a bigger batch. It probably won’t be a faux funnel design – maybe some great swirls instead!

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  2. Oh. My. God!!!

    I want!! It’s incredible! I love love love love love love love it! I cannot tell you how happy that soap makes me! I sooooooooooooooooooooooo want it!!!!

  11. Hi Amy,

    You and your daughter did so well. What stunning, brilliant colors on your Cranberry Yuzu soap! Great design work. Are you grooming your daughter to take over the business someday, or become a business partner:)

  12. This is so pretty and summery looking. The scent combo of Cranberry and Yuzu sounds divine.

  13. Hi Amy,
    I absolutely LOVE this Cranberry/Yuzu Soap & the Mica
    Colors are perfect. May I ask where you found those
    beautiful colors? I can almost smell my handmade Cranberry Orange Relish that goes with my Thanksgiving
    Turkey!! 🙂 Thanks for always sharing your great idea’s!

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