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@scottishfinesoaps
Our Blog has Moved!
The Scottish Fine Soaps Blog has moved to our website!
You can now read all our lovely posts at www.scottishfinesoaps.com/news
We're also still on facebook and twitter - so make sure you follow us there too!
Thanks,
All at Soap HQ
Rose and Geranium
So last week we wrote a little bit about our new collection Lavender & Lilac, this week is the turn of our other newcomer – Rose and Geranium.
Rose and Geranium is another classic fragrance but with a modern twist. A luxurious deep rose with heart notes of Geranium, Rose, Ylang Ylang and Jasmine; top notes of Raspberry, Ginger and Muguet and a warm base of musk.
We’ve kept the packaging minimal but feminine, if you look into the illustration you can see a rose, mixed with Geranium petals and butterflies all in pink and pastel hues. The overall effect is elegant and refined - no fuss here!
For those who are looking for a deep, long lasting rose fragrance this collection is a winner. Our top picks are the Hand & Nail cream, our signature Bath Essence and of course our triple-milled vegetable based Luxury Soap.
Have you tried any of our new collections yet?
To view the collection click here. As always we’d love you to comment and let us know what you think of the new range – or if you have any ideas for future ranges!
As always stay tuned on facebook and twitter for product news, offers and more.
Ayr Flower Show!
We'll be attending the Ayr Flower Show this weekend from Friday the 2nd - Sunday 4th August.
Unfortunately we won't be selling products on the day but we will be bringing some samples along to try as well as information on how we make our wonderful soaps. If you are attending be sure to stop by and say "Hi"!
For more information on the Flower Show visit here: http://www.ayrflowershow.org/
New: Lavender & Lilac Launches
As many of you may know Scottish Fine Soaps recently launched two new ranges entitled “Lavender & Lilac” and “Rose and Geranium”. We’re very excited about both of them and hope you will like them both as much as we do!
This week we’ve decided to put the “Lavender & Lilac” range in the spotlight – letting you know a little more about the fragrance, range of items and inspirations behind the collection.
It’s very hard to describe a fragrance in words but the Lavender and Lilac is traditional with a fresh twist. The heart notes of the fragrance include Lavender and Lilac (as you would expect!) but also notes of comforting Chamomile and sweet Honey. Top notes of Apple and Fig add freshness, whilst Patchouli as a base note ensures richness and longevity to the fragrance.
The packaging for the collection is based around a watercolour painting. Our aim was to create packaging that was dreamy and contemporary. It makes us think of the stillness of Scottish Lochs and the tranquillity of the highlands – and we think it is well suited to a Lavender fragrance.
The range consists of all our customers favourite items. Our Triple-Milled Soaps are at the heart of every collection and this range is no different they are available in a 150g individual soap bar and also as a 3 x 100g Boxed Soap gift pack. Also on offer is our Pearl Essence displayed in a striking glass bottle, our Hand Washes and our rich Body Butters. There are also an impressive amount of gift items in the collection including the Luxurious Essential Gift Drum and Travel Essentials pack both of which will be in stock very soon indeed.
To view the collection click here. As always we’d love you to comment and let us know what you think of the new range – or if you have any ideas for future ranges!
As always stay tuned on facebook and twitter for product news, offers and more.
Fun in the Sun!
It’s finally getting a little sunnier outside – hurray! Whilst we’re not experts (especially living in Scotland, land of rain and clouds) we thought it might be a good idea to put together a little guide to sun care.
Generally speaking everyone loves sunshine, and sun below sunburn level is even good for us, helping your body create Vitamin D and generally boosting wellbeing. However, it is important to protect yourself in the sun as overexposure can lead to a whole host of problems including sunburn, prickly heat, rashes and of course, skin cancer.
What SPF should I be buying?
A really hard question to answer as everyone is different but as a general rule you shouldn’t be wearing any sun lotion under SPF 15 but really the higher the better.
SPF relates only to protection from UVB rays. You also need to check your sun protection has UVA protection – these sneaky rays actually penetrate skin more than UVB rays and can be responsible for sagging skin, wrinkles and increased risk of cancer. Unlike UVB rays which visibly burn the skin these cause damage which is dangerous and at first unseen.
Make sure you are protecting yourself completely by opting for a “broad spectrum” sun cream, UVA protection has a star rating (from 0-5) so make sure you opt for one with 5 stars where possible.
