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Daily Archives: October 22, 2011

Crackling Firewood

I wanted to write a post about this new FO. It was on sale and was rated 5 stars, even by soap makers, so I figured I’d give it a try.

Candle makers also rely on this wholesaler and it dawned on me after reading about a few FOs that don’t work for me that some of the reviews are from candle makers, which was a face palming moment. I’ve started looking at the reviewer’s craft now when reading experiences to help make ordering decisions. Some stuff is so much better for the air than the body.

Anyway, I am thoroughly fascinated by this FO. It sounds super weird, right? However, it is a bottle of the comforting scent of fire. It doesn’t have the harsh notes that I expected and I keep going back to it. I’m organizing my new oils, rubber banding pipettes, etc., and have an odd mixture of scents on my hands. (Someone at the wholesaler really sucked at putting the lids on this time! They tape the lids with electrical tape to help prevent leakage during transport. However, if the lid isn’t screwed on, then as soon as the tape is removed there is a mini flood. It’s very unpleasant, difficult to remove from the skin since it’s concentrated, and an irritating loss of the oil. Meh.) So I have some amber musk, fresh beach, a little bit of chocolate, and now firewood on me. It’s surprisingly nice with the firewood note now. Lol.

Somehow this incredibly earthy scent that (intellectually) makes you wrinkle your nose is great at bringing the odd variety of scents together. It is definitely a new favorite. I’m going to add a drop to my Jacob blend and see what it does. I think it may just be that note that I was missing. It is very sexy as a base note. It gives that sense of masculinity, earthiness, and complexity that I look for with male scents.

A little sentimental, but I remember camping at Eagle Lake, CA with Dad and his family as a kid (Mom was usually working) and this is how his flannels would smell when I’d curl up in them after the sun went down or while they were out fishing at the crack of dawn. My pint-sized body swimming in the flannel, hem down at my shins, while curled into a chair with a book, enjoying the serenity of the camp. I would bury my nose in the collar during intense or startling points in the stories. This blend is almost exactly that scent that would then wrap around me.

Mixing the firewood FO with other masculine scents really relaxes and comforts me. Even if it never sells as a base note, I’m absolutely delighted. Bubblegum is my exuberantly happy scent, but firewood is that deep down in the soul comforting scent for me.

I am so happy with this FO. If you try it in one of my products, I hope that it takes you to a soothing memory too. *soft smile*

Loofa slices

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I know it’s not as interesting as the previous two ingredients, but I’m excited to get these. They’re thinly sliced (I’ve read several notes made by crafters that it’s pretty awkward and difficult to cut, especially without industrial equipment, so I didn’t want to try) and I will embed them in soap. I read about the embedded soap being awesome for scrubbing heels and elbows. It’s definitely a more intensive exfoliation than what I typically prefer to make. I try to make everything safe for even delicate skin, but as long users don’t scrub hard, these should still be good for most skin types. I think they look kinda cute in little wheels too ; )

Vita Beads

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It’s even more difficult to get a decent picture of the vita beads. They’re so small and apparently incredibly full of static, since they are bouncing around on the lid and in the bottle. They are a lot smaller than I expected (especially such a small bottle for not a small cost! There goes that realization of not paying attention to sizes again. Lol). I have a feeling that they will expand and take on a soft look once in bath gel. Right now the beads are tiny, hard rocks though. Definitely one of the most interesting and unique ingredients on my shelving unit!

Menthol crystals

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It’s hard to capture just how neat these look. They came double bagged and when I removed them from the outer bag, I was hit with that sharp and refreshing smell. I can’t believe how strong this little bag is, especially through plastic! The coolest thing is after I replaced the bag inside of the outer bag and put them away with my supplies, I slowly became aware of an odd sensation in my hand. With Fibro I tend to have odd sensations and am super sensitive, so it’s not a surprising event. However, this isn’t a common sensation for me. It dawned on me that I was mildly tingling from the little bit of menthol residue that came through the inner bag! Whoa!! Now I’m even more excited about making a lotion with the crystals.

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