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Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Connection
September 29, 2003

A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 4, Issue 39
To subscribe, click here.

This Week's Sponsor: Soap Equipment, a division of Willow Way, LLC

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Email: sales@soapequipment.com

1. HBN Update: Welcome HBN Members & HBN Members On The Move!!
2. Handmade Beauty Recipe Of The Week: An Incredible Clay Mask
3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win a fabulous bar of soap!
4. Create The Life You Love™: Let The Judging Begin!

Welcome New Members!

Desert Naturals | Mark & Lori Kagan | Nevada
* renewing member; specially formulated soaps and sundries, plus suppliers of all types of vegetable glycerin soap bases such as Clear, Opaque, Honey and Goats Milk

Soma Essentials | Christine Rigos | Canada
* luscious line of handmade and natural bath & body care products prepared in small batches

Woodacre Apothecary | Cheryl Fromholzer | California
* exceptional quality, all-natural, handcrafted herbal bath and skin care products from the gifts of the Earth

HBN Members On The Move!

HBN is proud to serve the movers and shakers of our industry! Check out some of their latest activities and celebratory features:

HBN member Kathleen Lewis of Kathleen Lewis Beauty Worldwide is excited that her Rose Dream Cream is featured on page 244 of none other than the October 2003 issue of O (Oprah Magazine)!

HBN member Connie Patti of Angelique Skin Care is featured in the August 2003 issue of Natural Health Magazine! Check out the mention of their Powder Mineral Foundation on page 22!

HBN member Alicia Grosso of Annabella and Company is happy to tell you about the publication of her new book, The Everything Soap making Book (New Page Books, 2003).

Learn more about our members and their exciting activities by visiting their Web sites through HBN's Online Member Directory, now with 4 ways to search: (1) by state/country; (2) by member business name; (3) by keyword search; or (4) using our new alphabetical listings.

When you visit MakeYourCosmetics.com, it's easy to buy the ingredients you need by clicking on our Selected Supplier links:

Essential Wholesale: pure essential oils, over 200 cosmetic bases, hundreds of carrier/fixed oils such as meadow foam, cranberry, jojoba and shea butter plus a new Short Run Private Labeling Program!

Bramble Berry, Inc.: over 105 different fragrance and essential oils (including their exclusive "Energy" and "Relaxing"), all soap tested, soap molds and unscented soap bases!

Sunrose Aromatics: pure essential oils (many organic), carrier oils and other aromatherapy products, each carefully selected for quality. Check out their new 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 shapers for shapers!

Last Week's Answer: fish tail, teardrop, wedge

While time does not permit me to respond personally to all entrants, the winner's name will appear in the next issue of the newsletter!

I was recently asked to participate as a judge in an eclectic county fair contest featuring everything from handmade food items (like jams, pies and home-canned goods) to handmade beauty and handmade needlework items. While I was unable to accept the invitation, I did obtain some information from the fair planning committee about the judging criteria. I was told that judges evaluated the entries based on a variety of factors, with the most significant being: (1) quality; (2) consistency; (3) conformity; and (4) creativity. Of course no one is perfect, and we all miss the mark sometimes, but it's nice to have some standards to strive for, and it seems to me that these are good guides for any manufacturer to use when putting the final touches on launching a new product to market. Let's look at each one in turn.

1. Quality.
Need I say more? The higher quality a product is, the better it will sell and the more consumers will pay for it. Shoppers buy beauty from the outside in -- that is, they first see a label and jar. If the label smudges or is applied crooked, or the jar looks gritty or dirty or is simply inappropriate for the product, they won't buy it. (Or at least they won't buy it again ...) If a product looks carefully assembled on the outside, it is a safer "bet" for a shopper to believe that it is also well put together on the inside. This does not mean that it has to be fancy or scream at you from a shelf. Subtlety works well too. But quality comes in many different shapes, sizes and colors. Be sure to try different variations of everything from labels, to colors, to logo placement, to marketing descriptions on packages, etc., before settling on the one that best conveys the quality of your product to your customers. Time spent on the front end in this area is well spent and saves resources (time and money) making changes down the road.

2. Consistency.
Last year, I ordered two jars of some of the most wonderful body butter I had ever used. It was packed full of butters, with just enough wax to make it spread able, and there were no clumps. My husband loved it and it worked wonders on my daughter's bottom. After I used up two jars, I ordered some more, but they arrived with a much different texture than the first two jars. There were clumps (I think from shea butter) throughout each jar, which made it difficult to spread onto my daughter's bottom without her saying "hurts." Of course it didn't really hurt her because the clumps spread right into her skin with a little rubbing, but she was not used to that feeling and it resulted in a less than positive experience for both of us. My husband, who enjoyed the first two jars with us, won't even use it. Since I understand handmade beauty, I use and enjoy the product, but not without a constant reminder of how much I liked the first two jars so much better. The manufacturer told me that they have a new shear butter supplier and that was the reason for the problem. The lack of consistency disappointed me, and if I did not know the manufacturer personally (and like them a lot too!) and understand the challenges associated with a handmade beauty business I probably would not consider buying another product from them. Let's face it, consistency is tough when things are handmade, but let's also face the fact that consumers expect that if they order the same thing again, it will be "the same thing again." If something as significant as consistency is changed, let them know ahead of time so they aren't in for a letdown!

3. Conformity.
In the case of the farmer's market, this would involve compliance with the rules of the contest, which I was told are strictly followed. For example, an entrant in a canned goods contest where 1/2 pint jars were specified was unquestionably disqualified -- even though the product was superb -- when a pint jar was entered. For other manufacturers, particularly in the beauty industry, conformity with labeling laws is a good analogy here. Products should be clearly labeled in a typeface that is easy to read and follow in the context of the entire label. All ingredients required to be listed should be listed in order of descending prominence in the product. A manufacturer or distributor with contact information should also be clearly displayed. When I consider buying most items, I look for this information and if it's not there, I question the integrity of the seller, and I have noticed several unfavorable beauty product reviews on other websites where the same questions were raised, even if the review of the itself product was positive. For details on federal labeling requirements, click here. And bear in mind that your state may have some requirements as well.

4. Creativity.
There is no shortage of proverbs around the world amounting to "there is nothing new under the sun." This is perhaps more prevalent in the beauty industry than anywhere else -- well, maybe the automobile and clothing industries. LOL! But the point here is that because the market is always saturated with a new version of something that's not new at all, it's important at all times to remain as creative as possible. Instead of cruising the Internet and natural market store shelves to see what products you can copy, cruise them to see what new ingredients are available to help you be the trendsetter instead of the Johnny Come Lately Copycat. (If you missed my article on Unimaginative Ursula (a/ka/ Cora Copycat), you can check it out here.) There are many ways to make a statement with each new product you launch. New colors on the label (while maintaining logo and company consistency of course), an exclusive scent created just for your product, a new and innovative packaging component, a new additive that makes an old product "new and improved," or adding a new and more user friendly component to a website that makes it easier and more fun for customers to purchase from you. There's no shortage of creative energy in our field -- make it a point to expend some whenever you can to make something new and original!