coloresse

I don't see the hot throw results posted? Did I miss it somehow? TIA

Thanks for sharing these reviews. It's so helpful!!!

Hi everyone! Great thread! I hadn't seen this mentioned so I thought I would chime in.... it's been said many times elsewhere on this board.... If something is not selling (like your Key Lime for ex.), then rename it and relabel it. For some reason, just a change of name can make it work. HTH! :smiley2:

As far as what I purchase as a customer, personally I don't tote them around with me. So I always buy the largest tube I can get. Usually that's a 2-2.5oz size. But as a product to sell (B&B is new for me), I've made up samplers in the .5 clear tubes and that has worked very well. Then if they love it, I made the large bars for them. I am still experimenting with the molds and tins. HTH.

FO Ho!??! I am laughing so hard I can't breathe!!!!!!!!!!

Just bumping this old question as I'd love to hear some ideas for creative packaging on lotion bars. I personally think the clear tubes are pretty (visually appealing). But I don't like using them. The bar slides down and is a bit awkward to deal with. I think the deodorant tubes are the most practical. But they are not that attractive. Any ideas? TIA!

This is lovely. Truly LOVELY! You've done a great job!!!

Ooooooooooohhh.... prettiness!!!

To revive this thread a bit..... if you are making the recipe for LOTION BARS, isn't it supposed to be something like equal parts oils and butters? Then simply add a bit of wax to harden up the bar? I like lotion bars in the push up tubes. Anyone used Grapeseed oil in their lotion bar recipe? I like it b/c it's so light and soaks in quickly. Also, I've seen some folks using corn starch or Natrasorb in their lotion bars. This is to cut the greasy feel I am guessing. Anyone have experience with what your customers think of that addition? Please share or PM me if you have suggestions. Thanks in advance!

These are really lovely! Thx for sharing the pics.

Isn't that the truth?!?!?!! I was drooling just looking at the photos. Oh how I wish we had a store like this nearby!

Congratulations!!! Thanks for sharing these pics. They were very inspirational. I love the cleanness/style of the black and white mixed with mirror and glass. Very fresh looking and timeless IMO. I hope you will have great success!!!

I've had unrefined shea that was a greenish tint. But when you say olive green, do you mean literally as bright green as an olive? Hmmm... I've never seen it that bright. How does it smell? What did your supplier say?

Hi Kelly and all, Great question! Fragrance evokes such an emotional response, doesn't it? I'm a complete perfume addict so this post caught my eye. Lots of ppl are sensitive to perfume. Out of courtesy, if I'm going to be around others in an enclosed space, I stick to wearing fairly neutral, light scents. Or I might wear only a scented lotion and no spray. I wish more folks were considerate of others when it comes to wearing fragrance. Some fragrances can induce migraines. My DD and I have talked about this. Most days there is a wave of coconut-pineapple-cake-sugar-pinkness spilling out of her bedroom into the house! I adore fragrance and yet her stuff makes me gag. So my answer would be, scent your personal space and stay outta mine. One of my favorite B&B makers offers the option to customers to adjust their scent strength. I think that's a brilliant idea! You can request Light, Med or Strong. She's pleasing her customers with this custom service. And in the end it saves her money too, I would imagine. For my personal use, I like my perfume oils to be strong. Oils don't waft much (sillage). The scent lingers close to the body. In my experience, if they're blended strong, I use less and they last. With sprays, it's nice to own a variety of strengths. In warmer months, a sheer veil - in Winter, pure parfum is nice IMO. So as a buyer, I like to have the option of light or strong, depending on how, when or where I will wear the scent. Hope this helps somehow.

Hi Carol, I had to laugh out loud when I read this. A few years ago, I purchased my first unrefined shea in a co-op, not really knowing what the heck I would do with it. At only $5/pound, I bought two. After actually geting to "know" the stuff, I realized just how far an itty-bitty dab went. Then I looked at the huge slab of butter and thought HOLY COW, I will be slathering myself in shea for eons. Two pounds...sheesh! But hey, far be it for me to pass up a bargain. ROFL!

