# Chocolate Soap



## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

I've soaped twice now, its not really fun yet, still nervewracking but I trust you all that it will get to be more fun. And I have a stack of frozen flat bags of milk ready to go.

I think chocolate would help 

Yes, eating it but also making a to-die-for Chocolate soap.

I did a Search and found some notes from y'all but some are pretty old and the in Scent Reviews thread it seems suppliers change and opinions change after multiple batches.

So current info... who has a Chocolate scent they LOVE?

Who wants to warn me away from any particular company's version of chocolate scent?

Any special hints?


----------



## [email protected] (Jun 1, 2011)

I haven't soaped this one yet, but I have a little sample and it smells sooo good!
http://www.brambleberry.com/Dark-Rich-Chocolate-Fragrance-P3881.aspx

I have added some of Nature's garden dark chocolate to a lotion and it was okay, nothing great and nothing horrible.


----------



## Guest (Nov 2, 2011)

I soaped Chocolate once, it morphed into a plastic vanilla type smell and I never sold a single bar of it.. it was good soap so I just gave it away.. So can't help here..


----------



## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I would save the chocolate soap for valentines day...mine doesn't seem to move even though it smells wonderful. I think adding a white layer of mint this time of year might get it moving more. I used chocolate fudge from candle science. It smells nice I guess and lots of people comment on how good it smells, just really doesn't sell.


----------



## carlidoe (Jul 30, 2010)

I bought a bar of Chocolate Mint soap at a show not long ago and it is SO good. I think she used a really high percentage of cocoa butter to achieve that smell. Is it possible for that smell to survive saponification?


----------



## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Combination of cocoa butter, and cocoa absolute will help. But it's not cheap!!


----------



## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

The Brambleberry chocolate FO morphs into something weird after awhile. Some of the coffee scents do too. Caroline


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

No cocoa butter smell (non deoderized) doesn't make it through sap. I am using the Hot Chocolate tonight from Aroma Haven, I will post how he does, it is a wonderful milk chocolate in the bottle and a 4 ounce bottle of lotion made out of it is on my dresser, it is lovely. I am hoping it soaps as good as it smells, I have been using up the last 5 pounds of an old Fudge Brownie, it can be reordered I am sure from Day Star since she carries Stephie's scents still. But this Hot Chocolate would be a much better match for my idea of Chocolate covered Strawberries....although I haven't found a good berry to use, yep thinking ahead for Valentines and Mothers Day already. Vicki


----------



## jdranch (Jan 31, 2010)

I just got the sample from Brambleberry and love the way smells! 

I use Mocha from Brambleberry for my chocolate. Not a good seller tho...


----------



## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I've used WSP's Chocolate Drizzle in the past. But I haven't soaped that in a couple years. Most food scents don't sell well for me. People oooh and aaaah over the scent and then put it down saying I wouldn't want to smell like _______. LOL


----------



## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I make a soap I call "Naked" which is a facial soap with a very high percentage of non-deodorized cocoa butter, and the soap definately smells like cocoa butter. Probably because there is no other scent added. I've been using cocoa butter instead of shea butter as my "premium" butter in all the soaps I've done lately because I got a big bag of it in trade for hoof trimming! I love it! I've ran out now and am looking for more. I think it smells better in my lotions than the shea butter too.


----------



## Halo-M Nubians (Oct 26, 2007)

The chocolate Milk scent from Candle science is really good, stays true and lasts forever. BUT..it doesn't sell. People don't want to wash in chocolate. They like to sniff it and say yumm, then move on =). Kids now, they love it! at the markets I did the kids that got to pick out soap always picked out a "chocolate bar". I did some with coffee grounds and called it "Java Chip" and I do have 3 friends that Like that one and want me to make more. I also did a Peppermint pattie. A big square choc bar with a circle of mint in the middle that one was a little bit more popular.


----------



## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

Really interesting, thanks folks! 

I'd love to hear from more of you... things I didn't think of, like how the scent changes over time, and that customers perceive they don't want to smell like chocolate... label would need some witty quip about "for showering enjoyment, rinse well and no one will bite you on the street" :LOL

Maybe little truffle-ish soaps for "guests" would sell well?

