Meet The Team

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m lucky because there’s a bit of both the north and the south of our wonderful country in me. Raised in Illinois as a child, I always said “you all” because my mom was from a little town in Kentucky and that’s how she spoke. The other kids would tease me but that was okay.

I now live on an island off the coast of Georgia. One has to cross four rivers on a causeway to get here. The oak trees drip with Spanish moss and there is history here going back to pre-revolutionary times! By the way, when we were considering this location, I asked several people about hurricanes …. everyone said, “Oh! We don’t get those!” …. Hum ……..

How did you get started?

I got started making soap 8 or 9 years ago. My mom loved fragrances and taught me the importance of taking care of one’s skin. She said by age 30, people should be regularly using a moisturizer. Did I mention she’s the first “Amelia” …. and that’s my middle name?

What is your purpose in making bath and body products?

I am passionate about what I do. It’s important to me that I make great products, ones that are the best quality they can be. In products that stay on one’s skin, I am fussy (fanatic?) about keeping them all natural whenever possible. I love to know about the many oils and butters that Mother Earth gives us! In soaps, I enjoy using a high percentage of shea butter as it makes the bars harder and more emollient. When something I make helps someone, it truly makes my day!

Why did you choose to be on a team?

The people on SAFEteam care deeply about doing things correctly and that is important to me too. So it seemed like the perfect fit. We also care about and help each other. I love all my friends here and would enjoy getting together with them in person!!

What is your inspiration?

My parents and family! My dad always worked hard and had me working with him when I was 14 years old, part-time of course and in the summers. My husband works hard also and so do our children.

My mom was an inspiration too --- she was very hard of hearing when I was born. Her sisters always told her the babies were so good because she couldn’t hear them cry! She read lips so well that most people didn’t realize she had a problem. From them, I learned my work ethic and my values! It’s a fortunate person who has positive role models.

New Year, New SAFE Team Part 3!

Thistle Delight

Well my new years resolution is to love life, love family, and love to eat {:oD


I feel that we are all too busy, and take life just a little too seriously at times.
This year I have decided to really stop and smell the roses


while I take time out for my family, including my dear son that is in the Navy

and then I will make sure to eat some of my favorite foods

We MUST take time for ourselves, or we won't be able to take care of others.

Take care of you.

Thistle Delight

SAFEteam's Help For Tennessee Flood Victims

Life's all about helping each other! That's why members of SAFEteam are providing soap (of course!) and making other donations to those affected by the tragic flooding in Tennessee.

Water-filled homes, businesses, cars, basements ... many TN people are spending countless hours sorting through what is left of their lives.

On May 6, the New York Times published a piece by TN author Ann Patchett which summed up what happened: "There is a charming expression in the South ... when someone says he'll see you soon, and you respond, 'God willing and the creeks don't rise.' I finally get it."

Well, since the creeks DID rise, there's mud everywhere. And there's nothing like getting washed and fresh after a long day of flood clean-up! That's where our soap team's donations come in!!

By the way, the idea for this and the actual delivery of items is the brainchild of Anhoki of Anhoki's Place ... thanks to all for a giving spirit!

Mother's Day Challenge and Giveaway!!!!

This challenge is *all about the Moms*.

Mothers Day is May 9th and Anhoki challenged the SAFEteam to come up with the wackiest, sweetest, most heartwarming, full of life, love and laughter item(s) you can think of. She said "I want you to stop at nothing when you show the moms of the world just how special they are to you. And there's a trick. The colors you use *MUST* be *red* and *purple*. HUH!?!?!?! We are paying tribute to Mom by using the colors of The *Red Hat Society*"

The following is what we came up with!!

Vote for your favorite by leaving your pick in the comments below to be entered into a contest to win one of the winning product! What could be easier!?
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All You Need Is Love By Anhoki

The SAFETeam's current Mothers Day challenge was to design an item using the colors of the Red Hat Society. Purple and red... EASY!

The Red Hat Society.....
"began as a result of a few women deciding to greet middle age with verve, humor and elan. We believe silliness is the comedy relief of life, and since we are all in it together, we might as well join red-gloved hands and go for the gusto together. Underneath the frivolity, we share a bond of affection, forged by common life experiences and a genuine enthusiasm for wherever life takes us next."

