Here are a few common questions I have gotten lately. I thought I would share them in case my readers are wondering the same.

Q: So, is what you do , making lotions and soaps , the same as Bath Junkie or Bath works in our mall, custome scenting premade lotions?

A: No. Those bath and lotion bars are wonderful places, but we are completely differant. What they do, like you said, is allow you to pick your favorite fragrances and mix it into a premade lotion "base" for you.... customized lotion and perfume scenting. Their products are not handmade or natural formulas like mine. What I offer is natural skin care, soaps, lotions, bath bombs, roll on perfumes, candles and more, made with raw and natural butters and oils and less water. All of the formulas and recipes are my own that I have spent alot of time in my kitchen and on my note pads working on in ratios and percentages to get just the right amount of ingredients to create a natural skin loving product that will make a differance with your skin and heal your skin conditions, not mask it with water and mineral oils.

Q: I see alot of people make soap out of a soap base and they pour it into molds and sell it as handmade, is that what your soap is?

A: No. That form of soap making is known in the crafting community as "Melt and Pour" soap. It is used by hobbyist, not "true" soap makers. My soap is made from scratch, by hand in the old fashion cold process method, the way our grandmothers and great grandmothers made soap. The differance between mine and my grandma's soap is, she used animal fat, because it was readily available and cheap enough to whip up some soap when they needed it. My soap is made with Olive Oil, Palm oil, cocoa, shea, mango and a variety of other rich butters and oils. These ingredients are extremely moisturizing and gentle on your skin. Melt and Pour soap, as fun as it is, is made up of the same type of ingredients as commercial bar soap. In fact, if you take a bar of ivory, melt it down, color and scent it, pour it into a mold, you have handcrafted soap. Handcrafted soap and handmade soap are two differant things.

Q: Can you make me a body cream with a differant scent than you offer on your list? I like the scents you have made, but I would like something more personal to me.

A: Yep! I am always happy to make special orders. You can pick any one of my butter blends that you like and I can add the fragrance to it the way you like it with the appropriate ratios of course. I currently have around 100+ fragrances to choose from, and out of those 100+ only two or three is for candle and incense use only and not suttable for skin. I make sure I choose fragrances that are strong enough for my candles but skin safe.

Q: If I custom order a body cream with a special scent, will I have to buy a certian amount like I do the soap?

A: No. You can order one jar, two jars or how every many you needs without a minimum order, becuase I can make small batches like that in the creams. The soaps, I make in 5 and 10 pound batches, and I request that special orders have a minimum of 6 bars to help me cover the cost of making the specialty soaps in case you're the only one that likes it and it doesn't sell. lol make sence?

Q: Do you make gift baskets?

A: Yes I do! I don't keep them on stock, because I am currently doing business in my home, however, I do make gift baskets for special occasions when they are requested. Custom gift baskets are alot of fun because you can pick what items you want to give and I can make suggestions of what I think would be good too, and together we can design the perfect gift for christmas , birthdays , valentines days etc. I want to list some on eStore soon, with the holidays coming up too. Each basket price is based on the cost of products included and the basket. The baskets are arranged neatly and wrapped in heat shrink wrap and topped with bow embellishments. a truly customized gift for friends and family with delicate skin, or someone who appreciates handmade goodies!

Q: Do you do refunds or returns?

A: It depends on the circumstances. When it comes to cosmetics, fe, lotions, soaps, perfumes etc, things you use on your body, I do not do refunds or exchanges. Those items are considered a final sale due to the federal and fda health laws. It is to easy to contaminate those types of items. What I suggest doing, before purchasing is try one of my demos, they are available to test out at Merle Norman Pure as Gold in ALBQ, and I have demo for you to try . Test it on a small patch of skin to see if it bothers you. I use cosmetic spatulas, where you can scoop a small amount out without touching the contents of the jar to prevent contamination, and I offer soap slivers for samples for you to try out also. Candles are a final sale, unless they have not been used and are in the original container and in the same condition they were in when they were purchased. If you must return it, I will gladly exchange it for product of equal value or the same product in a differant fragrance. All internet sales are considered final. A good rule of thumb when testing a product, is to look at the ingredients and judge if it contains something you are known to be allergic to. My products are natural and great for sensitive skin, however, there are some folks who have allergies to specific types of foods or fragrances. FE, if you are allergic to nuts, you will most likely be allergic to shea butter because shea butter is pressed from the shea nut.... you're looking at a possiable allergic reaction if this is your allergy. :)

