Conny Olarte, devoted mother and wife, was leading a 'normal' life. She has great kids and a loving and supportive husband (that's me). She is very creative and artistic person, but she lacked an oppprtunity to express her talents. One day she received a wonderful gift from family living in Kansas. It was anawesome scented bar of soap. The package said it was natural Glycerin soap, but she had no idea what that meant. All she knew was that this soap was like no other soap she had ever seen or tried. She couldn’t stop thinking about the marvelous bar of soap. One day, the family took a drive to Half Moon Bay, which is almost a 2 hour drive. Like everyday tourists we walked through all the shops seeing all the amazing things that they had. In one store we entered, Conny found those bars of natural vegetable Glycerin Soap. One was scented with Lemon Grass and it had a multitude of shapes inside the bars. The soap was $9.00 each, but she had to buy one. As promised, the soap was absolutely wonderful. This bar of soap lathered much nicer than the store bought soap. Her skin felt rejuvenated and relaxed. The scent that came from the soap made her feel new and alive. She was sorry when the bar of soap was finished, and she decided to drive back to Half Moon Bay, to buy more. This is when it hit her!! “If I am willing to drive 2 hours and pay $9.00 for a bar of soap, others might also want this wonderful soap as well.” Instead of driving to Half Moon Bay, she started to study the art of soap making. She read every book she could find on the subject, and acquired a lot of knowledge. She then took several soap making classes, which taught her the MP process and the Cold Process. She learned about adding essence and color to the soap and she learned that the possibilities were only limited by her imagination. Armed with book knowledge and the classes she took, Conny started making soap. She made soap with Shea Butter, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil and Palm Oil. The soap she made was worth driving 2 hours to buy. Although, she thinks $9.00 is a tad too expensive, she prices her bars from $4.00 to $5.00 a bar. Our 11 year old daughter Brenda came up with the name for our business. O stands for our last name, Olarte. She said, “Let’s call it the Essence of O”. Conny also makes gorgeous Gift Baskets from her soap, which makes great gifts for any occasion. Her gift baskets are reasonably priced starting at $35.00 each. Conny’s company, The Essence of O, prides itself in creating the best soap, using the best ingredients available. We are sure you will be delighted that you have found: The Essence of “O”