Win a free year of soap!! That's right soap at your doorstep every month for free!

Ok I know, I know I've been slacking on blogging. I've just been so busy getting ready for the season, making, wrapping, and packing soap that I'm exhausted at the end of each day and haven't been able to get myself motivated to blog. So I'm going to make it up to you all with a giveaway!! This isn't just any giveaway, this is a whole year of free soap from me.

Here's the deal, I have a soap of the month club on my website Soap Club. I have just recently started promoting it and have had several people sign up, but I really want to get the word out. It's a great gift idea since it is only $6.75 a month, which helps a lot if you don't have a lot of money to lay down at Christmas but still want to give a substantial gift. If you add the entire year up it comes to $81, but it's easy on the wallet at only $6.75 a month. That special some one will be remembering you all year long when a new delicious gourmet soap shows up in their mailbox each month.

Now not only is it great for gifts, it's great to treat yourself to something like this too. It's a nice inexpensive way to pamper yourself every month. Since I've had so many people comment on it I thought that I would have a giveaway to promote it. So I'm giving away one of my soap of the month club subscriptions.

YOU MUST BE FOLLOWING THIS BLOG TO ENTER! So if you aren't following please follow now if you would like to participate.  From now until December 15th-- tweet, blog, facebook, etc. about my soap of the month club, be sure to include a link to my soap club page DeShawn Marie Soap Club in your promotion.  Then come back to this post on my blog and make a comment including the link to your promotion.  Each time you do it will give you more chances to win.  You can enter as many times as you want, so tweet away, blog away, facebook, digg it, stumble it all you want, just be sure to let me know in a comment to this post so I can put each of your entries in the hat to draw December 15th!  Only entries that include the link to their promotion will be entered.  As you enter I will put them in the hat each day and then draw the lucky winner on December 15th.  So what are you waiting for?...tweet, blog, etc. and you are on your way to a year of free soap from me! :-)

***THE WINNER HAS TO EITHER LIVE IN THE USA OR HAVE IT SHIPPED WITHIN THE USA UPON WINNING.**

DeShawnMarie.com

Announcing my new soap collection!

Well the moment you've all been waiting for is here. (at least I'd like to think you were waiting for it LOL) I've finally unveiled my NEW exotic soaps.  They are now listed at my Etsy shop deshawnmarie.etsy.com I will work on getting them listed on my website, artfire and other online shops, but for now they can be purchased at my Etsy shop.  I was so excited that my first day I listed them I sold several.  I am very proud of these new babies so I won't waste any more time and will get to the good stuff, the pictures!

FIRST IS THE ANISE CLOVE
I'll have to admit I consider this soap my masterpiece. 6 months of research and collecting the right ingredients went into developing this prized beauty.

This isn't for the vanilla ice cream girl, this is for the more adventurous. For those who like to take a walk on the wild side. Very exotic aroma with intoxicating qualities. Contains ground anise from China, anise oil, clove oil and ginger oil to fill the air with an aroma that will keep everyone coming back for more.

SECOND ON THE LIST IS THE SUGAR LIME

I've wanted to make this soap for a long time.  The picture of what I wanted it to look like has been in my head for almost a year and then voila I finally got around to it!!  Smells fantastic too!

It's like sipping on a Mojito on a hot summer day. Bursting with Lime essential oil this soap is a real refresher. Sugar and mint leaves are embedded throughout the soap for exfoliation and a true Mojito experience. It's an absolute delight in the shower. Very refreshing and a great picker upper when you are feeling a little down.

 

THIRD IN THE LINE UP IS ORANGE SPICE

Ok now I know most soap makers have an orange spice type soap and I should have had one by now, I've wanted to make one for years, but others just ended up taking importance over it.  Now I know why, I didn't want it to be just another orange spice soap.  I wanted it to be special.  So here it is!

Just like the name sounds. A big burst of oranges with hints of cinnamon, clove and ginger. Dusted with orange peel and cinnamon for exfoliation. Perfect for the fall season, warming, calming and sweet.

 

FOURTH COMES THE EUCALUPTUS LAVENDER

Now this isn't just your ordinary Eucalyptus Lavender, I've put a bit of a twist on it and added some spices.  It makes the aroma much more intriguing and interesting.

It's like Sri Lanka met the Australian outback. With therapeutic aromas such as Eucalyptus and Lavender coming together with a spice blend you are bound to have something unique and special. It's a very interesting combination, for the daring and wild at heart

 

LAST BUT NOT LEAST IS MY NEW ORANGE ROSE SOAP

At first it seemed like an odd combination to try, but then when I started playing around with it I fell in love.  Definitely one of my favorite new ones.  It's just so different and exotic.

Imagine walking through a market filled with Roses, Oranges, Vanilla and a splash of Nutmeg. There now do you picture it better? It's a complex but pleasant aroma. Soft but full and not to mention this soap is a real looker ;-)

Well there you have it 5 new soaps for the holiday season.  I might surprise you and squeak in a few other new ones before the holidays, but not sure yet...the ideas are in my head, we'll see if I can get it done before the holidays.  In the mean time soak up these new babies and enjoy.  They are my pride and joy :-)

They are all at my Etsy shop now, drop by and get yours. deshawnmarie.etsy.com

DeShawnMarie.com

Seaweed Facial Mask and Body Wrap Recipe. Seaweed has amazing benefits for the skin.

