beau's mama

Bunny, thanks for sharing this. I just made a batch today & they are wonderful! I waited until the mixture was really luke warm but I still didn't get a huge fizz , but the butter & scent dispersed nicely & filled my bathroom & me w/ some awesome Tony's Lilac:yay: I used 8oz melted cocoa butter. Was it supposed to be 8oz solid, before melting? Oh, I stuck these babies in the freezer for 20 mins...not good (for me anyway) they started sweating (but no fizzing sound) The next time, I think I'll just put them in the cool basement & see what happens.

I finally got around to trying Bunny's Bath Melts. I only had water based colorant so I melted some purple jojoba beads. They colored really well. I screwed up a few being anxious to unmold them. I got tired of pouring, so I just dumped the rest in a 5oz mold. Good for me to cut for my big tub. They are scented in Tony's Lilac (sorry OT) The other stuff is yet another attempt at swirling M&P This is actually the first time in almost a year that I don't mind showing my attempts. I didn't get a swirl, but some kind of weird marble effect. It doesn't show well in the pic, but the tan ones actually look pretty cool. The soaps are scented in OT's OMH & Green Irish Tweed. One day, I know I will have a kick-ass swirl...even if I have to go CP! Sharon ETA: I just looked at the soap closely...does anyone see what looks like a face & wild hair? OMG it looks like a sad demon!

I hope this is the right place to post this :embarasse I just rcvd an order from MMS for some mica samples & some other supplies. I am really impressed w/ the amount of the mica "samples". I was expecting just enough to maybe color 1# of M&P or at the very least a few bars, but these little jars are loaded (at least to me). They are in lip balm pots & must be at least 1/2 full! This will be my first time working w/ mica so I'm really happy that I have enough (I think) to actually play with! Just thought some of you might like to know Sharon

Monica, thanks for pulling this up & posting. So much goes on in my life, I forgot to update this. First off, Marge is doing wonderfully. I didn't make the butter, but instead opted for the straight Emu. I didn't want to have to worry about preservatives and all. Those ugly blotches have healed dramatically, although some areas still have that white look, like you get after a sore has healed. The last couple of months, I've mixed the Emu w/ Meadowfoam seed & Vit E (T-50) & she seems to like it. She puts the oil on the spots daily, but she said her skin feels really good & soft, so she doesn't use the oils on her entire body everyday. I have a soap that I originally made for my neice's Eczema that has Emu, & a gazillion butters in it, & a touch of Lavender EO. She's been using that & it seems to agree w/ her. I've been trying to ease her back into scented products, but it's not working. She barely wants to use deodorant from the store now. I guess I can't blame her much. We did report the woman to the FDA, health department, & the state. My MIL has some friends who did a little digging & they discovered that she had no business license, and if I understood correctly, that's similar to tax evasion b/c no license = no tax ID = not reporting income = a big no-no to the government. So at some point it'll all catch up to her. The store that "ordered" the supplies for her is "still being investigated" The health dept. actually went out to her house to "investigate", but that was useless. According to them, they could never gain entry & when they finally did, it was only because she had moved out. Too late, nothing to see and/or investigate. And of course her neice, who has been strangely MIA lately, doesn't seem to know where her aunt moved to. About the FDA: they didn't seem to care much. After some research, I really understand WHO the FDA is, and they are not who I originally thought they were. Mass market products = money..."lowly" hand-crafters = nada. Nuff said. Sharon Elegantnaturals: I think the parabens themselves are the source of the formaldehyde (as in releasers) but I could be wrong. Hopefully, someone with way more knowledge than I will chime in.

Here ya go. She's on my watch list http://stores.ebay.com/Van-Yulay

Brambleberry has it. Just scroll down the page. They are the only one's that I know of that has it. http://www.brambleberry.com/packaging.html HTH Sharon

Hmm, will you be using the soap directly on your face? If so, jojoba beads may be a bit scratchy and/or irritating. If you're trying for a nice exfoliating face soap, maybe you could try Apricot Seed meal. It's very gentle and a teeny tiny bit goes a long way. M&P can be drying, it kinda depends on the brand you use, but despite that, you CAN make non-drying soap w/ it. You can add all kinds of oils to M&P based on your needs. But I wouldn't use clear base if adding oils, it'll just get cloudy. One of the fun things about M&P is that you can experiment til your hearts content. Go for it & have fun! HTH Sharon

I caught a glimpse of this the other day while rushing out of the health food store. Anyone ever heard of or used it? Or it just a fancy name for Aloe Extract?

Yeah, I think you can forgive him...tomorrow DH's are men, and sometimes it seems the concept of thinking or checking/looking are hard for them to grasp. Several years ago, I preheated the ovens to warm 4 large pans of Mac & Cheese that I made the night before to take to a party that day. I decided to lay down b/c I set both ovens to turn off after about a 45 mins. Mac & cheese can be a mess, with spill-overs & all, so DH thought he would "help" w/ the oven clean-up by pressing the self clean buttons on both ovens. Nice thought, but the helpful genius didn't check to make sure they were empty! Long story short, the high cleaning temps burned the hell out of the food, DH had to up the $100 bucks for replacements, I had to remake all 4 pans, & DH has since been forbidden to ever touch the oven again. How do I make sure he doesn't use them? I keep my ovens locked Digital ovens are awesome!

