DosGardenias23

Maybe look for "guest-sized" molds - I have some of these that are 2 oz. each. I use them for soap, but I think they'd be great for lotion bars. Here are links to three categories of guest-sized Milky Way molds. Might any of these work?

http://www.soapcrafters.com/category.gc?ID=1016

http://www.soapcrafters.com/category.gc?ID=1018

http://www.soapcrafters.com/category.gc?ID=1017

Sarah

Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate the positive feedback!

Sarah

Thanks Lindsay! I messed around with those labels forever before finally settling on something. I'm sure you recognize this as your base - people love it!

Sarah

yum, that looks so edible!

Sarah

Hi all, this is my first time posting in the B&B Gallery! Here are a couple mp soaps I did yesterday, Ginger Peach shea soap and Pink Sugar oatmeal soap, along with one of my lip balms. They're all fancied up for my Etsy shop, which I just opened about a week or so ago.

Sarah

From OT I've tried Mint Green Tea, Lime Sugar, Pomegranate and Chai Tea. Of those my favorite and the most popular has been Lime Sugar. The Mint Green Tea seems so faint to me, I have to add so much to get any fragrance at all - this is the only reason I don't like that one. The Chai Tea smells great, but it's very spicy without really any sweet or vanilla notes, so I may combine this with a vanilla when I try it out.

I also have the sample pack of all the flavor oils from Soapers Workshop, and I'm much happier with them. Their pomegranate awesome, also very popular, and I prefer it to OT's pomegranate. You only have to use 1% of these to get a good fragrance, and with OT's I have to use quite a bit more. The chocolate from SW literally smells like you should be able to drink it out of the bottle. I haven't tried it out yet in a lip balm.

Hope this helps!

Sarah

This is a good question, I hope some people can pipe in on what they think here...

I've been wondering about additives to shower gel bases, too - I was wondering if there would be any bad effects from adding shea oil?

My favorites are Backwoods and Oregon Trails...

Sarah

Speaking just for the fragrances (not for their performance, as I've only used them in bases so far), my favorites of those I've tried are:

pink pepperberry

pear vanilla

green tea rose

red currant & thyme tea

white willow & tea

Hmm, noticing I'm gravitating twd the "tea types" ... anyways, I think these are all great.

Sarah

I like the french square bottles for milk bath -

http://www.sks-bottle.com/340c/fin12b.html

just ordered some actually! They have these in plastic too - cute w/ a little label on the front and black ribbon tied around the top...

Sarah

I just wanted to update this thread for a little review on the lotion and lip balm bases I ended up buying from Lindsay at Soapers Workshop - they're AWESOME and I recommend anyone considering them to definitely go for it!

I got the shea lotion and ended up adding 4.5 oz. water per 6 oz. lotion for a consistency that's a little thicker but has no problem coming out of a pump. The stuff is great, I love it, and was so impressed that I just bought her decadence and indulgence creams to check out too.

As for the lip balm (I went with shea & jojoba), I am in love! I was skeptical that I could find anything I liked as much as Burts Bees (I'm a pretty loyal follower), but I haven't used my BB since I bought Lindsay's base. It feels super silky and leaves my lips so soft...

So that's my rave, just wanted to follow up for anyone who wanted a review on any of this...

PrairieAnnie, do you have an ingredient list for the goats milk base from Essentials by Catalina? I can't find ingredients on the site, and I emailed to ask them but haven't heard back yet. I've been using SFIC, which I like, but I'd like to check this other base out too...

Sarah

You guys are really tempting me, I've been wanting to order some of her beautiful soaps and also maybe a candle - may just have to do it soon...

Sarah

I use a pink sugar/peppermint FO combination in lotion that I've thought would be awesome in a foot care line, especially for a sugar scrub and foot cream...

Sarah

I forgot to clarify that these were vertical ribs, if that helps...

Thanks!

Sarah

This is my first venture to the candle side of the forum - I'm hoping to start learning about candle-making in the next few months, and would like to begin my trial & error/experimentation with container candles. I recently saw some candles in a store that were in ribbed jars - I loved the look and think it would be a fun container to start off with ... has anyone seen anything like these? Thanks so much in advance!

Sarah

What is the safe/appropriate way to package fragrance oils for shipping? I'm sure this is archived somewhere, but I can't seem to find it...

Thanks!

Sarah

Thanks for everyone's replies. The mechanism works fine, it goes up and down, but when it goes down it just leaves the lip balm behind. There's no gap in the lip balm, it's one solid piece in the tube, but the bottom of the balm separates from the mechanism when it goes down - does that make sense? So maybe it has to do with the balm being to hard or too soft?

I did add some beeswax to the base, because the manufacturer said this batch was a bit softer than usual (and it was really soft), and I added the amount of beeswax she suggested... it seems like a good consistency/hardness to me now. I don't know, it's a little frustrating...

Creative Body Essentials, would you mind sharing the name of the supplier you think has better tubes (by pm if you prefer)? That would be awesome...

Thanks again everyone!

Sarah

I'm using a lip balm base for the first time (as I'm sure you've noted from my recent posts) and have a question for those who are more experience with this.

Here's the problem: I'm using the slim line tubes, and they'll push/roll up just fine, but they won't roll back down - the little mechanism in the tube rolls down, but the lip balm stays put. Any ideas for how to remedy this?

Thanks to all who have ideas!

Sarah

Thanks Lindsay! Super helpful as always , I appreciate it...

Sarah

Is it okay to add both flavor oil and EO to a lip balm? I have a flavor oil for Green Tea Mint, but want to add Peppermint EO to give it a little tingle - would there be any foreseeable problems with that? Or should I be using something else to get the "tingle"?

Thanks!

Sarah

I'm having a hard time finding kokum butter - can anyone point me to a site or two that sells this? I'm hoping to try out the recipe for non-greasy lotion bars... Thanks!

Sarah

I'm having a hard time finding the kokum - could anyone refer me to some places to buy that? I'm so excited to try this recipe!

Sarah

Thanks so much everyone! That's super helpful...

Sarah

I think I prefer the herbal type - thanks for asking, I didn't think to specify...

Sarah