Botched Batch of Soap

I think I made my first truly botched batch of soap last night. No, I don't include the time I was talking to someone while making soap and only put half the lye amount - at least that soap made suds. Or the time I made soap in 30 degree Massachusetts weather (did I say outside?), and the lye crystals never dissolved. Who knew?

I'm talking about totally botching a batch of soap when everything was done correctly. Was it the 8% beeswax that made the soap solidify before it saponified? Was it the honey that was measured when my scale decided to fritz out, so I don't know quite how much I added? Was it the citrus essential oil that can make soap seize up? I don't know. I lean towards the former reason rather than the lather, I mean latter reasons.

This batch of soap is supposed to be an entry for an SCA (that's Society of Creative Anachronism) Arts & Sciences competition for an event in December with the theme the Court of Burgundy.

So my soap is Soap Made from Oils from the Kitchen of the Court of Burgundy (I may have to shorten it to fit it on the label). I took the ingredients from "Early French Cookery" by Terence Scully, who uses period sources for the recipes.

My failed recipe:
2 lbs
10 oz Olive oil
11 oz Lard
2 oz Beeswax
2 oz Almond Oil (half added as a Superfatting agent)
1.5 oz honey ( I think)
3.47 oz lye (that's 6% superfatting)

I added saffron to the lye water, and before I'm bitched at for this being an incredible waste of saffron, this was such a decadent time period. The Court of Burgundy had more wealth than most countries, and it was just a duchy. Saffron was wasted then as a coloring agent for food. Plus I have 3 containers of and haven't used any in 3 years.

I scented it with lavender and sweet orange - 1 1/2 tsp each.

The color is gorgeous - a deep honey brown. The scent is a bit off.

Considering the time it takes to cure, I need to get it redone this week in order to have it ready in time for the A&S competition.

My next test batch:
2 lb recipe (although I may make it as a 1 lb batch)
12 oz Olive Oil
11 oz Lard
1 oz Beeswax (cut in half from before)
1 oz Almond oil (half from before)
1 oz honey (also less than before)
3.16 oz lye

I may not use the saffron again. The beeswax is very dark, so I don't think it did much to color it. And I may change the scent to sweet orange and lemon.