How Should I apply?
Apply to clean, dry skin ideally around half an hour before heading out into the sun.
Make sure you apply plenty of sun screen, research has shown we don’t apply enough product. Apply a thick layer and try not to miss anywhere!
Re-apply often throughout the day. Sun cream is easily rubbed or sweated off so pay special attention to these areas.
Always re-apply after you have been in the water even if your sun screen claims to be waterproof.
Apply all over. Commonly missed areas are your scalp, top of the ears and feet. Remember to apply to your back as well.
Our Top Tips:
Wear a hat. Your scalp can burn too! Protect your skin with clothing wherever possible.
Wear sunglasses with a UV filter. These will protect your eyes from the harsh glare.
Stay in the shade when the sun is at its strongest, usually between 11 and 3.
Don’t be tempted to stay in the sun for a long time just because you are wearing a high SPF. A sun screen will help protect you but it is not a substitute for shade.
Re-apply your sunscreen throughout the day. Especially if you have been swimming.
Sun screen isn’t just for summer holidays! You can get sun damage in the UK, when it is cold and even when it is overcast. Try and build it into your routine.
The SPF in sunscreen degrades over time so check your sun screen is in date. If in doubt buy a new one.
Similarly sunscreen can be degraded by heat, so if you let the bottle cook on the beach you’d best buy a new one!
If you see anything unusual with you skin, lumps, bumps discolouration or any changes in moles go and get them check out by your GP as soon as possible.
Please note our guide isn’t comprehensive. These are simply some tips for helping you stay safe in the sun. For more information we recommend checking out Sunsmart or the NHS website.
As always stay tuned on facebook and twitter for product news, offers and more.
Father’s Day at Scottish Fine Soaps
With Father’s Day just around the corner we thought we’d bring you some of our top picks from our range for men’s gifting. Plus if you spend over £15.00 in a single transaction online you are entitled to a FREE Full Size (200ml) Classic Male Grooming Exfoliating Body Wash worth £8.50!
So, if you are a little confused about what to purchase here are our top picks on what Scottish Fine Soaps has to offer.
1. Classic Male Grooming Eau de Toilette
The signature Classic Male Grooming fragrance in its purest form. This long-lasting Eau de Toilette is fresh, woody and spicy with notes of patchouli, sandalwood and amber. This sophisticated fragrance is a real rival to premium brands – and it’s always nice to gift a more unusual, hard to find, fragrance.
This product comes beautifully boxed and as it is over £15.00 you’ll also get a free Exfoliating Body Wash. A perfect gift combo!
Priced at £19.96 for 100ml and available here.
2. Classic Male Grooming Gentleman’s Travel Bag
A great all round gift with a little bit of everything from the Classic Male Grooming range. This makes a great gift for Dad’s who travel a lot or if they have special holiday coming up. The set is a great way to trial the collection and includes miniature Face Wash, Exfoliating Body Wash, Shampoo and Aftershave Balm, all presented in a keepsake toiletry bag and with a cotton flannel.
Priced at £19.95 and available here.
3. Soap in a Tin
Soap in a Tin makes a really nice, thoughtful gift with an equally sweet price tag! Our top pick for Father’s Day is the Oatmeal Tin. Inside is a traditional soap with a soft, clean scent and it contains real oats to help exfoliate the skin.
Other Soap Tins he might enjoy are our Tartan Collection (there is a cheeky oatmeal soap in there too!), the Sea Weed Soap in a Tin or the Love You tin – because you can never say it enough!
Priced at £4.95 for 100g and available here.
4. Sea Kelp Bath Soak
The Sea Kelp range has a clean, fresh, unisex fragrance. The Bath Soak makes a great present, especially for Dads who just need to take some time out to relax! It’s great to help soothe muscles after the gym, gardening or just a stressfull day at work.
Priced at £8.50 for 350ml and available here.
These are just some of the items we think make good gifts for Dads. Do you have any other great suggestions? We'd love to hear!
As always stay tuned on facebook and twitter for product news, offers and more.
On Yer Bike for Our Charity Cycle!
A famous Scottish Group once claimed that they would walk 100 miles.... well this Saturday we're going to do almost that.... except instead of walking we'll be cycling!
