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A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Volume 6, Issue 51
To subscribe, click here

-- Sponsor --

1. HBN Member Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members!
2. The Handmade Beauty Business Magazines Are Here!!
3. Lifestyle CEO Report: The Road To The Shop At Home Network!
4. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win some goodies!
5. Handmade Beauty Product Review: Pamper Me Pumpkin Sugar Scrub Kit
6. Feature Article: Bringing Home The Season
7. Nominate Your Choice For The 2006 Handmade Beauty Business of the Year!
8. Handmade Beauty Recipe of the Week: Cranberry Almond Face Cleanser & Mask

Renewing Members!

New Members!

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.

Wherever you are in your life right now, if you hear a very loud and scary sounding woman screaming at the top of her lungs, you are hearing me exhaling as I sit here right now looking at 5,000 copies of the Handmade Beauty Business Magazine! They are living, breathing representations of this fabulous unique industry and they are here. Here. Here? Here! Right here in my office (well, not all 5,000 copies) looking up at me. At 32 pages of them, including the Handmade Beauty Network printed directory.

The color photography is fabulous! The advertisements are colorful, expressive and integrated well into the content. The articles are exclusive and informative. You won't find this information anyplace else in the world! The layout is fun and easy to follow. The paper is wonderful. Every corner is perfect. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my whole life.

If you are a member of HBN, look for your copy in the mail next week. If you are a subscriber to the magazine, look for your copy in the mail next week. If you are neither and you are a handmade beauty business, what on earth are you waiting for? The best holiday gift in the world is right here on my desk just asking to me sent to you!

Please support our magazine sponsors!

Subscribe today!

Life.Style CEO\n. A person who owns and manages a business, not solely for financial gain, but also to enjoy the personal rewards of entrepreneurship, independence, flexibility and fun.

What's in store at Lifestyle CEO:

• Conference - Lisa Price of HBN member Carol's Daughter (recently featured in Vogue and Celebrity Living magazines) has been confirmed as a speaker at the first Lifestyle CEO Conference on January 28, 2006 in Washington, DC. Register today! Licensed child care is available! Email me if you'd like a personal "Suggestion" sent to someone who loves you to give you the Conference as the ultimate holiday gift to support your business endeavors!
• Blog - Come blog with me about everything from business to life and everything in between! New blogs include tips on "balance," and getting help to manage home and business successfully!
• Book - Set for publication next month, and featuring the revolutionary new "Lifestyle CEO Business Action Model (BAM!!) Copies can be reserved for shipping next month!

HBN memberHBN member Lela Barker, owner of Bella Luccé, is the guest on today's Lifestyle CEO Show! Lela is an extraordinary entrepreneur, wife and mother of two, and she's fresh from her Shop At Home Network debut to tell us all about it. That's Lela pictured at left on top of one of the boxes she and her staff (also pictured) packed hundreds of products into for shipping to Shop At Home. As you can see, they were feeling very strong! Lela will talk with me about what the road to Shop At Home is paved with, how she got there, what it was like and what it takes to achieve this extraordinary level of success after just a few years in business! We will take caller questions and comments. To request a show reminder before the show airs on Mondays, email me with LCEO SHOW REMINDER in the subject line.

Last Week's Question: The Premier Issue of the Handmade Beauty Business Magazine is here! (Subscribe today!) One of the articles is called "The Organic Panic" and it provides useful insights into the world or organics, especially as it concerns personal care products. For the article, I interviewed an expert in the field who also was the guest at the Handmade Beauty Banquet earlier this year. To win this week, state that guests name.

Be the first to correctly answer this week's question and win some handmade soap from Creekside Soaps!

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!

Pamper Me Pumpkin Sugar Scrub Kit
$19.95 | 12 oz sugar + 4 oz oil ($25.00 when packaged in vinyl bag)

I love sugar scrubs and I can't imagine a bathroom without at least 3 or 4 to choose from at a time! In my case, because I am a hopeless handmade beauty junkie, I can find something to love about just about any handmade beauty product. But there's one thing about sugar scrubs that makes them different from a lot of other products -- there's always either just a tad bit too much sugar or a tad bit (or more) too much oil. That doesn't mean I can't still enjoy a scrub even if the texture is not exactly what I want. But still, there's almost never a perfect match for my skin (due to seasonal changes or the body part I want to scrub) or my mood. One day, I might like a lot of sugar and another day, a lot of oil. Why am I telling you this? Because with Pamper Me Pumpkin Sugar Scrub Kit, I don't have that problem.

As you can see from the product photo, it comes with the scented sugars packaged separately from the oil. I simply opened up the jar of sugar and poured in as much unscented oil as I wanted. Each time I scrub, I can make it oily or not so oily. Afterward, put the lid on both and use them next time, again customizing the experience to mood and body part. The sugar scent is delightfully fall with a touch of cinnamon. The oil blend is smooth and light. The combination leaves my skin feeling lightly scented and polished. Other scent combinations are available including some really interesting ones like Raspberry Guava, Butterscotch Candy Crunch and Snickerdoodle Cookie.

Pamper Me Pumpkin Sugar Scrub Kit is only available at Ladies Blend.com, and it's seasonal so you can only get yours until the end of the year!

