Budgie

You could definitely smell rancid shea made with/without coconut oil which I would never use because you could get a rash/skin problem.

It was definitely the VCO. It smelled funny out of the baggie it was in. I ended up tossing it. I contacted the supplier and was given a refund.

Peak sells it and their shipping rates are very reasonable.

I use Optiphen in mine because I use polysorbate in my scrubs. I remember reading a thread on here that polysorbates can break down the parabens and render them ineffective.

Another from Oils by Nature

Thank you ladies for the response. I will contact the supplier.

One other question. I made some whipped shea with it today. If it is bad, should I just throw out what I made today or can I still use it? It is for my personal use only - not to sell.

I just bought some VCO for the first time and it has kind of a smoky smell to it. Is this normal? I thought it was suppose to smell like coconut. I wasn't too impressed with how it was shipped either. I tried a pound of it and it came in a ziplock bag. It leaked in the box and was mostly melted when I got it. Perhaps it went bad? Any help is appreciated.

Budgie:smiley2:

I am in the process of testing out this wax. So far it's ok. Not sure how the scent throw is just yet as I am burning 6 candles at once. It smells great with all those candles burning, but I don't know how it will smell with only 1 candle burning. I've noticed this wax really burns down before it starts to burn out. At times it looks like it's tunneling, but then it eventually starts to move out. Actually, I just looked at my notes and that was without scent. Once I added fragrance to it, it seemed to burn better. Not sure if I will use it yet. Need to keep testing before I decide.

Can anyone post links for both these insurance or pm me the info.

Thanks

Meg

http://www.indiebeauty.com/

http://www.soapguild.org/

I'd be interested to know too. I've been searching on and off for the last 2 months and have yet to find anything.

I just did my first trade show last July. I suppose it all depends on the venue. For me, because I was new, they put me all the way in the back. The only people that actually walked that far back were new and start up businesses that didn't have the money to invest in the product. I suppose if you have low minimums it wouldn't be so bad, but most of them scoffed at my minimums because they had no money. What I've found is that established business that are making money have no problem meeting the minimum order it's only the business that are small/new that have a problem with the minimums. So it all depends on the people who come to visit you I guess, but I never got an order that was too big to handle.

You might want to check out these threads:

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1648&highlight=stamps.com

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33382&highlight=stamps.com

I actually don't mind when a company I've ordered from sends me newsletters I didn't sign up for. They usually come with a way to unsubscribe if I want to, but I usually keep them so I don't forget about the companies I ordered from... especially if I like their stuff. I order online so often that I tend to forget who I ordered what from. Especially when it comes to supplies I'm trying out. I've also sent newsletters to customers that have ordered in the past. I just started doing newsletters this year so it wasn't available to people who have ordered in the past. I always put a link at the bottom so they can unsubscribe. I only send the newsletters out once a month and no one has unsubscribed yet.

I agree... $500 is cheap. Last year I paid about $1200 for my insurance. I got new insurance this year though and now I'm only paying $500.

I use them and they are great to work with. I've also had email communication with them and they were quick to respond for me as well. Quick shipping too.

Donna at Soapgraphics does a great job: http://soapgraphics.com/

"Delivery or shipping charges become subject to tax when associated with taxable sales. Delivery or shipping charges on exempt items remain exempt."

WOW!! I can't believe that. That really sucks!

You should never charge tax on shipping - only on the products sold. I have had companies charge me tax on shipping before and that was the last time I ordered from them.

As someone who has allergies, I always look at ingredients in everything before I buy it. Also I try to look for things that are not tested on animals and have no animal products in them. I'm also more likely to buy products when I understand what the ingredients are instead of a bunch of chemical names that have no meaning to me. I definitely lean to more "natural" type stuff. Packaging to me is 2nd and price is last.

Yes, they are SFIC. I asked them.

Oooooh, thanks for sharing. I wanted to get back into M&P and was looking for a place to get it. Now I know where to get it!

I was very impressed, they were thick Anchor Hocking jars. They took the time to individually wrap each jar in newspaper inside the manufacturer's box, which was then packed inside a shipping carton.

Same here. I've had no problems with them or their service.

:laugh2:I love that picture!

USPS has also been taking a long time to get to its destinations. I mailed off several packages priority mail that always take 2-3 days to get where they're going and it took 5-6 days this time (I shipped them off last Mon).

I am tempted to drive up to that shop and see if they look as bad in person as they do online.

Sami

Yes, the candles do look as bad in person. I ordered a candle from them a while ago and this is what I got:

I wrote them an email and they sent out a replacement and that candle appeared to have a centered wick, but when it burned, the wick was leaning sideways underneath (kind of hard to explain what it looked like). The candle did smell nice though.