16 members of the team here at Scottish Fine Soaps are taking part in a 100 mile sponsored cycle to raise money for Yorkhill Children’s Hospital Cardiology and Intensive Care Units this weekend coming – Saturday 18th May. We did it last year and managed to raise over £5,000 for Yorkhill Children’s Charity and we are hoping to raise just as much again this year.
This event has again been organised by Jimmy, a supervisor in our Factory. Jimmy’s daughter Megan was seriously ill as a baby and the amazing staff at Yorkhill Children’s hospital saved her life. Shortly after Megan was born her GP identified a heart murmur which was then diagnosed as a hole in the heart. Many of these close up naturally but Megan’s did not. At the at the tender age of 18 weeks Megan was fighting for her life and compelled to undergo open-heart surgery
Thanks to the expertise and dedication of the staff at Yorkhill, the operation was a success. After a short recovery in the Intensive Care Unit and the Cardiology Unit, Megan was discharged to start her life as a healthy and happy baby. The staff at Yorkhill Children’s Hospital do such amazing, groundbreaking work and it felt great to give something back last year and we’re excited to do the same this year.
The challenge is a tough one, cycling 100miles in one day but the team are well into training and are pleased to be raising money for Yorkhill again. Other members of the Scottish Fine Soaps staff will be helping out in much needed support teams to ensure everything goes as smooth as can be on the day!
To find out more about our cycle and donate you can visit our Just Giving page here. We’ll also be blogging next week to let you know how we got on!
Soap Tins Vol 3. From Soaps to Seedtrays
The third part of our blog series on upcycling your Soap Tins has a rather green fingered theme!
It’s early spring which is a time when many start to think about their gardens. Cutting the grass for the first time, planning what to plant where, pruning roses and potting seedlings.
We think our Soap Tins are a perfect size for starting off seedlings or for growing herbs such as Cress, Chives and Thyme. All you need is your empty tins, some seeds and compost. We've picked one of our Tartan Treasures tins as these are completely patterned and will look great on your window ledge!
Once potted all you need to do is pop them in the sunshine and with a little love and care they should grow grow grow!
Do you have any great uses for tins to suggest? We’d love to hear it. Or if you’ve tried any of our tips we’d love to see pictures.
As always stay tuned on facebook and twitter for product news, offers and more.
Soap Tins Vol 2. The Gift You Can Gift Again!
We hope you liked our Soap Tins as Storage idea from the other week. We’ve still got lots more ideas to share!
This week we’re looking again at re-using tins. This time as a chic way to wrap gifts for others. For our pictures today we’re using the Vintage Birds collection but we’ve found this looks really great with any of the printed ranges.
For this you will need:
Empty Soap Tins of your choice.
Ribbon in a colour to compliment your tin. We’d suggest around 30-50cm to allow for trimming and mistakes!
Some tissue paper or foam to pad the inside.
A small gift to fit inside.
A sticker to cover the base normal white labels trimmed to size work well (optional).
As you can see our present is a cute handmade necklace. We love buying handmade jewellery from local makers and have friends who love receiving it as presents. However it often comes in little bags which are tricky to wrap nicely – a perfect candidate for our Soap Tins!
You might want to cover the base of the tin as this has the soap ingredients on the bottom. If you do want to do this we recommend normal white labels. This can be a good place to write a message to the recipient. If you do want to write a message do it on the label before you stick as it is tricky to write neatly when the sticker is on the tin base.
Use the tissue paper to pad the gift inside. We’ve tucked the majority of our necklace underneath the tissue to help stop it moving about in the packaging. Once this is done close the lid and then you are ready to tie your bow. Tying a nice non-lumpy bow is a bit of an art form, if you need some tips there is an easy tutorial here you can follow.
Et Voila! Your finished product should look like a little something like this!
There are loads of other items we think would look great in the tin including small jewellery, sweets, make up or homebaking. It would also be a nice way to present an experience gift such as tickets, a booking for a restaurant or hotel or voucher – much better than a print out in an envelope!
This morning we had some homemade shortbread in the office (courtesy of the lovely Rosemary whose baking is nothing short of amazing!) so we popped it a tin and took a picture. As an additional bonus the tin will help keep the shortbread or baked items fresher for a little longer ... if you or the recipient can resist temptation for long enough!
