Friday Feature: Tear Drop Technique by Kapia Mera Soap Co.

What's up, Love Buds?

I'm starting to do a bit of experimenting with cold process soaps and I'll be posting soon with the deets on what's been happening so far, but for today, I want to show you some amazing soaping in action.

Holly does an amazing job demonstrating the tear drop technique and you bet, I'm gonna try it for better or worst!

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!! 

That's it for #featurefriday.  Until next time,

Peace, Love and Lots of peacock feather looking, gorgeous tear dropped BUBBLES!

A.

Visit Kapia Mera Soap Co.

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Exxxxcuuusseee BAMI!

Earlier this year when I visited the Laurel Main Street Festival, I was introduced to BAMI products.  This small bath and body product company is truly all about family.  This budding company makes some great handmade items for your skin and I am happy to spread the word!

BAMI was started by Ms. Bernadette.  After experiencing issues with dry, irritated and sensitive skin as the result of some medical issues, she researched and began making her own bath and body products.  Soon, like most cottage businesses, she was making it for family and friends and then it took off from there.

Truly about family, BAMI is an acronym for Ms. Bernadette's name and the names of her three children (A)lisha (M)arvin & (I)niko  (hopefully, I spelled those correctly).  Each of the children help in some way in the ongoing operations of the company.

I was taken aback by the shear size of these bars.  Each soap weighs in at 7.5 to 8.5 ounces!  For $10 each, which is marked down on their website to $7.00, the price is outstanding.  The sandalwood scent is intoxicatingly  (yes, I made up a word for it) rich.  A smell of true sandalwood in dense, firm bar.  The razzleberry is a fun an fruity scent with added raspberry seeds for exfoliation.  For my sensitive skin, I found the seeds to be a little too much, though I really love the scent.  The level of exfoliation is similar to Lush's Figs & Leaves soap - which is a bit too much for regular use for me.  But also like Figs & Leaves, I love the scent and will use it occasionally. 

The BAMI fragrance is a custom blended scent created by Bernadette herself.  I fell in love with it as soon as I smelled it.  It is a very soft, feminine musk scent with a powdery finish and ever so light floral undertones.  An absolute must try scent.  I also picked up the BAMI scented body butter.  Now this butter is a thick, shea butter based butter.  A little goes a long way and definitely use after you've added some moisture to your skin to seal it in and leave you smelling fabulous!

I highly recommend trying BAMI Products, they are small but the quality and value is AWESOME!

What small business items have you been using lately?  I really want to know! :)

Later Love Buds!

A.

More BAMI?  Find them here: 

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8 Tips for Shopping a Hot Product Drop

Eight Tips for Shopping a Hot Product Drop 

Due in part to production and storage limitations, some small business tend to offer their products in "drops", also known as "launches" or "openings".  Meaning, on a certain date and time, their products become available all at once and then sold until gone.

The biggest issue for the consumer is that for those companies with product demand that is double or even quadruple their stock availability, products can sell out fast and if you drop the ball, you wind up missing out on the items you really want.

As a true addict of small boutique bath and body products, I have experienced the agony of just missing out on hard to get products from shops like Fortune Cookie Soap, which just had an awesome Christmas in July sale. Or Moona Lisa, which still seems to elude me. As I prepare myself for a couple of upcoming launches, I thought I'd share a few tips for handling a limited online product drop.

1. Do your research ~ I can't stress this enough!  Understand the parameters of the release.  Double check to see that you know the correct date and time. Is it in the same time zone as you?  If not, you need to adjust so that you are ready to shop at the corresponding time in your time zone.  Make sure you know how any discounts work.  Do you have to purchase specific products?  A certain quantity of products?  Or a certain dollar amount?  Are items excluded from the sale pricing?  Make sure you join their e-mail list and follow them on social media.  Hints, special deals and other nuggets of information may be offered via select media, but may not be repeated across all.

 2. Make a list, and by list I mean a budget ~ So of course you want to, if possible, make as detailed a list of the items you want to purchase and the quantities, then do the math.  Is this going to work with what you actually are willing and able to spend? Now, I am an addict, so this next tidbit may not be for you, but I set aside a little each pay period in a special fund, yes, I actually have a separate bank account with a separate debit card for my bath and body purchases, into which I direct deposit money from my paycheck.  Extreme, but it has helped me #managethebeast.  Yeah, I said it.  But that's just me, all I'm saying is set your boundaries ahead of time so you don't waste time calculating at check out.