The soap I created is called
All You Need Is Love.
"There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game
It's easy.There's nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you
in time - It's easy."

Written by Paul McCartney in 1967 the song, in my opinion, describes The Red Hat Society to a T.. Our soap is an oil blend of olive, coconut, palm and canola. It offers the colors red and purple and a beautiful scent blend. Think Philosophy's Amazing Grace and Victoria Secret's Love Spell.....AWESOME together. Paul McCartney's song and the Red Hat Society seem to go hand in hand. Love, friendship and good times. What could be better? Happy Mothers Day.

Mother's Day Polka Dot Soap by Amelia's Soap Co

Moms love something feminine for their special day … and the fragrance of this soap is just that! It’s warm and sweet and comforting …. just like a mom!!

Made in bright colors and iridescent swirls to get an extra pop, she will think of you every time she uses it. It’s a BIG bar at almost 6 ounces too.

And I thought you might want to read the poem that goes with it (written by Helen Steiner Rice)

No other love
Than mother love
Could do the things
Required of
The one to whom
God gives the keeping
Of His wee lambs,
Awake or sleeping.

Sugared Plums By Gourmet Soaps

Whenever I think of Mom and comfort, I think of baked goods. My Mother is an awesome cook, and loves to try new things. For her, family is everything, and there isn't anything she wouldn't do for family. So here's the next best thing to a cake with a sugar plum glaze....it's a soap cake that smells of yummy sugared plums with bright yellow calendula flowers to grace it's red hat. This soap is lightly scented, because my mom has unbelievably bad allergies, and I want her to enjoy this soap as well. I love you Mommy!

Patchouli Rose by KB Shimmer


WARNING: Enjoying life over 50, picking flowers from other's gardens, maybe sipping some brandy, and wearing red hats and purple clothes, The Red Hat Society loves life! The society born from a poem and a gift of a red hat is strong with chapters all over the world. This Mother's Day, the SAFE TEAM thought to honor a group of women that we have grown to love with a challenge to create a product inspired by the Red Hat Society.

The fresh scent of roses, the sweet scent of lavender essential oil accent the deep purple and red swirls of the soap. Accented by Dark Patchouli essential oil, and loaded with olive oil, cocoa butter, and shea butter, this bar will be loved by women of all ages! My ode to the society, I hope soap does the group proud!

The Ultimate Pamper Package by Pacific Paradise

This Mother's Day Gift Set is bursting with the Ultimate Pamper Package. The red crate was handmade by my Dad. It is full of wonderfully luxurious bath & body treats. Three bars of soap start the box off, with my most popular Lavender Purple Swirl with Shea butter and Cocoa butter, Island Kiss with Shea butter, and Fresh Mango enriched with Mango butter & Kukui Nut Oil. The Fresh Mango Soap is stamped with a cellini blue mica dolphin and comes in a light blue organza bag embossed with Sparkle Green Palm Trees. The bag is great for jewelry after you pull out the soap. The box includes a Clay Mask Set with Aloe Vera, 3 Lavender Rose Potpourri, Mineral Bath Salts scented with Ocean Fragrance in a printed bag with a handcrafted (again, my Dad) redwood scoop & organza bow.

Now this would be the perfect gift if only it came with a redeemable coupon for someone to vacuum the house, clean the toilets & do laundry while Mom is in the tub!!!

Lavender-Filled Sleep Mask By Urban Eden

Dear Mom,

I know there were a few times I caused you to lose sleep. Okay, there were lots of times. You nursed me through colic and scarlet fever, you bore the brunt of my adolescence, you empathized when I cried over inappropriate men, and you came to my rescue when I ran flat out of money.

And those are only the things I can say over the internet. :)

Maybe for once I can help you sleep better?

This hand-embroidered, hand-painted and hand-appliqued cotton sleep mask is lightly filled with a mixture of flax seed and lavender. The back is the softest purple silk imaginable.
One size fits just about every mom.

Mother's Baby by The Skin You're In

Motherhood begins with babies, babies of any kind from the human kind to fur babies. Motherhood isn't just an event in a woman's life, it's also a state of mind. Motherhood is nurturing, caring, loving, honoring, cuddling, embarrassing displays of affection and sometimes even tough love to teach a lesson

Here is a special poem for the "mother" in all of us.

