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Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Connection
October 7, 2002

A Publication of The Handmade Toiletries Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 3, Issue 39
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This Week's Sponsor
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1. Expo East Trade Show A Fabulous Fun Success!
2. HBN Update: Welcome New HBN Member & HBN Member In The News!
3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question
4. New At MakeYourCosmetics.com: Tahitian Neroli Cream
5. Join Me In France Next Summer!!

I'm happy to report that Natural Products Expo East was Fabulous & Fun, and a wonderful opportunity for me to share the unique benefits of handmade toiletries with thousands of retailers and other natural and beauty products industry participants from around the world! While we have a wonderful Virtual Trade Show where you can go to see HBN member products and visit their Web sites, I wanted to share with you some details about the most popular products we demonstrated. These are the ones that most people asked about so if you missed the show and need some goodies to feature in an upcoming publication feature or in your own retail store, or to start stocking up for the holidays, these products are tops!

Silk'n Shea - (Oregon). Everyone loved Silk'n Shea's fabulous packaging is so neat and coordinated with the business logo repeated in watermark fashion throughout. While all of the products received rave reviews, the packaged in individual envelopes and the face and body lotions were the "most ut". Fragrances include lavender, unscented, grapefruit, ylang ylang, rosemary and rosewood and more! I ordered a baby care gift package as well as a gift set especially designed by Silk'n Shea owner Joena Buchholz, a cancer survivor, for a family member currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Both were big hits and will be reviewed in an upcoming newsletter. To order Silk'n Shea products, click here.

sunny brae body works (California). This company was another huge hit! The rich Geranium & Rose Moisturizing Cream and the Dispersing Bath Oil (in the sage fragrance) were sniffed and sampled over and over and several business owners wanted to find out if sunny brae would private label both for them! Over and over again, they commented on how fabulous the sunny brae labels would look on their shelves. Clean, neat, coordinated, a lovely example of the understated sophistication so often sought after, yet so very rare in our industry. So if  your retail area is in need of fabulous products in coordinated packaging so your customers can't buy just one, this just could be the line for you to start with today. If you're looking for a rich cream, the Geranium & Rose Moisturizing Cream is hands down one of the best I've every tried. To order sunny brae body works products, click here.

The Persimmon Tree Handcrafted Soaps (Delaware). Did you think a soap was a soap was a soap? If so, you'd be wrong, especially after you sniff and bathe with Persimmon Tree's handmade soap. While it's available in several scents, we had people lined up to buy the "Herbal" scented bars right off the table. Made with lots of veggie oils, pretty natural green colorant and rosemary essential oil, if this bar had legs, it would have walked right off the table and into the closest store to be sold off the bat. Coordinated bath salts and soaps in other scents (Orange Mint and Spiced Plum to name a few) are also available. To order Persimmon Tree products, email Revonda Moody.

Masterpiece Bath & Candle (Maryland). Lotions, beautifully marbled soaps and handmade soy wax candles are the specialties here ... lots to choose from but it was the candles that were the biggest hit at the show. The Red Clover and Santa's Pipe took the cake generating hundreds of sniffs during the weekend. To purchase Masterpiece Bath products, email Misty Fields.

Terra Soleil (New York). So you think you've tried Body Balms? Well, maybe, but not until you've tried all 3 of the Body Balms we had to keep a special eye on at our table at the show. Why? Well, you have to sniff and rub yourself to know for sure, but in word, it is because Terra Soleil's aromatic Body Balms are wonderfully soothing, smell great and are in packages that make it hard to choose just one. Lavender, Plumeria and Baby Soothe are just a few of the most popular. Packaged in large tins with colorful coordinated smudge proof labels (so important when dealing with balms), these were a huge hit. The other wonderful hit from Terra Soleil was the Body Covers - creams in Lavendar and a beautifully infused Plumeria fragrance. Again, who could buy just one? To purchase Terra Soleil products, click here.

Queen B Bath Company (Illinois). Not only did folks love the Queen B logo (you have to visit the Web site to check it out, simple but speaking volumes!), they were really attracted to the ultra floral feminine scents like Honeydew Heaven, Magnolia and Sweet Pea. If your customers (and you!) just love those flowers, this is the place for you to get some coordinated lotion, shampoo, body gel, etc. Nice coloring complements the scented products. To buy Queen B products, click here.

