Handmade Beauty Connection
April 14, 2003
A Publication of The Handmade Beauty Network
ISSN 1530-9630 | Vol. 4, Issue 15
To subscribe, click here.
Sponsor: Monave Mineral Cosmetics
A
Handcrafter's Delight!! Finally, a sleek, sophisticated black lipstick tube
holding .1 ounce (3 grams) of lipstick that can be
filled using the same method used to fill a potted gloss!! Create your own base,
or try our handcrafted base enriched with cocoa butter, unrefined shea butter
and hemp oil.
Price: 100 or more pieces - $2.50 each, 50-99 pieces: $3.25, less than 50: $4.00 each. Lipstick Base: 4 oz. $25.00.
To purchase, send requests to information@monave.com. (Allow a 2-week delay for bulk tube orders as they are shipped from Europe.) PayPal, VISA, and MasterCard accepted.
Also new at Monave, cream to powder all-over mineral color for eyes, lips, and cheeks in a convenient pot, and handcrafted, naturally preserved eye and lip liners.
Monave Mineral Cosmetics | (410) 675-2287 | Email: information@monave.com
1. HBN Update: Welcome New
& Renewing HBN Members & HBN Members On The Move!
2. Handmade Beauty Recipe Of The Week: Lavender Honey Salt Masque
3. Handmade Beauty Trivia Question: win some exotic
oil!!
4. Create the Life You Love™: Being There When
You're Not Needed
5. Handmade Beauty Product Review by Donna Maria: Lavender
Comfort Balm
1. HBN Update: Welcome New
& Renewing HBN
Members & HBN Members On The Move!
Green Valley Aromatherapy |
Emma Payton | Canada
* renewing member; wholesaler
and manufacturer of top quality aromatherapy products: essential oils, base
oils, bottles, herbs, diffusers, etc.
J. Sabatelli Tuto Naturalli |
Julianna Sabatelli | California
* renewing member
The Pampered Princess | Teri
Cosenzi | Massachusetts
* pampering products for the little
Princess: our signature Princess Pack includes handmade Bubble Bath, Body
Lotion, Princess Bath Bar & more
Earth's Nectar | Tamika
Fletcher |
Texas
*
handmade pomades,
moisturizers, shampoos and body products
HBN member A
Wild Texas Soap Bar was recently featured on Texas Country Reporter,
the popular TV show that travels Texas back roads in search of the interesting
folks that make Texas "like a whole other country." Their
Prickly Pear & Aloe Soap was the focus of the six minute segment with a
special emphasis on using ordinary native plants to make extraordinary soaps.
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: Honey Salt Scrub Masque
Lavender Honey Salt
Scrub Masque
is an easy to make product that doubles as a scrub
and can be left on as a mask too. Left unscented, it has a slight
"honey/milk" aroma, but you can add scent or essential oils for
additional skin loving properties as desired!
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 Nancy Karlov of Niles, Illinois. Nancy won a jar of Muscle Relief Bath Soak, courtesy of HBN member Planet Earth Remedies.
Last Week's Question: In the late 1960's and early 1970's, I was sold at cosmetics counters throughout the world, bearing the claim that I was "a facelift without surgery." Controversial ads were run in women's magazines in efforts to sell me. One of them caught the attention of the Federal Trade Commission and I was eventually pulled from department store shelves in the US. That ad showed a "before" picture of a woman prior to using me, and beside that, an "after" picture of the same woman after using me. The problem was that the "after" picture was taken after a professional application of make-up, so the ad was false and misleading. The last jar of me is believed to have been sold by Bishop Industries, Inc., sometime around the end of 1971. What is my name?
Last Week's Answer: Sudden Change
This Week's Question: I am a fragrant white trumpet. A symbol of voluptuousness to many, girls in some cultures are traditionally forbidden to smell me for fear they will fall into a trance of voluptuous intoxication. I am found in some of the world's most precious perfumes and am quite precious on my own. To win this week, be the first to state my common and botanical names and you'll win a sample of me!