3. Find a shopping buddy ~ When you can split your shopping list with a friend shopping at the same time, you have less items you need to grab and run with and therefore increase your chances of getting the items you want.  Conspire Coordinate your efforts with a shopping friend.  Together decide on who will purchase which items and each shopper then grabs enough of their specific items for both of you.  Budget will be key here, remember, you should include the charge to ship the items you purchased for your buddy to her if you don't live close enough to exchange them in person.


4. Test/check your systems and arrive early ~ Make sure you have the best internet connection possible.  Test web page loading times on different internet connections if necessary to find your best accessible connection.  If you can, shop from a desktop or laptop.  Sometimes websites are optimized for displaying properly on mobile devices. 
Be ready to start shopping the minute the site opens, so be settled and set up the next tip well in advance of the launch time. Starting a minute or so before the launch, refresh your browser every couple of seconds until the store opens to get a jump start.

5.  Use multiple tabs ~ If the online store will sell items that are already listed on the site, open a tab to each product's ordering page (see below).  This way you can immediately dump your items into your shopping cart simply refreshing and adding the item(s) to your cart on each tab.  Once you get them all in, just refresh your browser and all the items should be in your cart ready to check out.  PLEASE NOTE: This may not work if you use different browser windows, you need to use TABS and this will not work if the store shuts down and them moves products to different locations to facilitate special pricing.

6. Take advantage of deals ~ Grab a few doorbuster items, (items for sale at amazing prices to get customers to shop) as well as buying multiples to see savings.  Also, try to grab something that you know is popular.  If you have a couple of things you don't like by sniffing, many of these companies have dedicated Facebook groups where you can sell or swap items.  This is also a great place to find items that you may have missed.  There are also sell/swap groups on Facebook and on other forums where you can unload items you might not like once receiving.  (Selling in these groups is also a way to raise a little cash to use during a drop sale).
 
7. Copy/Paste or store info ~ Some browsers (I use Chrome) will save your credit card information as well as your billing name and address.  This can save valuable time when checking out.  If you prefer not to, or use an internet browser that doesn't have this function, type out your information in a word document or on a notepad document on your computer.  Then you can just copy and paste in at checkout time.  It's also good to store any discount code you need this way so you can copy and paste it as well.

8. Multiple check outs ~ Grab what you really want and check out quickly.  However, if there are some things you missed, or may decide could fit your budget, go back for seconds.  Some online stores allow people to hold items in their carts for several minutes without allowing it to be sold so that the customer has time to check out.  If this is the case and someone decides not to purchase something in their cart, the inventory will be release to be sold once they check out or in a few minutes.  Check back, some things may become available again.  Many sellers will combine your orders and refund the extra shipping, BUT NOT ALL, this is where your research comes in handy.

These tips can help, though I can't guarantee that you'll get everything you want.  There is just no way to know exactly what the stock levels are at the time of launch and how the online shopping cart works (sells items immediately, removing them from carts or allows carts to hold products for several minutes or until check out).  But, if you use some of these tips to prepare, you could see a difference in your ability to grab hot merchandise.  

Just a few upcoming product drops happening in the coming weeks:

• Handmade in Florida  August 1st
• Petal Bath Boutique August 15th
• Tangles & Beyond August 15th
• Moona Lisa Early August (7th or 8th possibly)

 Have you done any of the things and had good results?  What other tips do you have for getting hard to get merchandise during a drop sale?

Until next time, Love Buds,

Peace, Love & Lots of Bubbles!

A.

 

Review: Purplee Products

Purple is my favorite color, so I was elated to receive a package with complimentary Purplee Naturals items in exchange for my honest review.

Keeping with my favorite color, I received a 2.5 oz slice of purple sunset cold processed soap and a 2 oz spritzer of orange blossom face mist toner. (Neroli, also referred to as "orange blossom", is another favorite fragrance note for me and orange is most likely my second favorite color ;)

courtesy Purplee Naturals on Etsy

The Purple sunset soap smells heavenly!  The fragrance is reminiscent of a favorite scent blend of mine that smells like a purplely cocktail ~ an intoxicating blend of "sparkling strawberries, raspberries, citrus greenery, and soft florals."  I really enjoyed using this bar and the scent was perfect for layering with my handmade body cream with the similar fragrance.  

