"Grounded"

The definition of grounded is to be well balanced and sensible. I would like to think this latest creation is both of those things. I wanted to share with you the process and the journey I have been on in creating my newest member to my soap collection.

"Grounded" has been over two years in the making and perfecting. It has just been launched this July 2023 live, via my online shop. Ive had several customers on my "testing panel" that have been using this for several months. The reviews and feedback have been amazing! I wanted to make a soap bar that had all the skin beneficial ingredients in as all my soap bars do. Ingredients such as coconut oil, shea butter and olive oil. Alongside natural additives that would work on those hard working gardeners hands. Hands that need hydration, deep cleansing and odour eliminators. It was important for me to have this bar look very raw and natural in appearance with all the wonderful exfoliation ingredients giving it its fine beauty.

Growing up, I was often dragged out into the garden with my Mum and expected to help with the general maintainence of keeping it tidy. Of course for me as a teen, that was the last thing I wanted to do and I made this very clear in every way possible to my Mum. Skip forward years on, and my garden has been and always will be my little haven. A space I can sit and enjoy a coffee in the calm and peace of the morning. I often sit and have a chat to my Mum Angel and ask her thoughts and opinions. I know many of us do the same and find great comfort in being able to just sit and allow the thoughts to come in the moment of still. In recent years, during the Pandemic it was such an invaluable space for me for many reasons. Those fortunate enough to have garden space I know, benefited in much the same way. It was a safe and comfortable space. So after sharing my idea to create a gardeners soap. I had many people say how they would love this as part of my soap collection.

Reasearch: I knew I wanted natural additives to make this bar an exfoliating and cleansing one. There are so many wonderful ingredients to choose from out there. But the ones that stuck with me are coffee and natural pumice.

The feel of these ingredients as you cleanse the skin is wonderful. It should feel like its doing something but without stripping your hands and skin of everything. It needs to work its magic on the ground in dirt, plus eliminate any unwanted odours.

Lets start with coffee, and not any coffee I might add. This exfoliant is made from grounding Arabica and Robusta coffee beans, they are meticulously dried and milled to a range of fine tolerances designed to deliver maximum exfoliation. Plus coffee stimulates the blood flow and promotes collagen production, leaving your skin feeling smooth and looking fresh. In fact the coffee gives this bar its beautiful earthy tones too. No extra colourants or pigments have been added.

Its a non-toxic exfoliant and is 100% biodegradable so is great for the environment and your skin too!

Now lets talk about Pumice. Most are possibly more familiar with it as a solid stone we use on our feet and hard skin. Its an extremely light and powdery exfoliant.

Produced by volcanoes, pumice stone is a naturally occurring stone composed of balsamic minerals such as silicon, oxygen, magnesium and iron, all essential minerals for soft and radiant skin. Its particularily good on callused skin. Which makes it another perfect addition to our soap and hardworking hands.

I chose to go with pure essential oils to fragrance the soap for all their therapuetic values and plantbased aromas. The two that blended well together as a great deodoriser were Clary Sage and Bergamot. Bergamot: Bergamot has been used for eons as a natural deodorant because of its strong citrus-y smell, but it turns out its scent is just the tip of the iceberg: this oil is also antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and is a powerful disinfectant. Clary Sage: Clary Sage Essential Oil contains an ester called linalyl acetate. Essentially, this powerful compound works to reduce skin inflammation, heal the epidermis and soothe skin. Cistus Oil and Petitgrain Oil are also highly soothing, helping to calm an irritated complexion. What a combination of benefits hey? As well as their benefits to the skin they smell divine!

Finally...lets talk about where the name came from. The link between wellbeing and selfcare is always crucial in all my makes. I make products that help you look and feel amazing. Thats my goal alongside using key ingredients that perform to the max. We live in a world thats extremely fast paced and with that comes huge pressures and expectations. Gardening is a love that many share as a way of escapisum and stress relief. As a huge advocate for mental health awareness this is an important part of my creative journey. "Grounded" soap slice is made using grounded coffee and pumice stone. Its benefits include being a wonderful gardeners and mechanics soap, and anyone using their hands physically. It contributes to many to help keep them "Grounded" and well balanced.

I hope you have found this blog post of interest? As always please leave your comments and feedback. It all helps to spread the love of my work far and wide. If you would like to order your bar of "Grounded" today. Hit the link below.

