BIG International Shipping Changes

I admit it, we have all been spoiled by the fantastic rates that the USPS have been offering, especially for international shipping rates. It's amazing that for just a few dollars, we could send a package around the world.

Alas, it has caught up to them, and the costs are being passed on to all of us. On January 27, 2013, USPS is raising their shipping prices. Domestic (within the US), the rates aren't increasing too much, so we are keeping the Flat Rate Shipping Program active for the US. But the International Rates will be seeing some serious jumps.

Seeing as many of you shop with us on Etsy, we pulled this photo from one of their recent blog posts. It really demonstrates the drastic differences in some of the most commonly shipped international packages. (first column is 2012's prices, the second column is 2013's prices)

We are going to be starting out our smallest & lightest products out at $8.00 for shipping & handling (this includes the postage, shipping materials & insurance), and go up from there based on weights. We aren't too concerned about our website orders. The shopping cart is linked with USPS and uses their calculator to calculate the rates based on the information we plug in for the products. And we've found it to be insanely accurate.

Etsy is where we may have to play with the rates a little until we get them right. We have set our "ship with" rates as low as we think we can, and will adjust them if we find we are underestimating.



Our biggest regret with this latest change is that we unfortunately need to end the Canadian Flat Rate Shipping Program. Our shipping rates to Canada had always been so comparable to US rates. They are now right up there with the rest of the International Rates. So we will be discontinuing that program with this new change.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them. Thanks again!

Lindsay

Behind the Scenes: Creating Color Grinds

As part of my Transparency Promise, I wanted to add some sneak peaks into the day-to-day workings of our business.

So I decided to start with creating Color Grinds. This involves the blending of various powdered colorants to make various mineral makeup products. I needed to make some more of our Persephone Mineral Lipsticks today, and also more of the color grind, so I decided to take a few photographs along the way.

I'm glad it's October

Mostly because that means that September is OVER!!! It was an absolutely crazy month. Some of it good, some of it bad, all of it insane.

To start with, we moved. The bad news: We moved, I'm still living in boxes, and we moved. Good news: We LOVE the new place! It's an older house with lots of storage. And I have tripled the space that I have for the business. Can we say YAY!!!

The 'oddest' feature of the house is what actually makes it invaluable to me. It has an unfinished 2nd kitchen. So it's got the counters & cupboards, but no sink and no appliances, but still! I'm just thrilled! Here are a few pictures of it! (all of these were taken within the first few days after we moved in)

(I share the room with the washer & dryer, but it actually helps keep me caught up a little more on laundry, lol) Those are now scooted back against the wall. The cement was still wet when we first moved in)

(the room is just huge! It's roughly 15'x15')

(we actually changed around the table set up after getting everything in there. I'll probably take new pictures once I actually get everything organized)


Then I have a 2nd room (also 15'x15') that will be my office/shipping room. I'll keep all my finished product in here, along with my shipping supplies. I have a 2nd table set up in here for shipping orders.

The black shelves are holding all of my wrapped soaps. The white shelves (and other black shelves) are now filled with the rest of my product. I will probably need one more set of shelves to hold everything & not feel crowded though.

This is A LOT more organized now! LOL! We're still figuring out the homes for everything, but it's coming along nicely.


But this honestly is what I lived with for nearly 2 weeks after moving in. I was constantly digging through boxes to find everything I needed. It was NOT fun!!!


And I also have this wonderful space to store bulk oils, cases of containers, show supplies, etc. I DO have to share the space with the rest of the family (darn them for wanting to store their crap in here too!!!), but it's still an invaluable space to have!


So there is a quick recap of the first 3 weeks of September. Trying to get everything moved over & moved in! (heck, we're still working on the moving IN part, lol)

Then I had a big show up at Sundance Resort the very last Saturday of the month. So I had to PREP like mad for that when I should have been unpacking, organizing, sleeping... Alas, no, it wasn't meant to be.

But the show was AMAZING!!! I more than doubled what we made last year at the show. I managed to snap off a couple pictures before the show officially started & we ended up slammed for the day!



Lots of stuff going on with this table! We got Indulgence Creams, Bath Salts, Sugar Scrubs, Facial Products.


