samandkennasmom Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 Hi,I know this is gonna be a personal question but I have to ask....which base do you all like better? I want some but have never tried any of them. I would like to add some goodies...herbs, castor,veggie glyercin....don't really have a recipe yet but would love for any help or thoughts. I've made soy candles for three years, think I need to move on to something else. Thankyou so much for the help!Hugs!Michele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kestagano04 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I'm somewhat new to melt and pour too. I took advantage of the pre buy and bought 3 lbs each of the aloe, goat milk, shea, clear, and 1 lb of the shaving soap so that I can try them all out and mix them up a bit. I plan on sprucing them up with some additives too (been doing alot of research on craftserver figuring out what I want to add and how much). I didn't bother purchasing any oatmeal base because I like to add my own ground oats. If you have the funds maybe you could do the same... it should be alot of fun playing around with the different bases when they arrive. :smiley2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairieannie Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 SFIC is good. Essentials by Catalina is the absolute best! That's only my opinion. I've tried just about all of them! Simple easy things to have on hand to jazz up your soap:OatmealHoneyGoat's milk (powder, canned, fresh)glycerinunscented and undyed liquid soapbazillions of other things.. maybe we should just start another thread! But those are fairly easy and relatively inexpensive things that you may either have laying around or can pick up at Wal-mart or Walgreens. And just from my own experience, a better bar is generally produced when you add your own goat's milk, shea butter, aloe, etc, rather than buying Bases with those things added already. That's just what I've found from trying both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawaiiansun Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 PA send me some Essentials so I can try it out LOL :laugh2: I like the clear from WSP and SFIC the rest, till PA sends me some Essentials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berrycreekcandles Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I LOVE the SFIC! Essentials By Catalina Rocks too! I am really loving the Aloe Vera BASe right now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Girl Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I'm liking Stephenson's bases from the chemistry store right now due to cost. SFIC is my favorite except for their clear, it always seems to have a yellow cast to it. Stephenson's is crystal clear, love it.I wish catalina's was closer, I'd try her MP because I hear its awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luci Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I haven't tried the Stephenson's clear, but the SFIC sucks as far as trying to do the kiddo soaps with the embeds. It's definitely yellowish. The WSP clear is pretty decent for doing those types of soaps, but I recently bought a little bit from Go Planet Earth that looks pretty clear but haven't had a chance to try.I'm not crazy about doing these kiddo embed soaps, but there are a couple of seafood festivals coming up in the spring, so . . . . gotta put those little crabs in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy Girl Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I use clear pretty much just for embedding goldfish in the fishy slices bars I do and I refuse to use SFIC's clear. I just got some of the Stephenson's clear in and it's got a lot better clarity than WSP I think. Bad thing about using clear for embeds, you really can't add anything else to the base without clouding it so it's got to be good out of the box... which isn't easy to find.Go Planet Earth has some really cool molds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luci Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I've found that I can use just a tad of fo like cucumber melon in the clear from wsp with embeds just to give it a little scent.One of my wholesale shops wants more kiddo soaps, so I started doing a few of the popsicle soaps for them. I've got a few lbs of the sfic, so I'm using that with some color in layers with those just to get rid of the crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmom1 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 PA, what exactly is it about Essentials by Catalina that sets their M&P apart from the rest? i'm still entertaining the outrageous postage from CA to NJ.........so come on, tell me why it's worth it. :smiley2: thanx!eileen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairieannie Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 PA, what exactly is it about Essentials by Catalina that sets their M&P apart from the rest? i'm still entertaining the outrageous postage from CA to NJ.........so come on, tell me why it's worth it. :smiley2: thanx!eileenIt's good out of the box! No rubbery feeling.. no crap! It's just good soap without even adding stuff to it! But, that being said, you can push this stuff to the moon with additives! Takes them beautifully and in doing so you can make soap that is just beyond good! I'll tell ya, even SFIC soap base gets that rubbery feel to it when you don't add stuff. At least it always has for me. I have to add stuff to it to keep it from feeling like an eraser block!! You will never find that with EBC soap! They make it right there at their facility.. they don't sell it for someone else. The soap is all veggie.. and they do it pretty naturally. Now.. all of this being said, they only sell in 20 and 40 pound increments. They give a nice discount for the 40 pound round. And I've never tried their clear, so I can't vouch for it. I need to order some soon so I can try it too. I do a lot of bragging for these folks! It's just the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmom1 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 well PA, i think you might have sold me on it! the 40 pound deal will have to wait i think, but i'm probably going to get the 20. of course i have to try a little bit of the sfic on the prebuy, to compare. i want to add lots of stuff, so this sounds like the perfect base for me.thanks again,eileen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luci Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I have to say that after PA raved about the Essentials by