Before I was myself you made me, me
With love and patience, discipline and tears,
Then bit by bit stepped back to set me free,

Allowing me to sail upon my sea,
Though well within the headlands of your fears.
Before I was myself you made me, me

With dreams enough of what I was to be
And hopes that would be sculpted by the years,
Then bit by bit stepped back to set me free,

Relinquishing your powers gradually
To let me shape myself among my peers.
Before I was myself you made me, me,

And being good and wise, you gracefully
As dancers when the last sweet cadence nears
Bit by bit stepped back to set me free.

For love inspires learning naturally:

The mind assents to what the heart reveres.
And so it was through love you made me, me
By slowly stepping back to set me free.

(copyright by Nicolas Gordon)

Flower Garden Cold Process Soap by Posh Wash Soap

Mother's Day is a very special time of the year, when we get to honor the wonderful woman who gave us life, and guided us through our childhood, and on into adulthood. My soap was made to honor Mothers, and was inspired by the Red Hat Society, which is a wonderful organization of women. Below is an explanation of how the society originated.

While visiting a friend in Tucson several years ago, Sue Ellen Cooper, founder of the Red Hat Society, impulsively bought a bright red fedora at a thrift shop, for no other reason than that it was cheap and, she thought, quite dashing. A year or two later she read the poem "Warning" by Jenny Joseph, which depicts an older woman in purple clothing with a red hat. Sue Ellen felt an immediate kinship with Ms. Joseph. She decided that her birthday gift to her dear friend, Linda Murphy, would be a vintage red hat and a copy of the poem. She has always enjoyed whimsical decorating ideas, so she thought the hat would look nice hanging on a hook next to the framed poem. Linda got so much enjoyment out of the hat and the poem that Sue Ellen gave the same gift to another friend, then another, then another. The Red Hat Society was born.

Reign of Violets Soap by SwanMountainSoaps


We at Swan Mountain Soaps ascribe to the viewpoint that nothing is more completely awesome than motherhood. With 5 swanlets in our own brood, we anticipate Mothers' Day with joy and exhaustion, knowing full well that there will be chocolate, sweet gifts made from scratch by little hands, and yet still more messes to clean up.

At the end of the day, however, at least on this day, there will be an hour of blissful solitude, preferably in the bathtub with a glass of wine, a good Jane Austen and the door locked.

Such a momentus occasion requires a very special bar of soap. And so, we set out to create a Very Special Soap just for Mothers' Day. We found inspiration in the Red Hat Society.

If you're not familiar with the group, it is simply "a result of a few women deciding to greet middle age with verve, humor and elan." Now that's just cool. You can check out the group here: www.redhatsociety.com.

Our Reign of Violets soap was created in the trademark Red Hat colors of Purple and Red. We added a swirl of white in honor of the white hairs that can be found on the finest of mothers, and rose petals on top honoring the love that only a Mother can show. Its fragrance is that of a field of sweet violets, because nothing is sweeter than a mother's kiss.

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Don't forget...we also have a scavenger hunt going on! Stop by and play http://etsysafeteam.blogspot.com/2010/04/hunt-is-on.html

Good Luck to everyone!

Happy Mother's Day

EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY

Here is a little bit about Urban Eden's contributions to the environment!!

It's hard to run an environmentally sound business, even when you're making something as seemingly innocent as soap. I thought I was doing pretty well because I was using natural fragrances and colorants, my soaps were almost all vegan (one variety contains local honey), and I was using minimal packaging. So I was horrified when I learned that rain forests are being decimated to make way for palm plantations. Palm oil is one of the key ingredients for most soapmakers, myself included. It makes a bar hard and long-lasting with a stable lather--and there's no perfect, vegan, environmentally benign substitute.

I still haven't developed a palm-free recipe, but I've switched to an organic, sustainably-grown palm oil. It comes from South America and is grown on land that was cleared over thirty years ago. More recently I've switched to organic shea butter as well. But I think it's the palm oil that's most important.