This is the first show we've done since introducing the Mineral Lipsticks. We were a little creative with the displays for them. We found these great triple trays that fit them perfectly. Then we stacked white boxes underneath them to create the tiers. I was VERY happy with how they turned out!

We also got those adorable white lip balm boxes for the show! They hold 12 lip balm tubes, and just showed them off so nicely! This display really sold well for us!


We always try to have a few soap logs to cut by the slice. It's such a crowd pleaser, and really draws in the crowds. Although we always get a lot of people asking if it's fudge! I want to get this table better signed next year. It was kind of a last minute load it into the car thing this time! Oops!

That yellow & green log was our new Lemongrass Essential Oil Soap. I hadn't even offered it online yet. It SOLD OUT at the show! I was so amazed! It was an 18 inch log too! So we are planning on making another log this week, then a large batch once our Lemongrass EO arrives later this month.


And everyone wave to my husband, David! That's him hiding out at the back! I LOVE it when he comes to shows with me. It's always hard on his back, so he doesn't come to a lot of them, but he's always been such a better sales person than me (he's so much more outgoing than I am). That and it's always a lot of fun!


The last week of the month wasn't much fun though. I had a root canal the Monday after the show. My mom had hip reconstruction surgery the Wednesday after that (she went home from the hospital today). I was fitted for a crown yesterday (and still ache enough that I'm on a soft food diet). And I get to repeat the root canal/crown appointments next week. Joy.... (a different dentist cracked both my back bottom molars when he removed my wisdom teeth, so all this is fixing what he screwed up)


And in between all that, we're still shipping out tons of orders, and making stuff constantly so that we're ready for the big holiday rush!

So September was crazy. And I'm SOOOO glad it is over!!!

Soaping Madness!!!

We've been trying to get our soap inventory bumped up before the holidays hit us too hard. Well, guess what, it's here! Orders keep coming in, shows are going well, and we keep scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to our soap inventory! We're making soap almost daily, usually double batches at least. So if you don't see what you're looking for in our shop, let us know you're looking! If it's not already on the curing racks, we'll do what we can to bump it up on the production schedule!

In the meantime, enjoy some soapy pictures!


Charcoal Cleanser: I just love how these swirls turned out! I don't want to cut them into bars!


Zebra Face: We've made extra batches of this one since it keeps selling out on us so fast!



Rebel: A new Mens Soap - this will be coming out hopefully the first of next week. We still need to take pictures of the final product.


Pakalana: Also a new soap we're adding to our line! Look for this early next week!

The Soap Creation Process

There is something about making soap, the creative process, that is inspiring. I love picking out the ingredients, the scents, the additives, and blending them together to make something unique and beautiful!

I am constantly asked about the soap making process, so I thought I'd take a few pictures along the way! This is our Mint Tea Handmade Soap. I didn't take pictures of every step, but took pictures of the more interesting ones! LOL!



I started by measuring out my oils and lye solution. I then added Green Tea Powder to the lye solution (as evidenced by the brackish muck in the pictures below!).


Once the oils and lye solution both cooled down, I added my essential oils to the oils (peppermint and rosemary essential oils for this batch). Then I added my lye solution to my oils and blended. This batch, because of the botanical ingredients, as well as the essential oils used, it tends to heat up very quickly. When oils & lye are combined they naturally produce heat. Certain ingredients can add to that heat. I always have to watch this soap carefully, or it will volcano up out of the mold on me!

But once the solution has achieved a light trace, I pour it into my pre-lined molds.


I then sprinkled green tea leaves onto the top for texture and aesthetics.


And after the soap mixture has thickened a little more in the mold, I took a knife and added some texture to the top of the soaps.


After several days, the soap is ready to cut into bars. They then sit in my curing rack for 3-6 weeks till they are fully cured. Once cured, they are wrapped and labeled, and ready for some lucky buyer to purchase them!!!


Each soap is a little different, with different scents, different colorants, different additives. They are all beautiful, they are all unique, they are all special in their own way!!!

Getting Into the Swing of Things!

We are working on getting back into the swing of things after our move. The move was hectic, crazy, insane, but it is almost completely behind us now! We still have a few random boxes here and there to unpack, but we mostly have things settled in. YAY!!!

