This week, we decided to take a more masculine approach to our Tuesday Spotlight Series. The Manly Man is a newly created soap with all things manly in mind. As for product development, I feel I struggle with masculine scents and products. There is no better expert on all things masculine and manly than my bibbed wearing buddy. So, I brought in the big guns and consulted my in house expert. I am always a little surprised at my husband's willingness to jump into the creative process and his ability to master new skills quickly. It is true, he is not just the eye candy of the operation.
If nothing else, The Bibbed Wonder knows what he likes. He really likes the charcoal facial bar and has been known to use it as an all over body bar on occasion. He feels it is cleansing, it fights grease and helps to cut odor...being a rugged outdoorsman, my buddy can be rather odorous. He felt it was imperative we incorporate activated charcoal into The Manly Man soap. That was the springboard for the charcoal base idea. The next request was to create a scent that was the true embodiment of all things manly. We had to work on this one to get it just right and agree that it was just right.
Eric did not want anything floral in this soap, period. With that being said, my blending skills were limited and challenged. I adore sandalwood and I believe sandalwood to be the ultimate blending oil. This is where I began with my scent blend. I tried patchouli, cedarwood, oakmoss, and pine; none of them satisfied the bibbed wearing wonder. I really got exotic and ordered musk oil and amber oil; both renowned for blending in the perfume world and both rather pricey. I was fearful of making too many mistakes and wasting the oils. Fortunately, the blend went well on the first try. With sandalwood, amber, musk, and a hint of cedarwood, we found manly perfection...at least in The Bibbed Wonders humble opinion.
Next we had to decide on color. Ironically, musk oil will turn cold process soap a pinkish color so we had to choose wisely and blend carefully. The obvious choice was dark colors. We went with activated charcoal, teal mica, and grey mica...all very manly and moody. Last but not least, Eric wanted a bit of texture to help scrub. Obviously, if you are manly you are extra dirty and need texture to scrub. Oatmeal just didn't feel like a good fit, so we opted for just a hint of poppy seeds to add the scrubby texture. Poppy seeds are dark, mysterious, and gently exfoliating; they were a perfect fit.
Not only does this soap smell exactly how I wish my husband smelled all the time, it is amazing for one's skin. The activated charcoal helps to pull out environmental toxins, the lactic acid in the milk and the poppy seeds are gently exfoliating, and the olive, coconut, and canola oils are moisturizing. It is great skin care hidden in a very manly soap.
As always, the Tuesday Spotlight is on sale at half off on the website for the week. The sale price will also be applied to the Murrysville and Ligonier Markets. If you have never tried The Manly Man, this week is a good week to do so. Thinking ahead, it also makes a great stocking stuffer or Christmas gift.
I hope you have enjoyed this insight into our creative process. As always, stay safe, stay smart, and wash your hands...perhaps with very manly soap in a very manly manner.