I love the Goodies!!

Hello!

I just got back in from the lake today and what did I receive?? Bad Wife Products!!!!! I was a winner last week.

What is it, you may ask? Well, just the finest li'l bag of joy!!!! Cherry Bomb vegan lip balm, Yuzu Body Polish and a mysterious but oh so deliciously scented soap.

 Goes on so smoothly!! Yes, I could not help but smack my lips together. I put it on at 8:20 p.m. and as I type this it is 9:35 p.m. and my lips are still moist. I have drank juice and eaten a Chocolate Mint Moon Pie in the duration. This is definitely a keeper!! As well as a standard order!!

Yuzu Body Polish. I had to show you that it looks as good on the inside as it does on the outside!! I cannot wait to use this!!! I have been seeking some relief for my dry itchy Winter skin. This shall do it!!!

Ah, CP soap!! I love the beautiful marbled swirls. When I pulled Coreen's package out of my mailbox I could smell the soap. Of course, I didn't know that it was the soap at that time but, yum!!! I absolutely love the stamp. I almost don't want to use it ... but I will get over it ;).
Okay, I just washed my hands with it about 5 minutes ago. The scent is still strong on my hands A+. It produced a great lather in lukewarm water A++. My hands have not dried out yet. AA+++++. This soap is a slam dunk!!

And how sick is this? I am keeping the tissue paper that it came wrapped in because it is still holding the fragrance of the soap!!!! I am loving this soap. During my next post I will supply the name of the soap as well as my review of the body polish. See you soon.

A Rose By Any Other Name, Usually Stinks

Last post I promised to tell about my fragrance crafting journey. When I first started it seemed to me that all homemade natural soaps and salts had Lavender and Chamomile and virtually nothing else to it. Um, ew! Back in 2004 Bath and Body Works (R) had a line where you could go in and purchase Ylang Ylang, Jasmine, Bergamot and Jasmine essential oils from their store. Hot diggity! I was on my way. I came home and promptly stared at my purchases wondering 'What in the world am I going to mix up?' Well, the answer was to test and test and test until my nose was clogged and I couldn't blink without water gushing from my eyes. In the end, I realized that I needed more information on the subject. To the Internet, Robin!! Okay, not really but you understand.

 

I was introduced to Vanilla, a fragrance I still hate to this day, Patchouli (barf!), Honeysuckle (summers running in the grass bare foot), Gardenia (spring and summers at Auntie's house) and Plumeria (strong, but it was the buzz fragrance for 2004). But I wasn't satisfied or excited. So, I dipped further into my wild side, and wallet, and purchased Green Apple, Orange Blossom, Strawberry Kiwi and Orange from Bath and Body Supply; Pink Grapefruit, Spearmint and Tea Tree from Cedar Vale; and Frankincense and Myrrh from Bramble Berry. What I found is that I really have a knack for mixing E.O.s together and blending F. and E. O.s together. I must admit that I was pretty selfish back then and only made fragrances that appealed to me and me only. That is not to say that others didn't care for them, I just didn't care if they did or not because I made my items with myself and daughter in mind. That changed.

 

What I have found is that:

 

Vanilla and Gardenia are great for taking the acrid pungency out of Patchouli (less than 3 years old) and Basil.

Bergamot, Lime and Gardenia make a wonderful starter fragrance to add to any other E. O.

Tea Tree is fine by itself, no really, it is.

English Rose is great to pair with Patchouli and Blood Orange.

Peach is very versatile and can be paired with any pungent fragrance (Basil, Frankincense or Tea Tree) and will make it more palatable.

 

*Patchouli actually smells better the older it is.

 

Again, back during my oh-so-misguided era of thinking that handwritten labels were a good idea. I offered Cool Water for Men body oils and such names as 'Invigoration' and 'Mediation'. Oh, boy! *smacks forehead*

 

I learned to keep my labels closer to what was actually in it like Lemongrass, or Invigoration: Basil and Lime. Anyway, that is it for now. I have been away for so long due to getting my Holiday Orders out. You can receive your order by 12/1/12 if you pay in full by 11/15/11. Until next time.