The soap had a lovely glide to it, a property I normally attribute to bars that contain silk and or clay. However this bar's ingredients list does not include either of these. What it does include is maracuja oil, which I was unfamiliar with until receiving this product. Maracuja oil is extracted from the fruit and/or seeds of a variety of passionfruit. This expensive oil is a light, highly emollient oil that is easily absorbed by the skin and offers numerous health benefits. The addition of this and jojoba oil really made this soap a unique and enjoyable cleansing experience. BONUS - Nicole, the owner of Purplee Naturals sells these in full 5 oz bars for only $5.75 or you can purchase a half bar (2.5 oz) for $2.95. This is an awesome price for an amazing bar of handmade soap!

courtesy Purplee Naturals on Etsy

The orange blossom face toning mist features aloe, white willow bark, orange blossom distillate, and tea tree oil. A 2 oz mister retails for $7.00 in the Purplee Naturals' Esty shop. The toner worked well, providing a refreshing mist after cleansing my face while tightening my pores. The only downside is that the scent is very medicinal from the tea tree oil. I was expecting a nice neroli scent and that is not present at all.

I HIGHLY recommend you give Purplee Naturals a try, these products are masterfully blended and exceeded my expectations. You must experience these gems for yourself and you can indulge without breaking the bank.

Have you used Purplee Naturals products before? Tell me how you like them! If not, run now and grab some. Don't forget to tell Nicole that 4 the love of bubbles sent you!

More PURPLEE NATURALS?

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Until next time Love Buds,
Peace, Love & Lots of Bubbles!

A.
 

Mashup Monday! Happy Hour on the Information Super Highway

A new feature, I will try to do at least twice a month.  If you are a true product junkie, I'm sure, like me, you have amassed a hodgepodge of different bath and body products from numerous different companies.  On #MashupMonday I'll try products from different product makers in different scents together and let you know how well they worked together.  This week, it's Happy Hour on the Information Super Highway

Whiskey River Soap Company broke the internet a few months ago with one of it's humorously named soap offerings.  Their "Soap for Hipsters" which is scented with coffee, bacon and craft beer quickly went viral when shared via social media.  Though this particular scent did not sound appealing to me, I did check out some of their offerings which include "Soap for "Frenemies", which is scented with lemongrass & sage, "Soap for Evil Dictators", which is scented with stale tobacco fragrance, and "Soap for Underachievers", scented with margarita mix.  I decided to choose "Soap for Geeks", it's "wifi scent" translates to cucumber and cilantro wasabi.  Who knew that wifi smelled so tangy!

My new bubblelovin' partner in crime, Tracy sent me a delectable box of goodies from product makers I have not tried yet.  One gem I found in it was from Fortune Cookie Soap - Seems they really like cocktails over there and have a fragrance called "What? It's 5 o'clock somewhere!".  It smells like a fruity, slightly sweet, slightly sour, sunny drink that you might find garnished with cherries and a paper umbrella.  The scent has a citrus twist, but no coconut which I absolutely ADORE as coconut is not one of my favorites and many tropical scents feature it heavily.

The product I have is their hydrate me twist up balm.  This is a semi-firm butter featuring coconut oil, shea butter and cocoa butter.  It is a little too soft to use directly from the tube on my skin, but wiping a dollup off with my fingers and rubbing into my skin, it is an awesome dreamy, creamy balm that is actually perfect right after a shower, even in the summer.

The Soap for Geeks has a scent that is really tangy, to me it has a kinda lime like twang to it with nice green herbal notes that mellow it out.  I don't really get the wasabi notes, but maybe that just really enhances the blend.   The soap itself, I found to leave me a little squeakier clean than I would like, so the hydrate me balm was a perfect compliment and left my skin soft and supple and the combination of the two scents is a sweet and tart fruity explosion of unicorns, rainbows and happiness!

What are you mashing up this week?  Tag @4theloveofbubbles on instagram with a picture of your mashup with the hastags #mashupmonday and/or #bubblelove and I'll share it with all my other Love Buds!

Review: Custom Blends by Nine

Jeanine of Custom Blends by Nine (Now Inviting New Energy) sent me a carefully packaged complimentary sampling of her products in exchange for my honest review.

 The bath and body products I received were all scented with Mango Melon.  I found this fragrance to be an amazing fruity combination that I really enjoyed.  I LOVE ability of a product line to provide me with several different products in coordinating fragrances.

Included in my bath and body bundle were bath salts ($4.99), Sugar Scrub ($8.00 for a 4 oz jar), Whipped Body Butter ($4.00 for 2 oz, 4 oz jars also available), and glycerin soap ($2.99).  I also received the hair butter balm ($6.00 for 2 oz), which has a slightly minty, herbal fragrance that I like as well.