I try to be environmentally responsible in other ways as well. My local customers get a discount when they bring back their containers for refilling. My deodorants are aluminum-free (mining bauxite for aluminum causes environmental damage). And my fragrances are still natural. Of course, the plants from which essential oils are derived are resources to be used wisely. Everything we consume has a price. But the majority of synthetic fragrances are petroleum-based. Some are neurotoxins. And waste water treatment methods can't filter synthetic fragrances out, so they end up in our rivers and oceans. Synthetic musks, which are used to anchor or extend scents, have been found accumulating in mussels and fish.

Although these are the choices I've made, I want to emphasize that other soapmakers--and customers--may weigh the environmental factors differently. You could easily argue that an animal-fat based soap is the most environmentally sound choice, or that it's better to use a chemically-derived fragrance than an essential oil derived from a precious botanical. Or maybe your wallet is in conflict with your ideals. (I know I wish I could afford to print my labels with soy inks.) But one thing's for sure: any handmade soap is a better choice than a mass-produced, petrochemical-based "cleansing bar" or "beauty bar."

Happy Earth Day from Bambu Earth

In celebration of Earth Day we will showcase a few of our earth concious team mates over the next couple days! Enjoy!!

Bambu Earth is an Earth Conscious company that leads by example and promotes the use of natural, organic, handmade and energy efficient materials. The company name "Bambu Earth" was inspired by the bamboo plant, which is a wonderfully sustainable resource. It grows without the need for petroleum-fueled tractors and poisonous pesticides and fertilizers, thereby being incredibly "earth friendly"!

::About Bambu Earth::
My soaps are made from scratch using the cold-process method, and everything in my shop is handmade by me. My products exclusively contain natural, nourishing ingredients without synthetic fragrances or harmful dyes and colorants. I use only pure essential oils, herbs, botanicals, clays and other natural ingredients to formulate the unique scents and color combinations of each soap. All of my soap recipes palm oil free and eco-conscious!

::About Packaging::
Each bar comes beautifully packaged and ready for gift giving in handmade (by me) plantable paper labels that grow basil! Each bar comes with planting instructions. Outer label is made from recycled cereal boxes and contains the product information and ingredient listing. Each product that comes in a plastic container will be accompanied by a few ideas on how to recycle and reuse the packaging. (More ideas, photos and tutorials coming soon on http://www.bambuearth.com/.Some items (such as my seasonal Irish Locks O' Luxe Hair Rinse) come packaged in recycled glass containers.

::Promotional Materials::
All Bambu Earth business cards are printed on recycled cereal boxes with an energy efficient laser printer. All invoices are printed on 100% post consumer recycled paper.All thank-you notes are printed on 100% post consumer recycled paper handmade by a fellow artisan.

Happy Holidays from the SAFE team!

Merry Christmas, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noël, Frohe Weihnachten, God Jul, Nollaig Shona, Feliz Natal, Mutlu Noeller.

Christmas is universal. For many Christmas is deeply religious. For others Christmas is all about presents.

Do you have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree or a huge 9 footer with all the trimmings? Do you spend time at a local shelter feeding the homeless or are you the one doing the family baking? Do you read to the children who are stuck in the hospital during the holidays? Do you go skiing or have a neighborhood snowman build-off? Are you like the kids and LOVE presents more than anything? Do you love being the one who does most of the spoiling?

Anhoki asked the SAFEteam to tell their Christmas story with soap...and this is what they came up with!

Anhoki's Hillbilly Christmas...

...is my interpretation of our family Christmas in a bar of soap. Christmas, for us, begins the day after Thanksgiving.... when everyone is out fighting the crowds for the BEST deal on whatever it is they are looking for. While everyone else is fighting the crowds I am putting up our Christmas tree. Christmas music fills the room and the furkids are dancing across the floor to avoid the Christmas lights as we string them on the tree. The kids...well they want lights in their rooms, want to know where the snow is, and want to know if THIS is the year they can go ice skating. It doesn't snow here anymore...just ice..and everywhere. Eggnog, warm and fuzzy slippers and laughter is all we need. We love driving all over to look at Christmas lights. There is a live nativity scene at a local church that is just breath-taking. With all the animals and people dressed just as they were in the beginning. It's beautiful. Christmas morning is wild. Opening presents at home before heading to my grandparent's house for breakfast. The WHOLE family is there. Parking is a nightmare and IF we're lucky...there's ice on the roads. Remember...it doesn't snow here until AFTER Christmas. A HUGE breakfast for everyone before we open gifts and then set around and watch football....or fall asleep..whichever comes first. It's awesome. Anhoki's Hillbillie Christmas is a down home, warm and festive, hillbilly blend of sweet fruits, spices, woods and a tiny touch of floral. This is one of the most unique blends I've ever come across and it is very much a favorite. It definitely speaks the holidays to me.