Seaweed powder is a rich source of vitamins including vitamins B12 (not found in land plants), vitamin E, amino acids, minerals, trace elements, and other nutrients. Seaweed powder makes for an effective cleansing and exfoliating agent. When applied to the skin, Seaweed treatments act as a powerful detoxifier that draws out toxins and impurities while adding beneficial nutrients. It helps to stimulate the body's metabolism and circulation which gives skin a healthy, revitalize and glowing appearance. Seaweed contains fatty acids to combat skin irritation and inflammation; and may assist with skin ailments such as acne, psoriasis and eczema.

I have been making my Sea Salt Kelp Soap for over a year now and really enjoy it.  I use whole Seaweed strips in the soap to get the benefits of the seaweed embedded into the soap.

I've recently played around with some other ways to use seaweed.  I have made seaweed powder by taking a coffee grinder and putting the seaweed in it and grinding it for about 30 seconds.  You can buy seaweed at the health food store or also some grocery stores will have it for making sushi. Grind it into a powder for the following recipes. It should look something like this when it is ready.

Seaweed Face Mask
Combine 1 tbsp of seaweed powder to 2 tbsp of water and 1 tsp of aloe vera gel to form a paste. Apply to the skin and leave on for about 10 minutes before washing off with warm water.
You will be amazed at the results you will get with this mask.

Seaweed is commonly used in body wraps due to it's ability to extract toxins from the skin.  It is very helpful in combating cellulite too.

Seaweed Body Wrap
Combine ½ cup seaweed powder, 3 tbsp jojoba oil and 2 drops of lavender oil in a bowl. Slowly add water while stirring the mixture until it forms into a paste. Apply paste to various parts of the body and cover with plastic wrap. Leave on for 20 minutes and rinse thoroughly with warm water.
 

DeShawnMarie.com

How to make Orange Peppermint Lotion. Recipe to make at home.

Orange Peppermint Lotion Recipe
1/2-cup mint water
1/8 tsp. borax
1/2 c. grapeseed oil
1 tsp. coconut oil
1 tsp. beeswax
8 drops orange oil
3-4 drops peppermint oil

Make the mint water by boiling fresh or dried mint leaves in water and then letting the mixture cool. Strain off the mint leaves. Use 1-cup fresh mint (1/4 cup dried mint leaves) to 1-cup water.

Then mix together the mint water and the borax, stirring until well mixed. Set aside. Mix together the grapeseed oil, coconut oil, and beeswax in a glass measuring cup. Place the cup with the oils--beeswax mixture in a pan of water (about 1 to 2 inches of water), making a water bath. Heat over medium heat until the beeswax is melted (8 to 10 minutes), stirring occasionally.

When the wax is melted, bring the mint solution almost to boiling (put the glass cup with the mint water/borax in the microwave on High for 1 minute, or use a water bath on the stove top).

Remove the oils-beeswax mixture from the water bath. Slowly add mint water/borax to the mixture in the blender and whip.

Allow the lotion to cool completely. The consistency may seem a bit thin, but it will thicken as it cools. Now add the peppermint and orange oils. Pour the lotion into a clean container with a lid.

VOILA you have Orange Peppermint lotion!

DeShawnMarie.com

We've got a winner!!

We've got a winner!! The winner of my soap giveaway is Kat Lollar of Vegkat (http://vegkatsyarns.blogspot.com). She chose the Jasmine Jubilee soap as her winning soap.

 

I want to thank all of you for being so enthusiastic about my giveaway.  It was a lot of fun since every one was trying so hard to win.  Due to this I am offering all of you that participated in my giveaway a special at my ETSY shop. I was so happy to see every one involved I felt it was only fair to do something special for the rest of you.  So only for giveaway contestants I am offering a buy 2 get 1 free special at my ETSY shop  To redeem this all you have to do is purchase 2 soaps and then when checking out tell me in the message to seller the 3rd soap you would like and I'll stick it in for free!! Oh and also be sure to mention that you were a giveaway contestant.  This offer is good until Sept. 30th.  

Again congratulations to Kat and thank you to all of you!!

DeShawnMarie.com

It's time for another giveaway! In celebration of 200 followers on my blog I'm giving another soap away.

I'm so happy that everyone is enjoying my blog that I've decided to give another soap away.  It's super easy to win too.

First off you must be following this blog to win, so if you are not please do.  Secondly, once you are following all you have to do is twitter about one of my soaps on my website DeShawn Marie Soap and include a link to it in your tweet. If you'd like you can also twitter one of my soaps from my Etsy site too DeShawn Marie Etsy Once you have twittered about any of my soaps (make sure you include a link to the soap) then just add a comment to this post with the link to your tweet.  It's that easy. Make sure with your comment that you leave a way for me to contact you if you win.

You can tweet as often as you want just be sure to leave a comment back here with each tweet as the more you tweet the more chances you have to win.  You can enter as many times as you want. This giveaway ends on Wednesday Sept. 16th.  That evening I will put all the names in a hat and draw a winner.  So tweet all week and next week you might have one of these gorgeous soaps in your home. Winner gets to pick which ever soap they would like.

If you are reading this in a Facebook note, a reader or some other format then go to my blog at DeShawn's Blog to see the original post.

DeShawnMarie.com