Do you have any great uses for tins to suggest? We’d love to hear it. Or if you've tried any of our tips we'd love to see pictures.
As always stay tuned on facebook and twitter for product news, offers and more.
Scottish Fine Soaps & Visit Scotland Competition
Visit Scotland are hosting a competition to win a fantastic 2 night stay at the lovely Seamill Hydro Hotel, Ayrshire, a meal at the Orangery restaurant, a spa treatment and a hamper of our very own Scottish Fine Soaps products worth over £60!
To enter all you need to do is visit the competition entry page here and submit your details. This competition is only open to UK and ROI residents, there is a full list of T's & C's on the page.
Good luck to all who enter!
New Additions
This week we've been busy adding some great new soaps to our website. These include our amazing Honey B soaps - these have been out of stock for a while but we now have a limited supply of 4 x 100g boxed sets and a supersized 300g soap too! Both of these are available in the outlet.
We've also added our much sought after oatmeal soaps. Again we have these in a 4 x 100g boxed set, a 300g supersized soap and also an individual 200g bar.
Our Pure & Simple soaps are also now available online. These lightly scented soaps have a super mild formulation - suitable for even sensitive skins. The 200g bar of this is also in the outlet priced at just £2.06!
As always all of our soaps are Triple Milled for exceptional smoothness and made at our base in Carronshore, Central Scotland. Which one is your favourite?
As always stay tuned on facebook and twitter for product news, offers and more.
Soap Tins Vol1.
Over the last few years the popularity of our Soap in a Tin collections have grown and grown. We’ve now got an offering of over 38 tins across 10 ranges from Lichtenstein style Pop Art to chic monochrome flowers, vintage birds and bold embossed fruit tins …… there really is something for everyone.
But what do you do with the tin when the soap is gone?
We know lots of people use the tins as storage or re-make them into things which add value. So this is the first in a series of blogs dedicated to showcasing inventive ways to use your Soap Tins.
For our first suggestion we’re keeping things simple and had to look no further than our own desk for some inspiration! Our Soap Tins make perfect snack storage, best for dried foods such as nuts, biscuits and crisps. So put quite simply our first idea is handy, portable, pretty stoarage. They look cute in your hand bag, they are almost airtight and most importantly will stop dreaded crumbs getting everywhere.
We think they make especially good storage for teas, especially as so many fragrances tie in with tea blends. See below we’ve used the Vintage bird print “Green Tea” for storing our green tea! Again this is ideal if like us, you keep your tea or snacks on/around your desk. Much better than the boxes!
We've got lots more ideas for what to do with tins planned for the next few weeks so stay posted! Do you have any great uses for tins to suggest? We'd love to hear it.
As always stay tuned on facebook and twitter for product news, offers and more.
Twitter Competition!
Today we have a competition running on the Scottish Soaps twitter. We're giving away two of our fantastic Au Lait Pamper Kits worth £9.95 each, all in celebration of Mother's Day a week on Sunday.
For more details on how to enter visit our twitter account - www.twitter.com/ScottishSoaps. Entries close at 5pm GMT today.
Good luck!
Mother's Day Gift Guide
It’s just over a week until Mother’s Day, which leaves plenty of time to pick the perfect present. To help you out we've selected some of our favourite buys below with options to suit all budgets!
Over £40 The ultimate pampering treat for tired mums is definitely a spa day. One option is to go ahead and book or buy vouchers to something local but if you aren’t sure what the best location or date is then a voucher from somewhere like Red Letter Days is always a great option. Their full day spa package voucher is priced at £105 and then your mum can pick from a range of fab venues including the very swanky Champneys Spas.
Priced at £105 and available here.
This purse from Radley is full of character and gives a nod to holidays with it’s cheeky cocktail in a coconut design. The brand is instantly recognisable and it’s a quality item that will last a long time – just remember to pop a silver coin in for good luck!
Priced at £49.00 and available here.
£15-40
If your Mum likes flowers we think they don’t come any nicer than this cute arrangement from Interflora. Presented in a quirky cup and saucer that can be kept and re-used afterwards, the combination of pink and white flowers is wonderfully feminine. You can also arrange delivery which is ideal if you might not see your mum on the day.
Priced at £34.99 and available here.
