The Curat Blog Received An AWARD!!!

This weekend I was notified by Joanna Schmidt writer for The Soap Bar Blog that I received an award! I was happy, surprised and inspired. So I graciously accepted the "Versatile Blogger" award and here it is:

I'm delighted to receive this award, and accept the following rules to keep it.

The rules are:

1. Make a post and link it back to the person who gave you the award (and include their website address)

2. Share 7 random things about yourself

3. Award 7 recently discovered bloggers with this award and contact them to let them know they have won

7 Random Things About ME:

1.  I like all kinds of music, favorites being gangster rap and Japanese flute.

2.  I studied music and am a coloratura soprano. My vocal range at one time was FC!

3.  I love all food. Any food, I love it! But my favorite is Polish food.

4.  I did the makeup for my mother and my grandmother for their burials.

5.  I can paint and customize graphics on a car.

6.  I used to work as a Sous Chef for 4 years. My career started in the
     kitchen of Essential Edibles, and now Becky and John are running DUOS!

7.  I am obsessed with Armand Assante. And when I meet him, I will kiss him all over.

Okay, so know that you know a little about myself, I would like to pass this award onto the following fabulous bloggers. All of them are top-notch people and the blogs are totally relevant!

Rusty Redenbacher at "Risin". Rusty is a local celeb DJ and has real flava. He takes on the provocative and the relative subjects that not only takes on music, but life in general. He's a unique cat with something to say and you'll love or hate it. But that's the cool and awesome thing about Rusty!

Martha Latta at "The Sunday Afternoon Housewife". A universal crafter, and our triumphant representative in the craft world, Martha keeps everyone informed on new findings, business practices, and not to mention some wonderful jewelry! You'll love her hip offerings.

Elise at "Romantic Hippie". Elise writes about ways to make your home beautiful, your spirit lifted and shares her experiences in a light and colorful way. Her blog is a joy to read and she is pretty too! Everything from home items to great food along with easy recipes. A well rounded lifestyle blog!

Tiffany & Kelly, the lovely ladies of "Pretty Indy" blog. These chics are up on fashion and beauty in a major way! Get the latest news on what's hot and what's on it's way out. Trendsetting and giving tips on how to live happily and pretty in your own world.  They have guest bloggers and also weekly giveaways so bookmark these two and check them out daily!

Jenny Elig's newest offering in the blog world, "Cat On A Unicorn". A look into the awesome, wicked and colorful world of Pop Culture. Jenny has been a fashion writer for years and most notable on the fashion/beauty scene. Her stories have been picked up by USA Today and many other newspapers! Can't wait for her to debut, and a little birdie tells me an upcoming post is "Big Fat Gypsie Weddings"!!

Amy Warden at "Great Cakes Soapworks". Amy is a well-rounded lady with a dear family that she loves to feature along with some darn amazing soaps too! Her soaps are pretty, and well made. Her family is a happy group of campers and I love reading about what's going on in their world. From pickling watermelon rinds, to showing off her latest soapy creations, she lives a fun life and I can tell by her posts that she's a great lady!

And to round out the 7, Steve at "Soap Making Supplies Blog"! Steve is a main player in the world of soap, and suppliers of soaping materials. His blog is very informative and great not only for soapcrafters, but for the general public who wants to know more about the way handcrafted soap is made. He gives wonderful tutorials along with great photos. You can also browse the soapmaker's forum, there's links to it and Steve's company "Soap Making Resource" via the blog.

Again, I am honored to receive this award, and hopefully all the blogs mentioned above will accept this and run with it!  A huge thanks to Joanna at Product Body, writer of "The Soap Bar" blog for bestowing me with this privilege.

The Curat Girl!

When I started Curat soaps, I wanted to have a Curat Girl.  Products in the past always had a girl or a guy to represent the quality, integrity and livelihood of a brand, and I wanted this also for the soap line.  