I also wonder if the dark color soaps just don't sell as well unless there's some major novelty factor like black soap, which I couldn't see myself buying. I'd just worry about the color rinsing off COMPLETELY, not logical, but that's how I'd feel and I wonder if that's part of customers putting down the dark brown bar that smells so good.


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Anything with Patchoulli or Vanilla in it is going to soap dark brown....3 of my bars are super dark and 2 of them are in my top 5 best sellers this time of year. I do have customers who only will buy white soaps, but this is about clean soap dishes, nothing at all to do with the soap. Food scents make up a good deal of both my soap and lotion sales. We sold more Aunt Mable's Sugar cookie trio's (lotion, soap, body butters) to winters ago than any trio I have ever done before. Vicki


----------



## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Must be a location thing. I couldn't sell that Sugar Cookie soap no matter how I tried! I think I sold one bar??? Pumpkin does well though, as do Candy Cane, Black Raspberry Vanilla, OMH, Honey, and Cranberry Marmalade.


----------



## [email protected] (Sep 18, 2008)

I use the Dark Rich Chocolate (Brambleberry) in my Peppermint Pattie soap. Everyone loves it, but it does smell like DARK chocolate. It does well with mint, but I don't know that I'd use it as a 'milk' chocolate--been meaning to try it with a couple samples of Cherry and Raspberry that I have, to see if it works with them. I do round soaps, so for the Peppermint Pattie, I do 1" rounds of peppermint, then put them in 3" rounds and surround them with the chocolate. The lotions and candles sell faster than the soap, but the soap sells well.

OT: Vicki mentioned Patch turning dark. Mine doesn't. ?? I ordered it through a coop. It BARELY discolors--very, very light tan. I just ordered more from Lillian, but I don't go through very much, so it'll be interesting to see the difference. Now I wanna make some, but I don't need to. :/


----------



## LynninTX (Oct 25, 2007)

> Most food scents don't sell well for me. People oooh and aaaah over the scent and then put it down saying I wouldn't want to smell like _______. LOL


I get that too...



> I also wonder if the dark color soaps just don't sell as well unless there's some major novelty factor like black soap, which I couldn't see myself buying. I'd just worry about the color rinsing off COMPLETELY, not logical, but that's how I'd feel and I wonder if that's part of customers putting down the dark brown bar that smells so good.


My Verry Vanilla and Sweet Pumpkin Spice are both DARK DARK brown and sell nicely. My Dragon's Blood is black with red and has been my TOP FO. Moonlight Serenade is dark blue and sells nicely. And Midnight in Texas is doing GREAT and that one is DARK purple with blue & black swirls.

I have only had 1 person walk away from a dark bar due to color.

My only chocolate soap is Decadent Raspberry Truffle and it is just sitting there. I have sold 1 bar. It smells good, but I know *I* would not want to smell like it. I think it is Peaks Raspberry Truffle.


----------



## LynninTX (Oct 25, 2007)

My Patch does not discolor. It is from Peaks... I blend it with my Verry Vanilla though so that darkens... but not much.


----------



## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

Patchouli essential oil shouldn't discolor your soap. I've used Patchouli from several different suppliers over the years (I purchase from the supplier with the best prices at the time), and have never had one that discolored. 

The one "food" fragrance that does sell quite well for us at this time of the year is Gingerbread (from Sweet Cakes). It discolors to a nice medium brown which fits perfectly with the scent of the soap. Caroline


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Here is a shot glass of my patch.....how can this not turn your soap dark? Poorer quality patchoulli is tan. Poorer quality patchoulli is also not syrupy thick. You can test the quality of your essential oils by putting a drop onto a piece of paper and letting it sit. Essential oils that are cut with carrier oils will spread out a oily stain/residue, uncut essential oils do not. It is a shame we can't do this with our fragranced oils. Vicki


----------



## 2Sticks (Dec 13, 2007)

OH, that looks so luscious, makes me want to smell it bad. We need smell-a-vision! I love Patchouli!


