For my small business Saturday and cyber monday sale, I put some of my personal and customer favorites on sale. The sale has been extended until wednesday Nov. 30, 2011, 11:59 pm EST! There will also be a third sale in December (along with new products then too). Then I will be going on hiatus, see my other blog entry on that. This post will remain on the blog after the sale is done, for reference purposes.
Chocolate Truffle Buttercreme smells absolutely delicious! I LOVE the scent of chocolate (currently only two products, Chocolate Truffle Buttercreme and Chocolate Dreams are chocolate based scents, but there will be a third product, a chocolate banana berry based mask/scrub released in a couple days! 🙂 ). Most chocolate fragranced products on the market are synthetic, since chocolate or cocoa essential oil does not exist. However, there is a cocoa absolute (which I adore and love crafting with!). Most companies do not use cocoa absolute because of its expense, and the difficulties of working with it (it is, in theory, not oil soluble–it is water/alcohol soluble–but you can get it to work in some oil/butter based solutions, based on your formulation and how much you use, and also special directions in using products). But I think that cocoa absolute is worth every dollar and the work!
How would I describe cocoa absolute? Basically it is dreamy, rich, dark, intense chocolate–the pure scent. It is like liquid chocolate. I use an organic cocoa absolute that was made from organic beans (grown without synthetics pesticides, in a sustainable manner, but not current certified since they were grown by small farmers).
When I formulated Chocolate Truffle Buttercreme I wanted to create a rich chocolate scent, reminiscent of the best chocolate truffles. I can’t eat most chocolates anymore (unless they are grain sweetened chocolate, that do not contain white sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc. So basically just grain sweetened chocolate chips and NO yummy truffles unless I make them myself). So I wanted to create the best, most authentic, chocolate indulgence for the skin.
To make sinful chocolate truffles, chocolate has to be paired with vanilla so I have added rich vanilla oleoresin (which is also difficult to work with since it is in theory alcohol soluble). I used to love eating gourmet truffles, so dark cocoa absolute and dreamy vanilla are blended with floral lavender, sweet floral citrusy organic petitgrain bigarade (the finest and highest quality petitgrain), and spicy organic cardamon. Decadent, indulgent, and 100% natural; no synthetic fragrances!
Best of all, is what Chocolate Truffle Buttercreme can do for your skin. For the base of the buttercreme I have used certified organic east nilotica shea butter. East shea butter is different from west shea butter; it is a sub species of the shea nut tree, that is grown in Uganda. It is rarer and harder to obtain (hence more expensive). Nilotica shea butter is smoother than west/regular shea butter and it is easier to spread. It also has a much milder scent than many unrefined west shea butters. Shea butter is one of my favorite ingredients in skin care; it is one of the ingredients I used over a decade ago to clear my blemished skin, and I still use it today to keep my skin clear. Shea butter is one of my first choices for the under eye area; it is often recommended to help improve the appearance of fine lines, and to help seal in hydration. Apply a small amount to damp skin (the combination of water plus the butter will moisturize the skin).
Chocolate Truffle Buttercreme is under the body care section of the website, however many people (including me) love using the buttercremes on their face and around their eye area too.
Chocolate Truffle Buttercreme is on sale for 20% off. Sale ends on November 30, 2011, 11:59 pm EST.
The Herbal Cleansers are my personal favorite cleansers for the face, and many of my customers have mentioned to me that they have replaced their current cleansers with my herbal cleansers.
The Herbal Cleansers are different than many other cleansers out there. They are soap free, detergent free, plant based, and 100% natural. They come in a dry/powdered form, so they have a long shelf life and are preservative free. They need to be mixed up (mixed with distilled or spring water) before each use. Because they are made with only plant and natural ingredients, and they do not contain any fillers, they are VERY nutrient and antioxidant rich. Every single ingredient is rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, or phytochemicals. They are super gentle and non-drying, so are a boon for all skin types: dry, dehydrated, oily, combination, normal, and sensitive. They are particular good for blemished skin, as many of the ingredients have been used by herbalists, natural skin care crafters, and traditional/native peoples for generations.
Soothe Herbal Cleanser is formulated with many super gentle ingredients for sensitive skin. It is made with calming certified organic oatmeal, gentle eco-friendly saponin rich soap nuts, and emollient, nutrient rich bananas. It is scented with gentle floral lavender and soothing owyhee essential oils. It contains many ingredients great for blemished skin, such as lavender, Garbanzo, aloe, and buckwheat. I named it Soothe because many ingredients are known for their soothing properties.
Heaven Herbal Cleanser smells like heaven: coconuts and vanilla. Most of the time coconut scents are synthetic since coconut essential oil does not exist. But the coconut fragrance of Heaven is 100% natural–from different coconut plant ingredients. So it is a light natural coconut scent paired with real vanilla. A few customers have stated that it smells like cake or cookies to them. This gentle cleanser contains a touch of kaolin clay to help remove impurities from the skin, but unlike many clay based cleansers it is non-drying because it contains lots of emollient ingredients like coconut milk! Many ingredients are great for blemished skin, including certified organic coconut, organic brown rice, and certified organic barley. Heaven is rich in many vitamins, antioxidants, and protein.
Soothe Herbal Cleanser and Heaven Herbal Cleanser is currently 20% off until Wednesday night!
Eden Luna Elixir is an elixir that I created for my own skin a couple years ago . My skin is balanced but can get dehydrated from time to time (and for many years, when it got dehydrated, it got oily, and then I would get blemishes). So I created Eden to prevent my skin from getting dehydrated, oily, and blemished, and I also use it to keep my skin clear. This complex, elegant formula contains many of my personal favorite ingredients including kukui oil, certified organic camellia oil, blueberry seed oil, and rose essential oil. It also contains many great anti-aging ingredients too, that helps with the appearance of fine lines, such as organic rose essential oil, myrrh, camellia oil, and pomegranate oil (I don’t have any fine lines–I am almost 34–so I can’t say from personal experience that it helps reduce the appearance of fine lines, but it is one of the products I use to keep my skin looking youthful). Many ingredients are also great for blemished skin like elder, shea, and burdock. I named it Eden because it is like my own private Eden. It is my best selling elixir.
Eden Luna Elixir is 20% off until Wednesday night.
Swan Luna Elixir is the elixir that I created for Hamsa, a customer who won a contest last year. I took a very long time to create this elixir and it has gone through many incarnations and a name change too. Her skin was very dehydrated, blemished, had clogged pores, rosacea/thread veins, was extremely sensitive and reactive, mature, and had fine lines. Swan contains many ingredients that Hamsa told me that her skin loved like neroli essential oil, and sea buckthorn and pumpkin oils. It also contains a lot of ingredients I thought her skin would love that would be helpful for her conditions, like passionfruit oil, and cedarwood. Hamsa tell me that after using Swan her skin is super soft, clear, and feels hydrated. She says it is soothing to her conditions, that it does not irritate her sensitive skin, and that it has improved the appearance of her fine lines and has helped all of her other issues.
I named it Swan because to me swans represent transformation and change, green and lush places, and beauty inside and out. Swans are also a symbol used in alchemy (alkemie). I changed its name because I felt its original name didn’t represent its final incarnation. I sent Hamsa a list of names (including Swan) to choose from, and she choose Swan (which was my first choice too!). She told me after she choose it, that her name means Swan too, so it was the perfect name!
Swan Luna Elixir is 20% off until the night of the 30th. Swan is my newest elixir, and the one I created for Hamsa.
I have everyone has enjoyed the first two sales. Stay tuned for the last and final sale, and the release of two new products, before my hiatus. Thanks!