Walking into what Sydney Vallentyne calls her “flower porch” is a sensory experience of sights and smells. Dried or drying flowers and herbs cover every surface and hang from the ceiling. On my visit, the scent was of rosemary, which Sydney spritzes at random at she enters a room.

Sydney of HBN member St. John’s Botanicals has been an herbalist for 30 years. Her business shares its home with Vallentyne's personal home, and on the cold November morning of my visit, I spoke with her about how to use natural herbs and flowers to give any home an aromatic holiday flair. To start, one must "look at day-to-day things with new eyes,” says Sydney. “Take a basket outside and view and smell nature’s gifts. Collect pine cones or chestnuts, boughs of evergreen, holly berries, whatever you can find. Evergreen boughs and grapevine wreaths beg to be decorated,” she says.

“One year I brought in a large tree branch and stuck it in a pot and put all kinds of things on it -- flowers, ribbons, sweet gum balls,” she said. “Even if you can’t use natural and you have an artificial tree, just spray some essential oils on the tree." St. John's Christmas Tree essential oil sounds like a good option for that.

Pennie Mills of HBN member LadiesBlend.com says “Aromas spark an array of holiday memories. They can take you back to your grandmother’s kitchen or touch you ever so gently and remind you of other significant days gone by.” Pennie displays beautiful dishes filled with a rustic blend of fragrant potpourri in every room of her home. “My bottles of fragrance mists are blended and used to scent and freshen rooms and linens,” she says. Pennie gets her home ready for the holiday season even in the balmy Florida weather by making sure to use scented sentiments associated with the miracle of the season.

HBN member Judy Michaelis of Sunrise Soap Company says, “Making the kitchen a warm, inviting, gathering space is an important step in making your home ready for the holidays. Simmering potpourri is always great, but don’t forget that dish soap is used more frequently during the holidays, I put mine into a colorful glass bottles to add color and warmth to your kitchen.” Many of us have guests for the season and Judy suggests washing the fresh linens in a scented laundry product like Cucumber Honeysuckle or Lavender Fields, both available from Sunrise. "And don't forget to put a bar of a Christmas scented soap at every sink and shower," she adds.

“Home fragrance is one of the most welcoming aspects to consider when preparing for the holidays,” says HBN member Rachel Lane of Barcelona Bath and Body. “By combining soaps, hand poured soy wax candles and room freshener, you can create scented harmony throughout your home,“ she says. "Candles create a warm ambience through beautiful, flickering light and rich, enveloping fragrance,” continues Rachel. She says when instant impact is needed or time too limited to achieve a melt pool from one of her candles, “room freshener is the perfect choice.” At Barcelona, you can get all of these items in a purposeful variety of scents including Cinnamon Sandalwood, Vanilla Lavender and Lemongrass Fennel. Says Rachel, "I always like to leave room spray handy for guests in the powder room. This type of attention to detail says “this home is ready for the holidays,” Rachel says.

HBN member Terri Dorsey of Naked Herbs places a lovely Sweet Dreams Teddy Bear in the guest room to make guests feel welcome.. “The bear was designed based on dream pillows,” she says. “l fill a small satin string pouch with herbs and then include it in the natural stuffing I use in a teddy bear.” Terri uses several herbs in the bear including mugwort for colorful dreaming, lavender buds and hops for restful slumber and rosemary for relief from nightmare and stress. As for the rest of the house, Terri says,” I have wonderful aromatherapy air spritzers that make my home feel more cozy and inviting." She  especially recommends Winter Wonderland, a Naked Herbs favorite..

Candace Newman of HBN member Good Medicine Tin Company suggests preparing not only our homes, but also our hearts for the season. In the busiest time of the year, we need all the comfort we can get to soothe us and remind us about the real reason for the season,” says Candace. Every room in the house can benefit every person in the house with the subtle addition of natural scent. Candace sells essential oil blends especially for this purpose like her lavender, orange and peppermint holiday blend. She also recommends keeping a Lavender Mist she makes to help "mist away” stress as often as needed.

And if you're looking for the touch that's especially unique, you might consider making and filling your own House Mascot with herbs, flowers and essential oils. "Knowsy," the Good Medicine Tin mascot, is the perfect inspiration. Says Candace, "Add a couple of drops of lavender to his nose and tuck him in your pillow for sweet dreams or let him sit on the guest bed or as a place card holder at the table."

I can't think of a more lovely "scentiment" for a guest room, a den or even as a special treat just for you in your own bedroom. The season is officially here. Here's wishing you a happy and naturally scent-filled one!

Help HBN Celebrate 6 Years of Serving the Handmade Beauty Industry!! 

Nominations are now being accepted for the Handmade Beauty Business of the Year Awards!!

The nominations are rolling in! To celebrate, with your help, we will honor a member who exemplifies the spirit and tenacity of the handmade beauty industry. Our goal is to recognize and share the winner's amazing accomplishments in the hopes that others will be encouraged to pursue their dreams. The winner will also be posted to HBN's website, included in the Handmade Beauty Business Magazine and included in any other locations as deemed appropriate by HBN.

Judges are Alison Deyette of Style Bakery, Anissa Mook of Indie Shopping and Tanya Sharma of CiCySuds.

To read about the 2005 winners, click here!

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!

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