Teach Soap

Hello everyone.
I had a break from soaping and came back to it a few weeks ago as we used up all the soap I had previously made. I must admit that soap is indeed a mysterious substance When I started soaping about a year ago everything went well, I never spoil a single batch of soap, even those I made with milk! That was the beginner's luck I assume And now, when I got back to it I have 3 bad batches out of 5 I made
I use the same recipe every time, with same proportions etc, only different EO that I bought from the same store I used to buy in past.
Anyway, two of my soaps had really foul smell when I cut it. In first batch I used oat milk instead of water and I blamed the bad smell on it. And second batch was my regular recipe using water and I got exactly the same bad smell when I cut it. I can't even recognize the lovely EO smell in it Now I am not sure what is the culprit. I should mention that I used different brand of lye and I used demineralised water instead of distilled water but I have done it before and I didn't think there was much difference between two.
Both soaps went through the full gel and I hate the way they look after gelling. I used ultramarine pink in one and it turned dirty-blue color. Combined with the smell this soap should be nominated to an Ugly Soap award I understand that different additives give different results but I didn"t do anything new this time, have done it before with great results.
And the third batch just didn't harden for ages even after gelling. I managed to get it out of the mold and cut it eventually but its still a bit soft.
Maybe someone can tell me if it is OK or not to use demineralised water instead of distilled water? And will the bad smell go away? I will let it cure anyway and see. Did anyone experienced something like that when you just do your regular trusted recipe but don't get the expected result?
Thank you.

Milk can start out with that ammonia like smell. If that's the case, that should go away as the soap cures. Demineralized water is fine.
Which essential oils did you use?
For me, if I don't use enough of the ultramarine, I get a sort of a grayish color.
Are you making small batches and using grams or ounces?

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Thank you Soapbuddy!
I used EO blends, one was Heavenly Blend - Mandarin, Grapefruit, Lime, Neroli, Rose absolute. And the other one was Clam blend - Cedarwood, Grapefruit, Orange Valencia, Frankincense, Rose absolute.
I use grams and I do small batches - 1 kg of soap before cure.

Now I noticed that the smell went away and I can actually smell EOs which is a relief!

I'm glad they are smelling better now. Be aware that orange oil will fade in soap.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Thank you so much Soapbuddy!