Elizabeth

Now THAT is a great looking candle!

WOW! Those are all awesome!!!

Hi Amanda!!

As long as the oils are kept in a cool dark light proof conditions, it should last for quite a while. I have oils that have been in my possession for 4+years and they are STILL good...

When they become 'bad' the go 'rancid' and you can definitely detect it with your nose. Butters will actually get a sharp, almost vinegar like odor as will most oils.

If all else fails and you are concerned, just use them for soaping

Coconut oil will make for alot of lather but can also be a bit drying.. If you up the cco, you may want to adjust your other oils/butters to add conditioning.

It really is the marriage of a few different oils that give that happy balance of lather and conditioning IMO.

Hey thanks for the help. I like Orange Smoothie too.

I was just going to suggest Bunny's Bootylicious!!

It really is very nice and I think is what you are looking for

I have a new FO called "Soul Survivor" that I am looking to rename for my sugar scrubs. It smells exactly like an Orange Creamsicle.

Which of these do you think is most fitting for a sugar scrub:

Orange Creamsicle

Citrusicle

Orange Smoothie

Citrus Dreams

That's all I have. All suggestions are welcome

Thanks for the help!

gorgeous!

Love those colors together.

Hey Bruce, those look wonderful!!

I was fortunate enough to have tanya show me how to do those when she was here for a visit. I didn't quite get the hang of it but like you, I didn't have much time to devote to it. Yours look a hell of a lot better than mine that's for sure.

Pam I've tried just about every known oil in my body butter and have come to the realization that all of the "light" oils perform similarly. The one I prefer is Meadowfoam Seed oil, but it is pretty expensive. Fractionated Coconut oil is a nice and cheaper alternative.

What really makes the big difference is the additives you use. I found in order for cornstarch to impart a "silky" less greasy feeling, you really have to use alot of it, which in turn causes the butter to get hard! Some of the silicone based "degreasers" are wonderful to use as they give the silky soft feeling without compromising the texture of the butter. I use IPM (Isopropyl Myristate) as it doesn't change the light airy appearance of the whipped butter.

One more suggestion: I can't speak enough about EMU oil! What a tremendous difference it has made to what I thought was already a great body butter.

HTH

If you wanna check 'em out, I'll sell ya mine at a HUGELY discounted price. I think I used a few of the colors once or twice. I have the "sample" kit that has a small bottle of each color. Might be a nice way to try them out and a good way for me to make some room!!

Let me know...

OMG, those are gorgeous!!

Holy Cow!!!!!!

I leave for a short time and come back to Sherie making masterpiece soaps?!!!!!

Fantastic job girl. You're going to have to demonstrate that for me if/when I get out that way

Beautiful work Julie!

The colors are amazing girl!!

i think that depending on the salts used, they actually help to draw out impurites/toxins from the skin. For me, salt scrubs work awesome on my oily skin, especially in the summertime.

And yes, I know exactly what you mean in your description of the purpose of each and it's true. Currently I offer only an emulsified sugar scrub but I think I am going to research/experiment with some salt scrubs for the summer season.

I used to use a handmixer until I got a great deal on a kitchen aid standmixer. Holy Crap does that thing rock! Not only has it cut the "whipping" time in half, there is less waste as the whisk attachment doesn't hold onto alot of product like the beaters from my hand mixer did.

I think it was Kim that posted about a decent standmixer you can get from Walmart for around 60 bucks or so if you don't wanna spring for a kitchen aid.

Also, to cut down on the greasiness, some people add cornstarch, dryflo or natursorb. I personally found theseto make my final product too stiff so I use some of the silicone based additives such as isopropyl myristate or cyclomethicone. What a HUGE difference they make!

HTH

someone i know tried this recipe out and i tried a bit. It was really very greasy and left a tackiness to the skin afterwards. I didn't really care for it myself and Robin's right, you could make a lotion that's a whole lot nicer and "safer" from scratch.

Sorry Katy, the best I can do is direct you to either the soap dish forum or to the whisk forum. Maybe someone there has some experience with this.

www.soapdishforum.com

www.whisk-forum.com

In my experience, the only problem with using Mica's with salts, bathbombs and things of this nature, is that mica's are not water dispersable, meaning, they will not dissolve fully in water and will float on the water surface and leave a nasty ring around the tub.

I was under the impression that the Peacock dyes were exclusive to Ellen's Essentials. At least, that is where I purchased mine. (not worth the money IMO)

As a matter of fact Carrie, I was with Tanya this past w/e in Vegas!!

I only was able to spend one evening with her as she was headin' out the next day for home, but she looked great and it was wonderful to see her. She's still the same crazy chica!!

Dang Carrie that rocks girl!

Pretty much ANY fo that contains vanilla will discolor to some degree or another. There are stabilizers available that supposedly deter the discoloration from happening. WSP has one for use in CP soap and one for use in mp soap and also lotions. I have it but haven't had the opportunity to try it out yet so I'm sorry I can't give you feedback.

I had a really nice beveler but ended up going back to my handy dandy potato peeler LOL. Old habits die hard I guess..

Yay Sandy!!!!!

So happy to hear that you are back at your creations. How's this one looking so far??

This is so interesting to me. I've been wanting to make this for soooo long and am happy to hear that you all are busy experimenting and sharing your findings. Please keep us posted as to how it turns out Bunny. Got my fingers crossed for ya girl!!