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A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 6, Issue 41
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1. HBN Member Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!
2. Happy Birthday Members!
3. Handmade Beauty Business Magazine Update!
4. The Lifestyle CEO Officially Launches With HBN Member Media Opportunities!
5. Handmade Beauty Recipe: Tea Tree Facial Lotion
6. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win some beauty stuff!
7. Handmade Beauty Product Review: Tropical Body Butter
8. Feature Article: Scent of a Perfumer

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.

Whenever my kids see a candle, they think they are going to get some cake and ice cream and they start humming the Happy Birthday song. Lucky for them, we are going to have birthday parties this month since October is the birthday month for both of them. But the Johnson kids are not the only ones celebrating. Several HBN members should be eating cake this month too! Happy Birthday Everyone!

10/2 - Victoria Onwuchekwa, Chic Afrique Herbals
10/4 -  Juliette Samuel, NYRAJU, Inc.
10/4 -  Amy Oliver, Country Bee, Inc.
10/6 - Laura Confoy, sugar coat it
10/6 - Amy Galper, Buddha Nose Ltd.
10/6 - Amanda Gregurich, Bonne Chic
10/8 - Lynne Davies, Provincetown Soap Works
10/9 - Jacquelyn Barth, Dragonfly Soaps
10/12 - Barbara Freeman, Soapers Market
10/13 - Jane Griffith, Skin Essentials
10/13 - Michelle Whittle
10/14 - Michelle Gorman, Na Praia
10/16 - Susan Stype, Arlys Naturals
10/16 - Dawn Fitch, Pooka Pure & Simple
10/18 - Kelli Parisian, Parisian's Pure Indulgence, Inc.
10/22 - Dieshawn Holmes, Angelic Soaps and Gifts
10/22 - Jane Anderson, Healing Yew Natural Skincare
10/23 - Ann Wooledge, Wingsets Bath, Body & Candle
10/28 - Judi Probst, Azure Aromatique Products
10/29 - Laura Morrish, Life In The Woods
10/31 - Melissa Naval, Naikid, Inc.
10/31 - Kathleen Lewis, Kathleen Lewis Beauty Worldwide, Inc. (HBN's very first member!)

I am pleased to report that we are in the final editing stages of the Premier Issue of the Handmade Beauty Business Magazine, the only one for our industry. Yeah, I think it looks great but I would, wouldn't I? Because I can't possible expect you (or me) to be totally objective, this week, I am going to send out copies of portions of the final draft to 3 randomly selected newsletter subscribers and ask them to email me their objective comments so I can share them with you.

I am confident that you will love this magazine, period. It's got great editorial content like an article on organics, one one making a success of your handmade beauty business and another on a consumer's real life experience with handmade beauty products. There are fabulous graphics, pretty pictures, informative interviews, the printed version of HBN's member directory and some beautiful product information provided by some great sponsors.

If you'd like to learn more about the Handmade Beauty Business Magazine, click here. To subscribe, click here. (HBN members, your copy is included with your membership in good standing!)

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 youthful and beautiful. I am the spokeswoman for Padres Contra El Cancer, a non-profit organization that educates Spanish-speaking families affected by cancer. I was a smash hit in Washington, DC, on September 14. And if that wasn't enough, I recently landed a multi-million dollar contract to serve as the face of one of the world's best known cosmetics brands. While I may be associated with the word, clearly, I am anything but desperate. Who am I?

Last Week's Answer: Eva Longoria, star of the hit television show Desperate Housewives and spokesperson for L'Oreal Paris

This Week's Question: Who were the HBN members featured on this week's Lifestyle CEO Internet Radio Show?

Be the first to correctly answer this week's question and win some beauty stuff!

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!

Tropical Body Butter
4 oz. | $12.00

Ahhh, wintertime. It's not quite here yet, but every day brings with it more chill in the morning air. Alas, it's time to exchange quick showers for really warm baths and I couldn't be happier about it. One of the reasons why is a delicious new body butter I received at the Handmade Beauty Banquet last month. While this week's recipe for Tea Tree Facial Lotion is nice (especially if you have oily skin), there's nothing like the feel of a rich body butter for those with dryer skin types. Tropical Body Butter by Body Blessings is packed with butters to soften rough skin and seal in moisture.

