the_amber_woods

I don't currently have a digital camera I'll have to ask a friend if I can borrow one.

No, oh no! Bad, bad Zoot! hehe quotes from Monty Python and the Holy Grail... Speaking of the Holy Grail - I made this recipe tonight. It really is quite lovely! If you haven't already, you should whip over to the soap dish forum and check it out. Scented Peaks Stawberries and Cream and it smelled good enough to eat! Left my skin feeling smooth and silky after rinse.

That looks fantastic Brenda! Way to go

I will try to answer some of your questions: -cocoa butter- deorderized, regular , or white: Regular has a chocolaty smell, deoderized means the smell has been taken out, white normally means that it's super filtered and in most cases ALL the chocolate smell is gone. It depends on if you want the chocolate smell or not. -beeswax- pearls, white, or yellow The pastelies or pearls are easier to work with than the big chunks of wax. Yellow beeswax *unless otherwise listed* normally has a bit of a honey smell to it. White is refined, filtered, maybe even bleached. If you're making cosmetics you want to make sure your white beeswax is cosmetic grade. -palm kernal, or palm oil same or different I think they're the same but I could be wrong. -preservatives, any particular It depends on what product you're making, some are good for lotions and some are better for products with more oil content, Liquapar Optima and Pheonip are good ones. -coconut oil-fractionated, 76%,????which one does make a diff 76% oil is solid at room temp, it melts at 76% It's great for lotion bars, soap and lots of other things. I've not used fractionated coconut oil but I think it's liquid form.

WSP does have what looks to be a similar product. However they only currently offer the silver lid in 58/400 which will only fit the 4oz jar. It would be nice if they had them to fit all sizes of the jar.

These really do look good enough to eat!

Crafter's Choice™ Vanilla Browning Neutralizer Directions: You must follow these instructions for the product to work correctly. Measure fragrance and place in glass container. Add equal amounts of neutralizer to the fragrance. Mix well and allow to sit a minimum of 2 minutes. Add to product. Note: You may neutralize large batches of vanilla based fragrance and store in glass amber bottles. In this case, shake well before using. Notes: Test this product with your fragrance and lotion formula in small batches to ensure you have the desired outcome. Very high vanilla based fragrances may have a slight color change over a period of time. INCI Ingredients: You are neutralizing and modifying a fragrance therefore list "fragrance" on your INCI label. Okay now I have a question, say I'm using 1/2 ounce FO to scent a batch of lotion. I would then add 1/2 ounce of this stuff for a total of 1oz of liquid. Then add the whole 1oz to the product? Does it come out feeling more oily? That seems like alot to me LOL

I currently use the clear jars with silver tops from SKS. I love the look of them! I was wondering though if anyone had run across a similar jar and lid *the lid is my favorite* but in a low profile version? Here's the link to the current bottle... http://www.sks-bottle.com/340c/fin118.html

WAY to go candlefreak!

I know that some FO's will turn lotions and other items a different color due to the vanilla conent in them. Is there a way to prevent this? I read somewhere about a vanilla stabilizer for wax, but wasn't sure about for B&B products.

Girl you weren't kidding! I went to her site today to order some... and it's not there... *sighs* I really want this scent... I had already emailed her letting her know that I was going to buy some and wondering if she knew of another supplier for the same scent... Anyone know of someplace else to get this FO?

Thanks soapermom! I was thinking of also doing Blackberry and Sage! I love Peaks Vanilla Hazelnut and was thinking of using that as the vanilla or sweet smell.

Totally adorable! Way to go!

I'm starting to a a bit of research into bath and body fragrance. I currently only make B&B for family and friends, but might in the near future try and do some craft fairs. I started out making candles and as far as FO tastes go, I'm still a candler. LOL Here is my starting points as far as lotion scents go: Some kind of Vanilla White Ginger & Amber - love this scent Juniper Breeze Some kind of Lavendar Cantalope Pearberry Something Apple - maybe a berry mixture Butt Naked - another of my favs Olive Blossom - if I can find a supplier Love Spell - even though I hate the smell myself And of course seasonal scents. Suggestions? Comments? I'd also like to offer a few EO blends - but I'm at a complete loss there. What are you favorite B&B scents? Favorite Scent suppliers for those favorite scents.

hehe going outa business huh? That won't do if I order some and decide it's fantastic LOL

Got some of Ebcandles olive oil cream and it's scented with olive blossom. I'm in love with the smell now!

Yup it's on my to do list also! Looks great girl!

Is it wrong that I got a good laugh outa this... I was thinking that with larger batches it wouldn't matter as much, a few drops missed here and there, but with the smaller batches. LOL Guess I'm just over thinking it. Thanks everyone for your help.

This is what I have done when I got over zealous on the size of my melts! Add more warm water to the bath before you drain it - it will reheat the cocoa butter and allow for more of it to drain out of the tub. Take a warm wash rag and whipe down the sides of the bath as the water is draining. Other than that, Bunny is right. A larger melt will leave a BIG ring on the tub. It's cocoa butter = oily... you're not going to get around that unless you use a smaller amount or you could try an emulsified melt. I've tried one recipe for an emulsified melt but didn't like the way it turned out. I'm currently trying to come up with a tweak somewhere between bunny's wonderful melts and the emulsified version. Wish me luck.

I have a scale that will weight to .1gram so the amount is not the problem. I was asking more along the lines of HOW you weight. Do you leave it in the dropper and weight it that way? Do you have a small container you put the stuff in? I'm using Liquapara witch is THICK... if I put it into a small container it doesn't all pour out of the container because it's so thick... Does this make sense to you guys? Thanks a ton for your help.

I'm still only making small batches of lotions to test stuff out and find a recipe that I like... But for 16oz batch - which makes quite a bit with my current recipe. I'm figuring that I need to use 4.536 grams of my preservative. How do you guys weigh such a small amount? My problem is that I have to add it in last *or almost last if I add FO or colorant* How do you measure out such a small amount of liquid. Right now I'm measuring it into a pipette and weighing the pipette before and after till I get the right amount. Anyone come up with a better strategy? *edit* I posted down below to clarify my question.

I'd love to see a picture of them after they've darkened up a bit. They look lovely.

WHEW this stuff is pricy... 11.35 per pound... tee hee... Look at all the niffty stuff this site has though. My empty wallet salutes you bunny.

Thanks Soapermom. I've been eyeing Smacky's recipe from the dish...

Anyone know where to get Vanilla powder? Can I buy it local?