I know a lot of you have been watching the CBLsoap.com website diligently for the newest releases and I thank you for that. I assure you there are things are close to being available, in fact there ARE soaps and Aftershave's ready to go NOW waiting only for final labeling and to be loaded into the website. I also have SOME (as in more than one) different soap formula's and scents in the wings, waiting to be made, packed and labeled. These new soaps will primarily be VEGAN/non-tallow but will be made with a CBL twist that promises to please. I first began making/testing these formulas (including the one that is in the can) this time last year with the intent to release them for Easter 2019 but life hit the CBL household very hard early in 2019 and CBL soap went into auto pilot. With the challenges of 2019 and early 2020 behind us the opportunity to push forward with these new ideas once again presents itself. Ideally one of these formulas would include an extended aging (so you may not see it until Easter 2021?) but the other 2 or 3 don't require that length of aging. Now, ALL shaving soaps get better with a little aging so be patient.
OH, let's not forget the soon to be released, one of a kind CBL After Shave Tonic. You've seen it in mentioned
@NurseDave's and
@BarberDave's journal but those custom scented "Beta" versions were precursors to the final that is in bottles now. YES, the Hombres scent that Dave raved about in his journal will be available both in his barbershop and on my website. I will also have a limited amount of a "special edition" scent or two and I will be creating a few others as I go on. At this time my intention is not to create an aftershave scented to match each soap...sorry. Why? because I can't. nor can I scent to order...just too much work. I will start by making a few specialty/matching sets and one or two more universal scents that can be used along with most soaps and colognes. I will evaluate and adjust my approach going forward based on popularity. I am excited about the After Shave Tonic because it is some REALLY good stuff, I'll go so far as to say it will compete with or beat ANY top shelf stuff out there.
I haven't said much about it but over the last 3 weeks the CBL soap labs have undergone some MAJOR changes. We spent the last 3-4 weeks my wife and I moved and remodeled the CBL soap labs, making more room for work and storage. Even with the move and reorg, there seems to be so little room but it is way better than it was before. I still have more to do but the new lab provides more room and opportunity to work on things without having to worry about projects being interrupted. Sadly, during the move my wife decide to reorganize bottles that had been put in boxes or bags here or there (my file system) and in doing so she made it almost impossible for me to duplicate scents I had previously made. When she texted me "can I put your bottles in boxes on the shelves?" I answered yes not knowing that meant she would alphabetize and sort by brand and size and throw out empties and so on. ...the importance of writing things down in a single location is now a little more clear in my mind. That's good though, a chance to move forward with some fresh scents.
Bath soap anyone? Turns out I am a pretty good soap maker. I don't intend to compete with the other artisans in the bath soap arena but I DO make a kick butt bath soap. I know this because I have been making some for my Wife to sell at the market along side HER little creations. I plan to offer rough cut (as in...it aint always pretty) bath soaps in some pretty random scents on my website. Why random scents? because I have a bunch of random scents I have aquired over time and making bath soap with those scents is a good way to put those scents to use while giving my wife a soap she can sell at the market. I will be selling these soaps for around $3-$4. The price is way less than the soap is worth from a quality/performance stand point and far less than any artisan should be selling a bar soap for ...I say this to make clear YOU SHOULD EXPECT TO PAY MORE WHEN BUYING FROM STIRLING AND LNHC BECAUSE THEIR STUFF IS WORTH IT! The reason I am selling my soap at a "clearance" price is because I am not accounting for fragrance costs in any way...i just want the fragrances gone. AND I am not making any real effort to make the soap pretty (if it IS pretty it is an accident).
Bespoke: CBL soap does custom requests. Watch for more on this. Hombres was a custom request. 2 more scents that are on the horizon are custom orders that I have been given permission to make public.
Watch the Stars...
And you don't have long for Danger Baby to arrive!
