How I Design New Beer Soaps

Have you ever wondered, 'How does she get ideas for new soaps?' I get this question all the time. There's definitely more than one answer, but my favorite way is to focus on capturing a moment or nostalgic memory and then working backwards from there. However, this isn't how I've always done it, and it took a long time to find what worked...

When I first started, I used to design soaps "frontways." I would attempt to blend scents together first, mentally throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what worked. It wasn't coming from a place of true creativity, and it stressed me out. Honestly, a big part of my struggle was I was just intimidated by the process overall. I was new to soap making and simply lacked the confidence that I have now. I would pick a generic scent like lavender then research what other people liked to blend with it. It created a self-defeating push/pull as I tried to find tried-and-true blends while simultaneously trying to make soaps that were unique. While I stumbled onto some good results, the truly successful soaps—and often my customers' favorites—are the ones I created in a totally different way. 

Now, I like to reverse engineer. My starting point isn't a random essential oil. Instead, I anchor the soap in a theme or memory first. Scent is inherently nostalgic, so tying it to a memory gets me fifty percent of the way there. Take Garden Stroll, for instance. A customer originally asked for a simple blend of mint and rosemary, but to make it sing, I needed a story and a name to guide my choices. I envisioned walking down a garden path with herbs overgrowing the edges. Every step crushes or brushes the plants, releasing the fresh scent of summer. To capture that vague, nostalgic experience, I asked myself what else you might smell while strolling through a garden...moisture, acidity, and rich earth? I added bright lemon alongside dewy, earthy fragrance notes, and finished with clay powder. The clay provided exfoliation while also complimenting the garden theme.

I took this same approach with other soap designs. Dark + Stormy, my favorite year-round bar, was inspired by the classic cocktail. Once I had the vision, I recreated those effervescent flavor notes of spicy ginger and lime into vibrant scent notes. Then I added charcoal for a dark, moody look that matched the name.

Last fall, I created the seasonal Wood Stove beer soap the same way. I wanted to capture the feeling of sitting before that glow—a moment that feels so essential to the core New England experience. I had visions of dozing on my in-laws leather couch after Thanksgiving dinner. I had visions of a quiet study, reading a yellowed book by the light of a crackling fire. I built the fragrance around sensory snapshots of leather armchairs, cozy smoke, glowing coals, and hints of musk. Knowing this soap would launch when the air turns dry, I also focused on making the formula extra moisturizing to care for winter skin.

Designing backward turns soapmaking into pure storytelling which makes it so much more fun. Instead of simply mixing fragrances together and hoping for the best, I get to build a complete sensory experience from the ground up—from the colors and moisturizing ingredients all the way to the complex blend of scent notes and the soap's name. By starting with a feeling first, every recipe becomes more than just a bar of soap; it becomes a beautiful experience that you get to relive every time you step into the shower.

Cheers, Elaine