Holly and Ivy Soap by Swan Mountain Soaps

For our family, Christmas is a deeply spiritual time. It is the culmination of 40 days of fasting and preparation, and while the feast and the presents and the tree are all a big part of what we do, it all centers on the Nativity of Christ.

I thought a long time about how to translate that into a bar of soap. What I finally realized, in the end, is that you just can’t. It’s too big, and too special, and above all too holy. So after a lot of thought, what I tried to do was capture that feeling of peace and joy we have late Christmas morning when we’re all dead tired from being at church until the wee hours the night before, but we’re all too excited to sleep. The stockings have been opened and Mom, Dad and Grandma are drinking strong coffee while the kids play with their stocking stuffers and munch on chocolate – the one amazing day a year when chocolate in the morning is OK with Mom! The Christmas carols are playing in the background, especially the one Irish Christmas CD that for our kids means Christmas is finally here. The lights on the Christmas tree have to compete with the colors of dawn over the lake … it won’t get light until almost 11 am on Christmas Day, and the colors in the sky, reflected and sparkling off the icy lake, are tough to beat. We will all look over at Dad in his chair and remember the one lonely Christmas a few years back, when Dad was in Afghanistan and everyone tried to be cheerful anyway, and every now and then someone will run over and give Daddy a big hug just because.

I used the traditional Christmas colors of red and green on my soap because our family cherishes the old fashioned Christmas customs that we bring back every year – the Advent Wreath, the tree, and of course the presents. But the top layer is snow white, symbolizing the purity of the Christ child for whom the day is celebrated, with the glittery gold Star at the top of the bar. We at Swan Mountain Soaps wish you and yours much Joy this Christmas season!

Oh Christmas Tree by KB Shimmer

Decking the halls and trimming the tree is one of my beloved holiday events. When the challenge came across from the SAFETeam to express a holiday tradition in a soap, I knew exactly what I was do. I have hundreds of ornaments that I have collected since before I could talk. Santa's, elves, cookies, animals and more, all shapes, sizes and colors, I pull them out every year and as a family we get to work decorating the tree so that it will twinkle and glow for Santa.

This soap is all cold process soap. Made in many stages, the centerpiece is the Christmas tree filled with bits of soapy lights. That tree was one whole 18 inch log carved into the tree shape, so each and every bar is unique, just like real trees. Of course, no tree is complete without presents, so several presents surround the tree. Set against a sky blue backdrop, wisps of white snow fill the sky, while the top of the bar boasts more sparkly mica snow, and a bit of gold mica adds the star to the festive tree. The soap boasts the scents of Christmas also, holly, cinnamon, orange, and mint form a soft scent that makes you swear you are at a holiday gathering.

Evergreens & Holly by Beyond the Picket Fence

A walk throught the forest on a crisp cool day....That is the inspiration for this soap. It brings me back to cutting down Christmas trees with my parents. Hours and hours spent in the woods picking the PERFECT tree. What kind of tree to get? How big? My sister and I would both pick our favorite tree and stand next to it. Claim it as our own and give nasty looks to any passer-by (MINE!) Dad would continue to search until it really was just too cold out. Then back-and-forth...who's tree would win?

I always held the tree while my dad cut the trunk. And then we would carry out to the car. We almost never gave it to the guy with the tractor. It was my favorite task because it left my gloves with the faint smell of sap for the rest of the winter! I would put on those gloves and take a big whiff every day!

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Vote for your favorite in the poll on the sidebar!!!

While you are at it, tell us your holiday story! One of the comments will win a FREE bar of the winning soap!!! So tell us your traditions...share a recipe...tell us what you want this year!

