The Try-Outs: Perfume Samplers!

A long time in the making, I finally have sample packs of my perfume oils available for purchase! You can try out three, six, or even have me surprise you! The vials themselves are a bit larger than your usual itty-bitty samples, so you can get a good couple of uses out of them or use them to lightly scent a relaxing bath.

New Summer Lip Balms

Confession time: my frivolous love of shoes is surpassed only by my love of lip balms and shimmery glosses. You may have noticed a few new balms appearing in the Etsy shop over this week, Green Apple and Raspberry Lemonade specifically, and they are delicious. There are a few more incoming, so keep an eye out. Oh, and about those shimmery glosses- those are simply awaiting their close-up!

Nose Hair is Cute

So I was taking a picture of a luscious berry mix from my local Farmer's Market for use on my Raspberry Vanilla Soap label, and this is what I ended up with:


But while I was taking these pictures, this is what I started to see through my viewfinder:


Kitty was not amused with non-tasty food in "her" space:

But she eventually settled down and posed pretty for me:

Ingredients and the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010

If the "Safe" Cosmetics Act of 2010 passes, my basic soap ingredient label will be required to look like this. This is without any colors or fragrances, just plain natural soap. Thanks to Kayla Fiorvanti for the information on the trace elements of water.

My current label looks like this:

Palm oil, coconut oil, olive oil, safflower oil, distilled water, sodium hydroxide, castor oil

Under this legislation, it will be forced to look like this:

Elaeis Guineensis (Palm) Oil (glyceryl laurate acid, myristate acid, palmitate acid, stearate acid, oleate acid, linoleate acid, and linolenate acid)
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil (lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, caprylic acid, capric acid, stearic acid, caproic acid, arachidic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid) Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil (oleic acid, palmitic acid, squalene, phytosterol, tocosterols, tyrosol, hydroxytyrosol, oleocanthal, oleuropein) Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil (palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid [ω6]) Aqua (lead, acrylamine, alachlor, alpha/photon emitters, antimony, asbestos, arsenic, atrazine, barium, benzene, benzo(a)pyrene, beta photon emitters, beryllium, bromated, cadmium, carbofuran, carbon tetrachloride, chloramines, chlordane, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, chlorite, chlorobenzene, chromium, copper, cyanide, 2,4-D, dalapon, o-Dichlorobenzene, p-Dichlorobenzene, 1,1-Dichloroethylene, cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene, trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene, Di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate, dinoseb, diquat, endothall, endrin, ethylbenzene, fluoride, glyphosate, hexachlorocyclopentadiene, mercury, radium, uranium, vinyl chloride, xylenes) Sodium hydroxide Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil (ricinoleic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, stearic acid, palmitic acid, dihydroxystearic acid)

New Soap Pics: Fresh Cut Grass

I love this bar, it's such a great embodiment of everything that's wonderful about spring and summer. It truly smells just like a freshly mowed lawn with just a touch of cool, after-sun aloe. The varying shades of green topped off with purple add interest and intensity to the soap, and with my new lighting set up I was finally able to capture the colors properly! Check out my Fresh Cut Grass listing on Etsy for more pics.

New Soap: Key Lime Pie

Things are finally starting to warm up here in the bay area of California, except for last night of course, which was cold and windy! (confusing much?) To celebrate summer, I've re-done my popular Key Lime fragrance as Key Lime Pie. It's a refreshing scent, heavy on the lime with just a touch of sweet cream and graham cracker crust. The natural vanillin in this blend makes the soap turn darker over time, so I've isolated the discolored portion and topped it off with lots of fun green soap curls and fresh white soap. The old Key Lime fragrance is still available for a limited time, and on sale until it sells out!

New Soap: Pink Frosting

This is one of those fragrances that you just keep having to sniff to pick up all the complexities in it. The name "Pink Frosting," while definitely fitting, doesn't begin to cover all the luscious notes there. It starts out with a dark, Madagascar vanilla that screams frosting and then quickly mellows into a bouquet of beautiful white flowers. Very fleeting is the scent of fresh lemon slices sprinkled with white sugar, and the finish makes up the heart of the scent with luscious, sexy amber. A nostalgic note of cotton candy is present throughout the entire fragrance, adding an innocent touch to an otherwise deeply mysterious blend. A must have for any woman who likes sweet and sexy fragrances!

Happy Mother's Day All!

Some roses for my mom and yours. :)