The Handmade Beauty Connection
September 18, 2006

Are you noticing the change of seasons where you live? Here in the south, it's cool and crisp in the morning and toasty warm in the afternoon. I can sense the first of autumn's freshness and each week, there is a bit less green on the trees than the week before. For many, the approach of fall means back to school. For all with a business, it definitely means back to work after a summer lull. For HBN, that has meant revving things up with a new products liability insurance program that dozens of people have taken advantage of since it was announced several days ago. If you'd like more information about it, visit our FAQ page. If you already know you want the package, just click here to get it and join HBN at the same time!!

Because of all of the changes, 3 newsletters have been published without including new and renewing members. Strap on your seat belts, because there are a lot of new members and a lot of new networking to do! Here's 3 things you can use this section of the newsletter for:

1. Find new members in your area. You never know when a new HBN member will live around the corner or across town from you, but by checking the new/renewing member announcements each week, you can find out! Why would you want to know? Well, sharing suppliers, sharing retail or storage space, splitting raw materials, sharing promotional and advertising costs, co-hosting home parties (great for holiday sales!). Heck, you might even have kids at the same school, which is great for sharing bake sale duties!

2. Start a small networking group in your state. The number of networking groups that meet on the Internet is on the rise. Once you meet someone on the Internet who shares your business values, you can become fast colleagues by helping each other implement new strategies to maximize success. If you find a member who has complementary, non-competing products, it's a perfect opportunity to inspire and encourage each other.

3. Get new ideas. OK, admit it. We all do it. Look at what others are doing and use their activities to inspire your own. That's how this industry was born after all -- taking the best of the traditional cosmetics industry and putting our own spin on it. Have a look at the many websites linked in our member directory, starting with the new and renewing members here. I guarantee you'll come away with some new ideas of your own!

Welcome Renewing Members!

GourmetBotanicaBody | Shirley Thomas-Ruiz | Pennsylavnia
* Member since August 2005; GourmetBotanicaBody is a plant-based company specializing in gentle body care products for those with sensitive skin care needs. We offer a variety of handcrafted items including therapeutic bath blends, lip balms, handmade soaps, super rich creams/lotions, toners, exfoliating products and more. Our products are made in small batches to insure quality and freshness. Our goal is and always will be to offer nature based care for total well-being.

EcoBotanica | Guru Darshan K. Wilson | New Mexico
* Member since April 2005; Ecobotanica Face and Body Care to complement a conscious lifestyle. Creams and lotions deliciously blended from select ingredients to delight your senses and nurture yourself. Gently handmade with sacred mantras to work with your own intention to heal. Ayurvedically inspired , with organic ingredients, therapeutic grade essential oils, no petrochemicals or harsh preservatives. We donate part of proceeds to heal the earth.

Earthly Delights | Sandi Bendix | Washington
* Member since July 2006; At Earthly Delights our goal is to provide luxurious body care products to enhance your everyday living. High quality ingredients are used in creating our products, and we make them in small batches to ensure freshness and superior quality. Our popular Extreme Cream is the cream to have on hand when you need that extra extreme skin treatment.

Monave Mineral Cosmetics | Debbie Bilezikian | Maryland
* Member since April 2002; At Monave, we are dedicated to providing fine quality natural cosmetics. We supply raw cosmetic colorants to handcrafters of soaps and toiletries, as well as bulk blended mineral cosmetics for those who can supply their own packaging and labeling.

Venus Bee | Lisa Espenmiller | California
* Member since April 2005; Welcome to Venus Bee -- an aromatic, magical, beauty-filled world. Create daily rituals using our fragrant potions to nourish your mind, body, heart & soul. Venus Bee natural potions offer you love, sensory indulgence and poetic consciousness. Sip some tea, take a look around & discover the righteously delightful world of Venus Bee...

Alpha Skincare | Eugenia Bushmich | New York
* Member since July 2003; Alpha Skincare provides all-natural handmade beauty products, such as aromatic skincare and pure mineral cosmetics.

Welcome New Members!

Kapsandoy, LLC | Sylvia Kapsandoy | Utah
* A comprehensive collection of all natural beauty and healthcare products that promote a sense of well being. We are dedicated to the protection and enhancement of skin through complete systems targeted to special concerns. Formulations are state-of-the-art using ingredients from around the world which have been proven effective.

