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A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 6, Issue 31
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1. HBN Member Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!
2. Handmade Beauty Recipe: Chic Cheeks
3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win some fragrance oil!
4. Featured Article: You Glow Girl!
5. Handmade Beauty Product Review: Coffee & Cloves Hair Products
6. Handmade Beauty Benefit Of The Week: Handmade Beauty Business Starter Kit

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

Last Week's Question: HBN is located not too far from my hometown of Washington, DC. On the opposite side of DC lies a trendy community called Bethesda. If you ever visit, you'll find restaurants to suit any taste, plus an eclectic mix of upscale personalities to keep you company. Recently an exclusive spa moved toward closing a deal to open a "spa and healing complex" in Bethesda -- to include a condominium complex and hotel. To win this week, state the name of the spa company which already has spas in the western and northeastern US.

Last Week's Answer: Canyon Ranch - for more information about them, visit their website

This Week's Question: Many of today's suppliers of mica are committed to providing colors that are free of animal products. One of the main animal products they shun is cochineal, the beautiful red color that comes from crushed female insects that live on a particular type of plant. To win this week, state the type of plant the insect lives on.

Be the first to correctly answer this week's question and win some Gingersnap Fragrance Oil, courtesy of HBN member Bramble Berry!

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 be announced in the next newsletter!

What color is beauty? All over the world, the histories of different cultures shows that the answer to that question has often depended on who was in control. There was a time when the most affluent people in the world used white powder filled with deadly lead to make their skin appear to be as white as possible. That was beautiful to them, but by today's standards, they must have looked positively ghastly. As the ages passed, it became popular to add a little color to the skin, so in droves, people spent hours on end under the burning summer sun hoping to bake their skin to as golden a brown as humanly possible. This "Death du Soliel" approach to beauty was considered lovely the world over, that is until definitive connections between sun baking and cancer were made.

Today people are finally finding a happy medium, and we are more likely than ever to appreciate the skin color we were born with. Rather than taking drastic and sometimes fatal steps to change our skin color, today's beauty enthusiasts are far more likely to enhance what we have. One of the most exciting ways to do that is with mineral makeup.

Mineral makeup is composed of blends of minerals and pigments that have been so finely pulverized that they cause the make up to feel weightless on the skin. At its simplest, mineral make up is minerals that are colored with pigments to create a rainbow of colors and effects. From shimmer and glitter to flat and matte, there are perfect mineral makeup colors to complement every skin color, eye color, cheek bone, forehead, lip -- and body -- on the earth.

As a young(er) woman, I used a variety of different facial care products but I focused mainly on cleansers and toners. Because my skin has a natural olive/tawny undercurrent, I never had much use for foundation. When I did start using foundation on special occasions, I tried to use as little as possible because it always made my face feel like one huge clogged pore. (Can you get that imagery?) I couldn't wait to take it off and I spent much of the time at the special occasion terrified that it was all running to the bottom of my chin or God forbid rubbing off on the shirt collar of the handsome hunk I was dancing with. (Or maybe that was a dream ...) It wasn't until I started HBN and ended up in a member's manufacturing facility one day that my makeup life changed forever.

By then, I was a mom with a baby and another on the way. Not only did I not wear makeup at all anymore, but I wouldn't have been able to find it if I did. Or if I did find it, it would all rub off on a baby blanket before I could get out the door. So I resigned myself to being happy with my (somewhat faded) natural olive/tawny undercurrent. But when I visited Monave, I was pleasantly surprised beyond belief to find that they had the perfect foundation shade for me in their existing line of foundations. (Since then, I have enjoyed using this foundation called Saturnina -- you can enjoy my product review here.) While there, I was treated to a hands-on mineral make up class and watched as brilliant colors were blended from beautiful golds, bordeauxs, greens and blacks. We even mixed new colors using clear salve as the medium. What fun!!

Today, I still have young kids, but I'm more inspired to use makeup for two reasons. First, I need it more than I used to. Second, it's fun! With all of the shades and possibilities, and the coverage and natural look of mineral makeup, who can go wrong?! I have begun to enjoy several members colors. For example, the Oatstraw eye shadow by Herbs of Grace is one of my favorite natural brownish eye shadows. It has just the perfect amount of shimmer to be lovely yet subtle and is great for work or play. I have also enjoyed Abbey St. Clare's, though today I'm focusing on reviewing some of their hair care line. (See below). Many companies are also offering self-tanning products made with mineral makeup. So we've come full circle to the tanning craze, only this time, instead of "Death du Soleil," it's definitely "Beauty du Soleil"!

If you have not tried mineral makeup, you should. There's no better time than now. There are a million shades available and its fun to work with -- so much fun that you may find yourself creating your own colors from the colors you buy! Mineral makeup almost always contains titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide, both of which offer sun protection. This makes mineral makeup the perfect choice for all year, all body use!

The new Handmade Beauty Business Magazine will contain a feature article on mineral makeup. If you're a member of HBN, look for your Premier Issue in a few months! If not, join now so you can get one, or subscribe "a la carte!"

Ah! The glory of hair! Not!!

Do you like your hair? In my fairly newfound world of self acceptance, I guess I can finally say I like my hair. But in reality, I don't like it. Instead, I've just accepted it the way it is. Additionally, I don't have the time or the inclination to fret over it anymore. I love sugar scrubs and body butter, but hair products usually don't often excite me, surely in no small part because my hair does not excite me.

A few weeks ago though, when I began using Coffee and Cloves shampoo and conditioner concentrate from HBN member Abbey St. Clare, things started to change. While I don't wash my hair every day, I have enjoyed using these products once a week for 3 weeks straight. I'm out of the conditioner (I have really long hair these days) and the shampoo is not far behind. I love the aroma of cloves but I have always associated it with the fall season. Now, I'll associate it also with my hair!

Coffee and Cloves Shampoo

The shampoo made a really frothy lather and my hair felt clean and revitalized after the wash. My scalp also felt slightly stimulated from the clove essential oil. I did not feel any sort of film on my hair after using this shampoo.

Coffee and Cloves Conditioner

My favorite part of hair care is conditioning. I think its because no matter what shampoo I use, my hair always feels raw and unprotected. Maybe that's because it is. After all, shampoo is usually not on my hair long enough to do anything but clean it before I'm rinsing it out. I spend a lot of time conditioning my hair -- actually the conditioner does all the work, but I do leave it on for a long time. This conditioner was no exception.

Made with cloves, clove essential oil and organically grown coffee beans (like the shampoo), Coffee and Cloves Conditioner is a great new addition to my hair options. Vitamin B complex (which studies show actually penetrates the hair shaft to strengthen it) is another incentive to leave this on for as long as possible. The first time I used it, I didn't read the directions carefully enough to know that I was not supposed to rinse it out. Consequently, the real hair improvement didn't begin until after the second use, and it was quite noticeable. In fact, I couldn't believe the change in my hair after 3 weeks of using these products. The conditioner especially has changed my "ho hum" view of taking better care of my hair. And the best part is that since I don't rinse it out, I can enjoy the aroma of coffee and cloves as much as I'd like. A final benefit is how much fun it is to say, "coffee and cloves." Coffee and cloves. Coffee and cloves. Coffee and cloves. Now for a sip of java!

You can enjoy Coffee and Cloves products, plus other great skincare products and mineral makeup at Abbey St. Clare!

* 3 Handmade Beauty University classes of your choice (includes audio and written materials)
* 2 50-minute business strategy consultations in the same month
* 20% discount on first year HBN membership dues

Beat & Success!!
Donna Maria
Editor, The Handmade Beauty Connection
The Handmade Beauty Network | www.handmadebeauty.com