A MODERN FAMILY BUSINESS
It’s always been about the scent
In 2018, we decided we'd like a home-made plastic-free Christmas. Being a passionate maker, and something of a science geek I decided to try soapmaking.
Friends and family loved those first soaps, and I absolutely loved making them. There's something alchemic about the transformation of fats into soap (saponification) and the different properties of each carefully selected oil and what it does to the end-product. Add to that a passion for scent that has been developed over the years, thanks to a family friend who is a master parfumier, and making gorgeous smelling natural soaps rapidly became a passion - and is what sits at the heart of all that we do.
Developing a soap that is luxurious without compromise
The early soaps were good, but they needed refining, and it took me a year to learn the art of soap making, and to find my perfect recipe.
At first it was incredibly hard. Because Palm oil is a perfect oil for making soap, most recipes reference it’s use. It’s popular for a very good reason, and I was told quite a few times that you can’t replace palm oil, but I was not going to use it in my recipes, as I could not find a trustworthy ‘sustainable’ source. I persisted and came up with the perfect recipe, eliminating Palm oil all together. Using Olive oil, Coconut oil, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter and Castor oil, this recipe produces a gentle, hard-wearing soap that lasts. It’s so good!
I then looked at the essential oil blends. I started with my absolute favourite natural scents – Vetiver, Neroli, Geranium and Cedarwood, and soon moved on to other blends using Myrrh, lime, and even black pepper. It was an incredibly interesting learning curve, and really ignited my interest in natural perfumes. I caught the bug and realised that this is the thing that separates out Apostle soaps from others. Not only is it a quality soap that feels amazing on your skin, it’s infused with natural perfume that has the ability of transporting you to a place, time or even specific person in your life.
Since then, I have extended the range to include some of the most exquisite essential oils from around the world. One of the most expensive being Cardamom, and one of the most intriguing blends - to me – Petitgrain and Ylang that has a ‘dry floral’ note that both lifts and soothes the mind, especially if you close your eyes while you smell it.
Today I make soap from the former potting shed at our beautiful old home in Wiltshire which we are restoring one tin of insanely expensive paint at a time. My husband, Jeremy, now supports me on the marketing side, and with my son's bath bomb passion we'll say he's in R&D and so we are now a real family business - at least in a very modern way.