Buddah Baby!

So I promised from my last post that I would get more into the body butters that I created in the beginning. It was very touch and go. At first I used unrefined Cocoa Butter, Grapeseed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil and unrefined Shea Butter. Okay, so CB doesn't cool as fast as the other butters out there. So once I melted it using the double boiler method I waited for close to 3 hours for it to go from liquid amber to cloudy to almost solid. I will have to mention that I fell asleep during this waiting period and was deeply chagrined to wake up to find my butter solid, AGAIN! Arg! Okay, so this time I popped it in the microwave for 2 mins and then took it out to whisk with the SAO and Grapeseed Oil. During the whisking phase I had to remelt the unrefined Shea.

What I was not ready for was how grainy the Shea would become once it started to harden. Ew! Not to worry just whip, whip, whip it back to a smooth consistancy.

Not too shabby but it was hard to scoop back out and didn't melt on the skin with any light rubbing. Oh no! You had to really knead and massage to get it to melt. Now, flash forward 8 years and I discovered that if I melted my butters and then placed them in the freezer for 2 - 5 minutes they began to solidfy quicker. Oh boy! Now mama's cooking with gas! Out of the freezer they come, to the counter with the oils waiting and drizzle and whip with an electric mixer. Stop! Place back in the freezer because even though the oils and butters are thoroughly mixed there is a little extra moisture. 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 minutes, out they come back to the counter for a 3rd whipping ... er, um nevermind, and in goes the e.o. or f.o. to finish it off. Yay! A supple buddah!!

 

 

Yes, back in the day I thought that handwritten labels would look 'homy-er' yeah the just looked 'homlier' instead. Oh, well live, learn and apply.

 

Up next, a review of my fragrance creating journey. There are some doozies and some that I have absolutely loved over the years. Occasionally I will retire one and try out another. Other times I lease out my fragrances to spas and massage therapists.

The Good, the Bad and The Fancy

So, last post I was explaining why I got started. Now to the why. Where I was living there were many young kids suffering with skin allergies and their parents didn't want them hopped up on an Rx cocktail either. We pooled our collective home remedies and I created some soothing bath salts:

Lavender E. O.
Chamomile E. O.
Epsom Salts
Vitamin E Oil
Grape Seed Oil
Ground Steel cut Oats

There was a sigh through Maryland that next morning. Our kids woke up with nary a scratch or bleeding limb. It worked! On to the internet for more information!! I looked and looked and tested new ideas and older ones. Thankfully after 2 weeks of oatmeal baths and oatmeal soaps my daughter's skin cleared up. Honestly after the first night she had stopped itching. But the bumps and dry skin remained.

Chamomile is soothing to the skin and the mind. Bathing with that at night helped to calm her from the day's activities. Lavender is known for soothing ailing skin and relaxing a person also. Vitamin E is great for moisturizing and repairing skin. Epsom salts can be used as a mild exfoliant.

This is my first oatmeal and honey soaps. I known it says Lemongrass in the upper left hand corner but the label is for soaps out of the picture. These first bars were made with the massage bar molds to give added exfoliation to the skin. That and the kids thought they were really cool. Gotta love the little ones. :) I haven't made anymore like these because thankfully my daughter has outgrown her allergy and I keep her stocked in body butter. That is what my next post will be about. The joys of buddah.

First Blog Ever

I am really excited and nervous to start my own blog. Do I have anything that is new to say about home spa products? Will anyone listen or even care? I don't know. This isn't just about making soap. This is a chronicle of my journey into making spa quality products for home use. What started my on my journey was my daughter was misdiagnosed with eczema. She was prescribed some heavy creams (an awful sticky mess) and steriod cream. I did not want my baby at that age of 4 on steriods. So, what was a young inexperienced first-time mom to do? I did like any other rational person. I called home in hysterics so my mom could make it all better.

She reminded me of oatmeal baths taken and aloe slathered all over my once itchy skin. So, after picking her brains for an hour I called one of my other aunts and she expanded my knowledge.