SpaceGirl

if you want to do that (which you can) you need to add additional preservative because heating the base can render the original preservative ineffective.

Shaking the bottle won't do a good enough job incorporating the FO throughout the base.

Hi Emily! Welcome to the board. It really depends on what you want to make. My personal suggestion is to get Shea, Mango and Cocoa Butters and then a small variety of oils like Sweet Almond, Fractionated Coconut, Avocado, Jojoba (which is really a wax and not an oil but that's okay) and Macadamia nut. Everyone has their favorite that they prefer to formulate with. Start with a few and see what you like! (and remember to have fun)

Beautiful!

French Revolution? But I agree with CBE, Victorian Rhapsody still seems to fit to me, too.

Oils By Nature www.oilsbynature.com

Yes it does stay mixed. Some FO's are picky so you do have to test each one. My standard is FCO, Cyclo and FO. I've added a little dimethicone for a friend because she wanted it diluted a little. No problem at all.

I'm with you. This produces a strong mix that rocks. I've been told by a co-worker who loves a blend that I do (very similar to this) that it's so much stronger than perfume. plus you can put it in a roller ball or those little perfume vials.

www.NewDirectionsAromatics.com I get almost all of my esential oils from them.

Papermart has them in a quantiity of 50. http://www.papermart.com/templates/83-0-82.htm#GO_83082

Almost anything chocolate Peak's French Amber Vanilla (sexy, sexy, sexy) Yes, Love Spell here, too I have a pound of Solas' Rose that's going to get used, too. Have to decide what other scents I'm going to splurge on.

I'll go out on a limb here.... CBE, I tried OCM, too. Tried 100% CO, tried CO and OO, tried CO and Hazelnut and Grapeseed and just about every combination of oils I had. Didn't work. Felt better for a short while then just left me feeling oily and gunky. So I went to see a skin lady and she put me on some treatments and in a year my face is doing so much better that I go out into public without makeup (sometimes). Now I'm not trying to say give up on OCM and go see a professional - but what I learned from my experience was that I had a lot (and I mean A LOT) of dead skin layers built up over my face to the extent that nothing was working. nothing at all. It took a series of peels and microdermabrasion to get enough of that layered gunk off my face to the beautiful skin within. I really think that it may be possible that OCM can work for you (and me) but only after we have some help exfoliating the crap off of the face and actually treating the problem. Truthfully I could probably use OCM now and it might work, but I have something that works and I'm not changing it! But I can even use the facial cream that one of the Carries from this board made in a previous swap! And I guarantee you that would have made me break out before - because EVERYTHING made me break out before. And the truth is everyone sloughs off dead skin cells at different rates. For some the washcloth at the end of the OCM may be enough. For me it totally was not. So before you tackle the OCM technique again, maybe focus on doing some serious exfoliating first (salicylic and glycolic acids are wonderful for this) and getting to some healthier layers of skin. I'm crossing my fingers for you!

Have you tried playing around with dimethicone? And I'm curious, why don't you consider cyclo and FO handmade? Not any more non-handmade than P20 to me... How about some FCO in there? I think that helps with the FO miscibility and keeps things clear. I actually used the CME in an experiment and wasn't as happy as I thought I'd be - but then again I need some practice with it. I must be a freak because I can never get sodium lactate to not feel completely icky to me, so if your recipe does work I may pseudo-steal it. ETA: The sprays I've made recently have been pretty concentrated, so maybe my input is irrelevant to what you're trying to do.

I think the only way you are going to know for sure is to apply some of the base (straight and diluted to your final concentration) but without any FO and see if you get the itchies. You could also test the pH of your batch and see if that was off, I know that can cause the itch sometimes, too. As for the lovespell, I have it from Peak's as well and don't get a "wang" from it at all. Then again everyone's sniffers work differently.

Here's an example from my area (Denver, CO)... I did the Chocolate Festival this year, booth fee was $150 w/o electricity (that was extra and I didn't need it). It was a two day show, sort of. Friday night was the "special opener" night, billed as a VIP night, there was alcohol served... This was my first BIG show - I had only done one day (like 3-4 hour) shows previously. This one blew me away - we did about $800 in sales, so the $150 table fee was absolutely reasonable. Definitely made that $$$ back - and as large show rookies! I'd guess about 5000-6000 people came through? I'm betting that with this year's experience under my belt I can do way better next year. Plus two potential follow up business deals have resulted. One fell through, but one I am still pursuing and will likely have product in a retail location w/in 2 months. So for a 2 day show in my area that amount is not out of line. You may have to ask yourself, are you willing to take the fee and any setup costs you may accrue as a loss? Or would you be devastated if you came away with little more than the experience?

I hope today goes much better!!! Keep those toesies warm.

Just wanted to share... had a small show today. It's the Santa Shop, a craft show for kids to come shop for people. Everything is $8 or less, so not so great for profit but it's such a fun show to do that my friend and I do it every year. This year I featured some soap from a local soapmaker, beautiful CP soap. Overall total sales were just shy of $400. $90 to my friend, $220-ish for me and $75 for the soap lady. I consider that pretty darned good for an $18 table fee and a 3 hour show. I do have pics, but they are on my phone. Who knows when they will get transferred off. :rolleyes2 I did notice the trend other people have been mentioning. Mostly cash sales, only 2 checks and 1 credit card. Largest sale was for $38 and that was the jewelry. So people are spending, but not a lot. The best thing was this is the 3rd year we did this show and people remembered us and were glad to have us back. That was a truly awesome feeling. I have one more show at work on Wednesday. Could have done a few more but just couldn't do them without going insane. *sigh* Hope other shows went well, too!

I'd be more worried about the preservative than the sugar melting. I usually ADD sugar when mine is still hot and it does fine. Sugar does not like to "melt" in oils.

Have you decided what type of business structure you want? Based on what you said, sounds like you are looking for either a sole proprietorship or an LLC. Look over your available business types and decide. The state website offers First Steps business guide that looks like it has all of the information you need. Where are you getting a run around from? The decisions are yours to make.

Go to your state website, here it is... http://www.georgia.gov and on the left there is a link for Business information. I took a quick look and that should have everything you need to know.

I liked Lethal Cravings, too. Beware the Bloat! Lethal Mood?

Give it to me... NOW! Now, or else! Soothe Me Beware the Bitch (probably not very family friendly) My brain isn't being very creative *sigh*

well damn girl, if you weren't so freakin' PICKY!!! Sorry, I have no help for you, but wish you well on your question of cherry yumminess.

I think that I probably have 6-8 Christmas-y fragrances, but I generally only pour 3-4 Christmas scents each year because 1) it's a pain in the ass and 2) I don't like getting stuck with a whole bunch of seasonal stuff that hasn't sold. I'd rather run out.

Ahhhhh good question. It depends. If it's anemic to the point that even I expect it to drown out, then I pull that wick and re-test with something different. I won't sell it like that. If it's just a little smaller than I would normally like, I let that go as long as it rebounds on subsequent burns. My tolerance for a larger flame seems to be higher than most people's, so I've learned that what I consider small (and a little anemic) is viewed as more normal by others. From what you're describing, I'm not sure there is anything you can do about it... maybe it's not something worth worrying about?