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Donna Maria's
Handmade Beauty Connection
August 26, 2002
A Publication of The Handmade Toiletries
Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 3, Issue 33
To subscribe to our
newsletter, click here.
---> This
Week's Sponsor: Celestial
Body Aromatherapy
Discover The Wonders of Nature!
Celestial Body Aromatherapy now offers a 10%
discount through September 2 to all HBN members! 100%
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1.
HBN Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members & HBN Member News!
2.
Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win a sample of my wonderful Virgin Coconut Vanilla Oil, this week's recipe!
3. Create The Life You Love™:
The French "Aroma"
Connection, Part III, by Polly Fletcher
4. New At
MakeYourCosmetics.com: Virgin Coconut Vanilla Oil
5. Handmade Beauty
Product Review: Is There A PuMouse In Your House?
1. HBN Update: Welcome New
& Renewing HBN Members & HBN Member News!
~
Welcome New
& Renewing HBN Members!
The Village Soap Shop | Beth
Newcomb | Ohio
* renewing member; luxury bath, body and home
products to benefit mind and body...naturally Roo's Garden | Melissa Roberts
| Tennessee
* renewing member, an array of handcrafted natural soaps and other herbal
creations Sunshine Soapworks
| Cari Bourassa | Florida
* THE source for natural bath and body bases made from the finest ingredients
available Bicknese & Bicknese
| Evelyn Bicknese| Missouri
* suppliers of raw materials and ingredients for
crafting toiletries and candles NYRAJU, Inc.
| Juliette Samuel | Georgia
* handmade creams, bath salts, soaps and perfumes,
plus lingerie to complete the mood
~ HBN Member News! HBN
Member Launches New Web Site HBN member
Lucija Kordic is pleased to announce the launch of her new Web
site selling her handmade soap line. With bars like Marathoner's Mint,
Citrus Avenue and Vee Vee-Licious Ylang Ylang, you'll want to have a
cyber-sniff. Congrats Lucija! HBN Member
Announces Missouri Gathering HBN
Member Barbara Freeman of Autumn Windz is pleased to announce a
Soap and Candle Makers Gathering in Jefferson City, Missouri, on September 28.
For more information, click here.
For more events and classes where you can learn to make your own toiletries (or
refine your existing talents!), click here.
Learn more about our members and their exciting activities by visiting their Web sites through HBN's Online
Member Directory!!
2. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: Last
week's winner was
Shelle Higbee of Tustin,
California. Shelle won 16 ounces of apricot kernel oil, courtesy of HBN member
Essential Wholesale!
 Last
Week's Question:
An organization named in 2001 is
devoted to educating the public about olfaction and its importance to all
areas of human psychology, behavior and quality of life.
Last Week's Answer: The Sense Of
Smell Institute (SASI), formerly known as The Olfactory Research Fund. For more
information about SASI, visit their Web
site.
This Week's Question: How many members does HBN have in its online
member directory as of 12:00 midnight on August 26?
The first person to respond with the correct
guess (or who actually counts them in the directory!) will win
a sample of my wonderful Virgin Coconut Vanilla Oil, this week's recipe!
Please read the contest rules here
before submitting your entry.
While time does not permit me to respond personally to all entrants, the
winner will be notified by email and their name posted at HBN's home page.
3. Create The Life You Love™: The
French "Aroma" Connection, Part III, by Polly Fletcher
This week, I bring you the third in a 4-part series of articles by guest
writer and HBN member Polly Fletcher of Life Balance. In the series, Polly
shares with us keen insights into the wonderful learning adventure she
enjoyed in France earlier this year. If you missed the first 2 articles,
here they are:
Part
I: Introduction To The French "Aroma" Connection
Part
II: Grasse: The Perfume Capital Of The World
This week, Polly gives us the nitty-gritty on her trip to the distillery.
Take it away Polly!!
THE CRUX OF POLLY'S ADVENTURE: THE DISTILLERY
There are several distilleries to visit in France. My
choice was a family operation just north of Grasse, off the Napoleon highway, in
the countryside of Caussols. It
is a pristine location surrounded by a plateau of 4,000,000 square meters of
wild lavender. There is no commercial agriculture or manufacturing in the
vicinity to pollute the air or water. My destination is truly a place to be if
you have a passion for aromatherapy and/or nature.