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™: Being There When You're Not Needed
After several years in of observation, I am convinced
that customer service is the key that can make or break any business. No
matter how fabulous a product is, it will not sell in the long run if there is
no customer service to back it up.
Contrary to popular belief, customer service involves more than just picking up the phone when you are called. While that is certainly part of the equation, it is just as important to pick up the phone -- and call! In other words, just because you have not heard from your customer does not mean they don't want to hear from you. Being there when you're not "needed" is thus an important part the successful customer service process.
This point was brought home to me in a very tangible way several years ago. I had just started my handmade toiletries business, which required that I frequently visit a local botanical wholesaler to pick up potpourri and unique wrapping supplies. I must have visited their warehouse at least twice a month for about a year! Anyway, every time I went there -- absolutely without fail -- there was a man sitting at a desk in the back of the warehouse wearing a headset and punching numbers on a computer. Month in and month out, as I walked by him, I could count on hearing the same words proceed from his mouth as his fingers moved deftly across the keyboard:
"Hello, this is Frank calling from Eckington Botanicals. May I speak to [customer]? How are you today? Great! I'm calling to touch base with you to see if you need any additional supplies for your upcoming garden showcase coming up in a few weeks. I notice that you placed an order for several of our new botanicals last month so I wanted to check in to make sure things were going according to plan and to see if there was anything else we could do to help make your event a success."
The conversation (which of course varied from customer to customer) proceeded from there. If needed, Frank transferred the call to a specialist. Other times, he would take a new order right there on the phone. Still other calls would end with no order being placed, but you can bet the customer on the other end of the line would not forget that Eckington had remembered their event and had offered assistance. Who do you think the customer is most likely to call next time they need anything?!!
While it's not always easy or cost effective for small businesses to invest one person to make these kinds of phone calls daily, there are other ways to skin the cat. A regularly published email newsletter is a great way to remind your customers that you are out there ready, willing and able to serve them when needed. Random phone calls or personal emails to 10 or 20 rotating customers on a scheduled day of the week can also serve as reminders that you are thinking of their needs and are hoping they will contact you to fill them. You can use the contact managers or calendars that come standard with many of today's email programs to track contacts and note matters and events of importance as your customer tells you. There are also easy to use databases (like Excel or Access) which allow tracking of things like birthdays and prior orders.
Being there even when you're not needed is a part of providing the kind of service that lets your customers know that they are a priority for you and that you want to be their top choice when it comes to whatever it is you sell!
5. Handmade Beauty Product Review by Donna Maria: Lavender Comfort Balm
Lavender Comfort Balm by Planet Earth
Remedies
1 oz. | $12.00 or 4 oz. $34.00 (also available in other sizes)
A few weeks ago, I was delighted to receive a goodie box in the mail from HBN member Plant Earth Remedies in Arizona. One of my favorites in the package was their Lavender Comfort Balm. Often when I am considering a new product for review, I might use it for longer than I normally would so I can provide a more thorough perspective on the product. Well, review or not, this is one product that I will be sopping the very last little bit of! It was love at first whiff -- and rub!
These days, there is stress all around us -- a tough economy and the constant stream of news from the warfront bombard us, attempting to remove any sliver of time for relaxation and quiet contemplation. If you feel this stress, Lavender Comfort Balm is a great way to help relieve it. Regardless of your usual stress relief routine, I bet it would be complemented by the soothing aroma and feel of Lavender Comfort Balm.
Lavender essential oil is the olfactory centerpiece of this product, and combined with a little rosemary and the tiniest dash of menthol, the aroma is tension relieving and therapeutic. Not only is the smell wonderful, but Lavender Comfort Balm contains jojoba, almond oil and Vitamin E so it moisturizes completely when smoothed into rough skin areas like elbows and heels. I've also enjoyed smoothing it into my cuticles to soften them and help prevent dry, splitting nails. One product, so many uses!!
You can find Lavender Comfort Balm (plus lots of other therapeutic and anxiety reducing goodies) at HBN member Planet Earth Remedies.
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.