Luscious Natural Body Care
* Luscious -- a therapeutic ritual of body, mind & spirit. We design natural body care products by indulging in the liberal use of organic, pesticide free and wild-crafted essential oils, dried flowers, herbs and spices. All of our products are hand-blended to perfection, all natural, and paraben free. We hope to nurture by inspiring you to relax & renew. 

Belle Essence | Elizabeth Inman | New Mexico
Belle Essence manufactures fine quality bath and beauty spa products. Our products are made with the finest ingredients, and they are made with lavender that is grown and distilled on our farm in Abiquiu NM.

Spa Potions | Kathleen Healy | Ohio
Themes are here to stay and Spa Potions lets you easily integrate themed spa services with our specialty products developed by and for professional beauty technicians. It’s Beauty With A Touch of Magic!

Green Heart Candle Co. | Jennifer Sroka | Michigan
* Green Heart Candle Company specializes in animal- and environmentally-friendly tart melts and container candles made from 100 percent soy wax, fragranced with soy-based fragrance oils and/or pure essential oils which are then hand-poured into beautiful recycled glass holders. Vegetarian and/or vegan friendly! No animal testing and no animal products are used to make our candles. Good for the environment. Good for our furry friends. Good for YOU!

bareSelect Minerals, LLC | 
* bareSelect Minerals LLC provides mineral cosmetics that are easy to use with superior results. Our products our hand crafted with pure natural minerals free of chemicals or dyes and great for all skin types. It leaves you with a natural finish, great coverage and a luxurious feel. You are going to love it!

Sensual Mystiq | Ayana Thorne | New York
* We have a genuine passion to make you smell, look and feel wonderful. We provide the most alluring creations developed from all-natural ingredients designed to relax you and also nourish and rehabilitate your skin and hair. Our products are natural and handmade so you may notice slight color and/or texture differences in similar products. Even so, the quality of each product is the one thing that will always remain the same!

Innerglo | Janay Henry | Texas
* Innerglo home spa products is a hand-crafted line of 100% natural spa treatments developed to assist in transforming the ordinary bathroom into a sacred space; an enhanced space for hydrotherapy, relaxation, rejuvenation and body beautification. Each natural spa treatment is hand-crafted from Mother Nature's finest therapeutic-grade essential oils, clays, herbs, and other elements of the Earth to provide the purest product and most luxurious bathing experience.

Paradise City Herbal | Sheri Lee Pierce | Massachusetts
* My handmade herbal salves, cremes, perfumes and incense contain only the highest quality ingredients, with most of the herbs coming fresh from my own garden. Anything I don't produce myself comes only from known, trusted suppliers and is organic whenever available. Free from synthetics, chemical preservatives, and petroleum products. And of course, there's never any animal testing. Everything I make is tested by volunteer humans and is unconditionally guaranteed.

Nightingales Cosmetics | Michael Astin| New York
* We are micro-manufacturers of mineral makeup and organic skincare. All of our products are suitable for vegans and a portion of our profits go to help support local animal rescue organizations. Nightingales is proud to support diversity in the workplace.

Jabez Cosmeceuticals | Veronica Lazarus | California

Oyin Handmade | Jamyla Bennu | Maryland
* Oyin Handmade: rich creams, botanical styling products, fragrant lotion bars, succulent SLS-free shampoo bars, oil-free conditioner sprays... Oyin Handmade products are tried and tested by people with a wide range of skin sensitivities and hair needs, with results that can be seen in the testimonials that pepper our website. Handmade with love since 2001!

BayouSome.com | Bill Griffith | Georgia
* weeLUXURIES.com - tiny scented spa delights! Handmade in our wee studio by wee me. Home of the famous Healing Heel Stick™ and wee soy candles.

Fenomenal Home Spa | Felicia McPike | Wisconsin
* Create a spa experience in your own home with less expense. Our products will sooth your mind, body and soul. Create an organic experience with our bath products. To make your bath water feels like silk, use a combination of salts, bombs and oils. You skin will thank you for it. We use the purest essential oils, fragrances and ingredients. Our goal is to bring you the best handmade products for your family and home.

