For the last year or so, I have been semi-obsessed with Lush bath products. I've been a bath person for quite some time anyway, and the products Lush makes, especially the bath bombs and bath oil melts, are divine. I've spent a good chunk of money in the last year keeping myself stocked with these products, and spent a good many hours enjoying them.
But, all good things must end.
Last night, I tried another product from Bubbles, the Queen Bee Bubble Bar ($4.95). It was a very, very pleasant bathing experience. The scent is a light mix of honey, apricot, and vanilla--not too strong or too sweet, just right. I see now that the site suggests using one bar for 2-3 baths, but I didn't realize that, so I used the whole thing. It created a huge amount of long-lasting and soft bubbles. The flowers and little bee that are embedded in the bar are made of sugar, so they dissolve right away and don't leave anything weird in the tub.
One caveat is that this bar was much harder than Lush's bubble bars, and was difficult to crumble up at the beginning. I had to soften it under the running water for a while before I could crumble it. This might be a problem if you want to break a piece off and use the bar for several baths. I will explore that later, as I have another Bubble bubble bar to try at home.
I tried a couple more Bubbles bath products this weekend, and I'm officially converted. Lush is but a distant memory.
This is the Home Sweet Home bath bomb. So far, it's my favorite Bubbles product. It has an amazing smell, like freshed baked goods, not just sweet but also spicy and warm. It's not too strong, and it makes the bath water pink. The only thing I don't like is the odd button-shaped thing on it, which the website tells me is meant to be a soap "pie." It doesn't dissolve in the bath water, it just kind of floats around and gets slimy. A small price to pay for a great bath, though. I used the whole 6 oz bomb, but I'm sure you could get two baths out of it if you could figure out how to break it in half. That's too much thought for me when I just need a nice bath.
The other new product I tried was the Candy Cane bubble bath bar, which isn't listed on the website (I suspect because it is seasonal), but came as a free gift in my order. This one was not as hard as the last one, so I was able to break it and just use 1/2 in my bath. Half worked fine, but whole is definitely better, as far as creating a stronger scent and a ridiculous amount of bubbles. The bubbles were nice and fluffy and skin-softening, and the scent was very mild peppermint. It was nice.
I should be getting my order from the next Lush replacement candidate, Fantasy Bath, should be arriving in the next few days. Stay tuned...
Last night I had the opportunity to try my first Fantasy Bath product. They shipped very quickly, and each of the bath bombs came wrapped up in its own small box, complete with a color label. Perfect for gifting. They also have free shipping with all orders over $40, which is fantastic.
The bomb I chose for my first trial was the purple heart-shaped "Little Things" bath bomb. From the website:
All of us have those special little things that never fail to lift our spirits. A dog's smile. A good book. A warm sunny spot. Remember to take time for the little things every day. Scatter some bird seed on the ground, breathe deeply, and remember to smile.
Perfect after a hard day.
I've tried two more of Fantasy Bath's bath bombs, and I can now recommend them without reservation. The first one I tried, Tupelo Honey, is still a bit strong in the scent department, but nice (I think I'd prefer it without the addition of rose and carnation scents to the honey and ginger combo, but it's still good). The second, Enchantment, is amazing. It's a large, round bath bomb (8 oz--huge), and it turns the water a lovely dark pink-purple. The scent is very complicated--"violets and hyacinths mingle with melissa, neroli, bergamont, orange flower, tuberose, magnolia, and lotus flower. The base of sandalwood and amber balance," but not overdone. It has lots of staying power, but doesn't make you sneeze or feel overwhelmed. I LOVED it.
One caveat is that you have to treat these bombs like bubble bars and crumble them under a running tap, or you won't get any bubbles, they will just behave like slightly foamy regular bath bombs. I forgot that this time. It was still quite nice, but next time I'll remember and get lovely bubbles as well.
I'm so behind! I have been finding time to take baths, but I guess I haven't been finding time to write about them.
First, I have to give props to a Lush product, even though I hate them now. I recently tried Lush's Figs & Leaves soap for the first time (it was from an old order and I didn't realize I still had it until I found it while looking for something else). It is excellent. It smells great and it's really, really moisturizing. I found the bits of fresh fig sticking to the outside of it kind of nasty, but they peeled right off. It's a little bit exfoliating, but not too much. I just love it. Too bad my $7.25 bar has lasted like five showers.
On to happier subjects, I've tried products from a couple more of Lush's competitors. Given that I was so excited about the independent nature of some of the places I'd found online, I decided to dig even farther down into indie businesses and see if I could find some good stuff coming out of somebody's kitchen or something. So I hit Etsy and started browsing around, eventually making orders from three shops (note that this was before the whole not shopping thing). Two of those orders have arrived and been tested, and here's what I think:
I guess I kind of fell down on the job with the bath product reviews. I have been using them at a frantic rate, sometimes two baths a day, but I haven't been telling you all about it. But this should tell you all you need to know:
The other day, I made a second order from one of the Lush-alternative sources for bath indulgence I tried. Before even sampling all the stores on my list, I made another order from one. That, my friends, is burgeoning addiction.
I've been meaning to write about this all-important subject in some sort of coherent way, and my brain isn't up to talking about anything more substantial today, so here goes. A few thoughts on the Lush-replacements I have sampled so far:
Just in case anybody was holding their breath wondering, yes, I still have huge huge love for The Rainforest Soap Shack now that I have two orders with them under my belt. In fact, at this point I think I can safely say they are my go-to place for bath indulgences.
I won't bore you with a lot of detail, but I did make a couple of major discoveries with this order. The first is body frosting. All the moisturizing fabulousness of body butter, but with less of the greasiness. I got mine in Apple Orchard scent, which is actually a little bit strong for my taste (it was a free sample included in my order), but I will definitely order it again in a scent more pleasing to my nose. The second is sugar whip--absolutely fantastic in the shower. Mine is Strawberry Fields scent, and yeah, it smells just like a Strawberry Shortcake doll. Just exactly the pick me up I need at 7am. Finally, the fantabulous proprietess included a sample-sized bath blaster in this order scented with "Girl's Night Out," and it is a scent I'll definitely be ordering again.
As before, prices were reasonable, as was shipping (especially since the shop is located in Canada). Shipping took awhile, but it was worth the wait. If you're like me and looking for a better, cheaper, nicer alternative to gone-corporate Lush, this is place.