According to Twanna Toliver-Maheia of Body Blessings, Tropical Body Butter is a "vacation for your skin." I couldn't have said it better. This butter is wonderful. Made with mango butter, apricot butter and apricot oil, it feels great going into my skin, especially if I am slightly damp from bathing when I massage it in. This seals in moisture. The butter also has a pretty golden orange tropical color provided by organic annatto. The first day I used it, I noticed how the skin on my arms felt soft and elastic well into the afternoon. The scent is mango/apricot tropical, yet not overpowering.

You can get some of your own Tropical Body Butter plus other goodies like Cuckoo For Coco Body Butter (with an almond/coconut scent) and Soulstress Bronze Butter (with sandalwood and amber) from Twanna at Body Blessings. Twanna does a nice job of coloring her butters with natural ingredients like alkanet and annatto.

I've been a handmade beauty buff for over a decade. (Geesh, I must be getting old!) Through the years, I have made everything from soap (including several types of what we industry types call "Ugly Soap"), scrubs and butters to toners, anti-aging creams and Banana Beauty Balm I've even made my share of perfume, though I have to admit I've never been that good at it. When I was pregnant with my daughter, I made some perfume and gave it to the baby shower participants as a gift. I still have what's left here in a lovely perfume bottle someone gave me years ago. If everything goes according to plan, I will be dabbing it on her pulse points before she walks down the aisle several years from now. In the meantime, I've made up my mind to start using some ultra-exquisite aromatics I've collected over the years to make some downright drop deal, off the hook perfumes for myself and the people I love.

To kick off my new handmade beauty passion, I called my friend and perfumer Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes in Berkeley, California (one of my favorite cities in the world). Mandy is a artisan natural perfumer, not to mention a talented, fun person. She has been featured in several media outlets including Vogue Magazine, O, The Oprah Magazine, Vanity Fair, Mandy's pre-perfume professional background is in the field of psychology. This knowledge combined with her perfumer's instinct makes her a highly sought after "nose". For those of you who would like to take this new step with me, here's an introduction to Mandy's World.

dM: Mandy, I know you have a background in psychology and there's no doubt that the connection between scent and psyche is a powerful one. How did you get started in the world of perfume?

Mandy: Well dM, several years ago, I wrote a book called The Story Of Your Life. It's all about the intersection between life and fiction and how we can all plot out our lives just like a writer prepares a story line. Once that book was published, I decided I wanted to write a novel with a perfumer as the main character. Since I like to write from original research, I began to collect turn of the century books on the topic of perfume. Later, I took some aromatherapy classes from Victoria Edwards of Leydet Aromatics. I quickly discovered that perfumery was just in me.

dM: How can you describe that to people -- that something is just "in you." Did you love the oils? Did you feel a connection to them?

Mandy: When I was blending, I felt as though I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. I learned a lot of from other people and books and I have cultivated that knowledge as anyone can. But on top of that, I have a sense of perfumery that cannot be learned. So, it's just in me.

dM: OK, and a lot of people are glad of that. Tell me, most people reading the newsletter know what top, middle and base notes are, but for those of us who don't have the "perfume thing "in us, what else goes into  building a harmonious blend?

Mandy: One of the most important things is the odor intensity of each oil in relation to the odor intensity of all of the other oils in a blend. Oils with higher odor intensities can easily and quickly make or break a blend with their strength and power. Litsea cubeba is a good example of an oil with an extremely high odor intensity. If you use even a fraction of a drop too much, your blend will smell like floor cleaner. Use the right amount and it's heavenly. Another example of an oil with a high odor intensity is petigrain.

Best & Success!!
dM
Editor, The Handmade Beauty Connection
The Handmade Beauty Network | www.handmadebeauty.com