A 1950s Dance

Belle of the Ball

I came across this photo at a market a couple of years ago of a young woman dressed up for a formal dance.  She is a local Adelaide woman and, of course, the dance was held some time in the 1950s.  That's all I know about it.  I love the photo because she has that sense of excitement you have when you're young and the world is full of choices and possibilities.   Lovely!   I hope the dance lived up to her expectations.

 

A New Soap for Spring

Spring Sherbert

Winter is the season of indulgence.  It's also the time to plan - it's about anticipation.  You know what is just around the corner - SPRING!  Well, it's months off yet, but it's good fun planning ahead.  Dust off those gardening books, get out those holiday brochures, buy a ridiculously lightweight and cheerful shirt online.  

Avid readers of this blog (!) will remember I made a batch of Spring Sherbert a couple of weeks ago.   You know the one - it was brimming over with olive oil, apricot kernel oil and cocoa butter and it was scented with a floral dreamcloud - or lemongrass and lavender essential oils to be precise (for those more practical types).  The soap appears to be a modest little number, a soft and creamy yellow like the finest alabaster, but it fizzes with springtime joy when you smell it.  Yes, I love it!  And this is what Spring Sherbert is doing today:

Photo Bee

Winter Wonderland

Spent a lovely afternoon taking snaps in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.  A nice way to spend a wintery Sunday afternoon.  I can't make soap all the time you know!

Romance

A Winter's Day - Love Lies Bleeding

On this cold winter's day, have I been lying on the couch under a blanket eating crumpets and reading Tennyson?  No!  I've been making another batch of what I can now call an old time favourite - Love Lies Bleeding.

In making this soap, I have not been content with using just olive oil, I have added olive pomace.  Olive pomace is a low-grade olive oil in terms of cooking, but in terms of soap-making, it means a concentrated boost of olive goodness.  Olive is a wonderful oil for soaps, and I always use it as a big part of any soap mixture.  It produces a firm bar of soap, which makes it better value, and is very gentle on your skin.

I have also used meadowfoam seed oil.  The skin loves this oil as it is highly emollient, leaving your skin moisturised.    Apricot kernal oil is rich with vitamins E and A and matches your skin's sebum, meaning your skin will drink it in!  Topping off this trilogy of extra-luxurious oils is rosehip oil, bursting with vitamin C (though, to be fair, vitamin C isn't much of a stayer, so it's not likely you'll see much of this once it is in a soap!), anti-oxidants and omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids - in other words, one of the best skin friendly oils you're likely to come across!

I've used mineral colourings, as usual, in this batch; the swirl being a rich earthy red.  Scented with rose, rose geranium and geranium essential oils, the soap is lively, sweet and, I must say, thoroughly romantic.  This is a great skin-conditioning soap.  Here are some sneak previews for you - the colouring and essential oils, the soap mix, the poured soap and a Holga photograph of roses to put you in the mood!

it's coming, IT'S COMING

 Yes!  Shanghai Lil & The Scarlet Fez is one step closer to opening, with the arrival during the week of BOXES!  I shan't show you them in their full glory, but I can't resist this:

Vintage photograph part of the Shanghai Lil & The Scarlet Fez collection.

Making Spring Sherbert - A New Soap

Last week, I made a batch of soap using a generous proportion of avocado oil.  I was happy with the result, though I have yet to test it.  Avocado oil holds the promise of adding an extra special quality to soap but it does tint the soap a very soft green.  I don't have a problem with this; I think I should use it as a feature, but with this batch of soap I had also added a yellow swirl, which just disappeared in the green.  The final cut bars look a bit blurry.  Ok, but not the best.

So today I remade this recipe, this time exchanging the avocado oil with cocoa butter.  Cocoa butter tends to make a soap creamy, a favourite quality of mine for soap.  I started, as usual, with olive oil.  The olive oil I used was a new sort, and it smelled of freshly cut grass.  This made me happy, because I wanted the soap to be a fresh springy number.   Sadly, this smell doesn't stay in the final soap, so the pleasure was one that can't be shared.

I also used apricot kernel oil, a super oil for your skin.  A touch of rice bran oil for that vitamin E goodness and I'm done.  

The scent I used here is lavender and lemongrass, which when combined offers up a dreamy spring-fresh perfume.  Lavender is a sophisticated scent, though many have rather homely associations with it.  The dry sweetness of lemongrass is refined and uplifting.  Here, with the lavender, the lemongrass sparkles - a fizzing floral lift.  Thus, Shanghai Lil & the Scarlet Fez's new soap is born - Spring Sherbert!  

Here are some process shots showing cocoa butter, essential oils, the soap mix and the poured results:

Spring Sherbert, like all Shanghai Lil & the Scarlet Fez soaps, is 100% natural, vegan and super luxurious!

Winter Long Weekend

We're having a lovely, sunny (off and on) long weekend and the garden is looking lovely.  The lawn is covered in golden leaves and the violets are in full bloom.  I have a bit of a crush on violets, but it's nothing to be alarmed about. 

