Handmade Beauty Connection
February 24, 2003
A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 4, Issue 8
To subscribe, click here.
Sponsor: New Mineral
Cosmetics Kits From Monave!!
The Handcrafters Kits for Making Loose Mineral Color Cosmetics features mica-based pigment formulations. The finished loose product can be used as shadow, liquid eyeliner, lip gloss pigment, nail polish, or blush. The manual includes instructions on formulating with mica to create pastels, earth tones, and smoky shades.
The Professional Kit -
$190.00
* 17 base mica pigments in quantities varying from ˝ oz to 4 oz.
* 4 oz of serecite
* 150 empty 5-gram pots with sifters (each holding 1.2 grams (weight) of
finished product)
* complementary 1/2 oz. of lip gloss base
* instruction manual and brochure
Each pot can retail for from $5.00 to $7.50!!
The Hobbyist Kit - $50.00
* 17 base mica pigments is quantities varying from 1.5 grams to 10 grams
* 10 grams of serecite
* 30 empty 5-gram pots with sifters
* complementary 1/2 oz. of lip gloss base
* instruction manual and brochure
For more information and to order, contact, information@monave.com. We accept Paypal, VISA, and Master Card!
Monave Mineral Cosmetics | (410) 675-2287 | Email: information@monave.com
1. HBN Update: Welcome New
& Renewing HBN Members!
2. Handmade Beauty Recipe Of The Week: Virgin
Coconut Milk Bath
3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win an
autographed copy of a newly published book on soap!!
4. Create the Life You Love™: Trimming The Fat
5. Handmade Beauty Product Review by Donna Maria: Herbal
Fair Handmade Soap by Silk'n Shea
1. HBN Update: Welcome New
& Renewing HBN Members!
LENA MAE SOAPS ... | Pamela
Alyse Davis | New York
* renewing member; handmade
soaps and other bodycare products
Bottles and Jars.net
| Anne Kremer | New York
* renewing member; lots
of -- you guessed it -- bottles and jars!
BioChemicals Int'l | Larry
Moroni | Florida
* renewing member; lots
of butters and oils of all kinds and from everywhere!
Nature's Voice Herbal Body
Care | Michelle Morgan | Virginia
* handmade products made with fine
herb-infused oils and other natural ingredients
310 | Kim Leone | California
* Amazing Blemish Balm, Peppermint Body
Scrub, Sea Mud Body Mask, Pixie Dust, Honey Almond Body Scrub .... Gift baskets
available
The New Silk
Road, Inc. | Robert Averill | Vermont
* source for silk protein powder for
handmade skincare products
Danique
Soap & Co. | Andrea Edwards | Maryland
* handmade soaps and bath fizzies
HBN member Elysian Dream is selling its supplies, software, professional memberships, insurance, web site, recipes and customer database. Please email the owner, Paula Kawal, for details and more information.
Learn more about our members and their exciting activities by visiting their Web sites through HBN's Online Member Directory, now with 4 ways to search: (1) by state/country; (2) by member business name; (3) by keyword search; or (4) using our new alphabetical listings.
2. Handmade Beauty Recipe Of The Week: Virgin Coconut Milk Bath
Virgin
Coconut Milk Bath is a decadent and delicious product to soothe your
tired body, nourish your weather-worn skin and treat your olfactory apparatus to
the scent of fresh coconuts. Not only is is wonderful, it's really easy to make
so you won't want to miss this wonderful winter bath soak!
When you visit MakeYourCosmetics.com, it's easy to buy the ingredients you need by clicking on our Partner links:
Essential
Wholesale: pure essential oils, base carrier oils such as avocado,
sweet almond, jojoba and shea butter and specialty packaging supplies!
Bramble
Berry, Inc.: over 75 different fragrance oils
(including their exclusive "Relaxing" and "Rosehip
Jasmine"), all soap tested, soap molds and unscented soap
bases!