I really enjoyed the body products, the scrub exfoliated well, the bath salts were relaxing and the body butter applied easily and was quickly absorbed, leaving no greasy feeling to my skin.  I smelled amazing and was silky soft and moisturized.  What did surprise me was the soap.  It is a glycerin soap and I usually shy away from those.  Most glycerin soaps are formulated with a high content of propylene glycol - used as a humectant.  I have found that propylene glycol in high levels irritates my skin.  The soap lathered well and left me clean without feeling like my skin was stripped.  While I did notice a little more dryness in my skin than I have when using my preferred handmade soaps, it was not to the levels I have experienced with other glycerin soaps.  

The hair butter balm worked very well as a sealant in my weekly hair ritual of cleansing, deep conditioning then braiding my hair while damp after applying a leave in conditioner and sealing it with an oil or butter, in this case, the hair butter balm.  I also used it to oil my scalp.  This balm is really light it was great for use during our really damp summer so far, but I think in the winter, I would need something heavier.

One issue I do have with these items is the abbreviated ingredients lists.  Several ingredients are listed and then "and carrier oils" concludes the list.  I think its important to know the ingredients in your products so that you can decide if the properties of those ingredients are things you are willing to put in/on your body.

The website is also a bit difficult to navigate and comprehend.  Ingredients are not listed at all on the website.

I did find these products to be overall enjoyable with just a few minor labeling adjustments that I would make.

How do you feel about product labeling?  Should all ingredients be listed or can some things be taken for granted?

More Custom Blends by Nine?

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Peace, Love & Lots of Bubbles!

A.

Giveaway: Social Media Fan Appreciation

OVER 1000 SOCIAL MEDIA FANS!

Thank you all for being a part of my love of bubbles journey!  Since starting a few months ago, over 1000 of you have decided to keep up with me and my adventures.  I truly appreciate all of your support.  

To celebrate this first 1000 social media fans and every thousand more, I will host a giveaway. For the first, I really need your help with growing the YouTube audience.  Currently, I am still fighting this horrible cold and my voice is awful, but I would like your support for the channel.

Prizes include a 10 bar soap bundle, an Amazon gift card and the choice of one bar of soap from any US soap maker! 

There are numerous ways to, but first you have to be a subscriber to my youtube channel.  For that you get 20 entries!

Please enter and share!

Social Media Fan Appreciation Giveaway

Review: Planned Perfectly

courtesy www.plannedperfectlyllc.com

I felt like "Pookie" when I received my complimentary items from Planned Perfectly.  Given to me in exchange for my honest opinion of the items (like how I got the mandatory FTC statement for disclosure of the receipt of free products in exchange for a review? LOL). Back to what I was saying... Don't front, you know who I mean - scratching my neck while doing a dance waiting on my next hit, lol!  Nicole, the owner of this bath and body company, lives in Jessup, Maryland - which is actually the same city in which I work.  She works in Laurel, Maryland, the city in which I live!  With her being in close proximity, Nicole offered to meet me in Laurel to hand deliver the samples to me.  Schedules clashed for a few days, but finally she was able to make the drop!

The package smelled amazing!  I really love the soap packaging!  It's like a little tray card that cradles the soap.  The little flower on the front was just cute as a dickens.    On the back, a sticker displayed the company logo, name of the soap and ingredients.  This 5 oz bar (nice size) sells for $6.00 on her website (nice price!).

I received the Pink Grapefruit Sorbet bar along with a sample size (2 oz, I believe) of the Green Tea Citrus Sugar Scrub (available on their website in 4 oz ($7.50) and 8 oz ($14.00) sizes).  Even though the Sugar Scrub was a sample size, I really appreciated the clear, easy to read label along with clear, easy to read, ingredients list on the bottom.  
 

The soap was really enjoyable.  It lathered nicely and is scented naturally with grapefruit and litsea essentials oils giving it a bright and uplifting fragrance.  Added sugar and paprika are to give light exfoliation during use.  I could barely feel it, which is great considering my sensitive skin does not like anything to abrasive.  Goat milk powder is also included on the label. Though this bar was delightful to use, I have found that I enjoy soaps that include a little clay helps give a bar more "glide".  All in all, I will continue to use this and would recommend it to those looking for a good soap at a good price.

As stated in my review "Three Scrubs in a Tub" I prefer creamy scrubs, but I was excited to try the green tea scrub.  The fragrance is a bit disappointing.  I expected to have a citrusy, green tea scent but the smell is almost medicinal.  Checking the ingredients, it includes green tea, but the only fragrancing agent is bergamot essential oil, which can be a bit sharp when not mixed with another fragrance or essential oil.  The scrub was nicely exfoliating, though a bit drier than I would like.  

