return to archives home

Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Connection
December 15, 2003

Thanks For Visiting dM's Second Annual Handmade Holiday Gift Guide!

Join The Handmade Beauty Network Today & Save!

Your New HBN Membership is 25% off for the next 24 hours only! This means if you join HBN between publication of this Holiday Gift Guide and midnight on December 16, 2003, 25% will automatically be taken off your first year's membership dues. New members only; cannot be combined with any other offers.

Check out what our members have to say!!

See more of our benefits here. If you're serious about your beauty business, join HBN today and see how we can help you grow!!

The holidays are a time for sharing, caring and giving. The gifts given to those express your love and make the holidays even more meaningful. You don't need to spend a lot of money or stress out endlessly to let your loved ones know how much you care. Just select something handmade! Handmade gifts share your heart and your hugs better than any other kind of gift!

It's great to make holiday gifts yourself using ingredients provided by suppliers like the companies that sponsor this newsletter. But like me, you may also be a parent, a significant other and/or a business person, and if so, well, you just can't make everything!! Since I know your life is filled with at least as much activity as mine, I thought I'd help out by scouring the 2003 Handmade Beauty Connection Archives to compile my Second Annual Handmade Holiday Gift Guide.

Purchase your own favorites using the Buy It! links below. I know there are just 9 more shopping days until Christmas, and these little indulgences are not only the perfect gifts, but also easy to give. Be sure to check with each individual company to make sure shipping to your area is available in time for the particular date you might be aiming for! Happy Shopping!

San Juan Salt Scrub by Savonerie
(reviewed September 15, 2003)
5 oz.| $7.00
Buy It!

Soap! Soap! More Soap! That's what I say after using a bar of soap like this one! Can't have enough soap! I am so excited to tell you about the San Juan Salt Scrub from HBN member Savonerie! Where shall I start? First, just look at it! I can't recall when I've seen a soap this lovely! It's layered with blue and green beach glass colors for a marine feeling as you can see. Then, the mix of fragrance makes me fancy myself a mermaid or something -- fresh and ocean-y without being too seaweed-y! Then, it's topped with some Dead Sea salt crystals so I can exfoliate if I want to. The other side is smooth like silk so that if I'm not in the mood for scrubbies, I can still be happy with this bar. The lather is thick and rich and I cannot say enough about how much I love using this soap.

Herbal Double Solar-Infused Oil by Scents of Balance
(reviewed August 4, 2003)
4 oz. | $22.50
Buy It! (this is a seasonal product so supplies are limited!)

HBN member Kate Rosetto, owner of Scents of Balance, grows and harvest herbs throughout the summer. I am kicking myself that it took me so long to experience one of her infusions myself! This year, fresh (not dried -- and this makes a difference!) German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) has been solar infused into a base of organic safflower oil to create this lovely German Chamomile Double Solar-Infused Oil. The aroma is scrumptious and it makes a perfectly wonderful face, body and massage oil all by itself. I have enjoyed massaging it into my daughter's skin. She sniffs it and approves with a smile and a request for "mo peas" (more please). (It's so cute -- but I digress ...)

Montana must be truly lovely to yield fresh chamomile flowers that infuse this divinely in the sunshine. German Chamomile Double Solar-Infused Oil is a one-of-a-kind limited edition!! After this is gone, there's no more until next year. I guess I'd better make it last. On the other hand, what I don't smooth all over my daughter's dewy soft skin, I will be tempted to include in a few goodies made for some special friends over the next few months. And if they have any left, you've got to try the Calendula Double Solar-Infused Oil too!

Ultimate Dry Skin Body Butter by Paradise Valley Natural Skincare
(reviewed August 18, 2003)
4 ounces | $9.00
Buy It!

It's Slatheringly Delicious!!