I few things that aren't gifts, so I can talk about them freely.
Claire de Lune cloth pantyliners. These were 3 for $10.50, plus $1.50 S&H, and they're fabulous. They are very lightweight, which works great for me, but are still long enough to provide reasonable panty coverage. And the fabrics are cute, too! They seem very well-made and I expect they'll be long-lasting.
So I've told you before about my love-hate relationship with Lush. But really, I gotta say, I'm just about over them now.
What happened is this: Mark's brother and his partner generously sent me a box of stuff from Lush for Christmas. Unfortunately, they picked all skincare products, which are wasted on me, the girl who does not wash her face. So, I called Lush to see if I could exchange the products, all of which are still encased in their plastic wrapping. And the fairly short person with whom I spoke told me I could probably return them to a store. When I told her I did not have a local store, she told me that the person who ordered the items could return them, because they needed "proof" that they were purchased. When I said I had the packing slip, she said that wasn't good enough and I couldn't return them. Keep in mind, please, that I wasn't trying to return these items for cash--I just wanted to exchange them for bath stuff.
OK. So I went over to the Lush website, where there is a forum where I'd previously seen people swapping Lush products. After foraging through threads and FAQs to try to find out how to swap, I finally posted a question re: swapping. And was told swapping isn't allowed there anymore.
So. I have over $50 worth of fancy face wash and moisturizer, which I will not use, which Lush will not exchange formally or informally. I emailed them to complain, but so far all I've received is a stock "we received your message, here is our FAQ" reply.
These products cost way too much for this level of customer service to be acceptable. If I hadn't been done with Lush before, I would be now.
I know I said I was going to shut up, but since typing has the benefit of not hurting my throat the way talking does, y'all are one of only communication outlets until this plague leaves me.
Besides, I want to share my scores.
I mentioned before that I scored a few great things at Black Friday sales. Well, I've done some shopping since then. I'm planning to give a few folks non-Lush bath goodies for Christmas, so I ordered from several online shops, all of whom seem to have very high quality products, are independent, generally woman-owned businesses, and don't piss me off. I haven't tried the stuff out myself yet, as I'm not 100% sure what I am gifting and what I am keeping, but it looks and smells divine.
I missed one, and in the interest of full disclosure, I wanted to add it.
I ordered a $25 Mystery Sampler from Lollibomb Beauty in the hopes of getting some hip looking products to pass on to my nieces. Shipping was an additional $7.50. I requested a "most popular scents" sampler, since I wasn't sure what said nieces would enjoy.
The box came today, and my first thought was, "wow...it's...small."
Bath products I can make successfully at this point:
bath melts
oatmeal bath
Bath products I want to try to make this weekend:
oatmeal bath bombs
bath bombs
bubble bars
sugar scrub
Current favorite scent combinations:
rose/clove
orange/clove
Suggestions?
I sold my first bunch of bath melts today, and I am just on Cloud 9 about it. True, the person who is buying them is a friend, so it's still all in the family, but I'm still excited. The first step of my plan for world domination and the overthrow of Lush is complete!
In case you missed it before, my Etsy shop, Crushworthy, is here. It's under construction, more things will be added in the future, but you can definitely buy what is there now. Please tell anybody bath-obsessed that you know--my stuff is cheaper than most, more natural than most, and fully customizable!
Also, my tie-dying friend Frog has opened an Etsy shop, Dye Tyke, and you should check it out as all. She does beautiful work, and her baby/toddler stuff is so so great. What's cuter than a baby in tie-dye? My favorite piece she has up now is this orange romper.
Here's to women turning their creativity into small business, and supporting one another while doing it!
Oh, one more shout out: my friend The Princess is blogging at a site you should all check out, Crafting a Green World. It's a wonderful read and a good resource, and I'll be adding it to be feed reader right now. You should too.
Comparison shopping for cocoa butter or
Cocoa butter price comparison
(for those Googling)
So shopping online for cocoa butter is probably not something you find yourself doing often, unless you are like me (or are me) and make a lot of gooey bath products that require large quantities of it. That being said, even if you are me, comparison shopping for the bet cocoa butter bargain is not something you want to ever have to devote an hour or more to again. Wouldn't it have been nice, you say to yourself, if someone on The Internets had handily provided this information so I would not have had to seek it out?
When I started trying to make my own bath products, I got a lot of instruction from the web. I read a few tutorials and a lot of recipes, then struck out on my own. Yesterday as I as preparing to make a batch of melts for a swap, it occurred to me that I ought to give some of that knowledge back and give a tutorial of my own. Due to my current emphasis on finances, I'm going to try to include prices here as well, so you can see how much these little suckers cost to make rather than buy.
How To Make Bath Melts
First, get your ingredients together. What you see here is an 8 oz jar of Nature's Flavors organic cocoa butter ($6.56, or $0.82/oz), a 16 oz bottle of Mountain Rose Herbs sweet almond oil ($6.50 or $0.41/oz), a five lb bucket of Majestic Mountain Sage coconut oil ($12.75 or $0.16/oz), 0.5 oz bottle of Aura Cacia sandalwood blended with jojoba essential oil ($10.69), and a 0.5 oz bottle of Wild Oats jasmine in jojoba essential oil, which was purchased on clearance for $6, but is generally more like $13.99 for 0.5 oz.
Next, get your hardware together. I used a thrifted Pyrex measuring cup, a postal scale I bought off Ebay (our kitchen scale is broken), a plastic chopstick for stirring, and a flexible rubber ice cube tray (also thrifted) for a mold. This particular mold holds 14 0.4 oz melts. Flexible rubbber molds like this one are my strong preference for making melts, as I have a hard time getting them out of harder molds without making a mess.
Once everything is together, start measuring out ingredients. Be sure to zero out the scale with the measuring up on it, then, to fill this size mold (5.6 oz total), add 3.5 oz of cocoa butter ($2.87 worth). You want your cocoa butter broken into smallish pieces if at all possible, and that's usually how it comes out of the container for me.
Next, measure in 1.5 oz of coconut oil ($0.24 worth).
Then, add about .6 oz of almond oil ($0.25 worth). Pour carefully--you can't take it back out if you add too much, and since almond oil is liquid at room temperature, adding too much will cause your melts not to harden.
