Spellkast

Well, after my disaster last night with the ultramarine stupid things, I was wondering if I could use regular food coloring (or the liquid dye I got from WSP) in CP. I know it's water based, but there's water in the soap, so it should be able to mix, right? Is there anything better I should buy to color it? Something that DOESN'T clump up and leave crazy globs of coloring all over the soap? Also, totally off this topic, but I'm too lazy to start another thread: is the soap supposed to smell like play-doh? LOL...I used 1 oz. of scent in a 2 lb. batch and all I can smell is this weird play-dohey scent..will that go away when it cures, by any chance? Or should I just sell this to the local play-doh addicted kids for a high price?

LOL- I don't give up all that easily...but it may be a good thing- one less thing on my plate since I already make like 657863478563478658 things!!! I'm gonna try it one more time with some other form of dye and a different FO...I can't smell this one at ALL (JS's Dream Angels Halo.) Maybe green clover & aloe...love that scent!

Well, I took some of the soap out and mixed the coloring in there..and I stirred like a mad scientist...most of the clumps came out, but today my soap is this ugly gray color AND it's like mushy and has a little spot of oil at the top...I think I may POSSIBLY need a better scale This sucks...I knew I was a lousy cook- but now I know I'm a lousy soaper, too! Well, good thing for M&P!!!

Ahhhhh, are we ALL venturing into the scary world of CP? I swore I would never even be remotely interested in such a process, but after trying yet another bar of real homemade soap (thanks Sharon!!) I realized I was in love..I have showered more since getting that soap than I have in years! Yes, I was the stinky girl- but NO MORE! I tried my very first batch tonight and was scared sh**less! I splashed a little on my arm while I was waiting for it to trace and could hear the sizzle of the burn (all in my head, of course!) I'm just hoping I wake up tomorrow and it's soap, and not some deranged creature that spawned from my wannabe soap sludge. I need some sleep!

I use this stuff

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/ProductDetail.aspx?Tab=0&CatalogID=0&CatalogTitle=0&ProductID=1627

Is it the same thing? I use it in my MP soaps and I love it! A LITTLE cheaper than the other company...but who knows how shipping would be!!!

So, I know NOTHING about all these crazy colorants for soaps and balms and such (oxides, pigments, dyes...who the hell knows) And I bought some powder ultramarine pigments from WSP a while ago when I was trying to make my bath bombs still and THOUGHT that they would work for my very first CP soap...they were very bright and thought they'd be beautiful. WRONG! The powder basically just clumped up in the soap and I had to mix it with a fork for what felt like forever until it finally was just speckled with dye instead of clumped with it...and it became a decent shade of purple...so once the soap traced I poured the purple in and it just totally disappeared! I thought it sank to the bottom, but no matter how much I stirred up the stuff, nothing showed...so I've come to the conclusion that soap eats ultramarine pigments for dinner and I'm HOPING that my soap makes some miraculous morph overnight and becomes this beautifully swirled first CP soap! Because chances are, I will not be making this stuff ever again, and I want my one and only batch of it to be BEEEEEE-YOOOOOO-TEE-FUL!

I'm going to be ordering sweet blueberry from Tri-state. I have yet to try it, but I asked about it and a couple of people PMed me and said it was a straight blueberry scent with no hint of pie or cake or muffins HTH!

You could call green clover and aloe squeaky clean...that's what it smells like to me- just a very clean, fresh scent...and that would work well with blue!

LOL!!! Reminds me of horrible pie I baked once! This doesn't make me feel any better about trying my first CP tonight, my dear!!! You have frightened me now...where's grumpy girl? She'll get me nerves back to normal!

I can't bring myself to color mine- just doesn't seem right to make blue or purple lip balm! Just me, though! And I like the natural color- PLUS the customers can't see that they're not colored, so it doesn't affect their purchase. It also makes it easier on me...one less step to be concerned with!

Oh, I know how other people's experiences can affect my desire to order from a company. I will NOT order from a company unless I hear good reviews about their oils (or the company in general) on this board or scent review. I value all of your opinions, and if someone has a bad experience, I feel like the company has screwed over a friend of mine and I will not order from them. I'll sometimes try a company whose oils didn't get great reviews, but I will never try them if I've heard they have bad customer service or there was a problem. I don't expect you all to stop ordering from them if you have a good relationship with them, but just want to let you know, if you're looking for samples in a hurry, don't go with them. And I really wish that personal touch could stay with big companies (as it does with Peak's and Just Scent.) But unfortunately, that is a rarity. If only smaller, more customer oriented companies had really great oils! :-D Thanks for letting me rant, everyone!!!

I think I'll get heavenly, OMH and Sweet Blueberry... Thanks for you help- I may have to try the creme brulee now, kimberly!!! Although I use Peak's, sometimes (very rarely, but it happens) other company's oils are superior! Thanks!

