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A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 6, Issue 42
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1. HBN Member Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!
2. Handmade Beauty Cares Hurricane Relief Update
3. The Lifestyle CEO Cable Television Show Launches With HBN Member Guest!
4. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win some goodies!
5. Handmade Beauty Recipe: Maple Oat Facial Scrub
6. Handmade Beauty Product Review: Gardener's Hand Cream
7. Feature Article: Flame On You!
Making and Enjoying Candles During the Fall and Holiday Seasons

It's been over a month, yet the ravaging effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita continue to be felt throughout the gulf coast and even around the world. People continue to come together to do what they can to help the victims of what must surely be one of the largest diasporas in recent human history. The goodness of many people, including several HBN members, is making a difference. You can see at left HBN member Dr. Joseph Freeman and some of his colleagues preparing to unload a plane filled with relief supplies. And that's not all! He has opened a clinic to help the most needy people in the region.

To learn more about what Dr. Freeman is doing and how you can help, and to see what other HBN members are doing to lend a hand, visit Handmade Beauty Cares Hurricane Katrina Relief.

• Conference - Lisa Price of HBN member Carol's Daughter has been confirmed as a speaker at the first Lifestyle CEO Conference on January 28, 2006 in Washington, DC. Registration is available. Early bird discounts apply + HBN members enjoy ever greater savings!
• Blog - Come blog with me about everything from business to life and everything in between!
• Book - Set for publication next month, and featuring the revolutionary new "Lifestyle CEO Business Action Model (BAM!!) Copies can be reserved for shipping in November!

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

Last Week's Answer: Kim Lutz-Isenhour of Lutzy's Lather and Julie Breaux of Baby Breaux

This Week's Question: This week is Fire Prevention Week. State the name of the organization that bills itself as the world's leading advocate of fire prevention.

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!

I went to a farmer's market in my area last month. Even though it was officially fall, it was still kind of warm outside. But at the market, fall was already in full swing. There were scarecrows and pumpkins all over the place. I was drawn to a booth selling things made from maple sap. And I got this stuff called maple cream. I made biscuits last week and we all put butter and maple cream on them. Everyone was so satisfied. Maple Oat Facial Scrub is not made with maple cream, but it incorporates its cousin, maple syrup, in honor of fall and the soothing effect it has on the skin. Enjoy!

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

Gradener's Hand Cream
4 oz. | $9.48 (custom scented) 

Some creams are great for pampering while others are just plain old utilitarian. Let's face it, you can pamper yourself with a lot of things. But when you find something that has multiple uses for the entire family -- men, women, kids -- and everyone likes the smell! Well, that doesn't happen very often. At least not around my house.

This cream is a delightful exception. It's made with all sorts of goodies like nourishing meadowfoamseed oil, mango butter, kokum butter and royal jelly, plus vegetable glycerin and beeswax to tie it all together. It comes in lots of custom scents and I chose Lemon Tea Tree, a good choice for the warm end of summer months when I got my jar. My husband likes the smell (that's a rarity), my son likes the texture (he usually won't sit still even for a relaxing massage) and my daughter likes it because it helps her mosquito bites stop itching. In fact, I think that was the greatest thing about the product from a family perspective. It's useful for any kind of bite or skin irritation. If it itches, this cream will ease it. If it's read and inflamed, this cream will sooth it. It's a wonder cream from OneDerBar.

You should try it! Even though it's called Gradener's Hand Cream, it has a multitude of uses as you can see. And while you're at the OneDerBar website, check out the many scents you can get: Basil and Patchouli, Spearmint, Flowering Herb, Ylang Ylang and more.

Imagine it’s a rainy fall afternoon and you’ve built a fire in your fireplace. The room feels toasty and a little smoky and there’s an aroma of a crackling fire. Wait! You don’t have a fireplace. What you do have is a burning candle made with a fragrance oil called ``fireside.’’ Brenda Sievers of HBN member Oak Court Creations says. ``Fireside has been our best selling fragrance oil in the fall for the past two years.’’