I know I promised pictures of our new soap kitchen once it was set up, but I haven't taken them yet. *blushes*

I HAVE, however, been busy making soap. OMG, I LOVE MY KITCHEN! Having everything all in the same room, totally awesome! LOL! So I've been making soap as often as I can squeeze in around work, family, life, and lately... sick kids.

Several of them are new soaps, so I wanted to give you a little teaser to let you know what was coming!!! (sorry, all of the pictures are of the soaps still in the molds, not cut into bars)

MEI LI: A fabulous Asian scent of jasmine with hints of bamboo. It's absolutely beautiful, hence the name, Mei Li! It's not nearly as yellow now that it's done. This picture was taken while it was in the gel phase, which intensified the yellowness.


NO NAME SOAP: I haven't figured out what I want to name this one yet. It's a fabulous Orchid scent, deep, mysterious, enticing. The pink has also deepened to an awesome dark purple. But so far, a name for this beauty is absolutely eluding me!



I have several other new soaps made (no pics yet), as well as new batches of our tried and true line.

Also on the Curing Rack:

- Parisian Glow (fabulous new facial soap made with French Green Clay and a to die for Essential Oil Blend!)
- Tangerine Souffle
- Another No Name Soap - It's new, it's awesome, and it currently has no name.
- Mint Tea Soap
- Dead Sea Mud Facial Soap
- Gingered Orange Spice Soap
- I know there is something else, but I'm totally blanking at the moment and don't want to get up out of my comfy chair to go look! LOL!

Super Busy Soaping Week!

We've had a super busy soaping week! So busy that we actually have completely run out of Shea Butter and Castor Oil, and we're almost out of Coconut Oil and Palm Oil. Luckily we have a big shipment of oils that are scheduled to arrive on Wednesday! Yay!!!

We've also had an AWESOME experience using the new soap molds my dad made for me. These molds are exactly the same length as the freezer paper that I use to line them. So no more trimming!!! Yay!!! No more Waste!!! Double Yay!!! These new molds really are a dream come true! (you can see them in the first picture)

Currently on the Curing Racks:

Oceania Shea Butter Soap
Vixen Shea Butter Soap
Wisdom Facial Soap
Gingered Orange Spice
Breakfast Bar

New in the Soaping Line Up!!!

That gorgeous Red Loaf up at the top is a new Fragrance. It is absolutely amazing!!! Smells like a delicious mug of Spiced Apple Cider! Then that light green soap is a new essential oil blend, Winter Wonderland. It has Virginia Cedarwood, Balsam Fir, Wintergreen, Spearmint and a hint of Cinnamon. It's really awesome, I love it!!!

We absolutely LOVE this soap though >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

We originally made our Gingered Orange Spice last year as a holiday soap, but it was so popular, we decided to keep it year round! It's rich scent is all natural, a blend of essential oils. Ginger, Orange, Cinnamon & Clove, and the top is dusted with ground cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. This is one you definitely need to try! We only have one bar available in our shop right now, but this batch should be ready by early October!

Handmade Soaps on the Curing Rack

I'm trying to get stocked up for Christmas, and I keep finding myself behind! But we're cranking out the soaps as fast as we can with our schedules right now!

Currently on the Curing Rack:

Gingerbread Dreams - I absolutely LOVE this one!!! We sold out of it so fast last year. We did a nice big batch, and we're hoping to do another batch in the next two weeks. Look for this soon in our shop!

Blackberry Sage - Back with a brand new look! We don't have pictures of the new look in cut bars, but here it is in the soap mold right after we poured it! (for more pictures of us making soap please view our Flickr Account)

Oceania - If you haven't tried out this great new scent, you really need to! Nice fresh and clean, like a beautiful ocean breeze!

Vixen - Sweet and Sassy, just the way we know you like it!

Purity - Our super gentle Castile Soap completely free of all scent or color. As pure as soap can possibly be!

Overdrive - Our best selling mens scent! This scent is super sexy. Great for gift giving!!! (picture at the right)

Mulberry - A new scent for the holiday line up. This soap is a beautiful deep purple color, and the scent is just fabulous! Perfect for a fall evening!

We'll be adding some new scents before too long, as well as our holiday scents! So keep checking back for more!