Once your three oils are in, stir them up and then start your melting apparatus. I use a double-boiler method, as shown here, with a shallow pan of water heated slowly.
The coconut oil will melt almost immediately, the cocoa butter will take longer. As it melts, stir frequently.
As soon as the mixture is all melted, take it off the heat. The object is to heat it as little as possible while still getting everything fully melted. Do not be alarmed if it smells like chocolate and/or coconut--those are the butters natural scents and will be masked by the essential oils you add. If those scents bother you, you can buy deodorized cocoa butter, but it is much more expensive.
Once your melting is complete, you are ready to add your scents. In this amount of base liquid, I add about 60-80 drops of scent, depending on which scents I am using. The scents will smell stronger when added to the warm oil than they do in the finished product, so this is really a trial-and-error process. For the sake of this example, lets say I used .05 oz (about a tenth of the bottle) of sandalwood ($1.07 worth) and .05 oz of jasmine ($1.40 worth).
Once you have mixed in your scents, pour the mixture carefully into your molds. You want to fill them all the way up without going over the edges. It's a slow process.
Once the molds are full, they need to go somewhere to harden. Since it's still pretty warm in my house, I harden them in the fridge--they get harder faster that way, and it's a lot easier to deal with these as solids than as liquids.
After they harden for an hour or two, you should be able to pop them out of the mold easily and wrap or package them. My preferred wrapping methods are individually in foil and then together in a decorative fabric bag, or all together in a plastic bag and then that in a decorative bag, depending on how many melts we're talking about.
By my calculation, the total cost for this project (not including hardware, just ingredients) is $5.83, or $0.42 per .4 oz melt ($1.04 per oz). For the sake of comparison, my favorite bath melt from Lush, the Dreamtime, is $5.65/oz, and it contains artificial perfume as well as essential oils.
The upshot, of course, is that if you are a bath product junkie like me, it's greener and more frugal to make your own. If you don't want to make your own, though, come on over to Crushworthy--I am hoping to get new stock up this week, and I'll be happy to sell you some.
THE CONTEST HAS ENDED. THANKS TO ALL WHO PARTICIPATED!
My Lord! Did you all know about the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival? All over the net, bloggers are giving things away! Hundreds of us! It's not only a great way to enter contests for tons of cool stuff, it's also a great way to find new blogs. So, of course, I'm in.
Here's what I am giving away: an Introduction to Crushworthy Grab Bag, from my Etsy store, Crushworthy. The handmade fabric bag will include a sampling of my handmade all-natural bath products. Could be any combination of bath melts, bath bombs, bubble bath bars, oil perfume, oatmeal bath, sugar scrub...you name it!
To enter, just leave me a comment on this post, telling me what scent(s) you'd like if you were to be the winner. I'll used Random Number Generation to pick a winner sometime next week, and the winner will be posted both here and at the Carnival's home site. Please be sure to leave a way for me to get in touch with you in your comment--if you win, you want to make sure I can let you know!
And then, when you're done here, go over and check out some other blogs and enter their contests! That's where I'm headed!
I am sorry I need to do this, but I do have to limit this contest to US-only shipping addresses.
I'll get to my Making Things Monday post shortly, but in the meantime, I have a winner for my Bloggies Giveaway Carnival Contest! I ended up with a fantastic 135 entries to win an Introduction to Crushworthy Grag Bag, and the winner is Becky, who likes ylang ylang! I'll be emailing you shortly!
For everyone who didn't win, if you'd still like to try out something from Crushworthy, please do! For the rest of the month of November, mention this blog post in your order on Etsy and I'll take 20% off. Deal?
Today we turn away from food and back to where my true heart lies--bath products. In specific, we're going to take a look at how to make sugar scrub. Sugar scrub is one of those things that is SO easy to make that once you see how it's done, you'll feel silly ever buying it again. You don't even need fancy ingredients--you can make it all with household stuff (and I'll note those substitutions). This is definitely the place to start if you want to make your own bath stuff. And it would be a good project for kids, too, I think--fairly inexpensive and no melting required!
These are the ingredients used in my sugar scrubs: organic brown sugar, organic white sugar, organic honey, apricot kernel oil, sweet almond oil, and essential oils. For the sake of this example, we'll be making my personal favorite scent combo, orange clove.
This is the necessary hardware. This recipe is by volume, not weight, so no scaled needed. You will need measuring cups, a bowl, a spoon to mix it with, and, in my case at least, a pipette for EOs (since one of the bottles I'm using doesn't have a dropper top). I have a separate set of measuring cups and spoons and mixing spoons that I use for bath stuff only, but it isn't necessary in a recipe like this--everything is food safe.
Add a cup of white sugar to the bowl. In my area, organic white sugar is about $0.99/lb regular price. A cup of sugar is approximately 1/2 lb, so this is about $0.50 worth of sugar.
Next, add the same amount of brown sugar. This too is about $0.99/lb for organic here. There are about 2.5 cups of brown sugar to a pound, so this is about $0.40 worth. The sugars make up the exfoliating capacity of the scrub. I use a combo of both types because they have a different grit level and I think they work best together. Some people may prefer just one or the other, though, and that's fine, the recipe will work the same way.
Then add 1/4 cup of honey. The honey is for it's antiseptic and skin-clearing properties. Organic honey has a really wide range of prices, but my local stuff is usually about $4 for 12 oz. 1/4 cup is approximately 2 oz, so this is $0.67 in honey.
Next, add 1/4 cup of apricot kernel oil. With the almond oil, this will make up the moisturizing element of the scrub. My current best price for apricot kernel oil is $5.70 for 16 oz (from Majestic Mountain Sage). A cup of oil is about 8 oz, so 1/4 cup is about 2 oz. This recipe, then, calls for about $0.71 worth of apricot oil.
Finally, add 1/2 cup of sweet almond oil. If you don't want to spend the money for these special oils, all 3/4 cup of oil can be substituted for an oil you already have. It won't work quite as well, but it will work. It has to be an oil that is liquid at room temperature, though, so coconut oil is out. Personally, I wouldn't want to use corn or canola or vegetable oil either. Light olive oil, though, would probably work fine, as would sunflower oil (which is what they use in a lot of commercial scrubs to keep costs down).
Majestic Mountain Sage also has the best priced almond oil I've found, $4.75 for 16 oz. Since 1/2 cup is about 4 oz, this is $1.19 worth of almond oil.
