Linnyeg

that's a really pretty colour! I love the swirl.

Do you pull your wick tight and straight when you pour and keep it that way as it sets up? Maybe it's falling over to the side a bit as it sets up, but still looks centered at the top. I elastic together 2 chopsticks and use them to hold the wick centered and tight until it's all set up.

I use 4794, regular votive wax. I love it.

http://villagecraftandcandle.com/ Can order it in for you. MAN there's is STRONG!! I love it!

Are you sure you had the refined if it smelled? My refined has never really smelled! The unrefined DEFINITELY does though!

Hi Liz, I dont know if you're making your B&B with plans to sell it, but I do know that Florida has VERY strict laws around that, as well as expensive fees. Being as sterile as possible is always good though! dont want to contaminate your product!

that is gorgeous soap!!

However if you live in Canada, you DO have to list all of your ingredients, as well as fill out cosmetic notification forms (as soap IS a cosmetic up here)

I cant believe you got a swirl like that with your first batch! WOW!

yeah, you can do whatever you want to do. But you mentioned that your friend wants to see and feel the oats from the oatmeal, and in order to do that I would think you'd have to add actual oatmeal to it (then again i've never seen an oatmeal base!)

you can use any cp recipe for cpop. hth!

I find that cocoa butter adds more of a creamy lather. I use it at 5% in my soaps.

Ok I'd suggest getting container wax then. Container wax has a lower melt point. I assume you dont have a heat gun? Great investment. Kinda like a hairdryer only much much better. They can melt the top layer of wax for you and even it out (if it's a small dip). I cant tell you why your repour wasnt the same colour... mine always are, I use peaks liquid dyes.

What kind of wax are you using? Pillar and votive waxes always sink, and some container waxes do as well. You can repour if it's a big dip, or hit it with the heatgun if it's only a little one. If you dont want your containers to sink you might want to check out different waxes.

I thought the priority mail boxes were free? I thought that was one of their perks.

I must agree, I got it in one of the swaps and that stuff is NICE! Not greasy, nice scent... it's good stuff!

Shea is generally a greasy butter. I've found that whipping it up with fractionated coconut oil is better than whipping it up with sweet almond oil though. To me it seems less greasy in the end!

Most of the suppliers I order from are large companies. I really dont mind that they re-use their boxes, it's better for the environment. I re-use mine for that reason, and because as I mentioned before in Canada the P.O. doesnt provide free boxes. So if I were to buy boxes, that would be another cost i'd have to add into my prices, therefore making them higher. I think the reason peaks doesnt include an invoice in the box for me is because they're kind enough to mark the orders as less than they're worth for customs purposes. I really dont mind, I can just print up the invoice online if i need it. I hope that the company has great customer service and really turns this around for you.

I'd say give them a chance, maybe they can make this into a good situation with their customer service. Most of my suppliers (and even me!) recycle shipping boxes. Up here in Canada we dont get boxes free from the P.O. so I think it's great that they get reused. I've had oils from peaks leak before, I didnt get upset, I just shot them off an e-mail and they dealt with it quickly and efficiently. Give the supplier a chance! (oh and peaks doesnt send my invoices in the box either..)

You could just use a goatsmilk base and add honey and oatmeal to it. With m&p it's hard to keep the oatmeal suspended though.

Yes you can use fo and eo in the same batch. I like to use fo's in my soap anywhere from 0.5-0.75oz ppo (per pound of oils).

I LOVE liquid dyes! Easy and Consistent!

Well if you're going for the natural angle, you probably wont want to use fo's as they're synthetic. I use both fo's and eo's, and my fo's sell better.

I do!! (along with some eo's and a preservative) I just introduced it at the beginning of July, but i've already had a couple of orders, and i've given out a ton of samples. Check it out http://lindsayscandles.com/bathandbody.html

That blue one is just gorgeous!!