Ultimate Dry Skin Body Butter is a real "slatherer"! That is, I can slather it all over my skin and massage to my heart's content, all the while enjoying the feeling of pampering myself and giving my skin some special treatment. I love slathering, and this product has renewed my interest in body butters. Ultimate Dry Skin Body Butter is scented with a blend of patchouli, benzoin and sandalwood -- not my favorite combination but that's a strictly personal thing. The scent blend is not at all overpowering; it's rather subtle in fact. Anyway, my skin literally drinks this stuff up so I use it "slatheringly"! It's made by hand from scratch with hydrolyzed oat flour, wheat proteins, shea butter and calendula extract -- how delicious is that?!! All of these ingredients, plus a generous dose of olive oil, make this product smooth and luxurious -- like massaging soft silk into my skin. And it leaves behind a velvet-y soft feel that makes me glad I'm a girl! Not only that, Ultimate Dry Skin Body Butter passes the ultimate test nearly every night when my 2-year old daughter reaches for it first on my night stand -- over just about everything else there. She too seems to prefer the feeling of "slathering" before bedtime!

Lemon Verbena and Lemongrass Soap by Baisley Herbals
(reviewed February 17, 2003)
@ 4 ounces | $5.00
Buy It!

I've been using soap all my life. I've tried thousands of different types of soap. I've made hundreds of different kinds of soap. And no matter how much I am exposed to soap, I am always amazed in fresh new ways at how my senses are so totally enthralled by something as simple as a bar of soap. This soap reminds me of all the reasons why handmade soap is always my choice. I got a sample of it last year and I just received my order for 4 more bars!! Lemon Verbena and Lemongrass Soap smells fabulously of lemongrass, which anyone who has been reading the newsletter for a while knows is a favorite of my family. This soap is a pretty  yellow color and has visible flecks of lemon verbena leaf throughout. The herb is grown in Baisley Herbals' own herb garden! One of the other really nice things about this soap is the beautiful way it is wrapped! Covered in a beautiful paper with a plant motif, it's sealed with a sticker bearing Baisley Herbals' owner's initials (PB) and wrapped in a very generous length of pretty green ribbon to match the wrapping paper. Part of the joy of using it is taking it from its wrapping and enjoying the fresh herbal aroma and feeling the dense and smooth bar in my hands. The lather is wonderful and frothy.

Lavender Comfort Balm by Planet Earth Remedies
(reviewed April 14, 2003)
1 oz. | $12.00 or 4 oz. $34.00 (also available in other sizes)
Buy It!

A few weeks ago, I was delighted to receive a goodie box in the mail from HBN member Plant Earth Remedies in Arizona. One of my favorites in the package was their Lavender Comfort Balm. Often when I am considering a new product for review, I might use it for longer than I normally would so I can provide a more thorough perspective on the product. Well, review or not, this is one product that I will be sopping the very last little bit of! It was love at first whiff -- and rub! These days, there is stress all around us -- a tough economy and the constant stream of news from the warfront bombard us, attempting to remove any sliver of time for relaxation and quiet contemplation. If you feel this stress, Lavender Comfort Balm is a great way to help relieve it. Regardless of your usual stress relief routine, I bet it would be complemented by the soothing aroma and feel of Lavender Comfort Balm. Lavender essential oil is the olfactory centerpiece of this product, and combined with a little rosemary and the tiniest dash of menthol, the aroma is tension relieving and therapeutic. Not only is the smell wonderful, but Lavender Comfort Balm contains jojoba, almond oil and Vitamin E so it moisturizes completely when smoothed into rough skin areas like elbows and heels. I've also enjoyed smoothing it into my cuticles to soften them and help prevent dry, splitting nails. One product, so many uses!!

Triple Strawberry Homemade Specialty Jam by Handcrafted Soap by RJ Caulder
(reviewed March 24, 2003)
4 oz. | $2.75 or $12.00 for a lovely gift crate of 3
Buy It!

In March, I took a break entirely from reviewing skincare and beauty products to review some other types of items that I think make great complements to a delicious beauty product. I started with a delicious jar of Triple Strawberry Homemade Specialty Jam by HBN member RJ Caulder of Handcrafted Soap by RJ Caulder. RJ makes a mean bar of soap too (I'm saving some up for future reviews), but her jams are fabulous too! Triple Strawberry Homemade Specialty Jam contains lots of strawberries along with the usual jam ingredients of pectin and sugar. But this one also contains a bit of triple sec for an added "specialty" dimension. It's the perfect size to add to a basket of pampering goodies you put together for a friend. Imagine - a delightful bath with tea, a few crackers with a bit of jam, a good magazine and candle light. Hmmmm. I also got a jar of Blackberry Brandy and Raspberry Amaretto - both delicious!! Other flavors include Sparkling Cranberry and Brandied Peach. You can buy RJ's fabulous jams at her Web site.