Please leave your email or shop name so that we can find you if you win!!! Good Luck!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

SAFE team Weekend Deals for the Holidays

This weekend some of our members are offering awesome disounts in their shops just in time for Christmas shopping!

Here are a few of them for you to check out!

Bath Buddies - http://www.bathbuddies.etsy.com/ is offering 20% off entire store, excluding shipping.

BunnyBubbles - http://www.bunnybubbles.etsy.com/ is offering a Free Surprise Gift with purchase (between 2-5 in value)

The Ivory Magnolia - http://www.theivorymagnolia.etsy,com/ and Garnet & Moss http://www.garnetandmoss.etsy.com/ will be offering 20% off any order

ZoZca -http://www.etsy.com/shop/zozca?show_panel=truewill be offering 15% off entire shop.

KB Shimmer - http://www.kbshimmer.etsy.com/ is offering 15% off entire shop

Blissology - www.blissology.etsy.com is offering 20% off all orders over $20

The Skin You're In - http://www.theskinyourein.etsy.com/ will be offering 20% off your shopping cart

Aunt Nancy's Handmade Soap http://www.auntnancyssoap.etsy.com/ Buy 3 or more soaps, get another soap of your choice FREE.

Green Springs Body Works - http://www.greensprings0.etsy.com/ is offering 20% off entire shop

Pinkparchmentsoaps - http://www.pinkparchmentsoaps.ety.com/ is offering 20% off your total order

Thistle Delight Soapworks - http://www.thistledelight.etsy.com/ is offering 20% off product total

Anhoki's Place - www.Anhoki.etsy.com is giving 20% off bath and body. (Molds and stamps do not apply)

Angie's Suds 'N Such - http://www.sudsnsuch.etsy.com/ will be offering 20% off her entire shop

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All sales are prior to shipping charges

Search the SAFEteam on Etsy for more great gift ideas!!

Stay tuned for MORE gift guides!

Don't stress this year...we'll do your shopping for you!

FALL IS ALMOST HERE....

and today it feels like it is already here. We didn't have much of a summer in the northeast....and I am a little sad to see it go...but I am ready for apple pies, colorful leaves, sweaters! Oh, and did I mention SOAP!

Here are a couple of amazing fall soaps from the members of the SAFE team!!

A seasonal favorite by Willow Bay Bath & Body! This pumpkin pie soap smells good enough to eat! (But please don't!) This is so close to the real thing, you'll swear your grandmother baked it. There's no way you can say no to a pumpkin pie on a brisk fall evening. But with moisturizing goats milk this soap is a definate yes!

Start the season off right... and EARLY with Bambu Earth's Spiked Egg Nog with Peppermint Candy Sticks Soap. What a great stocking stuffer this will make! (Try not to keep it all to yourself!) This soap is made with heavy whipping cream, real egg yolks, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla bean, and RUM. It is completed with a peppermint foamy topping and candy sticks. My soap is completely NATURALLY scented. Yes, even this one. No artificial flavor, color, scents in here. Although it smells good enough to drink, please do not consume this sudsy bar of goodness!

You have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how much you would be missing out on if you didn't add this to your collection. Muspotwitharsan Cold Process Soap Ala Anhoki!! OMG! An amazing blend of Tuberose, Sandalwood and Musk. Sensual, soft and incredibly sexy. A bar for both men and woman it was named by the infamous Dr John and is a family favorite.

This Limited Edition Floral Bouquet soap from Soap Scentsation is a sweet floral blend of geranium, lavender, and palma rose. Enhanced with carrot juice and dried/ground chamomile petals, this is a true floral bouquet perfect for sink side. Pumpkin shaped for fall, would make a perfect addition to your autumnal decorating. And the blend makes for a wonderful facial bar!

Drive the men crazy with Pumpkin Lavender Oatmeal by a Breath of French Air! Sounds weird, but the combination of Pumpkin and Lavender drives men crazy in lust! As stated in Cosmo magazine: "Smell actually might be the most important sexual sense," explains Alan Hirsch, MD, neurological director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago. "There's a direct sensory pathway between the olfactory bulb above the nose and the arousal center of the brain," Dr. Hirsch says. In other words, just a whiff of something sexy can be all it takes to get your or your man's motor running. So what scents unconsciously rev his engine? Dr. Hirsch's research shows that guys are most aroused by, of all things, the smell of cinnamon buns, followed by lavender, vanilla, doughnuts, and pumpkin pie.