For personal use, I *love* whipped, unrefined shea. I never thought about it, but after reading this thread I played around with it a bit. It does seem to stay fluffy even after melting. I store it in the fridge. But I agree with IKS, that smoky/nutty scent is an acquired taste. At first I thought it was the strangest stuff! But after I'd used it a few times, it makes my skin feel so silky smooth that I don't care about the 'natural' eau de bonfire. I just add some EO which tempers that a bit. This is a good thread. Keep em coming! I need help working on a retailable whipped body butter/frosting. I keep seeing lots of stearate(s) in the samples I've purchased. Maybe that's another key? I am reading, researching and testing. Multibase was going to be my next experiment.

Hi Rachel, Welcome! A 6 and (almost) 2 y.o., they must keep you hopping! I'm a WAHM too and fellow B&B addict. Haven't been here all that long myself, but I enjoy the forum so much. I hope that you will too and that you'll get lots of help with your questions. There are many good folks here. After reading Carrie's impression, I could see how, if your eye is drawn down to those two drops, someone could possibly think that. But I have to say that nothing like that came to mind for me when I saw the label. I just thought, "oh wow, how cute!" The hand drawn nature of the pic lends itself to not needing to be super duper realistic (IMHO). It's an adorable logo. You've done a great job. As for label size, I'd say go with your gut. If you think the label is too large, then it probably is. As for waterproof or not, my opinion is that anything that goes in/near the tub or sink should get a waterproof label (or some sort of waterproof ink or overspray, there are many ways to waterproof). the Customer reviews I've seen show that smeared labels are a common complaint among those who buy etail/craft show. Hope this helps. Talk to you again soon!

ROFL!!! (Puppy feet are cute too).

I've really enjoyed all the feedback on this thread. You're a supportive group with a great sense of humor. It sure is nice to find that! As for these fruity/sweet scents, I admit that I'm really stumped. For feedback, I've been using my DD and her friends as testers. Personally, I don't mind sweet stuff in blends (like Angel or Flowerbomb). But I just can't take a straight strawberry or candy type sniff in my own (personal) B&B stuff anymore. ...Though I did smell a Pear & Caramel scent that was nice at a trip to Wallyworld recently. Well, I guess I'll just keep sniffing and sampling and testing til I whittle this list down a bit. Y'all also do swaps w/each other to test things out, right? TIA!

Thanks for sharing the link for the IceBrix. At 6 oz., $.36 each - that's a GREAT idea!

Hi Elaina, Thanks for sharing your pictures. I can only imagine your disappointment! ARGH!!! This might sound dumb, but can that puffy end just be "sanded" off somehow?

Hi Rachel, I appreciate your feedback. (Love your co. name, by the way!) So many creative people around here. It makes sense that some items would only come in certain fragrances. Like pedi-care might tend to be minty or tea-tree or such. Y'all are a huge help!

Hi IKS, A menu divided into Scent Families - that's a good idea. And having just 4-6 of each has worked out well? Do you change up what you offer for the colder seasons or have some seasonal varieties? I thought about sending out a freebie with orders that was a 'tester' scent. I figured I'd offer the customer a discount on their next item ordered in that fragrance if they would return a postage paid postcard with their review of what they thought of the scent. Good idea? Thanks again!

Hi AJ, Thanks for sharing. By the way, what are OMH and CLV? I kept trying to figure it out. Oatmeal Heaven? Olivemush&Hash? Cleopatra's Vanilla? *LOL*

Wanted to say thanks y'all! I'm hoping to get a little more feedback in this thread over time. Last night I worked on it some and was thinking about starting out with Some heady florals: Gardenia, Jasmine, Rose (Stella) Some citrus: Grapefruit, lime, yuzu, lemon blends (Fresh) Popular designer dupes: Pink Sugar, Kai, Angel Musk blends: Egyptian Musk, Raspberry Musk, White Musk What I'm unsure of is foody/gourmand fragrances for B&B. Other than vanilla, are the cake/bakery type scents good sellers in your bath products? Thanks again!