Order Grounded Soap here

Fragrance oils v Essential oils

I get asked this a lot as a formulator, whats even the difference? Which one is better? Is there even a better one? Well, firstly let me tell you there is a significant difference between both, then i will let you decide for yourself. I am going to walk you through the easiest way I find separating the two up. Then from there, you can decide which one is best. Because to be fair, its really down to your personal thoughts on which is best. Lets talk fragrance oils: The FDA ( Food and Drug Administration) defines the term "fragrance oil" as any natural or synthetic substance or substances used solely to impart an odour to a cosmetic product. Fragrance oils are in abundance everywhere. From our washed clothes, to our home candles to our hair products and much more. We love a fragrance! Basically, a fragrance oil is manufactured and made up in a lab. Thats why our fabric softeners for example can smell "Spring Fresh" or like "Clean cotton". Its a product that as been made up to mimic the scent we desire. Its in affect, artifical. Scents make us think of memories, special times, special people. They can bring comfort and joy. But, because fragrance oils are synthetic in their formulation this can therefore be linked to allergic reactions in people if they can not tolerate particular ingredients.

Lets talk essential oils: Essential oils are made from distilation of plants. Essential oils are highly concentrated liquid plant extracts. These plant extracts come from many different sources including flowers, leaves, bark, resin, and fruit peels. They are called ‘essential’ because they contain the essence of a plant. There are a variety of ways to extract essential oils. The most common methods are steam distillation and cold pressing. However to be pure essential oils, it needs to 100% pure meaning no additives. They have a therapuetic value to them which is another way we market them. Fragrances and fragrance oils are made with just the aroma in mind. While the aroma of essential oils is desired, these powerful plant extracts also provide many health and wellness benefits. The most well-known benefits of essential oils are: Supporting immune system Stress and anxiety Sleep and insomnia Uplifting the mood Reduces stress levels Muscular tension For example, Lavender essential oil is very healing and calming and aids sleep and in its therapuetic values it also has a lovely natural scent. We need the flowers and plants to create the essential oils. They come straight from the plant in their distinguished aroma. You can have a lavender fragrance oil and a Lavender essential oil that can smell similar, but the fragrance oil will not have the theapuetic qualities that the essential oil has. I personally feel you can tell the difference between a synthetic frangrance and an 100% pure essential oil fragrance. So in conclusion, which is better, fragrance oils or essential oils? Well....I will let you decide on that one. Both have their places in products.

The benefits of using beard oil

I am pretty sure you would have seen beard oils advertised or on display in high street somewhere. Mens grooming is just as important for your skin as it is for your hair, or beard in this case. The myth attached to the word "oil" is that it is greasy in nature and therefore will leave a greasy feel and residue. Well, I am here to tell you that Mr Emporiums beard oil does neither of those. I have worked hard to perfect the ingredients to ensure that the product has super beneficial ingredients for your facial hair, as it does for looking after the skin beneath your beard. Lets face it, thats where the hair is growing from right? So if we dont condition and care for the skin, the hair doesnt stand a chance. Why use a beard oil? Beard hair has a different texture to the hair on your head. By applying a small amount of beard oil as part of your daily routine. The oil will help soften the coarse beard hair, add shine and tame the stragglers. It will therefore make your beard look neater in appearance whilst feeling conditioned. On the added bonus side, we have added a rich masculine musk scent to our oil that is in no way overpowering to wear. It has been designed to work alongside your daily skincare and cologne. Now lets talk skincare...Whilst you are applying the oil to your beard, you are massaging it into the skin as well. This process will stimulate the bloodflow which in turn is going to aid with hair growth and condition the skin whilst hindering ingrown hairs. No Slick Rick! We have carefully selected oils that will not leave a greasy residue on the hair. Once it is massaged into the hair, you will just be left with a light scent and a fabulously tamed beard! "Go get em Tiger!". How to use beard oil? Apply 2-3 drops of the oil (depending on the length of your beard) into your hand using the dropper applicator. Rub together in your hands and then in a downward motion massage into your beard and skin. You are aiming to work with the growth of the beard coating the hair whilst getting into the root of your beard. Top tip! If you use a hot face cloth prior to applying your beard oil you will enable the hair follicles to open, therefore allowing the product to absorb into the skin and hair more easily. Why not team this stage of your routine up with a beard brush or comb? To style and tease the hair exactly how you want it to be. You do it for the hair on your head....why not for the hair on your face too? To add Mr Emporium beard oil to your skin care routine and to find out about our full product range. Visit our online store. Hit the shop button below.

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