Now that everything (besides the scents) is in the bowl, mix it up. It should end up looking like this. If it looks too wet, add a bit more sugar. If it looks too dry, add a bit more oil. In general, though, a proportion of 2 pts sugar to 1 pt honey and oil seems to work about right.
Finally, add your scents. I'm using a disposable pipette here to add orange essential oil. The best price on this stuff I've found is from Snowdrift Farms, who sell it for $2.79 for 2 oz. I'm using maybe .1 oz here, so it's only about $0.14 worth. (No, relative cheapness is not the reason I love orange oil so much, but it sure doesn't hurt!)
Since it has a dropper top, I add the clove bud oil straight from the bottle. The best price I've found on this oil is also from Snowdrift Farms, and it's $4.95 for 1 oz. Again, this is about .1 oz, so $0.50 worth.
If you don't want to shell out for essential oils, you have a couple of options. You can leave your scrub "unscented," in which case it's mostly going to smell like whatever oil you use, or you can use something else to scent it with (maybe vanilla extract?).
Once you have mixed in your oils, your scrub is complete and ready to be jarred. I like to put mine in thrifted or recycled class jars with lids. You want it to be in something fairly airtight so it doesn't dry out. If it is in a decent container, it should keep fine for several months.
Voila! The finished product!
The total cost for this scrub (not counting the jar, since I'll assume that's recycled from something else) is $4.11, for about 16 oz. My favorite commercial scrub, the sugar cane body scrub from Alba Botanicals, runs about $8.79 for 10 oz. And it's not even a most-expensive brand! So my scrub, made with all-natural ingredients, is about $0.26/oz, and theirs is $0.88/oz. Pretty clear which one I'm going to choose! (It is worth noting, however, that making this scrub with more expensive essential oils would raise the price considerably--these are among the cheapest EOs you can get.)
As always, if you just don't feel like making this yourself, please stop by Crushworthy. I'd be happy to make it for you!
I'm still reading the same book I was last week, so let's make bubble bars instead, shall we?
Making Things Monday redux!
You're going to need baking soda, sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (NOT sodium laureth sulfate, that's different, and I will get to that in a minute), vegetable derived liquid glycerin, cream of tartar, and essential oils. You're also going to need a bowl, spoon, and measure devices.
In your bowl, mix up equal parts baking soda and sodium lauryl sulfoacetate. The baking soda is what makes it fizz, as well as being good for irritated skin and keeping things together in the bars. The sodium lauryl sulfoacetate is a foaming agent. However, unlike the evil sodium laureth sulfate, it is plant derived (from palm and coconut oil) rather than synthetic. It's also a "large molecule," rather than "small molecule" ingredient, which means it shouldn't irritate your skin (you can read a bit more about it here). Start with maybe one cup of each. Then add a couple of tablespoons of cream of tartar. The cream of tartar is there to help the bubbles keep their shape. Then add a couple of tablespoons of glycerin. The glycerin is to soften your skin and clean you, as well as assist in the bubbling. What you'll likely end up with it something that looks a bit like the bowl above--sticky, but not quite wet enough to stick together. Add the essential oils at this point. I find, for whatever reason, that I need to add a bit higher EO concentration to these bars than I do to melts or scrubs.
Once your ingredients are mixed, spritz them with water just until they're wet enough to stick together. You want to use as little water as possible. If you use enough glycerin and EOs, you may not need the water at all.
Then pack it into your molds. I use silicon shaped cupcake molds (or I use one of them--this is the only one I have and I really need some different ones). You want to pack it in as tightly as possible. Don't be afraid to use your fingers.
Once everything is packed in, it will look like this! Let them set up for about 24 hrs in a dry place.
Viola! Bubble bars! Crumble them up under fast-moving warm bath water and luxuriate!
Now, the math:
Baking soda is cheap. I buy big bags at Costco, which are, I believe, about $5 for 12 lbs. A cup is about .4 lbs. That makes the per cup cost about $0.17.
Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate costs $6.75/lb at Majestic Mountain Sage. A cup is about 1/4 of the container, or 4 oz, so I'd say $1.69 worth.
Cream of tarter is $9.69/lb from Frontier. The two-three tablespoons in this recipe add up to only about 1.5 oz, so that's $0.91 worth.
Majestic Mountain Sage sells liquid vegetable derived glycerin for $4/lb. Again, three tablespoons is only about 1.5 oz, so this recipe only calls for about $0.38 worth.
As always, the EOs are the expensive part. How much they cost varies widely based on how much you use and what types. A favorite bubble bar of mine from Lush is the Amandopondo Bubble Bar. It is scented with lemon, orange, and rose, so lets us that as a comparison. Orange EO, as we know from Monday, is cheap. This recipe would use maybe .2 oz, and it's $2.79 for 2 oz at best price, so that's $0.28 worth. Lemon is pretty cheap too--best price is found at Snowdrift Farms, and it's $4.49/oz. If this uses .2 oz (which is a generous estimate), that's $0.90 worth. Rose, however, is not cheap. The best price I've found for 5% rose in jojoba oil is $5.99 for .5 oz, at Frontier. If this recipe uses .2 oz, then, it's $2.40 worth.
Add that all up and this batch of bubble bars costs approximately $6.73 in a lemon-orange-rose combo. That's for 6 bars weighing slightly under 3 oz each--we'll say 16 oz total.
In comparison, the bar I linked to at Lush is $6.65 for one 3.5 oz bar. My per oz cost is $0.42, Lush's per oz cost is $1.90. To top that, the third ingredient in Lush's bar? Sodium laureth sulfate.
I win again!
Today on Making Things Monday, we're making oatmeal bath bombs. These are great because they are both fun (fizzy!) and good for your skin. The ones that are shown here are mini-bombs, which are good for kids, who may have less bath water, or for adults, who can use however many they want to customize their baths. The same recipe can be used for larger bombs, however.
Your lineup of ingredients may be getting familiar by now. You'll need oatmeal, baking soda, citric acid, almond oil, essential oil(s), and a spray bottle full of water.
Unlike most of my recipes, this one does call for a bit of specialized equipment in the form of a food processor. You'll also need a bowl, a stirring spoon, and measuring cups.
Measure a cup of oatmeal into the food processor.