The distiller's passion for nature has been nurtured
through extensive travels realizing
that the world is a small & fragile place. With his wife and their two
children, they wanted nature to be a part of their livelihood and well-being.
They believe that plants (food) are critical to health and the key to resolving
many aliments. The distillery
reflects this conviction by producing the highest quality botanicals and making
sure the location is in an environment free from synthetic agro-chemicals, a
pollution free waste water system, and a natural all log building for
distillation, lab, reception area and seminars. I realize there are many
wonderful growers & distillers in France & the US who share some of
these convictions, however there is something uniquely different about the
distillery I visited that perfectly complements my goals as a skincare
manufacturer.
Several things make my chosen distillery special:
1. They employ a new distilling method that I believe will have a
positive influence on the way essential oils and hydrosols are obtained. (See
more below.)
2. Almost every batch of essential oil undergoes the
GCL (gas chromatography) test versus testing only a small sampling of each
year's total harvest (as many distilleries do).
3. They fastidiously handle botanical products to reduce the
proliferation of bacteria, especially with the hydrosols.
4. Most of the products handled at the distillery are
Eco-Certified Organic.
5. They harvest wild lavender from around the distillery and
utilize wild seed to start a crop versus bringing in other cultivars.
The new distilling method referenced above is called the Flash Détente
Process and it is quite an extraordinary engineering feat. This method allows steam
to be utilized at zero pressure there by creating a lower temperature (between 15ºC
degrees - 50ºC) to protect the vital plant molecules
from being burned or destroyed, yielding a product with greater vitality. Also,
the distillation time is significantly reduced, thus allowing for harvested
material to be distilled much more efficiently. The result is truly amazing.
We observed a small sampling of rose petals distilled with
this new method. The distillation time took no more than 10 minutes for 20kg of petals. The
collecting flasks automatically siphoned off the essential
oil from the hydrosols. Because of the small sampling, only the hydrosol was
produced for our demonstration. The plant matter, after distillation, looked soggy but not
burnt. The finished product was a delightful experience to taste and smell.
My distillery has a special lab area where hydrosols, essential
oils and other botanicals are stored and made ready to
send out to the customer. Everything is made clean and sterile for
transferring products into bottles, vials, and jars. The hydrosols are filtered
at 0.2
microns in order to avoid proliferation of bacteria, and are then re-filtered for every order. They are stored in a
temperature controlled room not to exceed 15ºC. Measurements and temperatures are
always painstakingly precise.
Essential oils and other botanical products are measured
in grams versus liters because the essential oils vary in density (frequently
due to climate changes), and grams are a more precise and accurate measurement
of the actual weight of the product so the customer can be assured of receiving
the quality requested.
About The Writer: Polly Fletcher
is the founder of Life Balance Hand Made Formulations. A member of HBN since
2000, Life Balance is based in Boston, MA and is committed to formulating skin
care products that nourish the skin & inspire the senses. You may contact
Polly with your more specific questions about the distillery at polylogx@aol.com.
Next Week: Polly's
Parting Advice On Choosing Essential Oils For Your Handmade Toiletries
4. New
At MakeYourCosmetics.com:Virgin Coconut Vanilla Oil
Virgin Coconut Vanilla Oil
is a delicious blend of wonderfully aromatic oils that will make you smell like the perfect combination of sweetness and sensuality. If you enjoy the aroma of a blend of warm vanilla and sweet coconut, rounded with orange and a smattering of patchouli for depth, this is the massage oil for you!
When you visit MakeYourCosmetics.com,
it's easy to buy the ingredients you need to make your goodies by clicking
on our Partner links:
Essential
Wholesale: natural unscented cosmetic bases, pure
essential oils, absolutes, carrier oils such as avocado, virgin coconut,
sweet almond, jojoba, shea butter and specialty packaging supplies!
Bramble
Berry, Inc.: over 80 different, fully
tested fragrance oils (including the exclusive "Relaxing" and
"Energy" blends), over 250 soap molds, essential oils and
unscented bases.