Catalina stuff a couple of years ago I had the itch to give it a try. But, being on the opposite coast, the shipping is just way out of my league. I have no doubt that she knows her stuff where this is concerned cause she's done her homework with every variation known to m&p peeps. However, the m&p stuff I'm doing these days is pretty much novelty, and I can't justify the shipping right now.Now I'm wanting some worse than ever. Too bad the property tax man just cleaned my clock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berrycreekcandles Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I just ordered some stuff from Go Planet Earth, it should be here on Monday! They are only one state away from me so shipping was pretty reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kestagano04 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I just ordered some stuff from Go Planet Earth, it should be here on Monday! They are only one state away from me so shipping was pretty reasonable.I'm wondering about the quality of their soap base. They're only about an hour and a half away from me. I have been on their site a few times, but wasn't sure if I should try them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogmom1 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 PA, one more question (for now :smiley2: ) you said you've never tried the clear from EBC, have you tried the natural or do you use just the white?thanx!eileen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairieannie Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 PA, one more question (for now :smiley2: ) you said you've never tried the clear from EBC, have you tried the natural or do you use just the white?thanx!eileenOnly the white.. but the natural is new and I REALLY want to try it. I would be willing to bet money that it's very very good too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyT Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Has anyone checked into maybe doing a co-op with EBC? I don't know if we could get a better rate or not....or if it would save us anything. At least we wouldn't have to order in 20# increments.Also, I've read several references to the clear SFIC being cloudy and I agree...I had the same thing with some I've had for awhile but not sure where it came from....but, have any of you used the crystal clear from SFIC? That is what I was considering ordering. Like the rest of you, I want to do the kiddy soaps with embeds but I want to be able to see them. That's what the problem was with my swap soaps....just not clear enough so I had to improvise and do something different. Let me know about the crystal clear from SFIC if you've used it please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flightoffancy Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I've got some of the SFIC Crystal Clear and it too is yellowish and cloudy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyT Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Thank you....I guess that one is out. So is my best bet to order the white and just add goodies to it right????? Does anyone have any experience with Go Planet Earth? For those that make the fish in a bag soaps and similar items, where do you get your clear soap from?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyT Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Has anyone seen the special on EBC??? If you buy 2 of the 20# blocks, you save $30. With the white, it makes it $1.75 per pound. I think the $1.24 difference in price (from SS) should offset the shipping shouldn't it????? The other m&p's are also on special but they are different prices.PA I'm also very interested in the natural but of course it isn't on special. It sounds yummy for use with eo's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairieannie Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Has anyone seen the special on EBC??? If you buy 2 of the 20# blocks, you save $30. With the white, it makes it $1.75 per pound. I think the $1.24 difference in price (from SS) should offset the shipping shouldn't it????? The other m&p's are also on special but they are different prices.PA I'm also very interested in the natural but of course it isn't on special. It sounds yummy for use with eo's.I was thinking the same thing about the Natural.. doesn't it just look wonderful too? I'm very curious about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairieannie Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I was also just reading that the EBC clear has a "slight blue tint in bulk form" so.. not sure how that would work out for those of you who want clear. They say it colors clear very well, and they have pictures. http://www.essentialsbycatalina.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=64 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyT Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 PA had you already seen the special? I know I am going to go ahead and order the white but am trying to decide if I can get the natural now or if I'll have to wait. I'm really trying to get away from the fo's and into the eo's and I think the natural would be the best for that. Also, my granddaughter has eczema and I'm thinking I could use it for her.Have you ever seen a co-op for EBC? I really think it would go over great...especially since your great reviews. Know anyone that might offer to host one (hint hint) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairieannie Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 PA had you already seen the special? I know I am going to go ahead and order the white but am trying to decide if I can get the natural now or if I'll have to wait. I'm really trying to get away from the fo's and into the eo's and I think the natural would be the best for that. Also, my granddaughter has eczema and I'm thinking I could use it for her.Have you ever seen a co-op for EBC? I really think it would go over great...especially since your great reviews. Know anyone that might offer to host one (hint hint) That's no special!! That's their every day rate! It's just way cheaper when you buy in bulk! I've never seen a co-op for EBC.. I always just buy the 40 pounder I live in Nebraska, so probably pretty central to everyone.. I could check it out to see what they say I guess!!Oops.. that IS a special! Darn Skippy! Sorry about that! I know they have a huge savings normally on the 40 pounds.. it's over 20 bucks usually! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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