Process the oatmeal. You're going to want to give it several minutes--the idea here is to get it as fine as possible. The more fine it is, the less grit you end up with in the bath when you use the bombs.
While the oatmeal is processing, measure a cup of baking soda into your bowl.
Then measure in a bit less than a cup (maybe 3/4 cup) of citric acid.
Add the processed oatmeal.
Mix up all the dry ingredients. Make sure to work out an citric acid or baking soda lumps.
Add 1/4 cup of almond oil.
After you mix in the almond oil, add your essential oil or oils. In this case, I am making simple, kid-friendly lavender bombs.
Once everything has been added, the mixture will look something like this.
Spray on and mix in just enough water to make the mixture stick together when you apply pressure. You want to use as little water as possible. Using too much water will initiate the chemical reaction that makes these fizz, and they will fizz right out of your molds. Depending on the humidity in your house and how much EO you use, you may not need any water at all.
Pack the mixture into your molds. You want it as tightly packed as possible.
Your filled molds will look something like this. Let them set up for about 24 hours (until they are completed hard), then pop them out of the molds. Use 1-2/bath for kids and 3-4/bath for adults.
Now, the math:
Organic oatmeal is about $1.29/lb. A pound is about 5 cups, so these bombs us about $0.26 worth.
My Costco bag of baking soda was about $5 for 12 lbs. A cup is about .4 lbs, so $0.17 worth.
The best price I've found on citric acid is $2.25/lb at Snowdrift Farms. A cup is about .5 lbs, so our 3/4 cup is about $0.84 worth.
Best price for sweet almond oil is $4.75/lb from Majestic Mountain Sage. Our 1/4 cup is about 2 oz, which is $0.60 worth.
Finally, the best price I've found for lavender essential oil is $4.90/oz at Majestic Mountain Sage. This recipe uses about .2 oz, so $0.98 worth.
All told, that's $2.85 to make 30 .3 oz mini-bombs, or 9 oz of bombs. $0.32/oz. Not bad! I don't believe Lush has an oatmeal bomb with which to compare this, but if they did, I'm pretty sure it would cost more than that!
For those who have been interested in my Making Things Mondays, you should really check out this round-up at One Pretty Thing. There are all sorts of links to recipes and tutorials to make your own bath stuff, most of them much better done than mine. Enjoy!
As I implied in that last post, and probably have previously, I ended up a bit over my head with this bath product making business. The problem, as is often my problem, is that I didn't think things through completely before I started. Mostly, this was because I didn't really expect to sell anything. So, even though I didn't sell that much, I ended up overwhelmed. I was short on supplies, so ended up paying a premium for those; I didn't manage my time well, so orders went out late; and I didn't think about packaging and shipping very thoroughly before starting. All of this has added up to a stressful learning experience that ended up costing well more than I earned for the Christmas season.
Why past tense? Because as of today my shop is closed until after the new year. If I am going to do this, I need to do it correctly, with some forethought. So I'm giving myself the next few weeks to put that necessary thought into it, with the plan of opening back up in January with a supply of products ready to be sold, a plan for packing and shipping, better photographs, and a generally more professional outlook.
But where to begin? I think I need a business plan. I can't figure out why it is that I am perfectly capable of thinking and writing one of those out for someone else, but for myself, I just fly by the seat of my pants.
For now, these are the things on which I think I need to focus:
That seems like a lot to think about right there, without even getting into the longer list of issues I have. I'm sure I'll be thinking and writing about this some more in the next few weeks. In the meantime, your advice and comments are very, very appreciated.
Have you ever heard of The Little Black Box? Basically, it's an independent company that gathers up samples from lots of indie businesses and puts them together in monthly "black boxes." The boxes are geared and teen girls and women and contain lots of beauty/bath type samples, jewelry, etc. They are different every month, depending on which indie businesses decide to contribute, and not all of the boxes are the same every month, depending on how many of each thing there are, though all of the boxes do have the same general value/number of items. There are a limited number of boxes for sale each month. The boxes cost $23 including priority mail shipping.
I heard about the program a year or so ago and desperately wanted to order one, but didn't have any extra cash at the time and forgot all about it. Then, recently, someone on a message board reminded me about them and I looked them back up. Since there were still February boxes left, I ordered one, and it arrived yesterday.
The Little Black Box is actually a little black bag, pictured at left. I don't know why that disappointed me, but it did. However, packaging doesn't really matter all that much--I was more interested in what was inside!
The following was included in my February Little Black Box:
All in all, I was neither blown away nor disappointed. There was nothing in the box I would have chosen for myself, but most of it seems pretty usable and reasonable to pay for. I found the companies that contributed coupons but no merchandise irritating--I shouldn't have to pay for your coupons. I thought the Skin Candy company was generous, as was Lincoln Christie. I would have liked more bath stuff and less jewelry, but I understand that's the luck of the draw. And I still love the concept.
So, I think I will try March's box and see what it holds. The website says it will be on sale March 27. And in the meantime, I'm considering contributing to the boxes once I get Crushworthy back up and running. Little tins of sugar scrub would be perfect, I think...
I love a good bargain. This if, of couse, one of the reasons why I thrift shop (though at this point it's not the most important one). Coupons thrill me. I love clearance racks.
And I love, love, love Ross. More recently, my Ross love has expanded to include Marshall's, as well. I still don't quite get T.J. Maxx.
Anyway, I've been cleaning up at Ross and Marshall's lately, so I thought I'd share with you a few of the discoveries I've made therein.
Abba Pure Basic Shampoo and Conditioner
I bought an 8 oz bottle each of Abba Pure Basic Shampoo and Conditioner at Marshall's a while back for I think $6.99 each. The drugstore.com price on it is $14/bottle for the shampoo and $15 for the conditioner. And I LOVE this stuff. It leaves my hair soft and clean and it smells herbal and nice. Once I'd used it enough to know I loved it, I was delighed to see the same stuff in big liter bottles at Ross for $12.99 (they are regularly about $30). So I've stocked up. Which is good, since apparently Abba is discontinuing this formula.
Seven7 Jeans
My quest for perfect jeans is nearly endless, but I've lately found a pair that is pretty damn close. They are the Seven7 brand dark wash flare jeans. Retail on them is about $60, mine were $19.99 at Marshall's.
