New Year...Launch

Happy New Year

So, I am working on products and have decided to launch balms, soap, as well as limited edition household products. I am excited, and hope the wait is worth it for --- you : ).

 I think about the planning and care that I am placing with each product. It is my name on the line so I have no problem waiting until I feel the product is perfect for you. Happy new year. May 2012 be the year that you enjoy, plan, and conquer no matter what your goals are.

I wanted to give you an update and let you see what I am working on. Keep in mind this is a update not a final photo session.

This will tie in with the overall look of my website. The soap is a orange/patchouli blend, which contains fragrance, essential oil, and natural colorants.

Enjoy

- moya 

Cama Scents 'N' Such: Custom Handmade Soap Arrivals

Cama Scents 'N' Such: Custom Handmade Soap Arrivals

mystery soaper...

I recently showed another soaper :) how to swirl. We made a few batches of soap (aprx 10 pounds) in a few hours.

Here are few pics from our soap session.

I wonder what ms minnie thinks about these. We may need her to do a candle post. I had a blast, and can't wait to post again. I have a few topics that I will blog about soon so stay tuned.

Oh, check out the pumpkin and lavender hot process soaps that Amanda, Ms Minnie, and I made http://www.lovinsoap.com/ we had so much fun! 

I hate to tease you with just 2 images, but the soaper will show the rest.

Happy soaping! 

Lavender

Bamboo Blend

                                              

Saturday Soaping ... Our Way

Holiday season is here.

I am so excited and almost ready to launch. I am working on getting soap molds for my soap production. It makes it easier to be able to make multiple batches in 1-2 days. I have 3 holiday scents for the soap line that I will post later this month.

I got a chance to do a hot process soap tutorial with Amanda from Lovin' Soap and Ms. Minne with Cama Scents 'N' Such yesterday. We made 3 different batches of hot process soap. Amanda will post the tutorials as well, but here is a link to check out some of the soap.

http://www.lovinsoap.com/2011/10/hot-process-soap-series/

It was awesome because I went to Amanda's soap making class in September of 2009, and Minnie was her first student. We had a great time, and combined have so many ideas. I have to blog to share these with you. If you are in Texas and want to learn how to make soap check out Amanda's soap class http://www.dfwsoaplab.com/. Maybe Ms. Minnie can teach us how to make candles :) ( Now that I think about it...I think I will stick to making wax tarts - my #1 love is soap - sorry Ms. Minnie)...

My favorite soap to make was the pumpkin soap which is made with pureed pumpkin. It is so wonderful and produces a nice creamy, yet bubbly lather.. I will have photos soon. I had a great time, and can't wait for you all to see the end results.

Check out Ms. Minnie's blog:  http://www.camascents.blogspot.com/ I still can't believe that bowl is made out of wax.

- moya

chocolate project....

It's been a while since I posted and wanted to let you check out a project that I'm working on. There are so many "goodies" packed into this soap from chocolate, vanilla, charcoal...it goes on. I think this is a winner, and one that I will have to sell. These bars are not finished, but weigh between 9.3-10 oz each. I love them, and hope my customer will love them as well.

I am showing a chocolate soap that I made. Is it just me? I find most chocolate scents don't "last" on skin once cold processed in soap...I found a blend that I made --- that works...finally.

- Moya

creating...it has been a while

i can't believe it - June is almost over....

i have been busy, but plan to become a better blogger - give me a month or two/before the beginning of October/nba season for sure ( at least i'm being honest )...

i am almost finished with the product line and will be ready for online sales soon.
i hope you all are having a good summer so far. i uploaded a video on youtube of a soap i made for a friend (cool cit basil). i was not happy with the overall look and scent so i decided to redo the soap. i am uploading the video of that soap soon and thought it would be interesting to upload a few photos of the soap.

soap in the mold

*you can't see the silver mica in the green/orange but it is there...

soap out of the mold

*bottom of the soap loaf - this did go through a gel phase

cut bars

i wanted to keep these bars simple but add a bit of color and texture throughout the soap. you cannot see it, but there are layers of colored soap throughout this in addition to the swirl. i cut these by hand instead of using a soap cutter to give it a market/rustic feel, and because this is a combination of cold process/melt & pour soap.

- moya

Earthy Soap ...

Hope you have a great weekend. I am experimenting with fragrances for my products.


I decided to make a nice earthy looking bar that lightly exfoliates.


I am deciding on the name of the soap, but wanted to show this because it will make a nice dark bar.


The scent is a nice eastern spice/wood blend. It has a nice powder/sweetness that makes this a unisex bar - although I feel it is more of a masculine scent.


Check it out....fyi the soap that is not white/black will turn a light-medium shade of brown. The specs are ground vanilla beans.




the bottom/side of the soap loaf



Cut bar of soap

Side view of the bar * i wanted to give another view of the swirl effect

This is the soap in the mold after I poured it, I was not going for a perfect swirl. I wanted to see if I could stick with my original plan - of course I did not, and here is the result.

I do need to buy a camera for this. Until then... I will stick with the convenience of uploading & taking photos with my phone.


What are your favorite scents/scents to work with?




- Moya

welcome...what are you doing...

Welcome all!

Introducing myself and the company M. Alán.
I am a happy soaper. I love to create products that condition and soothe skin.

How long have I soaped? Since Fall 2009
How long has the company existed? Technically Feb 2011, but...
In my mind - since 2009 or since birth since the company is my 1st initial and middle name ....

Pronounced  "M . A - Lawn"
That is the easiest way to pronounce my middle name without me saying it... :)


Now the interesting part/work...

What next...
I am
working on the perfect scents (male/female/unisex/food/floral/clean.blah, blah, blah)
working on the perfect logo and web page design (if you're spending money for my products it should look great right?!?)

Once I have the products in line for Spring/Summer I will have an official post/announcement for the website

http://www.malan.bigcartel.com/

Who am I? Moya 

My company? M. Alán

What am I about? Love Peace Success Happiness

What am I listening to while working on the business? marsha ambrosius (go g i r l !)

I'll have photos/experiences for you all, but thought I'd start with a simple introduction

- Moya