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Donna Maria's Handmade Beauty Connection
February 4, 2002

A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 3, Issue 5

This Week's Sponsor:
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Visit us on the Web at www.SoapFairy.com or call (302) 645-4596.

1. HBN Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members
2. New At MakeYourCosmetics.com
3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win a generous sample of the product described in this week's question!
4. Create The Life You Love™ Tip: Introducing Beauty Buddies
5. Handmade Beauty Product Recipe: Lemon Rose Honey Help

1. HBN Update: Welcome New & Renewing HBN Members

~ Welcome New HBN Members!

Paradise Valley Natural Skincare Co. | Cindy Baird | Texas
* line of aromatherapy face and body care products

Sunlit | Jan Seaton | Virginia
* a wide variety of handmade soaps using non-animal ingredients

Annabella and Company Creativity Collective | Alicia Grosso | California
* handmade soap wrapped in Japanese paper; can be customized to order

Natural Indulgence Body Essentials | Christina Haas | Pennsylvania
* vegetable based handmade soap

~ Welcome Renewing HBN Members!!

~ HBN Members On The Move!

HBN member Tammie Umble is pleased to announce the change of her business name from Halal Essentials Wholesale to African Shea Butter Store. Says Tammie, "we have changed our business to basically focus only shea butter and its products." I was fortunate enough to be able to sample some of Tammie's shea butter last summer at the Jeanne Rose Brunch and it was fabulous ... very creamy, and just seemed to melt right into my skin. Good luck Tammie!

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. New At MakeYourCosmetics.com

Lemon Rose Honey Help is a great product to give our hands and feet the special attention they deserve!!

We are pleased to announce the addition of a new Partner to the MakeYourCosmetics.com Web site. HBN member SunRose Aromatics in New York is a full service provider of pure essential oils, carrier oils and other aromatherapy products, each carefully selected for quality. SunRose guarantees your satisfaction!!

When you visit Make Your Cosmetics.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 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, carrier oils and other aromatherapy products, each carefully selected for quality. Check out their new Perfumer's Emporium.

3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: the winner of last week's contest was Jah'Net Post of Wheaton, Illinois. Jah'Net won a bottle of Jasmine Bath Syrup!!

Last Week's Question:I am a body treatment made famous on a tropical paradise island. Made with tumeric, sandalwood and other fragrant spices, woods and wholesome grains and nuts, I am an all-over exfoliator. I also include a cool yogurt smoothing treatment followed by an aromatic bath using oils such as jasmine and ylang ylang. What am I?

Last Week's Answer: lulur or lur lur

This Week's Question: Anyone who has ever attended one of my "Making Aromatherapy Creams & Lotions" workshops knows that this is the one thing that smells like it should be poured all over my vanilla ice cream. It's sweet smelling, thick and tremendously good for your skin. This oil is taken from the fruit of a tree that grown profusely in southeast Asia and Polynesia. In Greek, its name translates "beautiful leaf." The leaves of the tree are often heated and then applied to the skin to help heal ulcers, lesions and other problems. The oil is usually a fabulously green/brown color and is thick and syrupy. It is added to facial creams, massage oils, lip balms and other cosmetics to provide added nourishment to dry skin. As with most fantastically rich oils, a little goes a very long way.

To win this week, be the first person to provide the common and botanical name of the oil described above and win a generous sample of it.

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™ Tip: Introducing Beauty Buddies!!

In January, I provided practical tips on some of the ways you can make your dreams become a reality through reaching your goals as a small business owner. If you missed those articles you can read them at these links:

Prioritizing | Planning | Partnering

The Partnering article encourages the creation of relationships with colleagues (both in and out of the industry) with whom you can work to accomplish goals that you could not accomplish on your own. HBN's new Beauty Buddies Program helps members do just that by providing these 4 opportunities, each of which creates its own efficiencies that can save time and money for your small business.

A. Private Label Beauty Buddies: connecting retailers with companies that do private label.

B. Sub-Contract Beauty Buddies: connecting manufacturers with other manufacturers to facilitate sub-contract relationships to help fill especially large orders.

C. Product Feedback Beauty Buddies: partnering members with one another to help put the finishing touches on a new product before it goes to market.

D. Custom Blending Beauty Buddies. : connecting members who want customer scenting with fragrance and aromatherapy experts who can customize signature blends just for them.

HBN members click here and enter your username and password to learn more about how you can become a Beauty Buddy!

5. Handmade Beauty Product Recipe: Lemon Rose Honey Help

During the winter, it's easy to forget to give our hands and feet the special attention they deserve. Calluses develop on feet and toes and the nail beds become dry and weak from lack of attention. Lemon Rose Honey Help can help reverse this trend by nourishing and refreshing both feet and nails. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/4 cup runny honey
1/8 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon macadamia nut oil
1 drop rose essential oil

Blending Procedure

Step 1. Combine the honey and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk to combine. If your honey is very thick, you will want to warm it slightly in a microwave oven. (Do not warm it for a long period of time because it may become too hard and sticky to use in this recipe.)

Step 2. Add the macadamia nut oil and stir well to combine. Add the essential oil last and mix well.

Step 3. To use, place pads or towels on the floor so you don't get the mixture on your carpet or floor. Dip your hands into Lemon Rose Honey Help and massage will into just manicured hands and just manicured feet being careful to give special attention to cuticles and calluses. Allow the mixture to rest on the skin for 15 minutes before rinsing with warm water. Pat away excess water and apply moisturizer as usual.

Step 4. Lemon Rose Honey Help can be used on face and body skin. One thing I like to do is double the recipe (do not double the essential oil as 1 drop is plenty) for my whole body and apply it standing on a towel in the bathroom, leaving a bit behind for my hands later. I rinse my hands off and relax on the towel for 15 minutes reading a favorite book, then step into a warm tub. The mixture provides moisture for my bath and I apply the leftover mixture to my hands and relax another 10 minutes or so. Yum!!

Step 5. Lemon Rose Honey Help will remain fresh in the refrigerator for a few days, though you will have to warm it to loosen the honey and ensure an even mix before applying. I suggest using it immediately to maximum benefits.

Visit The Handmade Beauty Connection Archives.

Visit our suite of Web sites serving the handmade toiletries industry:

HandmadeBeauty.com: the leading industry trade organization
MangoButter.com: over 400 suppliers of raw materials and packaging, updated weekly!
MakeYourCosmetics.com: ingredient encyclopedia & original cosmetics recipes
DonnaMaria.com: sound advice for your small business, We2We Success Seminars
HandmadeBeauty.com: e-greeting cards coming soon!
Handmade Skin Care.com: secure online shopping coming soon!

Have your ad seen by over 3,000 subscribers! Click here to see why Essential Wholesale says that the returns from their newsletter ad "just keep on coming," and why Anastasia's Ideas says "the ad I placed for my handmade soaps just 2 days ago has generated 6 huge retail orders and 2 new wholesale inquiries from HBN members with retail shops. Things are really good ..."

Donna Maria, Editor-In-Chief, DonnaMaria@HandmadeBeauty.com
The Handmade Beauty Connection
The Handmade Beauty Network | www.HandmadeBeauty.com