Here is the final product in our "Herbs for Natural Colorants" series. This is 'Siren' (pronounced sahy-ruhn), bergamot, ylang-ylang, and amber resin. The color is all natural, as it came from the herbal infusion of alkanet in olive oil. Pretty cool how it begins blood red and turns purple once it's in soap.
The inspiration for this soap is my love of Greek mythology. Here's the defination of a siren and a snippet of a myth:
Sirens are creatures with the head of a female and the body of a bird. They lived on an island and with the irresistible charm of their song they lured mariners to their destruction on the rocks surrounding their island.
When Odysseus' ship passed the Sirens, he had the sailors stuff their ears with wax. He had himself tied to the mast for he wanted to hear their beautiful voices. The Sirens sang when they approached, their words even more enticing than the melody. They would give knowledge to every man who came to them, they said, ripe wisdom and a quickening of the spirit. Odysseys' heart ran with longing but the ropes held him and the ship quickly sailed to safer waters.
I named this soap appropriately as it has it's own siren song, beautiful and tempting, sure to please. Rest assured, destruction will not follow those who choose to answer this siren's call.