----------



## LynninTX (Oct 25, 2007)

The Patch I use is FO then I add a bit of EO... it is just a more $$ one for me to do otherwise.


----------



## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

Obviously I know very little about this soap, that's what I started with  but I've been pretty successful with most of what I've done and I've done a lot of businesses that sold at street/craft/gift fairs, until I get bored and interested in learning something new. :LOL

So why do you think some of you have customers that grab up dark and/or food soaps, and others the opposite? Packaging? Different sales environments? Different demographics? C'mon, aren't you CURIOUS??? :grin


----------



## LynninTX (Oct 25, 2007)

I Do find the stats interesting... it is like my top 4 sellers are all EO's... yet I read here FO's outsell EO's. 

I'd have to look at my newer stats to see if it is holding after adding BRV which is flying...

But my tops were
#1 Thieves
#2 Spearmint Eucalyptus 
#3 Lavender
#4 Avocado
#5 tie - Dragon's Blood and Coconut Lime Verbena

I love watching the stats and trends... as to why the differences between soap makers... it is likely no one thing. I'd look at venue, scent, marketing, customer base... etc.


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

It's not as if you soap your favorites and only your favorites....your scent lineup is what is popular right now...I know for me I do go through Victoria's secret and Bath and Bodyworks, and smell what is new. My scent line is completely customer driven, what does not sell is discontinued, what does sell may have other soap made with that same scent. Many times it's just a change of name that helps, and other times like my OMH getting the oats off the top of the bar. And it's seasonal, although OMH, Sandalwood and Pink Grapefruit are always the most popular bars for awhile now, some go into every box sold it seems...right now Autumn Pumpkin, Marmalade, Honeycomb and Almond Biscotti are the best sellers in stores.


----------



## LynninTX (Oct 25, 2007)

{{nod}} We have added some to the line up and some are hits and some seem to be misses... it keeps flowing.


----------



## LynninTX (Oct 25, 2007)

And yes seasonal... and venue. Market sales are just a bit different from the stores. And OMH was a big seller last spring, but slow moving all summer... and now picking up again.


----------



## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

"Essential oils that are cut with carrier oils will spread out a oily stain/residue, uncut essential oils do not. It is a shame we can't do this with our fragranced oils. Vicki" I tried this today with a sheet of legal pad paper. my ND oil drops spread half way across the page....
Did I do this right and does this mean my ND oils are highly cut. I know they are cut some. I did not think it was a large amount.


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

If you take a pippete and get an actual drop, it will spread out into maybe a quarter or half dollar size at the most, don't touch the drop or the paper, let it dry, hold it up to the light, it should be all the same color and even...that ring that is different around it, or makes it spread out further is carrier oil. I don't buy essential oil from a very popular place because all of their essential oils that I buy spread out like this.

If yours doesn't spread out, add a carrier oil to it, almond, soy, peanut are popular ones...then do it again and you can see what cut EO looks like. The problem with this is that when testing a small amount (just like the shea fiasco that we sampled, the shea samples were so beauitful, but when we got our filled big orders they so obviously had crisco mixed into the shea, it didn't even melt at the same rate as the real shea mixed in with it)...the small samples of EO are good, it's the large 1 pounders and bigger that are cut. Vicki


----------



## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

I am assuming you are referring to ND. 

If I want to sell Tea tree, Lavender, peppermint and patch. I would like to find a good source that is not cut or is cut less than others. Any suggestions?


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

No it is not ND, the ones I use from them are fine. Vicki


----------



## LLB101 (Sep 29, 2009)

Fascinating!
Will be saving this thread...

Sounds like they take the same amount of EO and either sell it to you straight in a little bottle, or put the same amount in a big bottle and top off with other oil? What a racket!


----------



## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Lacia check out the opposite of old..... living, now that is a racket. Skin safe out of the bottle essential oils, which means they are cut with carrier oils, the prices are just crazy high. And there following are militant gals who believe the hype....get them into a soaproom and have them put some of their peppermint on an inside of their arm and some of mine...they are running for the sink, and I pay for a pound what they do for a few ounces...in one case what I pay for a pound they get a few drams. It's the essential oil mafia at it's finest. V


----------