Overall, I truly enjoyed my little bag of goodies from Planned Perfectly.  The price, especially for the soap is quite nice and their natural product line has some great options for those of us who want to treat themselves to wholesome body treats without breaking the bank.

Would you like to know more about Planned Perfectly, LLC?  Check them out on:

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Peace, Love & Lots of Bubbles, LoveBuds!

A.

Company Profile: Alchemic Muse

 

As I travel down a long winding path, my nostrils fill with the heady jasmine and honeysuckle scented, damp, autumn air.  I skip along through the rolling mist as my game of tag ensues with the colorfully glowing sprites who light my way.  Under the cloudless night sky dotted with stars and anchored by a brilliant full moon, a sultry dragon flaps its wing as it flies overhead - first darkening the sky with its heavy presence, then quickly filling it with hot orange, yellows and reds with its breath of fire.  Our impromptu game of tag is joined by garden nymphs and playful fairies.  As I follow the gravel trail around the final bend, I see the gypsy's opulent trailer which is surrounded by a luminous glow from an unidentifiable source.  At first I am hesitant... The trailer is so beautiful, but ominous. I tiptoe closer and the door opens, fragrant air engulfs me, laden with ripe juicy fruits, warm spices and mystical aromas.  Her shadow proceeds her majestic presence and then she appears in the doorway.  Stretching out her manicured and adorned hand to me - with a wink and oh so welcoming smile, she guides me into her chamber where a glorious array of bath treats await...

This is how I feel every time I make a purchase from Alchemic Muse. I am unsure if this is the imagery Karen, the owner, wants to evoke, or if I just made it up in my mind, but her branding and labels always remind me of the gypsy fortune teller trailers of folklore - fully of mystery and mystical treasures.

Alchemic Muse opened up its doors on Etsy in 2008 and in the approximately seven years since then, can proudly boast (but never does) having over 17,000 sales.  Fans can now visit either the Etsy store or on Alchemic Muse's website to indulge themselves in the seasonally varying scented potions, lotions and concoctions offered.  From natural ingredients and coloring agents, Alchemic Muse creates cold process soap, body oils, body creams, cream soaps and perfumes in unique and intoxicating fragrance combinations.  Reading the artfully penned fragrance descriptions is an adventure all of its own.

   

 I have numerous favorites from this company including the body whips, cold process soaps and body gloss. My skin tends to be irritated by high levels of propylene glycol.  It can be used as an humectant (an agent that helps draw moisture into your skin and retain it) as well as an ingredient in preservatives.  As a preservative ingredient, the level of propylene glycol in a product is minimal and those I tend to be able to tolerate.  However, if used as a humectant, the levels of it in a product will actually cause me irritation.  This rules out a lot of commercial products and thus my extensive use of handmade body products.

 

photo credit: Alchemic Muse

One handmade product that tends to have high levels of propylene glycol are whipped soaps. Many, but not all handmade products makers tend to use a commercially prepared base for these, which in most cases use propylene glycol as a humectant. This being the case, I always shy away from them. Alchemic Muse changed that for me.

As you may be aware from following my blog and social media, I am a fragrance junkie.  Alchemic Muse only makes cold process soap for their general catalog of items - scents that are offered all year long.  Any of the seasonal scents only come in the cream soaps.  Absolutely loving the Peach Bellini scent, Karen forced compelled me to try their cream soap so that I could have a cleanser and a moisturizer in this fragrance.   Alchemic Muse's cream soap formula is gentle and cleansing and most importantly, non-irritating to my skin.  It does not lather like bar soap, but it is definitely a great alternative, especially when a bar is not available in a specific scent.

For my scent junkie jones, I love their Peach Bellini & Beguile (valentine's day collection),  Pomona (spring collection), Carnival, Mystique, Razzouli & Tropicana (general collection).

Reasonably priced (a 4.5 to 5.5 oz cold process bar is $6.50, 6 oz body whips are $10), high quality items with exotic fragrance offerings make Alchemic Muse an absolute must try for any fan of handmade bath and body products!

Have you tried Alchemic Muse?  What items do you love or are thinking about trying?  Have a recent product haul from them?  Post them on Facebook and tag me, 4 the love of bubbles and I'll share it with the world.  On Instagram, tag me and/or use the hastag #bubblelove and I'll share it as well! 

Peace, Love & Dragonfly wing breezes, LoveBuds!

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