DosGardenias23

Where is your favorite lavender vanilla from? I want to buy some, but am hoping for some reviews on some first. Does anyone make their own? Thanks! Sarah

I checked out your website, and your soaps are really lovely! I think the previous poster is right, you might actually do better to up your prices. Also, does your town have any sort of tailgate or farmers market? I live in a small town too, and the tailgate market here has been amazing for our soap sales - we've only just started this summer, and we're getting repeat customers and big orders for things like weddings - I definitely recommend going the "Saturday market" route if you have one to try out. Hand out cards with each purchase that have your website on them (people who buy from me always ask if I have a card or a website, which sadly I don't yet, but handing out cards with each sale will also boost your online sales)... Anyway, good luck! Sarah

For those who use a lotion base, how much fragrance do you add? Or is this just something to experiment with and figure out? Same question for lip balm - I have flavor oils from Oregon Trails - for those who use OT flavors, how much do you add? I also emailed OT about this, but would love to hear from personal experience too... Thanks! Sarah

When I get as far as selling my lip balms (probably in a month or so), I'll charge $3 also... Sarah

in my soaps... Best sellers: White Willow & Tea, Pear Vanilla, Amazingly Graceful (all from Backwoods), and Black Raspberry Vanilla (Peaks) My personal favorites: Green Tea Rose (BW), Pink Sugar (BW), Honeysuckle (Peaks), Ginger Peach (Peaks) - of course none of my favorites are our best sellers lol ...... Sarah

Donna, thanks so much! You've been really helpful with logistical info... Sarah

To me the Ginger Peach from Peaks is very close to Pier 1's (which I also love - this has been a very popular fragrance with my mp soaps) - it's worth checking out if you haven't already... Sarah

They're all gorgeous, but I LOVE the persimmon pommegranate! The colors are really lovely... Great job! Sarah

I ordered a ton of these for my upcoming lip balm venture (thanks to all who gave imput on bases, cap seals, etc.) and now I'm looking at labeling. Anyone use these tubes, and have an idea of what size label works? I got the translucent tubes, and want a clear label, but I'm having a hard time figuring out label sizing. Thanks for anyone who may have imput on this! Sarah

Donna, thanks SO much! I couldn't find that size shrink band anywhere... and glad to hear the good reviews on the lotion, I'm really excited about it. I might actually follow your suggestion of 7 oz. water to 8 oz. lotion base, because I also like it a little thicker... Sarah

Thanks again so much for everyone's replies... I've decided to start off by checking out the shea lotion and shea/jojoba lip balm from Soapers Workship, which seems quite promising. I ordered them tonight and I'm so excited to try them out! Here's another quick question for anyone who has experience or ideas - I think the "slim line" lip balm tubes (the taller skinnier ones) are so cute, but I want to shrink seal the tops and can only find shrink seals for standard sized tubes. Anyone know where I could find smaller seals for the thinner tubes? Anyone used this type of tube? Thanks!! Sarah

You all are awesome, thanks so much for the replies. Sounds like I'll be checking Lindsay's stuff out. I see preservatives are not already added to hers, and that there are two preservative options on her site - what's the difference, and which do you find preferable? I'll ask her about that too. I also think Brambleberry's lip balm looks great - has anyone used it before? Thanks again!! Sarah

Thanks for your reply! I agree, her lip balm and lotion bases look great ... I've actually read about the bases on all of those sites, and I know I'll just have to try a number of things to see what I like best, but I'm also hoping for folks to share their personal experiences with some of these ... For instance, I read in the archives that some people find the BCN lip balm a bit drying over time? Sarah

I've been into MP soaping for a few months, and am excited now to start experimenting with lotion and lip balm bases - I'd LOVE to get some opinions and personal preferences for different companies' bases... What do you use/like, and why? What don't you like, and why? Thanks so much! Sarah

Thanks so much for the replies! I will give the fan a shot, and if that doesn't work I'll add a little more base to the remelt and try the simmer thing...

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and to soaping, and am having a great time starting out with mp. The archived info on this forum is an amazing resource - thanks to all who contribute! Here's my question. I have two batches of olive oil mp that sweated/crystalized before I had a chance to wrap them up. I wiped the sweat crystals off before wrapped them, but they sweated again inside the wrapper. So I'm wondering, if I remelt and pour those two batches, is there a chance they won't sweat the second time around? Or are the properties of the base screwed up and it'll sweat no matter what? Thanks so much! Sarah