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A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 4, Issue 49
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This Week's Sponsor: 

Happy Holidays from The Scent Shack! Here are the newest additions to our growing product line! Pink Grapefruit Essential Oil: California cold pressed pink grapefruit essential oil. $19.70 per pound! Sparkle Pink and Sapphire Micas! Each beautiful color is $4.50 per ounce Love Spell fragrance oil - based on the popular Victoria's Secret perfume - $20.65 per pound! The Scent Shack | 1203 Paramount Pkwy, Batavia, IL 60542 (630) 879-5404 | Email: info@thescentshack.com

1. HBN Update: Welcome New HBN Member!
2. Handmade Beauty Recipe Of The Week: Gentle Milk & Oatmeal Facial
3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: Still No Winner From Last Week!
4. Handmade Beauty Product Review: Baby Products From Silk 'N Shea

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

Essential Wholesale: pure essential oils, over 200 cosmetic bases, hundreds of carrier/fixed oils such as meadowfoam, 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 soapers for soapers!

From Nature With Love: over 1,600 ingredients and supplies, including cosmetic ingredients, spa supplies, bath accessories and packaging supplies!

Last Week's Question: I am an organization headed by a person thought by many to be sort of weird. I am dedicated to researching the reasons why people have problems smelling and/or tasting things. One of my recent projects involves testing people's use of flavored food additives as a way to help them lose weight. To win this week, state my name and the name of the flavored food additives my Director uses in the weight loss testing.

Be the first to correctly answer this week's question and win a generous sample of "Kitchen Herb" type fragrance oil from HBN member From Nature With Love!

Please read the contest rules here before submitting your entry. Put "TRIVIA CONTEST ANSWER" in the subject line or your answer will not be considered.

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

Unscented Baby Lotion
4 ounces | $8.00 when packaged separately
As you all know, there's no shortage of love in my life for any kind of scented product. But having just had a baby, I'm especially sensitive to slathering anything scented on my skin that might interfere with my son's innate enjoyment of my natural smell. So often times before nursing, I'll put some of this lotion on after washing my hands. It nourishes my skin without making it feel slippery and it doesn't make my baby's nostrils flare like they do when I use even a slightly scented lotion before nursing. This lotion is great for anyone with scent sensitivities who also wants a quality product to smooth and moisturize their skin.

Unscented Baby Face Soap
1 ounces | $3.00 when packaged separately
My son has a mild case of cradle cap which has caused a slight facial outbreak so I have not been able to bring myself to use anything but water on his skin. On the other hand, my daughter (age 2) and I are loving this unscented soap. It's made with tender skin in mind, with lots of skin loving base oils like shea butter, olive oil, meadowsweet oil and hempseed oil. It contains no coconut oil, but still produces a nice lather. Plus the silk protein really makes for a soft and gentle feel on the skin. Each bar has pretty beveled edges and is stamped with the Silk 'N Shea company name. Very nicely done!

Baby Balm
1/2 ounce | not available separately
My mother's helpers have a ton of things to do to help out around baby-land, but one of the things they know is an absolute must is that a container of this Baby Balm must be in the baby's room, in my room, in each child's room and in the kids' bathroom. Why? Because it's one of the things I love most to rub on their bottoms after changing a diaper or any other soiled item (in the case of a potty trainer)! Plus, having a bit to rub onto my skin wherever it feels dry (which is mainly my hands these days due to increased washing) is also a plus. Shea butter is blended with hempseed oil, meadowfoam seed oil and other skin-loving bases, and just a touch of lavender essential oil is included. This is the perfect product to place a barrier between baby's bottom and a wet diaper, and it penetrates and treats the skin without leaving a greasy feel. I also use this as a nipple balm if I know I won't be nursing for at least a few hours.

And everything is topped off with a soft baby wash cloth (can't have enough of those around!) The gift box is covered with Silk 'N Shea's repeating logo and tied together with a pretty coordinating satin ribbon. It's really lovely -- if I had a store, I'd have to have a Silk 'N Shea section as I'm sure the beautiful wrappings would entice foot traffic in its direction.

Silk 'N Shea also has several other types of soaps (including Honey Amber, Tangerine and Green Tea), plus they also carry a variety of facial care products. You can find your own Silk 'N Shea goodies at their website. Check out their link for holiday specials too! 

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™
AromaGirls .com: Coming Soon: "defining beauty for ourselves"