Bonbons and Booze SAFEteam Challenge

There is actually a little sentimentality to this challenge. We are a team filled with CRAZY, nostalgic, sentimental, protective and understanding people. We are a diverse group of people who really care about one another. This got our challenger, Anhoki, thinking. Quite a few of us have had a pretty rough year. ALL of us have been supportive with hugs, prayers, juju, mojo, good vibes, thoughts, lit candles, fights with those who HOG the chocolate, and let's not forget the passing of the alcohol. SO....The THEME to this challenge is "Bonbons and Booze".

The RULES: Challengers WILL have to find a wine, champagne or alcoholic beverage scent and you will also need to find a chocolate or candy scent for this challenge. If your soap does not have both it WILL NOT count. Multiple colors would be nice and multiple scents is a must.

Your Job: Read through the entries. Leave a comment voting for your favorite one and you will be entered to win the "winning" bar of soap! Good luck EVERYONE!!!!

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Brandied Chocolate Truffles by Soap Scent-sations

There are 4 things that are a must at the holidays in our house: homemade biscotti of all varieties, gingerbread men, Grandma’s cranberry salad, and chocolate! My mom makes dozens of varieties of chocolate treats; Peanut Butter Balls, dipped Pretzels, fudge, the list goes on! My addition to her chocolate plate is a creamy, brandy filled truffle. When this challenge was announced I knew immediately I had to recreate these decadent treats in a bar of soap! So here they are, complete with heavy cream, real unsweetened chocolate, and YES! a shot of brandy. Life is always better with Chocolate! Find the edible recipe on my blog: http://www.soapscentsations.blogspot.com/

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Chocolate Covered Strawberries and Champagne by Sunset Soaps


What’s the best way to win over someone’s heart? With bonbons and booze of course! This is my very first Etsy Safe Team Soap Challenge entry. When I learned of the theme for this month, I knew I had to jump right in and join the party with my version of chocolate covered strawberries and champagne!

I love making hand dipped chocolate strawberries and sharing them with my sweetie along with a little bubbly. So I attempted to make a soap that could represent all of the same goodness! Made with palm oil, coconut oil, olive oil, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, and sweet almond oil and scented with strawberries and champagne fragrance oil this soap smells just like the popular Victoria’s Secret Garden body fragrance. It is the perfect blend of strawberry, champagne, flowers, and sandalwood. Very soft and romantic. But wait, don’t forget about the chocolate! A touch of real cocoa powder has been added and swirled on top, because in my opinion everything is better covered in chocolate!

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Bourbon de Vanille By Swan Mountain Soaps


There is a sign on my soap table that says, “Do Not Eat the Soap!” Still, every time I sniff my Bourbon de Vanille soap, I am tempted to take a bite! This soap blends the scents of Madagascar vanilla with smooth bourbon, one of the most creamy, decadent blends ever to tempt a soap addict. Warm and comforting and yet sensual and alluring, this scent will appeal to both men and women. Our Bourbon de Vanille soap smells so good, you'll want to taste it too ... but we don't recommend it. Since the number one ingredients in this luscious soap is cocoa butter, this soap is dessert … for your skin!





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Boozy Bonbons by Bunny Bubbles

The most recent SAFEteam challenge is entitled, "Bonbons & Booze". Take a look at these soaps, and you'll see how literally I took that!

At the end of the day, it's nice to give in to a little vice. Some of us love our chocolate, and some love our wine. But, if you want a totally sin-free treat, how about these "candies" for your bath?

These chocolate-scented soap "bonbons" each have a core of booze-scented soap. Each set contains nine soaps in total.

3 "Crème de menth" soap bonbons with a minty green center
3 "Grand Marnier" soap bonbons with a bubbly orange center
3 "Amaretto" soap bonbons with an almond-y light brown center

Each set is packed in a candy box. These realistic chocolate replica soaps are NOT recommended for households with young children or husbands who eat first and ask questions later.


