Starr

I'm not a HUGE FO mixer. I did one last Halloween for the Spooktacular Swap that was 60/40 Harvest Spice and Fireside Embers. It came out really spicy, honestly, it was a good smell but it was a little TOO spicy for my own preferences. I occasionally get in the mood to try a blend. I don't have the greatest nose in the world for it. FO mixes can get me in SOOOOO much trouble. nmhoneybear, I'm with you on having to go to a buncha suppliers to match some of CBE's blends. She was nice enough to give me her recipe on a perfume she made that just drove me wild I loved it so much. 5 suppliers later.... *shakes head* Oh well... it's lots of fun.

www.essentialsbycatalina.com

I've tried doing stuff like this before just for myself (so I didn't worry about sending it off for testing, if I get myself sick... well then I just say "Self... you're a moron!") and have always found that thinner, lighter oils (grapeseed, sunflower, etc...) are the easiest. Mint's pretty powerful stuff but I don't know how well it's going to stand up to a heavier Olive Oil. I've never had a problem with ickies in my oil but the straining part can be a real pain in the tush. I recommend lots of cheesecloth and a mesh strainer (which you should be able to get at Walmart pretty cheap).

I've never been able to get really white with Olive Oil. It's just too dark. I can get a pale yellow, but never white.

Okay... Paypal swears up and down that this has nothing to do with receiving 'other' payments, 'personal' stuff, etc... it's exclusive to ebay transactions. Would've been nice if they had put that in their nifty email. *sigh* Oh well.

Thanks for the advice everyone but this was a legitimate Paypal email. Not only was it addressed properly but when I logged into my Paypal to check up on this, there was a notice on my main account screen referring to the email I received. Calling them got pushed down a bit on my TO DO list. Doing it now... More soon...

(Not sure if this is the right spot for this... maybe Off Topic? Sorry to the mods if it needs to be moved.) Has anyone gotten an email about Paypal putting all payments on some kind of 21 day hold? It's too late to call now (they've closed for the night, will be calling in the morning) but the email they sent me is telling me that this decision can be based on number of dispute claims, but I've only had 1 in the last year that was settled between the buyer and I so I can't imagine it's that. Or high risk businesses (like ticket sales), etc... stuff that I generally don't fall into and my account is well established, so I'm trying to figure out if I need to go chew someone out or if they've put out some wide-spread type of policy. Anyone else have this? If so, how are you coping with it in regards to your transactions?

I use a wire storage rack. It gives the soap the ability to air on all sides without having to flip it or mess with it.

I've yet to master putting embeds in process soap. You seem to be doing it effortlessly. Kudos to you. Your stuff is GORGEOUS! *hopes to figure that trick out someday*

OOO! This looks like a lot of fun to tinker with. Thanks for sharing!

I'm pretty sure the only CS sent I've done in soap is Strawberry and unfortunately I ended up scraping the batch. After it cured, you could barely smell it. I suspect a significant amount more FO would be required to get this scent to hold up to curing.

Was it especially hot or humid where you were letting them set up? What was your recipe? What was your FO? HP or CP?

I went to check out the new scents that CS emailed me about to find that they're getting rid of a few. Just in case anyone wants to stock up before they're gone, here's the list... Black Currant and Nectarine Christmas Tree Fig Forest Jack Frost Palm Tree Pumpkin Bread

Citrus Fusion? Something "Fusion" sounds good to me for that since it's fruity and kind of musky based on the description... maybe "Musk Fusion"?

Palm can take a bit more in the way of heat then some other waxes IIRC (I rarely use it) but that seems INSANELY high to me. I'm with everyone else, get your money back on that wax if it's giving you that much of a hard time and get the supplier to clarify what exactly it is, CB and PB shouldn't be in the same name for wax. strange...

OOOO! I like that. Thanks!!!

Actually... I'm looking for a new supplier of Dragon's Blood. I just ordered a sample of C&S's new one. I got a pinkish Dragon's Blood at the moment, a deep pink, but not so deep it could be mistaken for red.

LOL! I have lots of stuff I do that's green though, I'm trying to avoid adding to the list. It was a very cute idea by your son though.

I'm getting quite frustrated. I want my Dragon's Blood soap to be RED. REALLY RED! I'm lucky to get pink. I thought I'd try some new colorants. I bought 2 new ones from TKB. Their Relay Race red and a powder/mica one (don't recall the name of it off the top of my head) and even when mixing them I couldn't get RED. Any suggestions?

Maybe one of the earthy formulations of Dragon's Blood (there's floral ones but... ick!). I'm planning on trying CS's new one. I really don't want to have to reorder from my current Dragon's Blood supplier.

Very nice deal. I've thought about getting some of the sets like that I've seen on ebay but thus far haven't found a genuine need for them. Hope you enjoy yours!

I don't trust my own sense of smell anymore. I have scents that I either can't smell or just barely smell and DH, mom, testers, friends, etc... swear that they're spot on with the intensity of my other stuff. Even non-FO stuff, I don't trust my own sense of smell to see if milk, leftovers, etc... have gone bad. I think it's different for everyone though.

Cut it anyway. Call it "Some mornings even Mocha can't fix" ?

If you'd like to discuss it, you can PM me. I still stand on what I said about shipping without receiving payment, in full, including shipping/handling/customs/etc...

Not to be cliche but... Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones and sometimes we need to learn from our mistakes. Lucky enough for you, in the grand scheme of things, less then $100 isn't THAT much. It's still messed up, unfair, and a variety of other less then savory things but it is a relatively small amount. Next time, don't ship without getting paid.