EO French Lavender products
The French Lavender line from EO is one of my favorite commercially available body products. I love the subtle scent, and the quality is very good. I've recently bought a anti-stress room spray for $3.99 at Marshall's (regular price $8 or so) and one of these cute "Spa Box" sets for $4.99 at Ross (regular price $19.99). I used the massage candle to figure out how to make my own, and have very much enjoyed the shower gel and bath salts as well.
Ann Taylor lotion
My most exciting recent bath and body care was Ann Taylor body lotions for $3.99 each at Marshall's. It looks as if these have also been discontinued, at least in the two scents I got--Peach Honey Sheer Musk and Orange Nectar Honeysuckle--but when they were being sold I believe they were about $16 each.
Simple Carousel Plaid Slip-on
One of my favorite things about Ross is that they sometimes carry shoes in my size. They carried these plaid Simple slip-ons in my size, and I love them for that. The shoes are from Simple's Eco line, made with recycled bottles and tired and organic cotton, and they are super cute. My Ross version were $12.99. Amazon has them for $49.99.
Now if I could just find a bag I like...
As I mentioned I was going to last month, I got March's Little Black Box. And I'm much more impressed with it than I was with February's offering.
It includes:
Like I said, much better than last time. I can't wait to try some of this stuff. And I'm likely intrigued enough to get April's box if I have the cash when it comes out. So stay tuned!
As a pre-teen and teenager living at home, I had the usual number of parental rules to rebel again. Retrospectively, they mostly make sense--I understand now why my mom wanted to know where I was going and with whom, and why she wouldn't let 14 year-old me go on a co-ed camping trip with my new 18 year-old boyfriend, and even, to some degree, why she balked at letting me out of the house in some of the outfits I picked out. One rule I absolutely hated then, though, and still sort of feel for my teenage self on, is the no smelly stuff rule.
Perfume was not allowed in my house. Neither were highly scented lotions or soaps, or candles or incense. The reason for this ban was my mom's sensitivity (she calls it an allergy, but I'm not sure it actually is in the clinical sense) to scents--both artificial and natural (fresh flowers weren't allowed in the house either). And she knew if you tried to get around it--I would try to apply perfume at school and she'd smell it on me seven hours later (the fact my perfume of choice was Malibu Musk probably didn't help). The embargo was total.
As soon as I left for college, I became a Bath & Body Works junkie. I may have worn the same pants every day for 90% of my freshman year, but I smelled like Cucumber Melon (in retrospect, not a huge step up from the Malibu Musk). I bought whole collections. I had a dresser drawer stockpile. I spent hours in that store. I was a bonafide stinky stuff junkie.
As I got more comfortable in my late-teen/early-20s alternative skin, I moved on from Bath & Body Works. I started wearing essential oils, and burning them. I colored my hair pink with that Jason's Pomegranate shampoo that that smelled like candy (I don't think you can get that stuff anymore, can you?). There was, possibly, patchouli involved.
At the beginning of my post-college "professional" career I found my happy medium in The Body Shop. I could smell good, use relatively earth-friendly products, and still shop at the mall! Since it had been a few years since living under my mom's no-scent reign of terror, I didn't take my smell quite so seriously anymore, but I never stopped using fun scented lotions and potions.
Then, a few years back, an online friend introduced me to Lush. And I was back in Bath & Body Works land, spending countless hours and dollars on bath bombs and melts, excessive soap, and fancy shampoo. I read Lush message boards. I planned purchases in advance. I re-built my stockpile.
Since then, you sort of know what has happened. I got disillusioned with Lush's extortionist prices and branched out to lots of smaller indie companies. Then I started making my own stuff, and then I started Crushworthy. My obsession with the scented and frou-frou plateaued into something manageable. A hobby and sometimes business, but not an obsession.
Now, though, I'm in the throes of Obsession: Round 3. Once again, it is courtesy of the amazing women I meet online. I've been introduced to the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and their insanely named and charmingly goth perfume oils. First, it was just a few samples to try. Then a couple of message board posts to see if I could buy a few more samples for cheap. Now there's a spreadsheet, a storage plan, decanting, files on how different scent notes work on my skin. There are other, similar companies I plan to try or have already started trying (Villainess, Possets, Happy Housewife, Archana). There is a growing stockpile. What was intended as a trial run to see if I could identify one or two scents I'd like to wear on a daily basis has become an obsession to try everything, smell everything, possess everything.
(In case you are curious, my favorite BPAL scents so far are Mata Hari (rose, jasmine, vanilla, fig, tonka bean, mahogany, and coffee bean), Catherine (orange blossom, rosemary, and rose), Glasgow (wild blackberry and heather), and Lady Macbeth (Bordeaux wine, red currant, thyme and wild berries)--sensing any patterns?)
Why? Well, I blame my mom. Childhood deprivation has led to adulthood obsession. I buy and wear countless highly scented and expensive body products because I can, now. I'm making up for lost time.
A lot of bath product junkies won't lower themselves to bar soap. They prefer shower gel or cream or butter, complete with a loofah or pouf or sea sponge. When it comes to the actual getting clean part of showering, though, I'm a purist. Bar soap and a washcloth for me, thanks. But I do like nice bar soap. And (big surprise) I'm kind of a collector of it. I can't go to an art fair or farmer's market or street festival without coming home with a few bars from whomever is selling there. In these parts, that means a lot of Austin Natural Soap and South Austin People, both of which I like (in particular, I'm a fan of Austin Natural Soap's 78704 and S.o.A.P.'s Christmas Love soap. Since those are the vendors I am used to seeing, though, I'm always excited to see new soaps around.
Yesterday, at a spring festival thing where our rescue had a booth, I hit the soap jackpot. A vendor I had never seen before and knew nothing about who was selling loads of big beautiful bars. I came home with six.
Hill Country Haiku is a one-woman shea butter soap making enterprise located out in Spicewood, Texas. The woman behind it, Margie Lemons, was running her own booth yesterday, so I got to speak to her briefly. Sounds like her soap making started out as a hobby and has grown from there, and she's clearly (and rightfully) very proud to say that every bar is 100% her work--she designs the soaps, makes them, molds them, cuts them, labels them, sells them, ships them, the works.
