"Be optimistic. It feels better." ~ the Dalai Lama
Where does that creativity come from? What was the inspiration, the spark? Do you go somewhere to get inspired?
Today we have featured aromatherapy artist Andrea Badgley from Sacred Suds sharing how she creates "Soap with Soul". I have tried Andrea's soap, love the softness of my skin and the lingering fragrance, it all adds up to a wonderful experience Andrea has created! You can check out Andrea and her soap with soul on her Etsy Shop, Twitter and Facebook.
Andrea says, "My Aphrodite soap was born soon after I finished nursing my second child. When my daughter weaned, I mourned the loss of intimacy that breastfeeding brought, but I also rejoiced that I could finally have my body back (any other moms out there who relate to that?). I had been pregnant or nursing for four (loooong) years, and I felt frumpy, haggard, and like I had no identity of my own anymore. Someone else always needed something from me, and I felt I would have nothing left to give if I didn't give myself what I needed.
And what I needed was to feel beautiful, and sexy, and womanly in a non-Mom way. I was tired of feeling like a maid and a sherpa, wiping up spit-up and dragging babies and diaper bags and sippy cups everywhere. I wanted to feel radiant, like flowers bloomed everywhere I walked. I wanted to feel like a Goddess! So I turned to Aphrodite, "the lover's goddess, beautiful, gold-crowned, a blossom riding the seafoam... She is our darling, she who under the wheeling stars makes all things blossom and bear fruit" (Homeric hymn to Aphrodite). To me, Aphrodite (or Venus) represents the energy that we as women feel when we are confident in our femininity and beauty, and I wanted to channel that energy."
Andrea says, "After admiring paintings and sculptures of Aphrodite, and reading poetry and invocations to her, I had a wonderful image of this radiant goddess - what she looks like, how her skin might feel, and even the sound of her voice. But, because I think scent can reveal the essence of a person, or place, or moment in time, I wondered, "What would Aphrodite, the goddess of feminine beauty and sensuality, smell like?" I began blending oils, sniffing, adding, counting proportions until I crafted a fragrance blend that captured my interpretation of Aphrodite's essence: rose for love (especially self-love and appreciation), amber for sensuality, and ylang ylang for beauty. I then formulated a combination of nut butters and oils that would produce a silky, rich bar of soap. Three years later, and with a collection that has expanded to more than 25 different soaps, the Aphrodite soap still makes me feel radiant, like beauty blooms all around me."
