Soaper Short Review: Pure Soapmaking by Anne-Marie Faiola

Title: Pure Soapmaking
Author: Anne-Marie Faiola
Format: egalley
Pub. Date: January 8th 2016
Source: Storey Publishing LLC/Netgalley



Book Description:

The pure luxury of soaps made with coconut butter, almond oil, aloe vera, oatmeal, and green tea is one of life's little pleasures. And with the help of author Anne-Marie Faiola, it's easy to make luscious, all-natural soaps right in your own kitchen. This collection of 32 recipes ranges from simple castile bars to intricate swirls, embeds, and marbled and layered looks. Begin with a combination of skin-nourishing oils and then add blueberry puree, dandelion-infused water, almond milk, coffee grounds, mango and avocado butters, black tea, or other delicious ingredients -- and then scent your soap with pure essential oils. Step-by-step photography guides you through every stage of cold-process soapmaking.

Review:

★★★★

Soap making is something that I've always wanted to try doing. I've recently started doing wax and candles, and I was happy to get a chance to read this one. I think it's a pretty good guide.

The photography is what makes this book stand apart. It's so high definition, and so pretty. It's easy to become motivated to learn the craft when you flip through all the soap goodies that Faiola demonstrates in this book.

There's also photos for each step. Each "recipe" (is that the word when it's not food?) has photo step by step instructions that make it a good tool for the newcomer to the soap game. The instructions seem pretty straight forward.

There's also a lot of really helpful information in this book. The author explains the different kind of oils that can be used and for what purpose, what kinds of methods are used to make soaps, what scents can be used, and what dyes are best for what types of soap. As someone who doesn't know a lot of information like this, it was much appreciated.

That being said.... I know this is designed as a beginner's guide, but I still thought it was a bit over my head. It was intimidating. I feel like I needed things a bit more broken down, and a bit less complex. I'm sure this is just me- I'm notoriously bad at arts projects. But, I didn't walk away going "YES I CAN MAKE THE SOAPS!", but instead "Oh so that's how it works.... Maybe I should google Soap Making for Dummies".

I think that for crafty people, this is probably a great guide. I think it'd be a good gift to give to people who enjoy DIY and craft projects.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.