My intentions were to have many faces representing Curat-Romania, because Curat is made for everyone everywhere. But in time, I focused on one face to represent the brand. Melissa Gladney is the current Curat Girl. She represents the spirit of Curat extremely well and she is so approachable too!  This for me is very important because I want it clear that everyone can enjoy the soap no matter who you are or where you're from. I do want to update photos of Melissa and this was my intentions last year, but I was very busy and yada yada yada.  Hopefully there will be some fresh photos of Melissa very soon!

The original Curat Girl was Morgan.  Currently she is represented by the Helen Wells Agency here in Indiana and has been the face of many great companies in fashion and beauty.

For both photos I did the styling and concept. I'm a freelance makeup artist and I really enjoyed these projects a lot. The photographer for Morgan's ad is Dave Fulton. The photographer for Melissa's ad is Matthew Bowen, both based here in Indiana. 

 

If you would like to see more of my work as a makeup artist, my portfolio can be viewed here: M Renee

Ads For Curat Soaps.....

I love the show "Mad Men". The world of advertising used to be so sexy and glamorous. Cocktails at lunch, beautiful people in offices made of glass...but in the world of Curat there's only one. ME, and these are the latest Curat-Romania ads. Enjoy!

Champas Are Sooooo Great!

Okay, so if you're a Curat soap user, you know about the champa soaps that I have been making. If you don't, oh my you're missing some goodness!  The original champ soap that started it all is "Champion Nag Champa". Many people love it and a few had posed the question " will you be making more varieties of champas?"

More champas. I dwelled on this for a few months and looked up suppliers of champa oils and found many wonderful types from different countries. One champa scent that I adore is the Golokal Champa from India. It's very complex in depth and I love the sweetness it has. I burn this incense everyday in my home I love it so much. I tried to find an oil similar to this when creating "Champion Nag Champa" over a year ago but couldn't get it in the oil form. So my second choice was the ever famous Sai Baba brand of nag Champa in the famous blue bottle and this is why the soap is blue. It is rich and smooth in fragrance with a nice warm finish.

Recently I have been playing around with this type of fragrance and adding my own twist to it. The first one I came up with was "Apricot Champa" and it was a huge hit. Selling out in a month and receiving great feedback to boot. It was offered as a Limited-Edition and  many of my clients are upset because it's no longer available. To make up for the void I created "Sultan" collaborating with my fiance, Prashant Katoch. The soap was a marvelous hit and sold out as quick as the first. "Sultan" was a nectarine and lime champa, heightened with Indian herbal notes. The bar was cut extremely generous and was meant to share.

 "Sultan 2" will make it's debut this fall, so be on the look.  Currently "Rose Imperial Champa" is making a big splash!  I again went to the original nag champa blend and tweaked it to make a nice rose blend that many folks are loving. Even if you're not big on florals, you will be amazed with this bar. Instead of using a heady red rose I went for the sparkling white and pink rose notes, and topped it with a vertiver vanilla blend. VERTIVER? In a CHAMPA? Yes, I know, but it works. The vertiver calms the rose just enough to bring the richness forward.  It's a great blend, but also Limited-Edition. Sorry, but I have a lot of champas to cover!
You can find it here along with other great Limited-Edition soaps: Rose Imperial Champa

If you are a "Champa Head", I hope you have enjoyed the blends I've been offering. Give me some suggestions on future blends too. I love to hear feedback. Till next time,

M*

.....call you local Service Provider!!

People have told me that I should sell my rebatch soap. I took a year's worth of scraps, yes you read correct, a year's worth! I take them and make big hunks of soap. The average bock is 10 oz, great for my family to use all year. It contains every soap I have ever made. Even scapings from my soap pot, yep, I keep that too! I posted photos of the soap on FaceBook and folks really liked it. A couple said that I should sell them. I really doubted I could sell this soap, I mean it's patchwork look, and all the smells cancel each other out, so there's no "focus" in the soap. But it lather's and cleans like no body's business! Moisturizing and fun to use too.

Okay, so I put this to the test today at the Women's Health and Wellness event at the Jewish Community Center. This is what they look like..



So guess what...I SOLD A FEW! Yep,you never know until you try it right!

I call these soaps "Service Providers" and wrap them in ads from the Yellow Pages!
They are here to provide a service for YOU...to get you clean! The bars range in size from 10.5 to 11.20 ounces per bar, and they sell for only $4.00!! A great value!

