Inspired by Chappell Roan’s vibrant colors and visuals, Dom Nazario, Ivy Miller and Cecilia Woodring created a soap called “Chappell Foam.” The packaging features plenty of glitter with a bright pink interior and quotes lyrics from the artist herself on the bottom of the box.

Contrasting with other groups’ experiences, Nazario and his group had a pretty stress-free experience. For Nazario, obtaining the ingredients wasn’t an issue, and the lab proved to be relatively simple. However, the project had to be approached with caution due to the use of the chemical substance lye. If the substance comes in contact with skin, it can create severe chemical burns, so care needs to be taken when completing the experiment. Other than a minor spillover, the group had no complications during the lab.

Keeping to the theme, the Chappell Foam team wanted to create an ultra-cleansing formula that would work so well you could use it to remove your drag makeup. Nazario’s group wanted to create a solid bar with extreme cleansing properties, so they used saturated fat ingredients like coconut oil, shea butter and palm kernel oil. In order to achieve a bright and extra aesthetic, multiple elements came into play.

“We added a crap ton of pink dye and then hibiscus petals for exfoliation,” Nazario said. “We also tried to make it vegan and vegetarian, so we didn’t use any animal products.”

Another necessary component for the project was marketing, with each group making a poster to advertise their creation to the public at Commstock. Chappell Foam’s promotion proved to be very successful, with the soap selling out before the night was done. The poster was mainly designed by Woodring, with a portrait of the Midwest Princess holding the very bar of soap being sold. Nazario contributed by illustrating the chemical reactions that took place to produce the final product.

Overall, Nazario found the project educational and helpful in a real-world application, if he should ever need it. The experience brought light to a typically overlooked aspect of Nazario’s life and provided him with a useful skill that would have otherwise gone disregarded.

Juniors Tia Cocciolone, Maggie Lamb and Noah Garfield created a soap that would be efficient and functional: On the Goap Soap. This product design features a lipstick container containing a lipstick-shaped soap that can be easily stored and used whenever needed. Cocciolone wanted to use ingredients that would ensure a solid bar of soap.

“It’s a nice hard bar with lots of saturated fat, so it stays together through travel,” Cocciolone said. “But it also doesn’t get the stuff in your bag all freaking greasy because it’s in a lipstick container.”

In class, Cocciolone and her partners learned about saturated and unsaturated fats. Saturated fats are the more solid fats like lard, coconut oil and shea butter, while unsaturated fats are usually liquid like olive oil, caster oil or palm oil. This understanding allows each FOS group to create a unique soap specific to their themes.

A substantial part of this project was the marketing. Students had to make posters and packaging, so they could sell their products at ASL night. Cocciolone’s group went heavy on their theme, catering specifically towards people who have bags or purses. Their elaborate poster includes a recipe, colorful images and explanations on how to make soap with big bubble letters and engaging visuals. Cocciolone noted that their soaps sold surprisingly well.

Fat variation isn’t the only way Cocciolone’s group created their dream soap. Her team utilized the different coloring options Marcy McCormick offered. She used mango and fuchsia coloring to create the classic lipstick pink shade and added a rose scent using essential oils.

Cocciolone found that this project not only built a stronger understanding of chemistry but also built a stronger relationship with her peers.

The “Morticia’s Rejected Rose Tops” soap is named for Morticia Addams, the matriarch of the fictitious Addams Family, and her habit of cutting the heads off of the roses that she grows. Junior Emma Zeller used to watch the “Addams Family” TV show but mostly based the soap off of the 90s movies, recalling many scenes that reference Morticia’s rose-cutting habit. Her group chose the name in part due to the contrast of having a very flowery soap with a morbid name.

Originally, Zeller’s group imagined the soap box as a pink flower with a stem protruding from the end. When Zeller’s friend suggested a coffin-shaped soap box, she immediately brought the idea back to the group.

“It wasn’t going to be very morbid at first,” Zeller said. “But then we found the quote of Morticia saying that she met Gomez at an open grave funeral. So we thought it was kind of on theme.”

However, the group hit a roadblock while making the coffin. They were unsure of how to approach constructing it, as it was not a conventional shape, and none of them had previous experience. Another group member, Skyler Genewick, used thick paper to make a regular rectangular box and a coffin-shaped cover. Poster design was left to Zeller.

“I’ve learned I definitely should be careful with measuring things,” Zeller said. “I can’t always wing stuff the way I like to. I have to be very precise. We got better at group communication and fixing problems as they happened. We figured out a lot of problems and helped out our efficiency, and I think it helped with teamwork and collaboration.”

During the soap-making process, Zeller and her group used rose essential oil to create a scented soap. They also included dried rose petals for a bit of texture and to enhance the luxuriousness of the product. Once their soap solution was created, they were delighted to find a mold that would shape their soaps to be like rose tops.

Another challenge was figuring out the correct ratios for the soap that Zeller and her group wanted to make, keeping the different properties of hard and soft soaps in mind. Besides that, things ran smoothly. The group’s soap reached the trace stage incredibly quickly and then cooled and hardened to a light pink color.

Zeller enjoyed the original concept of the soap and found the process of bringing her creative vision to life satisfying. A year prior, she had worked on the crew for the “Addams Family” production at Pioneer High School. When the thought popped into her head, she and her group ran with it and were able to execute a nice, neat ending, contrary to what the actual Addams Family would appreciate. Zeller is proud of the work her group did and encourages people to buy more morbid things.

“I feel like people need odd details in their lives,” Zeller said. “A soap that initially looks really flowery and very cute, having a bit of a weird morbidity, is really funny. Why not have a little bit of morbidness in your life?”

Payton Sly and her group took on the project in a unique way. They were drawn to the idea of a soap with a soft, creamy aesthetic, bringing to mind pastel colors and chic French designs.

“My group really wanted to do something that was aimed toward poofy and bougie,” Sly said. “We decided macarons would be adorable.”

The group did a lot of research to determine what fats and oils to use to obtain their desired characteristics. They wanted their soap to be luxurious, creamy, conditioning and soft while still firm enough to hold its shape. Additionally, group member Cassidy McKenna created a cute design for the boxes, reminiscent of one that might be found in a small French bakery, and the group added stripes and decorations to bring it to life.

The hardest part of the process was when the group put too much olive oil into their soap base. They ultimately had to redo everything, as if the ratios were off, the soap would not form successfully. Once the base was made, it was also challenging to pour it into the molds evenly.

“The [soap mixture] kept getting on the side,” Sly said. “It was really hard to make it proportionate.”

Another layer of difficulty was added with the design aspect of each individual soap, which required three different colors to create the illusion of a macaron. After making the soap base, the group divided it into four cups. 

For Sly, the most rewarding part of the process was putting the soap in the molds. However, her favorite part of her group’s final presentation was the packaging and poster, feeling satisfaction at how well the design turned out. They named the soap “Le Savon du Parc,” meaning “The Park Soap.”