Or if you prefer the smell of baking, Sievers says another popular fragrance is ``home sweet home.’’ She describes that fragrance as being in grandma’s kitchen with the smell of cinnamon, cloves and other spices. ``We also have a new fragrance oil that has been a strong mover for several weeks now -- 'cranberry plus'. I think that will be a fall favorite as well,’’ she says.

According to Sievers, it is important that candles ``throw’’ a wonderful fragrance. ``Throw’’ she explained is ``simply the amount of scent thrown off by the burning candle. Some candles that are very fragrant when cold (not burning) have little or no throw when burning. The goal for the chandler is to blend their wax to have excellent cold throw to attract the customer and excellent hot throw to keep them coming back for more!” says Sievers, ``After all the point of purchasing scented candles is for the fragrance they give off in the room when we burn them.’’

``Throw’’ is about intensity of the fragrance. And the way to figure that out is by trusting your nose to smell. Noses, after all do know. Say you have two candles and both are the same fragrance. Take the cold candles and smell each. Take a large whiff from the surface of the candle from each one. Go back and forth two or three times and your nose will tell you which is the more intense or has more ``throw.’’ Another way to test is after you burn the two candles for a few hours; extinguish the flame by dipping it into the melted pool of wax. From a comfortable distance, take whiffs of each and you’ll soon know which is the most intense ``throw.’’ Sievers says different waxes have different characteristics and there are a variety of additives that can be blended by the candle maker into the wax to help boost the ``throw.’’

HBN member Bramble Berry in Washington state, no stranger to the world of fragrance oils for body products, recently introduced candle fragrance oils. Aromas like oatmeal raisin cookie, warm vanilla sugar and maple syrup are sure to please during the fall season. "We have added candle fragrance oils because customers asked for them," says Anne-Marie Faiola-McCauley. "Maple syrup is a sophisticated blend of what everyone will recognize an pancake syrup, but with a twist of orange and clove to spice things up," she says. "Our oatmeal raisin cookie will make you hungry and we are looking at adding more," she says. Bramble Berry's candle fragrances have been tested in paraffin and soy wax applications and are currently being tested in gel candle bases.

Alan Halferty of HBN member Whole Made says cinnamon and vanilla are great fragrances for fall. ``They’re what we call comfort smells,’’ he says. ``Just think about how you feel when you walk into a kitchen or café and smell these fragrances.’’ His company, run by him and his wife Kendra, uses soy wax strictly in their candles. They live in Iowa and Halferty says soybeans are grown in abundance in the Midwest, particularly Iowa. ``We had never even considered making candles, until after moving to Iowa,’’ he says. ``We attended the Iowa State Fair, which is a pretty neat event and is agriculturally focused.’’ At the fair, he and his wife received a free soy candle from the Iowa Soybean promotion staff. They were intrigued, he says, about soy wax, did some research and started making candles for gifts and friends. ``Soy is environmentally friendly and soy wax has a longer burning time than paraffin wax, which is the most popular choice for many manufacturers,’’ Halferty says. ``Soy wax produces very little soot when it is burning. The Halfertys have been making candles for several years now, as well as body, skin and hair care products.

If you’re interested in making your own soy wax candles, you could begin by ordering a soy wax candle making kit from HBN member Natures Garden in Ohio. The kit comes with three pounds of wax enough to make it a party with friends and family sharing in the activity and includes several fragrances including vanilla and strawberry. Natures Garden also offers candle making classes online for those just venturing into candle making.

Did you know that 96 percent of all candles purchased are bought by women? That’s according to candle manufacturers’ surveys. Also, did you know that in the United States alone approximately $2 billion is spent annually on candle sales? According to candle industry facts at the National Candle Association, the most important facts that affect candle sales are scent, color, cost and shape, and fragrance is by far the most important characteristic. And nine out of ten candles users say they use candles to make a room feel comfortable or cozy.

It’s still a rainy afternoon in the fall. What kind of candles are you going to make or buy for your home, and most importantly, do you want your candle to smell like a crackling fire, homemade apple pie or oatmeal raisin cookies? Take your pick! You can have any or all of them with the wide variety of candle fragrance oils available on the market today.

Annette Esterheld is a freelance writer living in suburban Washington, DC.

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