The Woman Behind Our Soap Bars

A conversation with Denise of earthlvmom.shop

I met Denise a little over a year ago at a local event here in Colorado. I bought a bar of her soap, used it, and then kept buying it. That went on long enough that eventually I did the thing you do when something is that good, I asked her if she wanted to make something together.

It turned out we had more in common than a shelf at the same market. Denise is a licensed esthetician too. We came at this from the same place: years of working on people's skin, and a very specific idea of what belongs in something you put on it.

Two bars came out of that conversation. Lemongrass + Mint is the signature scent we built together from scratch. Peach Rose is one of Denise's own blends, one I loved so much I asked to carry it under the Wick & Bloom label.

Both are cold-process. Both are scented with essential oils only, no synthetic fragrance, anywhere in the bar.

Why essential oils only?

This part is my line in the sand, so let me own it before I hand the mic over.

Synthetic fragrance is more stable, and easier to work with. It smells like whatever you want it to smell like and it stays that way, which is why we do use a combination of high grade synthetic oils and essential oil blends in our candles, to allow scent to throw nice and long throughout the burn life. But it's an approximation. A synthetic mint smells like mint and does nothing else, where real peppermint essential oil is roughly forty percent menthol, and menthol actually registers as cold on your skin. One of those is a scent. The other is a scent that does something.

As an esthetician, I've spent my career reading ingredient lists. When it came to putting my name on something that goes directly on skin, I wasn't willing to compromise on what was in it. Essential oils only, organic oils and butters, no dyes, no detergents, vegan and palm-free. That's the whole standard, and Denise was already holding it before I ever asked.

What's the step in your process you refuse to rush?

Denise: Definitely the curing process. I use the traditional cold-process method, and good soap simply needs time. Most of my bars cure for approximately four to six weeks. I'm always excited to see and use a new creation, but allowing each batch the proper time to cure is one step I refuse to rush.

"Good soap simply needs time."

This is the part most people never see. A bar that hasn't cured long enough is soft, dissolves fast, and turns to mush in the dish within a couple of weeks. The wait is the whole difference between a bar that lasts and one that doesn't.

What's the hardest part of working with essential oils in soap?

Denise: Creating the perfect balance can be challenging, because essential oils behave very differently during the cold-process method. Citrus oils can fade, while some of the softer floral notes can be difficult to maintain throughout the cure.

Creating scent blends is one of my favorite parts of soapmaking. I love experimenting with essential oils, herbs, florals, citrus, spices, and earthy notes until everything comes together. Some of my blends have taken a lot of experimenting to perfect, so my exact combinations have become a special part of the Earth Love Mom recipes that I keep close to my heart.

This is exactly why so much of the soap on shelves is scented synthetically. Fragrance oil doesn't fade, doesn't shift, and doesn't fight you through a six-week cure. Doing it with real botanicals is harder, and you can smell the difference.

How has being an esthetician shaped the way you make soap?

Denise: Being a licensed esthetician has made me extremely ingredient-conscious. When I create a soap, I'm thinking about much more than how beautiful it looks or how wonderful it smells. I pay close attention to the oils, butters, herbs, clays, botanicals, and other ingredients that go into each bar, and the experience they create on the skin.

My love for herbalism, natural skincare, and Mother Earth has really shaped earthlvmom.shop. I love working with herbal infusions, quality oils and butters, earth-derived minerals and clays, and ingredients that have been used in traditional skincare for generations.

"I'm thinking about much more than how beautiful it looks or how wonderful it smells."

 

What's the one ingredient you won't use, and why?

Denise: Animal fats and animal-derived oils are something I choose not to use. My goal with earthlvmom.shop has always been to create products inspired by what Mother Earth provides, botanical oils and butters, infused herbs, flowers, roots, mineral-rich clays, and naturally derived colors. I also won't use micas or unnatural colorants.

I do use honey in my oat milk and honey bars. I love what honey brings to handmade soap, its natural sugars contribute to a beautiful lather, and it's a humectant.

That last part is worth pausing on. Every color in these bars comes from something real. The deep green in Lemongrass + Mint is spirulina and activated charcoal. The soft peach in Peach Rose comes from clay. Nothing is dyed.

What's the scent that takes you straight back to childhood?

Denise: Definitely fall spice. It was one of the first blends I created, and the scent immediately brought me back to fall leaves, cozy sweaters, warm snuggles, and all of those comforting memories that come with the season. Fall has always been my favorite time of year.

Now, as a mother, creating those same memories with my own children is something I truly thrive on. Every year I make my Pumpkin Roll soap and I also make pumpkin roll in my kitchen. The whole house fills with that warm, spiced aroma and it instantly feels cozy and nostalgic. It's become one of my signature scents of the fall season.

For me, fragrance is so much more than something that simply smells beautiful. A scent can take you back to a person, a place, a season, or a memory you haven't thought about in years. That emotional connection is part of what inspires me when I create.

"A scent can take you back to a person, a place, a season, or a memory you haven't thought about in years."

That's the sentence that explains why the two of us ended up working together. It's the same thing I've been chasing with candles for six years, said from the other side of the shelf.

Common questions

How long does cold-process soap need to cure?

Four to six weeks. Curing lets excess water evaporate so the bar hardens fully, which is what makes it last through weeks of daily use instead of dissolving in the dish.

What's the difference between essential oils and fragrance oils in soap?

Essential oils are distilled from actual plant material. Fragrance oils are synthetic scent compounds. Fragrance oils are cheaper and hold up better through the cure, but they're an approximation of a scent rather than the thing itself. Both of these bars are scented with essential oils only.

Are these soaps vegan?

Yes. Both bars are vegan and palm-free, with no animal fats or animal-derived oils.

The bars

Lemongrass + Mint — $12
Lemongrass opens green and sharp, peppermint follows cold behind it. Activated charcoal and spirulina pull oil and grit the way a mask would. The bar for hands that have worked and mornings that need convincing.

Peach Rose — $12
There's no peach in it. The fruit appears on its own, the moment rose meets grapefruit. Kaolin and Moroccan lava clay leave skin clear and cushioned. Denise's blend, and one of my favorite things she makes.

Find Denise's full line at earthlvmom.shop.

Both bars are up now. If you're deciding, Lemongrass + Mint is the morning one and Peach Rose is the evening one, and if you can't choose, that's what having two is for.