Lush Winter Soap Fragrances

I have four soaps curing on my counter at the moment: a sand soap brittle (highly exfoliating for serious grime with a touch of tea tree), my creamy pumpkin soap, and two brand new scents. My new fragrance oils arrived yesterday as well as my Shea butter base to use for solid perfumes, I'm still awaiting my tins to contain the perfume unfortunately.
Still I made two scents that I originally intended to be a his and hers set, but now I'm not sure if the one is manly enough.
The hers scent is currently called "First Frost"- a combination of heady leather scents with some sweet vanilla and cool peppermint.
The his scent is, by the suggestion of my brother, currently called "Mukluk"- leather, spiced plum oil and ground cinnamon. The soap is colored a deep, rich brown from the cinnamon, I have a no artificial colors policy.
I have to get things together for a photo shoot this week. Someone convo'ed me and asked if my soaps could be used for facial cleansing. In good conscience I couldn't say yes, I've never tested them for facial use and know that glycerin isn't usually recommended for facial use. Oh well.

Soap Pictures!

Above: Eucalyptus and Exfoliation Soap Brittle

Above: Winterberry Soap Brittle

Next project is to make some really great unisex soaps and to make some solid perfumes that match some of my soap scents. That way, you can layer scents from the shower in a more long lasting way.

Works in Progress and New Inspiration

I'm still waitng to set up a photo shoot for all of my new creations, my brother has a friend taking belly dance classes that may be willing to model my gypsy skirt and belt for me. I also have people lined up for other recent projects. I managed to take a few decent photos with my remedial camera of some of my finished and still in progress pieces: My new chainmaille and pearl necklace- looks a bit like the face of an owl or something, doesn't it? It looks very nice on.

My men's chainmaille cuff laid out. I want to dabble more in men's clothing and accessories.

A segment of my gypsy belt. I think the tassels give the right amount of color and the gold bells contrast the silver links well.

This bundle is my almost finished gypsy skirt. It has great movement, I'm very excited to see it be danced in.

A simple unboned bodice made from black satin- it will be the ideal companion to my "Black Satin Lady Floor Length Skirt" on Etsy, in fact I cut it out from leftover satin shortly after I finished the skirt, but haven't gotten back to working on it until now.

My new inspiration is the mini-series Pillars of the Earth. I've never read the novel, but I caught the first few episodes of the series on the Starz website (it's upper tier cable, which I don't have the time or money for, so online is my only option). It's set in the 12th century during a difficult time in the English monarchy when Stephen seizes the throne from his cousin Maud.

The costumes and accesories are fantastic. I'd really like to make a few items, especially men's items, based off of the designs from the film. When it finishes airing in five weeks, there will likely be a demand for items inspired by it. In five weeks time I could have several pieces finished.