Every June long weekend there is a large book-sale held in Norwood and I went this year non-nonchalantly thinking I'll buy nothing, but furtively ensuring I had sufficient cash in my pocket on the off-chance - you know what it's like.  Well, needless to say I came away with some beauties.  I love the cover of 'Try Nothing Twice' by Frank Clune (published 1946):

I also purchased a tatty old copy of the much sought-after 'Handbook of the Destructive Insects of Victoria' Part 1 by C. French (published 1890).  Have a look at the illustrations and endpapers montaged below:

And finally, an illustration from 'Modern Illustration, its method and present conditions' by Joseph Pennell (published 1898): 

Happy with my booty indeed!  The books, I mean.  And, to prove to you how lovely the garden is, here's a short harinezumi film taken from a worm's eye:

Spearmint Julep and the Five Best Qualities of Soap

Depending on the mix of oils you add, soap will take on a range of desirable characteristics.  A hard bar is not only long lasting but tends to have a higher moisturising quality.  

A cleansing bar will, you got it, cleanse.  I wouldn't want this quality to be too dominant as it would perhaps be too successful in removing the oils on the skin and result in dryness.  That doesn't mean a soap with a lower cleansing characteristic will leave you dirty!  The dirt on your skin sits on the top with the outer layer of oils, so ideally, you only want to remove this layer.  Anything stronger may wash away your healthy skin oils you want to keep!

People love bubbles in soap, which accounts for the high bubbling you'll get with supermarket soaps (which are mainly detergents really, stuffed with sodium laureth sulphates and similar surfactants.  I don't want this kind of thing in anything I use on my skin).  I'm not a big fan of a lot of bubbles - some, but just not a lot.  We have very hard water in Adelaide, so getting all-natural soap to froth up is a challenge.  A good dose of coconut oil is the answer here.  

Creamy soap is my favourite.  I tend to think this feels more luxurious, but it is ultimately a preference of bubbles vs creaminess.  Something in between is ideal.  

Conditioning is probably the most desirable.  It refers to the emollient qualities, or moisturising qualities of a soap.  A good conditioning soap will leave some oils on the skin, helping it to retain moisture.

So this leads me to my latest batch of soap - Spearmint Julep!  The star of this little number is apricot kernel oil, a soothing and skin-nourishing oil.  It also has rice bran oil - abundant in vitamin E and a key to a good lather.  Spearmint Julep is an excellent conditioning soap, just what I want!  With it's super fresh spearmint scent (natural essential oil, of course!) this soap is a household favourite.

Here is a montage of Spearmint Julep coming to life.  The ingredients, the colour, the oils and finally the soap in the mold.  Due for release in 4 weeks!

I'm Done With Winter, It's Time To Dream

Remember those tropical reveries you have while you're sitting at your desk at work?  You've finished re-arranging your pens, reading the 'bunch-of-dates' quotes for the next week and you're on your third cup of tea by 9.30am?

Remember blue skies and sunrays?  Well, I've created a soap that will let you enjoy your reverie and take you to your own Bali Hai.  Say 'aloha' to South Pacific:

South Pacific is made with olive oil and coconut oil, superfatted with cocoa butter and apricot kernel oil.  Cocoa butter is an excellent emollient and skin conditioner while apricot kernel oil is super-gentle and nourishing.  Who needs a holiday tan when your skin will look and feel so good with this soap!

It is the dreamy, delicate scent of ylang ylang and maychang, however, which will send your mind drifting away to where the palms sway over the yellow sands.  And it looks good too, with it's soft green swirls like ripples in a lagoon.  You've got to dream, right?!

So, click on the gorgeous song below and get ready to see South Pacific in Shanghai Lil & The Scarlet Fez's shop. Mahalo!

Prone to Hyperbole

It's raining.

 

 

Ok, so it hasn't flooded like it did in Venice in December 1968 and we don't have to walk on a 'passarele' to cross the road, but it's wet. 

Nothing to do but make soap, drink soup and listen to this:

 

Photos part of the Shanghai Lil & The Scarlet Fez private collection.

The Emperor's Chai

So, it's the first day of winter and looking out of my window at the dark grey skies and glistening puddles I never doubted it for a second.   I've already brushed off the tweed and corduroy, brought the cashmere scarves to the front of the wardrobe and stocked up on Yorkshire Tea.  Winter, I'm ready.  Well, that's not quite true as I found out in yesterday's rain when my small umbrella with the broken arms just wasn't cutting it.  The poor thing looked like a screwed up ball of paper on a stick.

Coming home in the rain, armed with muffins, tomatoes and cheese, I was welcomed by the scent of the new soap I had made during the week.  The Emperor's Chai is a warm and delicious concoction, full of the gingery spicy smell of cardamon.  It looks good too, with a creamy caramel swirl.  I packed this beauty with cocoa butter, macadamia oil and pine nut oil, so it will have a silky smooth and luxurious lather.

Of course, I don't need to add that this soap is totally natural.  It will be in Shanghai Lil & The Scarlet Fez's store soon.