And they are beautiful. Each bar is oversized, perfectly trimmed, and nicely and minimally labeled (less waste!). Margie does use dyes, so her bars are a rainbow of colors and patterns. She has tons of scents available, too--it took me forever to narrow my list down to just six. (For the curious, I came home with Honey Bee Mine, Chiara and Blackberry and Sage from the Tried & True collection, as well as Hemingway, Peekaboo Pink, and His Own, which all seem to be limited scents). Each bar is $5.95, which is a good price considering they are at least 5 oz each.
But really, the look and scent of the dry bar is hardly the test for soap, is it? How was my shower?
Fantastic. I started with the Hemingway, which is an orange and brown swirled bar scented with kumquat and chocolate, and it's divine. Rich lather, very moisturizing, lovely and not too strong scent. Felt good in the shower, felt good when I got out. I think the bar is going to last a long while, too--the soap is nice and hard and doesn't fall apart when water touches it.
Lately, I've moved away from my usual local soaps and tried a few fancier varieties from online (mainly Villainess). The price of this soap is similar or slightly higher than what I usually pay at farmer's markets and fairs, but the quality is higher too. The bars are more evenly trimmed, harder, last longer. From what I can tell so far, the quality of the Hill Country Haiku soap is more similar to that of Villainess (or Lush) than the other local small batch soaps I've tried. Margie's soap isn't just as good as any I've gotten from a booth before, it's better.
Since I wrote this post about my addiction to fancy bath stuff and perfume, I have had it in my head to write something about the smells I prefer and why. Obviously, since I make my own essential oil scented products, as well as spending an embarrassing amount of time picking out the smells I want from other people's stuff, I have preferences. There are a set of smells I love and a set of smells I can't stand, and some of it is probably just random taste, but a lot of it does have to do with the feelings that those smells invoke in me. I don't know if I really believe in aromatherapy or not, but it seems undeniable to me that smells do have bearing on your feelings. Bad or overpowering smells are distracting and irritating, while subtle and pleasant smells are calming. Smells can make you nostalgic, obviously, but also tense and troubled. Smells can help you to relax or energize you. But not all smells work the same way for all people, so please don't think of this as instruction or advice. This is just what works for me.
Smells I Love
Lavender: For me, lavender is probably the most overall useful and pleasant scenting agent. I use it everything from bath stuff to cleaning supplies, combine it with nearly everything, and it is almost never wrong. My laundry soap is lavender lemongrass, with a lavender dryer sachet; there is a lavender and sweet orange spray near my cat boxes; and if I am making bath products for myself, they are more likely to contain lavender than any other single smell. Lavender makes me feel calm and relaxed, and it also gives me the sensation of being clean and fresh (which is why I love it so much for laundry and cleaning).
My favorite lavender products: There are a ton to choose from, but the first two that come to mind are Aveda's Balancing Infusion for Sensitive Skin (which contains lavender, patchouli, geranium, and rose oils) and EO's Lavender and Sweet Orange Room Spray, which I believe is found at Whole Foods.
Orange: Like lavender, I find orange to be a versatile and almost univerally pleasant smell. It has to be a natural orange smell, though--the kind that smells like an actual orange, not like orange candy. Many people find citrus smells invigorating and energizing, but I don't particularly (probably in large part due to the blends I choose). For me, orange, like lavender, invokes feelings of calm and cleanliness.
My favorite orange products: My own orange and clove bath stuff has to be up there, but I like other people's orange products as well. One I've been enjoying lately is the Orange Sherbet Bubble Bath Dough from Red Leaf. It's a nice warm orange scent with a little bit of vanilla in it that smells very natural and I find both cheerful and soothing.
Fig: Though it is slightly more esoteric than the first two scents I mentioned, I'm nuts about fig scented products. I love fig because it's a natural, fruity smell that has some earthiness to it and isn't too sweet. For me, it's a very grounding, centered smell. In particular, I love bath products with a fig element.
My favorite fig products: The product that introduced me to my love of fig was Lush's Figs & Leaves soap, which is made with actual figs as well as orange and ylang ylang and is my hands-down favorite thing from Lush. More recently, I have been crazy about Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Carnal scent, which pairs fig with mandarin.
Rose: It took me a long time to warm up to rose, mostly because there is so much badly done rose stuff out there. Nicely scented rose products should smell like an actual rose, not your grandmother's underwear drawer. There is a weird underlying power or talculm scent in some rose stuff that I just cannot get behind. Real rose, though, is a pure, beautiful scent, and not just a floral but also an earthy, almost spicy note. I like to wear it because it makes me feel not only feminine, but somehow more mature and confident.
My favorite rose products: Once again, BPAL does an amazing job with rose. Their The Rose perfume is probably the perfect pure rose scent. I love the blends with rose even more, though, particularly Catherine, which is rose, rosemary, and orange blossom; and Mata Hari, which is a five rose blend with jasmine, vanilla, fig, tonka bean, mahogany, and coffee.
Clove: The more I experiment with scents, the more I realize that I strongly prefer "warm" scents to "cool" ones. I like spicy, rich scents. And nothing adds spicy and rich to a combination faster than clove. I mix clove with nearly as many things as I do lavender (though I do not mix them together!). I love orange and clove, rose and clove, vanilla and clove...I could go on. The smell of clove makes me feel warm and safe and at home.
My favorite clove products: Once again, I am awfully fond of my own clove blends, but nothing I've made can hold a candle to Villainess' Embargo. Embargo is a complicated scent, "Indonesian Patchouli spiked with imported spices - cloves, sandalwood, and cedarwood, and a drop of perfume - Tunisian jasmine, tuberose, lily of the valley, grape and Tahitian vanilla," but mostly, to me, it smells like a warm library. BPAL's Madrid is another great clove scent, mixing clove with red wine and mimosa.
So tell me, what smells do you love? Why? How do they make you feel? Do they invoke specific memories, or just general feelings? How important do you think they are in your life?
I am sad to say that April's Little Black Box will likely be my last for awhile.
It's not that the contents are bad--in fact, I think it's the most substantial of the three LBBs I have received. But, there are a lot of duplicates, and given that, for me, the whole point is introduction to new products, that is disappointing.
This month's new offerings were:
Duplicates from previous months were:
See my issue?
To answer a question I've had before, I'd say you could get 3-4 small gifts from this sample package. Three of the four pairs of earrings would work as a gift (and the fourth pair, the ones from On Beyond Zebra, would likely work for a child's gift). The Ceylon Tea sugar scrub and Heaven and Earth Essentials products are also big enough samples to give as gifts without feeling cheap.