Q: Where do you get your ingredients and how do you do all of this?

A: Awh, that is a trade secret. :) I love my work, but, it is my work and what I do to provide for my family. If I let my secrets out, everyone will be doing it and I won't be able to take care of me and my kiddos. ;) I buy my supplies from very repuable wholesalers. I have spent alot of time over the years hunting them down and setting up business with them. Alot of these places prefer not to do business with a small business owner, but I've been doing this for a long time now. Also, I cannot share my methods or recipes, but I can tell you, you can look at our FDA approved labels to see what the ingredients are so you know if it's good your skin or not. There are certian things, I cannot share. No one, not even my family members know my recipes or methods. I feel sorry for the Busch family when thier dog decides to black mail them with their secret family baked bean recipe for more tummy rubs and beggin' strips! ;)lol

Q: There is one candle I love from this other company, can you make a fragrance that smells just like it? I'd rather buy it from you because I like the all soy wax.

A: If you tell me the name of the company and the candle, I can hunt around and see if I can find a "type" fragrance to match it, or try mixing it myself. I carry alot of fragrances that are comparable to other companies like BBW and V's S. They will say on MY packaging, for example, Love Spell Type. Which is my most popular type seller right now. I call it type, 1. so folks will recognize what it is suppost to resemble and 2. I cannot call it what the other company calls it because it is trade marked and not the original, so calling it a type or a version lets you know what it smells like, but protects me from copy right infringment. as an artist and a designer, I don't appreciate people taking my work and claming it as their own, so I respect everyone else as well. ;) Some fragrance types I may not be able to find, but, I usually do, it just takes time. ;)

Q: What is your favorite soap, lotion, candle and product that you make?

A: Wow, that's a hard question! lol I use everything I make and I have a hard time deciding which soap I want to use when I take a bath because I love them all. I think, my favorite soap is Original Oatmeal, Milk and Honey. I love the way it feels and it smells so wonderful, but then , I love the Natural Goats Milk Soap because it moisturizes MY skin the best. ;) My favorite body butter.... Gosh, I don't know. I use a differant one everytime. I am currently using Wild Honey Lotion Bar after my bath, and Shea and Honey Body Souffle before bed. I just don't know. It's hard to have a favorite because I love them all!! My favoite candle, to date is Caramel Popcorn and I like the Bird of Paradise, but I test them all so I can't really decide. haha My favorite fragrance of all of them has to be the Oatmeal Milk and Honey fragrance because it's so soft and sweet. :)

Q: You don't always have the same kind of candle jars, why is that?

A: To keep the cost of my candles down, I tend to buy from my wholesalers when they have containers on sale or liquidation. The reason being, is I can charge for the actual candle it's self and not have to raise the cost higher for the jar. When I find a container I really like, and it's on liquidation I tend to buy in bulk or cases so I have several of them to work with. I tend to stay in the same sizes by ounces so the candles do not fluctuate in price unless the cost of wax increases, which it does from time to time. So, for 6 months or as long as the containers will last I may have froasted jars, and other times I may have the classic apothecary jars. Just depends on what is on sale at the time. I like to pass the savings on to the customers. :) I will continue to do this, until which time I find a perminant container from a perminant wholesaler with a great price.

If you have any questions you would like answered, please feel free to post a comment on my blog, or email me. I would be more than happy to answer it for you. ;)

Rachel