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Daily Archives: October 18, 2011

Still excited

Okay, so I’m still excited about my order and since I had more to tell you about last night, but my app crashed, I figured I’d ramble on for a while.  *grin* 

One thing that I’m so excited to have found is Vita Beads.  I’ve used some store-bought bath gels before that had these little blue things suspended in the gel and wondered what in the world they were.  I always figured that they were in there for an interesting texture.  It turns out that they are full of super beneficial vitamins for your skin.  I also always figured that they all just rinsed away, but wondered why I never saw them littering my tub.  They actually dissolve from heat or pressure.  Usually when you are washing they break and are absorbed by your skin without you realizing (unless you’re curious like me, and spent extra time popping and smearing them along your skin lol).  They are great for your skin, so I’m super excited to be able to add that benefit to my bath gels.  Plus, they’re a freaky cool texture.  *grin*

One new item that I found that I am beyond excited about is menthol crystals.  Most people don’t know that menthol is the main working ingredient in vapor rubs and that you can use vapor rub as a muscle ache rub.  I don’t care for the gooey texture or how it stains my sweats (at least I was smart enough to wear sweats with it instead of clothing that I would seriously be mad about getting stained).  When I found the menthol crystals on my wholesaler’s website and read that it leaves a really awesome tingling sensation, I knew I had to try it out.  Lots of crafters left reviews on it and they added the crystals to lotions, scrubs, and even soaps.  Menthol is thought to be an anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and congestion clearing ingredient.  Since I’ve been wanting to make some products that really focus on the “pampering with natural benefits” concept and have been researching ingredients to help ease symptoms of Fibromyalgia and Arthritis, I am so excited to finally be able to try making this line. 

Another item that I ordered is honey soap base.  Honey is a natural antibacterial and is super great at treating acne (it’s not just for your grits or biscuits anymore!).  Since I’ve been working on some acne soaps and although the Shea Butter soaps seem to be testing well, I think the honey option will really improve the acne products.  I’ve done a lot of research about what ingredients I could use to create some items for my niece and am tickled to have come across some awesome ingredients.  I can’t wait to get the delivery and try it out!  *grin*  I want to swap it for the glycerin soap in my scrub recipe and see if it is any better, too.

The wholesaler has discontinued the teal one ounce “bullet” (a small jewel-toned bottle) and I got 3 bulk packs (each with 48 bottles) for the same price (total) as one bulk pack usually costs me!  Score!  Plus, the green jewel-tone will be great for the holidays I think.  I can now offer a lot more scents of lotions and oils in the sample sizes and have a cost-effective item.  Honestly, the bullets are usually so expensive themselves that by the time I add my product to the cost the item is nearly the same cost as 4 ounces, especially for lotion.  It’s a great size for trying out something that you’re not sure about, but if you’re a bargain shopper like me, I’ll always go with the better deal, so it has seemed somewhat pointless until now.  What an awesome stroke of timing!

I’m also delighted to be getting the Cafe Latte FO.  I found a recipe for a coffee paste that is thought to help fight cellulite and tone your skin.  I figured out some substitutions so that I can create a dry version to sell (otherwise some of these recipes require refrigeration when in liquid form), but have been rolling ideas around in my mind of an ensemble for gift giving.  My aunt had an awesome idea of including a sample of coffee to drink since I think it’ll be adorable to put my coffee products in a coffee mug, but needed something to give the gift a little more umph.  I look forward to posting some pictures of the new products.  Coffee isn’t just for drinking anymore!

Well, I have a feeling this is going to crash, so I’m going to close out for today.  Have a great evening!

Exciting new items

I’m so excited about the new supplies that are being shipped to me! I needed to replace some nearly empty scents since I’ve been trying to stock a bookcase with pre-made products, ready for events and any holiday orders (hopefully! *crossing fingers*). I decided that since I was approved for disability, I’d finally get some stuff (okay, a whole lot lol) that I’ve had in my wish list.