I REFUSE TO BELIEVE I AM A LAYZY SOAP CRAFTER!

YES, I AM OFTEN OUT OF POPULAR SOAPS. YES...I HAVE NOT MADE VODKA*STAR IN AWHILE...but, this in no way, means that I am lazy! LOL

I mean come on...I'm a mom, cook, go-for, and part-time hockey player. I'm a busy person for crying out loud. But I do think i can improve on my productivity a little more. Okay, a lot more. With that being said......

A calender, so I can actually know what day it is from time to time, is needed. Along with a schedule. I will work on this. First...because I want you all to be able to get your favorite soaps, and second, because I must stop my gypsy ways. The utility companies don't accept GYPSY DOLLARS so I will have to pay my bills with U.S. currency.

Any of you run across some cool looking calenders or day planners that fit nicely on a wall? Post pics!!

How Curat Soap Recipes Are Born.......

Recently I asked my FB fans.."What would you like me to blog about?". One person answered, lol, and her suggestion was a good one. "Where do you get your ingredients? And what inspires the scents you make?"

Let's talk ingredients first. There are a couple places I rely on for the best stuff to put in my soap. 

#1. GOOD EARTH!!! I go upstairs, and if I;m lucky...Jackie is there!

I get my herbs and favorite brand of essential oils right here. 
They have a wonderful selection of dried herbs and flowers that
I like to use. The essential oil brand that is used the most in my soap
is NOW. I love their website and how they educate you on the proper
use for their essentials.  Good Earth folks are friendly and informative.
They are cool people all around and I don't feel bad when I drop a wad
of cash there! About 90% of herbs and add ins I use come from this local
store.


#2. WELLINGTON FRAGRANCE COMPANY! 

I have been shopping with Wellington for 6 years and counting.
Before I began Curat..I used to own Al-Eryani Fragrances. I like
their customer service and the essential and aromatherapy products
they carry are really good. I also use their coconut oil from time to time.
This is not a store...they are strictly web-based and products are
shipped from their Michigan location. Good folks to do business with.
Plant oils come from friends in New Jersey. I haven't found a company who supplies the amounts I need at the right price. Great thing is...I have pals who deal with thee oils and they break down the drum for me.

On to my wacky ideas for great soap! 
I love to eat, I'm also a sous chef. I am also a member of the Fragrance Foundation. CFSS is my title
and I am trained as a fragrance sales specialist since 1999.

  I use my knowledge of food and scents to come up

with soap combinations that are unique and different.

It sounds crazy...but it works! My top soap to date is Cherry Bombastic. Black cherry, paprika, chili
powder yerba santa leaf and poppy seeds. This would make one great cookie!! Then there's the recent hit, SULTAN. This soap really utilized both of my skills. It contains a custom fragrance blend that I made myself, and great foody spices. It came together really well. The next soap I am excited over is one that combines lime, corriander and black cardamom!  Look for it soon.

The one main goal I have for the soap is not to be a duplicated item....or a remake on a soap I like.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I use soaps made by crafters that I absolutely wished I came up with. But hey, it's THEIRS! They took the time and effort to come up with a winner and I would be a complete jackass to rip it off and change the name. One fave of mine..and I mean FAVE, is the ginger soap by Flower Child, aka, Jackie at Good Earth. I love it and may she be blessed plenty because it's a top seller of hers. I took the ginger and built a soap around it. THE HERBALIST is MY take on ginger. It's different from Jackie's and people love it. Her soap INSPIRED my version of a ginger soap. There's a lot of copy cat soapers out there.
May God bless them, lol.

Many ideas come from the way I feel,and my personal life. My soap is also my personal barometer! 

My friends can tell when things are fun and happy because I'll premier 3 fruity soaps in a row. Or if I'm a bit discouraged, I'll fall back on floral scents that remind me of my grandmother. My soap is very personal to me.
I am just grateful that cool people love it!  When you buy a bar of Curat soap, it goes towards my family's livelihood, now how can that not be appreciated? Exactly. It SO IS!