SunRose
Aromatics: pure essential oils (many organic), carrier oils and
other aromatherapy products, each carefully selected for quality. Check out
their Perfumer's Emporium.
The
Scent Shack: fragrance oils and soap supplies. Fragrance oils are
pre-tested in cold process, melt & pour soap, and candles, and test results
are listed at the Web site. Scents tested by soapers for soapers!
Lynden
House International , Canadian supplier of soap and candlemaking
supplies such as fixed oils, perfumes, essential oils, molds, powdered milks,
colors, pre-made bases, candle wax, wicks, embeds and more!
5. Handmade Beauty
Product Review: Is There A PuMouse In Your House?
5 PuMouse
Cosmetic Stones | $17.50
(or $3.95 for a single stone)
This week, I take a little diversion from my
typical review of handmade beauty products to review an accessory that has
recently joined my bath repertoire. I recently had the opportunity to try a PuMouse,
a sort of mouse-shaped pumice stone designed to smooth calluses and rough areas
of the feet. (Of course, I have neither ... HA!)
The first time I tried my PuMouse,
I failed to follow the instructions, which clearly told me to soak my feet
before using the PuMouse.
Well, I was so excited to try my PuMouse,
a lovely shade of green, and read through
the instructions so quickly that I soaked both the PuMouse
AND my feet. BAD!! Do not do this! The PuMouse
works best and lasts longest when it is used completely dry. Soaking
your PuMouse can significantly shorten its
life! Lucky for me, I had another PuMouse
(pink this time), and I used it properly. Actually, I did even better than that!
This past Saturday, I went for a long overdue and
well-deserved pedicure. I asked my technician to use my PuMouse
instead of the usual stuff they used
(which I'm sure had touched hundreds of feet before!) I soaked my feet for a
while in the foot tub with soothing jets and settled in for my treatment. The PuMouse
worked beautifully and the technician commented on how nicely the mouse shaped
stone fit into the palm of her hand. It is nicely contoured so its easy to hold
onto, even when rubbing slippery feet! A few of the pumice particles came off in
the foot tub but they were easily scooped up and tossed in the trash so they
didn't go down the drain. And my feet felt wonderfully smoothed and pampered at
the end of my treatment. I'll be using this in my shower regularly!
PuMouse's are
great, and one of the best things about them is that they come in various
colors. Aren't you tired of walking down the cosmetics aisle and seeing those
regular old gray pumice stones? The PuMouse
allows you to coordinate your bath decor with your PuMouse.
How much more of a bath goddess could you be? Yellow, purple, green, orange,
pink, blue ... and gray to for those plain vanilla types.
PuMouse's are
available from HBN member BK
Pumice. I have seen them in lots of gift baskets, especially those
containing products designed to treat the feet. They add a nice tough,
especially when the color coordinates with the other items in the basket. PuMouse's
are available at wholesale from BK Pumice as well. So, is there a PuMouse
in your house? If not, there should be!
Visit The Handmade Beauty Connection Archives.
Visit our suite of Web sites serving the handmade toiletries industry:
HandmadeBeauty.com: the
leading industry trade organization
MangoButter.com:
450+ suppliers of raw materials and packaging, updated weekly!
MakeYourCosmetics.com:
ingredient encyclopedia & original cosmetics recipes
DonnaMaria.com:
sound advice for your small business, Create The Life You Love™
Handmade Skin
Care.com: secure online shopping for handmade toiletries products!
Have your ad seen by over 3,200 subscribers! ! Click here
to see why Essential Wholesale says that the returns from their newsletter
ad "just keep on coming," and why The
Scent Shack says, "Our sponsorship of The Handmade Beauty Connection
went over very well, we had a huge number of hits on the day
the newsletter was published, plus we got quite a few new customers."
Donna Maria, Editor-In-Chief, DonnaMaria@HandmadeBeauty.com
The Handmade Beauty Connection
The Handmade Beauty Network | www.HandmadeBeauty.com
© Copyright 2002 Donna
Maria and affiliates. All Rights Reserved. Click here
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