Thanks! Actually, ya know...I've become a classifieds junkie, but I've never really noticed any of their oils for sale..but it could be because I scan through looking for suppliers I know and trust...and since i've never heard of this company, I could have overlooked them. Actually, I think some of the oils I just bought off the classifieds for super cheap may have come from this supplier! I'll have to check when I get them and let you guys know if they're any good! Thanks!

I got a sample of the olive blossom and WVS. They smelled very nice- a little on the weak side, but if used in soaps and B&B stuff, they smelled beautiful. I hate sandalwood, so can't help ya there- sorry!

Oh my god! They are SUPER CHEAP! Has anyone ever used their oils before? I was very intrigued by Sabrina's description of Bewitched and they have a HUGE selection of oils- so I'd like to try them! Thanks Sabrina!!! Added it as one of my favorites!

I received over $2000 in the personal account from this co-op....was paypal just being nice to me?

Thanks so much! OMH is really the one I needed the most- but I've smelled so many absolutely HORRIBLE OMH's that I was a bit frightened...some of them even smell sour to me! I think Old Mill and Lebermuth were the only ones that really smelled nice. Thanks for your help!

I love Peak's and I really wish they carried every single scent I carry- it would make my life a LOT easier...but they don't And I know they always have some FO's in the works, LOL...but for me to call them and tell them I'd like them to start carrying 20 designer scents...I think they'd laugh at me and hang up...lol. I guess I'll just stick with S.O.S. for my dupes. They're expensive, but they shipped my samples incredibly quick and almost all of their scents are dead on- or as close as they can get. Royal Aromatics was cheaper. Plus, they're located only about 20 minutes from my mom's house, so she would have been willing to pick up my oils for me and ship them to me. But, if they don't have the courtesy to email or call me back, forget 'em. I know a lot of you have had good experiences with them, but if any of you are thinknig about trying some oils- don't hold your breath!!!

Nobody orders from tri-state?

That's so true! I joined a co-op that bunny hosted a LONG time ago and it was my first time using paypal and thank GOD she was so understanding! I tried sending her payment like 8 times and it was denied! LOL...finally she explained EVERYTHING to me and said that it had to be funded through our bank account or she couldn't accept it (due to the fees.) So I just paid her the fees that were accrued using the CC. And with this personal account, I have had a couple of people try to use their account funded with a CC and had to deny it and explain the exact same thing to them. It's a pain in the butt, and I feel really bad asking for their money...LOL...don't know how I can run a business! LOL. But the personal account is great- and thank you ALL for your help!!! Much appreciated!

I really want to get in on this co-op cuz god knows I'd never order 40 lbs. on my own to get this discount! BUUUUTTT, I've never ordered from them before. Here's what I was looking at...if you think another supplier has a better version of any of these...please let me know...chances are, I've tried it, but want to give tri-state a shot too! Thanks so much!!!

Dream Angels Heavenly (has anyone tried JS's?)

Grandma's Kitchen (does this smell at all like Kitchen Spice from BBW?)

Moonlight Path (is peak's better?)

Oatmeal Milk and Honey

Red Mac Apple

Sweet Blueberry (is this a *true* blueberry?)

Warm Vanilla Sugar (does this even come close to the strength of alabasters?)

LOL...so many questions!!! Please help me!!!!!!

Do you mean warning labels or personalized labels for your company. Try WSP for warning labels, and www.thesage.com for really neat personalized ones. They are a bit pricey, but their designs are awesome!

You should contact PrairieAnnie...her husband designs websites for a great price! He did mine and I couldn't be happier with it! Great people to work with and they set up everything for you- it's super easy (or else I'd still be lost!) And you get the hosting for a year.

That's horrible, too! I won't order from companies that other people on this board have had trouble with. I read a LONG time ago that RA took a while to send out their samples, but I never thought it would be THIS bad!!! I'm just hoping I get the invoice sometime this week, or I'm gonna call and completely curse out the owner. I'm very nice and understanding most of the time, but this is ridiculous. I understand that I'm not an "established customer" yet, but I would have been!!! Urghhh...live and learn..I'll just stick with the suppliers I know have good customer service from now on! Too bad Peak's doesn't have designer dupes!

I'm not sure if it was the same company or not, but you can't order samples on their site. You have to special order them...which I thought I did!! And I never ever got an invoice..I think it's ridiculous! I ordered from a couple of other companies during that time and their oils were at my house within a few days! I just think it's horrible customer service. I'm a pretty small company, and I do everything myself, and I get my orders out within 2 days TOPS...plus I always include a free sample...I just wonder sometimes how companies can get as far as they've gotten with such crappy CS! And this is a company that says they pride themselves on their customer relations! HA!