Check the co-op thread. There's a CF oil co-op going on now. We just got the word a few days ago that they would have the Babassu in by the time our order is processed. Sharon

Hmm.. OT Absolutely Awesome Oakmoss Egyptian Musk (so soft -n- sexy) Sapmoss Green Irish Tweed MMS Sandalwood vanilla Solas Lime Basil & Mandarin SOS Cool Citris Basil I personally hate bakery/foody scents in B&B so I don't buy them. I can't get any of the men in my world to go near any of the Raspberry or Mango inspired scents I have. But, maybe about once a month, DH will have the strange desire to use scented Monoi. I'm not sure what that's all about

Thank you all for the responses. I really appreciate it. After reading the first 3 responses, I decided to do a little checking. Seems this company doesn't have a very good record w/ the BBB of B.C. Many complaints, 1 resolved issue, and the rest no response. How the hell do you not respond when someone complains about you or your biz? I did check The Chemistry Store, but I only need small amounts, so to MMS I go. I've ordered from them a few times, so I know what I'm getting...no surprises, fast shipping, good products & helpful folks! Thanks again Sharon

Darwin, you're not crazy..um...well...at least not about that I think the friction created by the scrubbie additive gets the lather going. I've noticed it w/ some powders, jojoba beads, & oatmeal, among others. Why do you cut back on the castor if you add more stuff? I generally stick to 1 TBS of castor pp, but the more stuff I add (mainly when I add a lot of butters) I tend to up the castor & PKO flakes. Don't know why, I just do :embarasse

Well, now Miss Mary, commenting as a consumer, I think your site is quite comfy. I like neutral earthtone colors, they calm me, & I feel like a real grown-up when I'm calm & relaxed Based on all the feedback (ok, maybe not all) I think you'll tweek that baby to what is perfection for you. I don't make candles, but I do read quite a bit on this board about the trials & tribulations a chandler (right ?) goes through to create a unique, visually appealing, great smelling and SAFE candle. If you took what you had & made it do what it do, lined up your duckies & CYA, then I say rock on sista Good luck to you! Sharon

http://www.wellnaturally.com I just stumbled upon the site while searching for SLSa Just wondering about the quality of the products, etc. Thanks Sharon

Um...well CB...I think it's a very lovely TRANSPARENT soap Hmm, was there supposed to be a pic, or am I just slow?

OT Toasty Marshmallow & Hot Cocoa is a nice chocolate As loyal as I am to OT, I have to agree w/ Brenda on TSW Amour de Cacao :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool: I threw this in some dead sea salt w/ a little oil...it was so much heaven in that tub I didn't even need my usual glass of wine

NamaNama Nope, not crazy at all. The beauty of M&P is that you can keep remelting & perfecting until you get it the way you like it. I've found that adding 1 TBS each of castor oil & handmade liquid soap pp of base helps keep my lather intact. These are my staples in every batch of soap I make. It's fun experimenting & discovering what combinations work. Let us know how it turns out! ETA: I was in the "kitchen sink" M&P swap PA's talking about. It really challanged me to experiment more. I made 4 different batches & each batch had 4 to 7 different combinations of oils & butters in them...haven't gotten a bad review yet regarding "no lather"...even had the "M&P Queen" tell me that one set was a "luxury lathering/bubbling" soap. Hmmm, maybe PA will do another one, this time upping the ingredients to 8 or more (hint hint) Katshe, liquid (milk, d-water, etc) can be added to M&P. I do it all the time with great success, especially when remelting. As far as the sweating, that can be caused by any number of factors (climate, fo etc). Collectively, I don't think any of us M&Pers have pinpointed the sweating issue. I have yet to experience any sweating whether I wrap immediately or let the bars sit unwrapped for a few days. Could be simply where I live...who knows. I've added up to 7 different oils & butters to a 1# batch...not a lot of bubbles, but man-oh-man did I get a nice creamy lather!

Soap slut! Oh, I love it!

Yeah, good idea:yay: OT rocks Love'em, love'em, love'em! Oh, did I mention that I LOVE ot fo's?

What type of soap are you planning to make? As eugenia said, no aluminum with lye soap (HP/CP). If you're using Melt & Pour soap, you can use pretty much anything. No pam spray, petroleum, or butter needed. You can line the mold w/ freezer paper to make it release easier, but if you're using ordinary shaped plastic molds, you don't even need the freezer paper. Once the soap hardens, it'll pop out w/ no problems. HTH Sharon

Those are so cool *getdown*

There's nothing wrong with any of those soaps. The raspberry cream is especially pretty (I'm a raspberry ho LOL). But, if you insist that they are sucky, then I think you should rid yourself of them immediately! I'll pm you my addy

Wow, first...very first CP soap? Very pretty...loving the colors. Can you do a batch for me so I can tell people it my first CP soap?

Hi Kay Oregon Trails has a Peach Mango FO http://oregontrailsoaps.com/ I have it, but I haven't soap it yet, so I don't have any "inside" info yet. I have quite a few of their oils & love everyone of them! HTH Sharon