SunRose Aromatics: pure essential oils (many organic), carrier oils and other aromatherapy products, each carefully selected for quality. Check out their new Perfumer's Emporium.
The Scent Shack: fragrance oils and soap supplies. Fragrance oils are
pre-tested in cold process, melt & pour soap, and candles, and test results are listed at the Web site. Scents tested by soapers for soapers!Lynden House International , Canadian supplier of soap and candlemaking supplies such as fixed oils, perfumes, essential oils, molds, powdered milks, colors, pre-made bases, candle wax, wicks, embeds and more!
3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: the winner of last week's contest was Evelyn Millican of Monroe, Michigan. Evenly won a half gallon of 5 pounds of Whipped Virgin Coconut Body Gel, courtesy of HBN member Essential Wholesale!
Last Week's Question: I am a powerful tonic and antiviral, frequently used in the practice of aromatherapy to alleviate symptoms associated with adverse sinus and respiratory conditions. Combined with other essential oils like eucalyptus or frankincense for example, I can help clear nasal passages and facilitate easier breathing. I usually hail from the one of only 3 biodiversity hotspots in the world. What are my common and Latin names?
Last Week's Answer: Ravensara (Ravensara aromatica)
This Week's Question: When
I was very young, I married a professor from Transylvania. We settled in
California and began living a simple life in an adobe hut, exercising daily,
eating a vegetarian diet. When we opened our first health spa, we didn't
even have places for people to sleep so they brought their own tents. What
we did have was lots of natural spring water, goat's milk and fresh air and
everyone loved our spa. Today, our spa which started so humbly, is visited
regularly by the rich and famous. We have been so successful that I decided
to open a second spa - much more luxurious in the Japanese style.
To win this week, be the first to provide the names of both spas and the woman speaking in first person here, and you'll win an autographed copy of Soap For Body And Soul," a newly published book by Lisl and Landt Dennis.
Please read the contest rules here before submitting your entry. Put "TRIVIA CONTEST ANSWER" in the subject line or your answer will not be considered.
While time does not permit me to respond personally to all entrants, the
winner will be notified by email and their name posted at HBN's home page.
4. Create The Life You Love™: Trimming The Fat!!
We
have all heard many stories over the past few years about the great number of
companies that are "trimming the fat" from their operations so they
can save money in this time of difficult economic downturn. Of course, this
downsizing has had adverse affects on families around the world who are losing
their jobs so large companies can survive. Regardless of our personal thoughts
on that topic, it is certainly clear that businesses are learning that they can
operate successfully and more efficiently if they figure out ways to trim the
fat -- and they can do without cutting into the muscle of their business. If you
are finding that slower consumer spending is having an adverse impact on your
bottom line, here are some ways to trim the fat in ways that will benefit you
not only now, but also into the future.
1. Automate Tasks You Now Perform Manually.
Are you still manually adding and deleting email addresses from your newsletter
mailing list? Does it take you so many hours to send out your newsletter that
you can hardly call it a regular publication anymore? Are you still hopping in
your car to drive across town to pick up your supply of essential oils or other
supplies? At first, it may seem that doing all of this yourself is cost
effective, but if you want your business to grow, you will soon discover that
doing so many things yourself is a colossal waste of your time. I recently
helped a client perform a quick calculation of how much time she was spending
doing things she could have had others do for her and we discovered that she
could save an average of $50 (and lots of headaches) per quarter just by allowing her suppliers to ship
her raw materials and hiring other vendors to help her with her email list.
2. Resist The Temptation To Experiment
Ravenously.