Under £15
Why not treat your mum to one of our Bohème Luxuruous Essentials drums. These come in just under the £10 mark and contain a selection of best-selling items from the range. It’s beautifully presented too so you won’t need to splurge on wrapping paper – unless you really want to!
Priced at £9.95 and available from here.
If your mum has a sweet tooth we suggest nothing other than chcoclates from the luxurious Hotel Chocolat. This selection includes truffles, pralines, caramels and more. Yum!
Priced at £12.00 and available here.
Under £5
This cute canvas shopping bag from Marks & Spencers is both pretty and pocket friendly. We love the floral design and pink straps and best of all it can be used again and again.
Priced at £5.00 and available here.
Or one of our Soap Tins makes a lovely gift too, each priced at £4.95 there are loads of different designs so you can pick one that suits your Mum’s taste and personality. If in doubt we suggest just going with the “Love You” tin.
Priced at £4.95 and available here.
What will you be getting your mum for Mother's Day? Anything from our suggestions or do you have plans of your own? We'd love to hear any great suggestions!
As always, don’t forget to follow us on facebook and twitter for news, updates, competitions and more!
Pancake Tuesday!
Tomorrow it is Pancake Tuesday or if we are being proper, Shrove Tuesday. In honour of this special (and tasty!) day we though we'd share one of our favourite pancake recipes with you.
This recipe makes nice thick "Scotch Pancakes" which are very similar to large, fluffy American Style pancakes.
Ingredients
3 eggs
65g of plain white flour
65g of a plain brown variety e.g. buckheat, wholemeal (if you do use wholemeal make sure to sift thoroughly and leave out any big pieces of wheat).
1 large teaspoon of runny honey
140 of semi skinned milk.
a pinch of baking powder, no more.
a pinch of sea salt
Step One
Separate eggs. Put the yolks in a large bowl with the flour. Place the whites in a seperate bowl - we'll be using them later.
Step Two
Add the honey, baking powder and salt and mix thoroughly.
Step Three
Add the milk in slowly, a dribble at a time. Mixing thoroughly make a smooth batter.
Step Four
Earlier we saved the egg whites. Now we will whisk them to firm peaks like you would if you were making meringues, this is much easier if you have an electric whisk! Then fold these into your pancake batter, to create a mixture that is light, smooth and fluffy.
Step Five
Heat a non-stick frying pan with some butter to a medium/ low heat. Gently drop two tablespoons of the mixture to create one pancake. Cook for 2 -3 minutes on each side, till golden brown or dark brown for an authentic scotch pancake.
Step Six
Serve them up! We like stacking them and serving with syrup and chopped banana but you can add just about anything that takes your fancy!
Do you have a pancake recipe that's better than ours? If you do please feel free to share it below. Don't forget to follow us on facebook and twitter for news, updates, competitions and more!
New Soap Tins Launched!
As some of you might have already noticed we have launched two new Soap in a Tin designs online at www.scottishfinesoaps.com this week.
The first of these is New Romantics, a set of two heart print Tins encasing soaps scented with our signature, feminine Bohème fragrance. We think these will be exceptionally popular for Valentine’s and Mother’s Day as well as Birthdays, Thank You gifts and many other occasions!
Our other new and exciting range is Tartan Treasures. This is a set of four soap tins in traditional Tartan prints – well we are a Scottish company after all! Each tin contains a 100g triple milled soap in one of our popular Scottish fragrances, our Walker print tin contains a Heather soap, Black Watch has Bluebell, McLaren has Seaweed and MacLeod contains our best selling exfoliating Oatmeal soap.
To view the new tins visit the "New for 2013" section of our website here.
As always we’ve got more Soapy things brewing in the lab at Soap HQ and hope to be launching another new Soap Tin very, very soon! Stay tuned on facebook, twitter and of course our blog for more updates and news as it happens!
Hello 2013!
We’d like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2013. We'd also to say a big thanks to everyone for making 2012 so special, as the past year has definitely been a great one for us at Scottish Fine Soaps.
For 2013 we have lots of exciting developments planned. These include two completely new bath & body ranges and three new ranges of tin designs. We’ve also been looking at our existing ranges and will be adding additional items into some of our most popular lines which we hope you'll love too.
We’ll be telling you all about these products very soon! So stay tuned on facebook, twitter and of course our blog for more updates and news as it happens!