African Shea Butter Company (Virginia). Sharing lots of shea butter packed products is always fun, but the body and lip butters here were fabulous. The biggest hit seemed to be the fabulously scented and apparently delicious tasting Banana Lip Balm. Lucky for us we had lots of tester sticks 'cuz folks were "slicking and licking" all weekend with this smooth balm of shea butter (not grainy!!) and wax with a kickin' banana flavor oil that people just loved. To purchase African Shea Butter Company products, click here.

Essential Wholesale (Oregon). Several retailers were excited to see how easy and fun it is the purchase lotions and other body care products in bulk and leave the scenting to their customers. We had several samples of Essential Wholesale's shampoo, conditioner, bath gel and massage oil to show off to get them started. While those products were nice, it was the Jojoba Lotion that everyone raved about. Our table was located in a heavily trafficked spot at the top of a set of stairs near the entrance so we had men and women trotting past us all day. As they came up the escalator, the first thing we made sure they saw was the 1/2 gallon pump bottles with a "Try Me" sign underneath. People with dry hands, men and women, stopped by again and again to put on some Jojoba Lotion and everyone thought it was fabulous. Your customers can scent it themselves, plus you'll get help with everything from labeling to packaging to scenting. To buy Essential Wholesale products, click here.

~ Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!

Daybreak Lavender Farm | Jody Byren Slyker | Ohio
Lavender Mint Salt Glows made with our farm-grown herbs, apricot seed oil, Dead Sea, kosher, table and Epsom salts and fragranced with essential oils of lavender, peppermint and rosemary. Delish!

~ HBN Member News!

HBN Member Wins 3rd Place In Juried Craft Festival!

I'm excited to announce that HBN member Diane Buono of Queen Esther's Soaps & Body Creations's handmade soaps were awarded Third Place by the Cultural Arts Counsel of the Brushy Mountain Apple Festival - one of her county's largest events! Diane and her soaps were  judged on three criteria: (1) passion for the art; (2) creative capability; and (3) product packaging. The judges were impressed with Queen Esther's Soaps overall! We're looking for local newspaper coverage to boot! Congratulations Diane!!

Learn more about our members and their exciting activities by visiting their Web sites through HBN's Online Member Directory!!

Last Week's Question: An HBN member has a specialty of blending fabulous perfumes using 100% natural aromatics ... no synthetic fragrance oils here! Through her one of a kind Journey, you can have a perfume customized just for you or a loved one. A one of a kind aroma available nowhere else in the world. (I did just that earlier this month and you won't want to miss my review about the experience in next week's newsletter!)

Last Week's Answer: Gail Adrian, Fragranceur

There will be no trivia question this week. Instead of racking your brain to win a prize, please say a prayer for the communities in and around Washington, DC, which are right now agonizing over a sniper who is shooting people at random using a high powered weapon ... and killing them. This morning, a 13-year old boy was the target a mile from my home and office. He was shot as he walked into the middle school front door. Last week, among others, it was a 72-year old man standing in front of my parents' church. These things happen around the world every day. We are no exception, so don't stop with prayers for my community ... include all of us, and do what you can today to make our universe a safer and more enjoyable place.

Tahitian Neroli Cream  is what you need to get ready for winter! Created by HBN member (and our Web site designer) Kim Baron of ThymeWise SpiritWorks. The hydrosol, virgin coconut oil, and Monoi blend together for a lush scent with no need for additional fragrance of any kind. Don't miss it!!

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!

Join me in France next summer from June 3 to June 8 where Aroma Tours'® Jim and Robbi Zeck will serve just a few HBN members this fabulous treat! Jim and Robbi have years of experience composing successful tours to France, Bali, Turkey and other exotic and aromatic destinations around the world! You won't want to miss this opportunity!

There are some spaces left so be sure to check out the links of great photos so you can see what you're in for when you come with us!

To view the full itinerary, click here! To register, click here!

This trip presents a wonderful opportunity for HBN members to enjoy a working vacation and we encourage all business owners to check with their tax professionals to make sure that they receive whatever tax benefits are available as a result of this trip to see first hand how some of the ingredients used in your products are manufactured!

Check the entire itinerary here.

Aroma Tours has set up a special page at their Web site for HBN members to register! Join us for this fabulous trip!

If you have any questions about the trip, just email me!