All in all, though, I'm disappointed. These are small, sample products. If the LBB doesn't introduce me to fabulous new companies, it's not really worth my time or money. So, I think I'll give it a few months before I order again and see if there are new participants on board.
Addendum: After giving it a bit of thought, I emailed this review of the April LBB, as well as my thoughts on the March and February boxes, to the LBB owner, Kimberlee. Kimberlee said that she was sorry I was disappointed and that I may have received a leftover March box by mistake for April, explaining all the duplication. She then asked for my address so that she could send me the May box free of charge. That is excellent customer service, and I couldn't be happier. So, stay tuned--turns out that I will be telling you all about May's offering!
Did somebody say everything's better from Canada? In this case, they may be right. What you see here is the contents of May's Sweet Delight Divalicious Sample Box--the equivalent, more or less, of the Little Black Box here in the U.S.
The Divalicious box costs $25 Canadian ($21.59 U.S. ATM), shipping included. This seems like an almost unreasonably good price to me, especially since the box I received indicates that the sender paid $11.15 to ship it to me. The LBB is $20 US shipping included, so not a big price difference. One area in which they do differ is that the LBB is a monthly venture, while the Divalicious box is only every other month.
So, how do they compare? You can see my reviews of the past three LBBs here, here, and here. Compare it to:
The contents of the May Sweet Delight Divalicious Box:
Not a bad haul for $20ish, right? I am particularly jazzed about the really nice earrings, the skin care samples from Agua Cate & Co., and the lavender soy tea lights. All of the packaging was really nice, and there was no worthless extra stuff in the box to piss me off, which was nice.
I am still very excited to receive my complimentary May LBB and see what it has in store for me, but as of right now, Divalicious is the front-runner in this contest. I'm definitely getting on their sale list for July!
I'm sorry if you all are sick of this subject, but I have to tell you:
My complimentary May Little Black Box arrived today, and I am NOT disappointed. On its strength, LBB has pulled slightly ahead of Divalicious in the battle for my sample-box favorite.
The best things (all of which are small giftable except the last one):
Other good things:
Duplicates/things I loved less:
This box did what it was supposed to do. Not only did it give me some great treats, but it introduced me to at least three companies I now want to check out (Strawberry Hedgehog, Melissa's Handcrafted Soap, and Intentions). Win!
Kimberlee, you are an excellent business woman. Sending me this free box did indeed get me back on board with LBB. See you next month!!
The LBB is on a roll. June's offering did not disappoint! As usual, this post will contain a rundown of what my box contained, but I'm also going to attempt to figure out the value of the items therein. All the values listed are taken from the merchant's website. If what was in the box is not offered on the site, the value is estimated based on what is offered.
In the box:
Grand total: $51.80.
Yeah, I think it's definitely worth the money.
I am particularly excited about the Flutterby Beauty stuff--it's a new shop, and the information on their website leads me to believe they are right up my alley!
The LBB has done it again! In June's box, one of the most exciting items was a little bag of several samples from Flutterby Beauty, a new bath product shop on the scene. Intrigued by the sample items (and the 20% off coupon code), I made a small order from the website.
After some deliberation, I ordered: two 6.5 oz jars of Whipped Body Polish (one in Comfort, "a soothing blend of calming lavender with a hint of creamy milk and a drop of honey;" one in Clementine Lavender, "a relaxing and balancing fragrance of French lavender and sweet clementine supported by bergamot and Italian lemon"); two 2 oz bottles of Silky Body Oil (one in Head Over Heels, "fragrance opens with sweet vanilla, leads to a delicate floral center, and ends with a base of blackberry musk (compare to Philosophy Falling In Love);" one in Marrakesh, "an aromatic blend of spices including ginger, cinnamon, and clove balanced with a bit of zesty orange and warmed by a hint of vanilla"); and two 2 oz bottles of Moisture Mist (one in Honey Bee, "sweet honey drizzled over sticky toffee balanced with a squeeze of juicy orange and light florals (compare to Lush Honey I Washed The Kids);" one in Nectarine Blossom, "just-ripening nectarines with a hint of the delicate blossoms and a touch of honey (compare to Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom & Honey)"). After my discount code, my order came to about $35 with shipping.
It shipped lightening fast (two days, maybe?) and arrived quickly. It was well-packaged, with each set of two items in its own bag, tied with a purple ribbon. There was also a purple organza bag with three sample items--a body polish, a lotion, and a perfume. Flutterby's packaging is minimalist--just a simple label--but the bottles and tubs aren't flimsy and everything held up just fine.
Since the order arrived, I've had the chance to try at least one of each item. The body polish has a great texture, didn't seperate during shipping, and washes off without leaving an oil residue. I don't love the Comfort scent--the lavender overwhelms everything else in it--but there are lots of others to choose from. It's definitely worth buying again.
The other two products are even better. The Silky Body Oil is much like Haunt's Skin Glossing Oil (only $1.50 a 4 oz bottle cheaper), and it's an amazing moisturizing after-shower alternative when it's too hot for thick lotion (like now). I've tried both scents, but I love the Marrakesh--it's just spicy enough without being overpowering, and both the citrus and the vanilla are both clear in it. It's one of those smells, like Villainess' Jai Mahal, that just makes me feel cozy. Wonderful.
The Moisture Mist is also a winner. It's nice and cooling and lightly scented--perfect to carry around during the summer to replace heavy perfume oil. And the best part? Honey Bee is a dead ringer for Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids, which is one of my all-time favorite scents. I'm not a big fan of the Nectarine Blossom, but, again, there are lots of other scents to choose from. It's also fairly inexpensive, with a 4 oz bottle costing only $8.95.
Even more so than the first company to which the LBB introduced me, Heaven & Earth Essentials, I am taken with Flutterby. I'll definitely be ordering from them again. And, if you want to do the same, they are having a grand opening sale right now--the coupon code OPENING gets you 15% off your order and $5 flat rate shipping on all domestic orders. Go!
I'm not trying to enable anybody or anything, and you all know about my mixed feelings about Lush, but I gotta tell you:
Christmas items are buy one, get two free.
You're welcome. Or, perhaps, I'm sorry.
This page contains an archive of all entries posted to What if No One's Watching? in the Baths category. They are listed from oldest to newest.
Austin is the previous category.
Books is the next category.
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.