One of the challenges associated with transforming a hobby into a legitimate
business is resisting the temptation to experiment your business to death. I
recently had a conversation with a small home-based handmade beauty products
company in which the owner described that he was not making a profit and
couldn't figure out why. After a brief discussion, I pinpointed a huge part of
the problem -- he had invested in tons of the latest in colored bottles and
jars, owned all of the most popular raw materials and added at least 3 new
products each week to his line. He was allowing his hobby to strangle his
business, for how could he hope to make a profit selling the products he made if
rather than marketing them, he was in the lab making new ones??!! Add to that
the time it took him to add the new products to his Web site and the money he
was forever spending on bottles and jars that sat in boxes looking pretty --
it's no wonder that he wasn't selling anything! He was experimenting his
business to death! Sure, it's great to experiment and everyone has to develop
new products. But try to experiment with purpose. Market the products you have
and fit in time to create and launch the new ones in a more systematic,
scheduled manner. You're business will run more smoothly, you'll have some time
to yourself and you'll slowly see that the time spent marketing and selling what
you make will pay off!
3. Consolidate Vendors.
Recently, I made a decision that will radically change my life. I decided to
consolidate all of my telecommunications services with one provider. While I do
not normally put so much stock in a single service provider, I chose a company
with a long history of good service and I got 3 recommendations from other small
businesses who took the plunge before me. I will enjoy a rebate for making the
changes, but even without that, I would still save money because the use of high
speed Internet services will allow me to completely eliminate one entire phone
line. I expect to save $12.50 each month after I make the switch. I'd have done
it already except I want current contracts to expire so I'm not giving up
something I've already paid for. In addition to telecommunications services, you
can consolidate vendors in many ways, among them buying your regular stock of
necessary ingredients and supplies from as few suppliers as possible (always
keeping many "in play" in case something happens to your favorites!).
Every business is different. With a little attention to detail, I bet you can find ways to trim the fat from yours and positively affect your bottom line!
5. Handmade Beauty Product Review by Donna Maria: Herbal Fair Handmade Soap by Silk'n Shea
Herbal Fair Handmade Soap
4 oz. | $5.00 (plain band wrapped)
Herbal Fair is my newest soap discovery from HBN member Silk'n Shea. This pretty bar of yellow/light green soap contains suspended pieces of herbs like parsley, dill and yucca. They all combine to look like they are dancing in the bar. Wrapped beautifully in a sleeve with the company name in a watermark behind the soap label itself, the bar slipped easily from the wrapper and I could feel the rich oils it's superfatted with as I glided my fingers across the surface.
The company name is again prominent on the bar itself since it's stamped on the bar on both sides. The bar is beveled so it turns easily in my hands. Of course the best part is the way it feels when I bathe with it. A smooth, dense lather forms when I use my cleansing puff with this bar and it treats my skin while the aroma is fresh and herbal. This bar of soap is a new favorite, soothing and comforting dry areas with a very generous dose of 22% shea butter, along with hemp and meadowfoam oils. Yum!! My skin feels radiant and refreshed after using it ... and it just looks so pretty in my soap dish!
You can get your own Herbal Fair and other goodies at Silk'n Shea.
Visit The Handmade Beauty Connection Archives.
Visit our suite of Web sites serving the handmade toiletries industry:
IndieBeauty.com: the leading
industry trade organization
MangoButter.com:
450+ suppliers of raw materials and packaging, updated weekly!
MakeYourCosmetics.com:
ingredient encyclopedia & original cosmetics recipes
DonnaMaria.com:
sound advice for your small business, Create The Life You Love™
AromaGirls.com:
Coming Soon: "defining beauty for ourselves"
Have your ad seen by nearly 4,000 subscribers! ! Click here to see why Essential Wholesale says that the returns from their newsletter ad "just keep on coming," and why The Scent Shack says, "Our sponsorship of The Handmade Beauty Connection went over very well, we had a huge number of hits on the day the newsletter was published, plus we got quite a few new customers."
Donna Maria, Publisher & Editor-In-Chief, DonnaMaria@IndieBeauty.com
The Handmade Beauty Connection
The Handmade Beauty Network | www.IndieBeauty.com
© Copyright 2003 Donna Maria and affiliates. All Rights Reserved. Click here for important legal information.