Sugar Coat It Sugar Scrub by Sugar Coat It
(reviewed November 10, 2003)
16 ounces | $20.00
Buy It!

Sweet Sugar Scrub is a deliciously sweet combination that your skin will love. A generous 16 ounce jar will last quite a long time and the combination of ingredients is a smooth mixture with just enough granular sugar to exfoliate the skin without being rough. To soften the sugar edges, Sugar Coat It has added a nice blend of butters and oils, including shea butter, cocoa butter, Vitamin E and sweet almond oil. The combination results in a product that is smooth and moisturizing without being greasy. It feels "buttery," even "fluffy" on the skin, but without a greasy feel going on or afterward. In sum, to me, it feels like a cream with sugar in it. The tangy sweet aroma comes from a bunch of citrus essential oils like grapefruit, orange and tangerine. Yummy!

Starting now, this is my sugar scrub of choice and definitely makes one of my Top 10 goodies for my Gift Buying Guide this year. (By the way, stay tuned for the rest of the Top 10 in the Gift Buying Guide later this month!!) A few of my dearest handmade beauty buff friends will see this under the tree this year!

Sun-Kissed Sage Spa Manicure Scrub by the Beauty Bar Boutique
(reviewed June 16, 2003)
8 ounces | $12.00
Buy It!

Sun-Kissed Sage Spa Manicure Scrub is the most versatile, easy to use, attractively colored and scented scrub I have used in a long time. Made with goodies like jojoba spheres, raw sugar, aloe and sweet almond oil, the product is enhanced with a pretty golden color and a mild lather to cleanse and exfoliate at the same time, and the best part is that it works! Now that summer is here, a manicure scrub is great, but I also like to give myself a foot scrub when I can and this is a fabulous product for both. Slather your hands, feet -- even elbows and other rough spots -- with this treat and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how soft and supple it leaves your skin feeling. Sun-Kissed Sage Spa Manicure Scrub smells like a combination of just picked herbs and flowers with a slightly grassy note. Use it at night and your feet will feel blissfully smooth in the morning. Even better if after scrubbing, you put a coat of cream on your feet to make the pampering last as long as possible!

Baby Shea Gift Box by Silk 'N Shea
(reviewed January 6 and December 1, 2003)
Gift Box | $15.00
Buy It! (Silk'n Shea is closed for the Christmas holiday but I had to include this product so you could buy it after the new year!)

Lucky me! Not only did I get to have another baby this fall, but I received a collection of wonderful baby products from HBN member Silk 'N Shea! I already knew I loved their products because I have tried several before, but these are special because they were made with an extra special little one in mind! If you're looking for a gift for a new mom, your search just may be over!! My Silk 'N Shea Baby Gift Box contains everything any mom needs to get started with natural skincare for her new baby. And all for the very reasonable price of just $15.00. I think this is one of the best bargains going for a collection of well-made and beautifully packaged handmade beauty treats.

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!

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.

Skin Rejuvenating Complex by Botanical Skin Works
(reviewed August 25, 2003)
2 ounces | $45.00
Buy It!

Skin Rejuvenating Complex is a wonderful rich new face cream that I recently had a chance to try. Dense and moisture-rich, this cream is going to be set aside specifically for when the weather turns. Made with some of my favorite ingredients (sea buckthorn berry, calendula and shea butter just to name a few), this product produced for me very nicely moisturized skin after 3 days of use before bedtime. This is not a lightweight cream so if you have oily skin or don't like lots of richness, you probably wouldn't be as pleased as I am. But even though it's nearly 100° outside, I still like the feel of rich oils on my skin at night -- not a lot -- but a little bit of Skin Rejuvenating Complex goes a long way. After cleansing my skin (I've been using a wonderful handmade bar soap that I'll review for you next week!!), I simply smoothed a bit of the cream around my face  using broad sweeping motions. It's a great intensive and works well to nourish and soothe.

The fragrance is also wonderful -- I detect rose and geranium, plus a bit of citrus. Lovely! You'll probably not want to use this too close to your eyes because of the essential oils, but other than that, it's a great all around facial cream and I have gotten use of it around my dried up cuticles too.