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Grand Marnier and Chocolate Covered Strawberries by Gourmet Soaps

Grand Marnier is a french liqueor made from a blend of true cognacs and orange bitters. This versatile dessert wine can be added to lattes, cosmopolitans, margaritas or even added to dessert recipes to kick it up a few notches. I prefer drinking it neat with chocolate covered strawberries. It's simple, yet has the most decadent flavors to ever cross your lips. Who can resist a bite of a sun-ripened strawberry covered in warm chocolate, and then a sip of Grand Marnier to send the yummy to your tummy. It's a great way to pamper yourself, and an even better way to pamper that special someone in a sensuous way. Try it, and then thank me later :)

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Vino e Cioccolato in Toscana By Anhoki

Vino e Cioccolato reminds me of my youth living in Italy. Every Sunday, or so it seemed, we would have lunch with our friends and share laughs, great food, better wine and fantastic espresso. I remember playing in the vinyard behind our villa with my friends and trying ever so hard to NOT eat the beautiful grapes. Our villa overlooked acres of beautiful grapevines that shined in the afternoon sun. On Saturday mornings my mom, a few friends and I would go to the open market and shop for fresh bread, veggies and meat for that day's meal. The booths that had a bazillion bottles of wine for sale to the Americans who loved to sample the local vintage were amazing. Walk a little further and you walked right past the Alimentari that ALWAYS had the BEST chocolates. We would NEVER leave the market without chocolate. That would have been a major crime. Those, as they say, were the good ol' days.

Our soap is made with an olive, coconut, palm and canola blend with cocoa powder and titanium dioxide for color. Each bar is approximately 5.25 oz in weight.

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Chocolate Margaritas Soap by Sassy Soaps n' Such

Bon Bons and Booze what a wonderful combination. I live in Texas so of course the first thing that came to my mind was Tequila and since we were working with a “Mexican” Booze why not add the most comforting kind of chocolate I can think of. When my Mis hijas or my daughters, were little we would have hot chocolate infused with Mexican cinnamon every night before bedtime. I decided to combine the Tequila with the Mexican Hot Chocolate and you give you a Chocolate Margaritas Soap Bar.

I work with Melt and Pour Method of Soap so I used goat’s milk base and clear glycerin base to create our 5 oz three layered Chocolate Margaritas Soap. The bottom layer is made from Starbucks Moca Powder and goats milk soap base...with just a touch of fresh Mexican cinnamon. The middle layer is lime green glycerin soap and the top layer is clear glycerin soap that in infused with Sauza... that is real Tequila Blanco. Now, no Margaritas would be complete without salt and lime so the lime on the side has a hint of salt in the glycerin and of course lime essential oils. You can smell the Tequila and lime and Mexican hot chocolate base...YUMMO makes me wish I could drink this soap.

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Would you like some Champagne and Chocolates by Pacific Paradise

Soap

This exquisite soap was blended to smell like champagne and chocolates & nourish your skin while you enjoy it! Each bar of Champagne Soap has 2 chocolate truffle soaps hidden inside. I twirled milk chocolate soap like 2 bonbons into each big bar of champagne soap. I placed thin curls of renewing face soap into the champagne soap to mimic bubbles going up a champagne glass. Just look at all the wonderful ingredients! How can you resist? Each bar contains soybean oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil, rice bran oil, water, sodium hydroxide, organic pink grapefruit essential oil, a blend of fragrances, shea butter, borage seed oil, evening primrose oil, rose hip oil, silk protein, and carrot seed essential oil.

The goodness of chocolates & champagne will make your shower a pampering experience. Go ahead, indulge.

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Cherry Cordial By Lily Pond Soaps

Decadent.

Exquisite.

Unforgettable.

The delicious scent of dark chocolate mingled with the sweet scent of ripe summer cherries.

A must have for chocolate lovers!!

Disclaimer....this soap is not for eating, only bathing and washing hands with. The scent is so Delicious, you may be tempted to see if it tastes as good!!!

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Caramel Cream (Irish Cream that is...) by Angie's Suds n' Such

Okay, so it's not the prettiest...BUT the scent is amazing! The delicious aroma of melt in your mouth caramel combined with the sweet scent of Irish Cream. Yum!

This soap has been handmade using the cold process method of soapmaking. Each bar has cured for a minimum of 4 weeks.