Days come and go and the Christmas countdown has begun. Though it lacks the religious depth which it has in many western countries (Japan is traditionally not a Christian country), Christmas here is a big event, preceded by a lot of shopping, fun events, and light-ups. Many of the main streets in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Roppongi, Ginza, as well as a great number of office buildings are adorned with Christmas lights in cool blue, white, red, orange and even pink. Tokyo is an exciting city regardless of the season but at Christmas it has that special atmosphere which makes it look beautiful and even graceful. At this time of the year, the city is best enjoyed at night.
As much as I love Christmas, I have not made any soap colored in red and green yet. I guess I will leave any such projects for 2015. Instead, I have made a series of pink-colored soaps, using only natural materials for some and micas for others.
The first picture is of a soap made with clays and cocoa powder. One of my friends loves this combination and I regularly make soaps in this combi for her.
The soap below is colored with five different micas and the only thing I wish I had done differently is the amount of the golden-yellow – next time I will have more of it in the middle of the soap.
And here is a soap, which I made with purple and yellow Brazilian clays sold by Brambleberry, in combination with cocoa powder.
I used high concentration of color and the pattern looks quite dark. It actually makes me think of a stormy late summer day in the mountains of my home country. I used to go hiking there a lot and images of those days influence some of the soaps I make.
Take care and enjoy the pre-holiday season!
Maya
All beautiful! The first one is truly exquisite!
Thank you, Susan. I love the first one, too. Using a hanger to swirl soap can help a lot i getting some fine lines (my love in soap design 🙂
No need for making red or green soaps, Maya – these are beautiful.
In Norway these soap would sell better than red and green. How is it in your country?
I feel relieved a lot. I have not sold soap back home (I began making soap after coming to Japan) but I guess that with a lot of green and red for Christmas there the pink soaps may make a difference by adding some new color to the traditional ones 🙂
The title of your post immediately caught my eye. I was looking at my soaps and I felt that it was missing something pink. The thing is I have never been completely satisfied with any of the pinks I’ve made. I tried to remedy this last week but the new FO caused the soap to move fast, and still the pinks I used were not that great.
Thanks to your lovely soaps here, I have new inspiration. The pattern of the first is stunning, the second one is just the perfectly pink, and the third one is beautifully dramatic- just like a stormy sky as you said.
I like your soaps as they are but would love to see some pink colored soaps used for your beautiful swirls. I actually began liking pink quite recently and until I did I was not satisfied with the pinks I got either.
I am looking forward to your pink swirls, Silvia!
I think your pink is much more beautiful than red and green. Maybe you can be the inspiration to change Christmas colours to something much prettier. 🙂
I love the third soap, the idea of a stormy summer day is the perfect description. It’s absolutely beautiful.
Thank you, Monica. I am happy to read that and feel better for skipping the traditional colors this year.
I am also glad you like the third soap. The marble is a kind of unusual but that is the reason I like it a lot, too/
Absolutely gorgeous! All of them turned out really grate but first one is really special to me. I always admire your style when using natural colorants, especially cocoa powder!
Thank you, Gordana!
Using cocoa powder in soap is really rewarding because you can get both beautiful colors and patterns with it. I have been using it for quite some time and always keep a can of cocoa in the kitchen. It seems I use it more often for soap than for drinks 🙂
Maya they gorgeous as always ! How can you get so many variations of pink to brown with only cocoa and clay in your first soap? You must have an Impressive number of different clays! All your combinations are really successful. I live them all!
Thank ou, Madame Propre!
The variations in color depend on the amount of powder/clay I use. The higher the concentration, the darker the color. It is amazing how you can get so many different shades by using only clay and cocoa powder, isn’t it?
Lovely colours! I love pink soaps – they do really well for me. I especially like your pink and cocoa combination, they look very pretty together, and the swirl is so delicate.
Thank you, Vicki!
Yes, I like the swirl of the first one, too. It seems I can never get over my obsession with fine lines 🙂
Pink is my favourite color, however I’ve not made many soaps in pink, your soaps are an inspiration to try.
Oh, Jj! I hope you make some pink soaps soon. I love your designs and think that since pink is your favourite color you will have even more fun with pink swirls. I sure did with the soaps above and continue making pink-swirled soaps 🙂