Victoria's Natural Soaps | Victoria Sharpe | New Mexico
Victoria's Natural Soap is a woman owned business since 1997. We specialize in natural artisan quality soaps and related products, made in the high mountain desert of New Mexico. Wholesale inquiries are invited and welcomed.

Practical Potions | Lisa D'Arrigo | Colorado
At Practical Potions aromatherapy is a part of everyday life. We hand blend each product with careful attention. Only high quality pure essential oils and the finest natural ingredients are used to bring the gifts of nature to you, your family and friends. Our line of Pure essential oil blends, Room Sprays, Convenient Roll on Blends and Body Mists are available to help with the ups and downs of everyday life. Our spa products are created to indulge your senses and make life better in small but delightful ways.

Potion Pantry | Tammy Price | Pennsylvania
Blending herbs, essential oils and other botanicals for health and healing is an ancient art. We continue this tradition by carefully choosing our ingredients for their therapeutic qualities ~ whether we're making an aromatherapy candle, botanical skin care, luxurious soaps, natural potpourri, herbal bath & body products, or any of our other potions, lotions or elixirs. Our formulas are hand-blended in small batches with the utmost care and attention to quality.

Bare Organics | Karen Kerk-Courtney | Canada

HBN Members On The Move!

HBN member Von Natur (HBN member since May 2004) is featured in the October issue of CosmoGirl for their Absolute Facial Toner. There's also a nice article about their parent company, Essential Wholesale (HBN member since September 2000), in a recent issue of the local paper in their area.

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.

Last Week's Answer: Botox

This Week's Question: State the name of a US federal regulatory agency that regulates soap that does not make any claim to be a cosmetic.

Be the first to answer and win something delicious!

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!

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4. Feature Article: Retirement! What's That?!
by Donna Maria

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As I move into my mid-40's (YIKES!) I do more thinking than ever about the topic of retirement. When I was younger, I always considered retirement as the thing I would eventually do when I had worked a traditional job until I was old enough to accumulate significant pension benefits, 401K allowances and Social Security checks, and live in a cottage at the beach where I would bounce my grandkids on my knee and take long walks with my retired husband. Yeah, right. Thinking of that scenario today gives me the willies! Sure, I'd love to have the beach cottage, but instead of bouncing kids on my knee, I think more in terms of making soap with them and giving them advice on how they can become successful in business, and why they will need to do just that in order to thrive in their generation.

You see, retirement is a foreign word to me in large part because I don't work. I earn an income, yes. But I don't work. Let's consider Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones. The man has been singing and sticking out his famed tongue for decades, yet he shows no signs of retiring because he's not working. Same for people like Barry Manilow, Gene Simmons and Gladys Knight. Ms. Knight discovered her passion for singing when she was only 9 years old. Today at 62, she still performs regularly in Las Vegas.

And let's not stop with the music industry. Look at people like Martha Stewart who at 65 is still rocking the media world by showing us how to fold the perfect napkin and bake the chewiest cookies. Or how about writer James Updike who is still writing at age 73. Or Anita Roddick who will be 64 next month and is still doing pioneering work to help the indigenous people around the world. (The cosmetics company she founded, The Body Shop, was sold to L'Oreal earlier this year.) These people may not be doing exactly the same things all their lives, but they all have one thing in common. They have a passion for what they do and they believe that they are positively influencing our world.

I and all the HBN members I communicate with every day (just look at the list above!!) are doing the same thing. We may never be as wealthy in terms of dollars as Mick Jagger or Martha Stewart (though we're not going to limit ourselves now are we??!!), but we can enjoy earning a living doing something that makes our hearts sing and which enhances the lives of people we meet every day.

Re.Tire.Ment \n. Removal or withdrawal from service, office or business.

What's that??! I'm not withdrawing from service, office or business until I can't breathe anymore. Too many fun things to do as I pursue my passions of helping to expand the positive influence of independently made beauty products around the world! That's my service, by office and my business and it's here to stay. I think there's a changing face of retirement on the horizon, and my guess is that it will literally force us to change the dictionary's traditional definition of the word.

I know you guys have some thoughts! Please share them. What do you think of "retirement?" Can you picture yourself ever doing it? Email me your thoughts and things and let's see what you think!

As always, there's a lot going on at HBN, and our members are very busy. I'll be including this chart in upcoming issues so everyone can stay abreast of the happening here at HBN!