One thing that has been bothering me is that although I try to make sure that there is something beneficial in my products, I really want to use more Essential Oils (EOs), and maximize the natural benefits. One near and dear product goal is to make a lotion or oil that helps relieve muscle aches and pain, especially one that helps with arthritis and Fibromyalgia. Well, I finally get a chance to try. *grin* I found menthol crystals to add to products that naturally helps to relieve symptoms. Most people don’t realize that vapor rubs can be used for aches. The main ingredient in most rubs is menthol. Crafter reviews state that their homemade products that they added the crystals to have a really nice tingling sensation. Some EOs that I ordered that are thought to be anti-inflammatories, anti-bacterials, or antispasmodics are cinnamon leaf and sweet orange. I all ready have peppermint, eucalyptus, and rosemary, among others, so I have a start. I’ll have to figure out a blend that is harmonious while having the potential to be super beneficial. It sounds like an odd group of scents, though. Lol.

I am bounce-in-my-chair excited about some new FOs *cheesy grin*. As you have read before I am always reading crafter reviews and forums to get tips, cautionary info, and ideas. While reading the reviews for the Chocolate Devil’s Food Cake FO (oh man!), I found a really neat idea. A reviewer recommended adding one of the coconut FOs with it (at specific ratios) and it’ll smell just like an almond joy bar. Wow! What a fantastic idea! So I ordered a plain Coconut FO (others have layered scents and I figure that complex blends won’t make the right scent, so I’m trying plain ol’ basic first). I’m going to have to make a page on my site dedicated just to my dessert scents lol. Anyway, I got chocolate mousse (free customer loyalty gift – rock on!), Cafe Latte, Strawberry Jam, Mistletoe, Lavender, Rainforest (a complex earthy blend which I think will be an awesome base for some new custom scents), Crackling Firewood (to add a complex layer to mens products), Sleep Time (actually an EO of lavender, chamomile, and vanilla if I remember right), Brown Sugar, Black Amber Musk, South Pacific Waters, Over the Hill (couldn’t resist lol), Black Forest Cake (since my attempt failed; this blend is actually quite complex and layered), Indonesian Teakwood (mens and as a layer for complex custom scents), Sand Dune, Gingersnap Cookies (has a 5 star rating and a lot of positive reviews, so I’ll give this one a whirl. If it sucks like plain Gingerbread does, I’ll be so disappointed!), Autumn Breeze, Santa’s Workshop (crafters wrote that they use it all year around in their mens line, so that made me try it), and Spiced Gumdrops. The wholesaler I use was having a fantastic sale, so I went a little crazy lol. Man oh man! I’m so looking forward to that delivery. I’m going to pass out from huffing all the new scents out, since it’ll probably take an hour to check them all out. *grin* What a way to go! As you can see I really want to work on more mens options and want to add some complex layers to what I all ready have. When Ash (my helper) was looking at my molds and saw the sea creatures she said I had to do some beach scents instead of just kid ones. I guess I was a bit off base with making bubblegum and jellybean (er, bunny farts *wink*) sea slug soaps. Buh me, I guess. Lol.

It took about 2 hours to read through the FO options (they seriously must have close to a thousand FOs and EOs), but I’m stoked with what I ordered and got a bunch of ideas for new scent names (see previous post… and don’t forget to let me know if you have some creative name ideas pretty please! *grin*).

I also found Vita Burst Beads. I think these will be awesome! They’re the little colored balls in some bath gels or body washes. I always wondered what they were when I had them in stuff I bought. Those little beads are full of skin nourishing vitamins! I was amazed that a tiny little thing can pack in so many nutrients. They dissolve with heat (and here I was always thinking I accidentally washed them off without them doing anything but adding texture!) and pressure (so it is okay to roll them between your fingers or smear them across your skin if you like to play with unusual textures *teasing grin*). I also bought some sliced loofa (or luffa depending on what region you’re in). I read about embedding them in soaps so you exfoliate while lathering up. It’s especially handy for rough heel soaps. Such a cool idea in my opinion.

I also got a honey soap base. Honey is a natural antibacterial and really helps with acne, so it dawned on me that it would be a great base for my acne soaps. The Shea Butter base is awesome, but this will give that extra boost of natural help.

Top it all off I found two black dyes hidden in a different section than I’d ever noticed. No more frustrations with the coal soaps!I

Anyway, I’m running out of space on my app, so have a great night!

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