LARGE BARS UNLOCKED! Plus a big ol update and look into the scent mixing process!
over 3 years ago
– Wed, Sep 09, 2020 at 12:01:55 AM
Tonight's update is a long one! Strap in!
Firstly, We shot past the $2500 mark and unlocked the 4th stretch goal!
Now alongside the regular 2oz bars you'll receive through this campaign, you'll also have the option to purchase LARGE 4oz bars. These will be available through backerkit after the campaign for a discounted price of $12 each (MSRP $18). Every bar will now also come hand-stamped with the Hyena Butter logo - which I can now reveal! Here it is!
Let me know what you think of it in a comment!
By surpassing 2500 we've also unlocked the next item in the Extras shop, a sticker pack featuring the Hyena Butter mascot - Clean Yeen! The pack will feature ten 1.5" mini-stickers of this happy hyena in poses both seen in the campaign and completely new! The last few designs are being finalized as we speak, but here's a sneak peek at three of the more familiar images! Expect to see the rest in tomorrow's update!
These stickers will also be available in my shop after the campaign(unlike the print which is an exclusive item ONLY available through backerkit & kickstarter). But they'll be more expensive, so now is the best chance to get them at the lowest price!
The next stretch goal is a BIG jump - at $3500 we'll unlock enamel pins in the Extra store, and a brand new skincare item! The second product in the Hyena Butter product line - Clean Yeen Coffee Bean Scrub! This playfully-named scrub will feature ingredients from the hyena's homeland in Africa - from sources that return a portion of their proceeds to the local African communities that provide them! Fair-trade and organic Ethiopian Harrar coffee grounds and unrefined salt ethically (and sustainably) harvested from the Kalahari Desert in South Africa, mixed with jojoba oil to leave your skin smooth and healthy. The scrub will be available to purchase in 4oz containers through backerkit after the campaign has ended in two varieties - a plain version, and a version with added activated charcoal for an extra-deep clean.
It's going to be a biiig push to get us there, but we've already achieved a huge amount in just a few days, so I believe we can reach it!
In other news - the scent samples finally arrived!
I spent a little while sniffing and taking notes on each one, and now I wanted to show you my process for formulating my scents! It's a short but sweet picture demo - but if there's interest I'd be happy to take a video when I really start digging into this new formula!
Here's my fragrance workspace - which also happens to be my painting desk - excuse the mess! I'm currently trying to iron out the last few notes I wanted to get into the Vapor Core scent. It's almost there but I want to make sure I have it at 100% before I post any scent descriptions for you guys in case I decide to switch something up.
I order these small vials of fragrance because they're just enough that I can get a lot of test strips out of them. I go the budget route for strips - I just cut up some thick paper lol.
The sample lids have a little plastic stick-type thing on them that catches some of the fragrance oil and lets me apply it to the paper. I wiiish that they were dropper tubes instead for the sake of cleanliness but they get the job done!
What I do is I write down the fragrances I'm mixing (and their amounts, if I'm not mixing them evenly), and the scent I'm trying to make - in this case Vapor Core. As you can see here (maybe, the text is small and my handwriting is messy!) I was testing out a mix of smoke, heliotrope, tuberose, "magazine", "nail polish remover", and Sea Salt. Weird scent choices, I know - but I'm trying to hit that sweet spot where it will smell like how I remember the 90s - sitting on a bench at the mall while my mother shopped for clothes. I even snagged a pizza scent sample, trying to aim for that food court undertone - we'll see how that goes with the next test. Of course, I'll make sure the smell is more pleasant than novelty - the point is to smell good! But I want it to be something unique and very obviously Vaporwave when it hits you.
When I'm done for the evening I store the sample papers in little ziplock baggies to try and preserve the smell as long as I can - since you can only sit and sniff fragrances for so long before your nose stops working right (ever have that happen in the candle aisle?). I'll revisit it tomorrow and compare to some other mixes I've made and see where I'm at.
When I start making the bars I'll be pre-mixing fragrances and storing them in labeled bottles to ensure the scent stays consistent between batches. And that's how it's done!
A short little demo, I know. But this update is already super lengthy and I didn't want to overload you with info. Feel free to comment any questions you might have and I'll happily answer you as best I can!
I also have a request! As I continue to perfect this fragrance I'd love to hear what you think of when you think of vaporwave. What does it smell like to you? Chlorine? Vinyl toys? The local Lazer Tag arena? Be as specific or as vague as you like! I'll take it all into consideration while formulating the "master" copy of the scent to be used in the bars!
