2024

Another market year has ended and a new one will be beginning soon. 2023 wasn't a great year as far as sales went but I know that times aren't easy for most people right now. Costs, including mine, are rising, causing increases in pretty much everything. It sucks. Hard. 

I have no intention of making this a depressing post. I can't do much about prices of supplies; I can, however, continue to make the best products I know how to make. I've decided that I will probably cut back on a few things so you may see fewer products on my table this year. 

What, you ask, will disappear? Well, my liquid soaps really didn't overwhelm so I think they'll be going on sale until they're gone. I may make some for personal use but that's about it. 

What else? Surprisingly, lip gloss. 

Yes, I said "surprisingly". I truly thought they'd be more popular than they were. By the end of 2023, I had quite a few left over even though they're a great product (I'm not a lip gloss person and I really like these!). I won't be making any more this year. Again, they'll be on clearance once the market season starts up again. 

I'm sure there will be other products we'll be thinking twice about. That said, if you have a favourite product you can't live without, let us know. We're more than happy to make custom orders. 

What can you expect to see on our tables this season? Well, soaps, of course. We're already busy making soap every weekend to get our table fully stocked. We've got some amazing new fragrances that we'll be using in soaps as well as hand/body lotions. Match a soap and a lotion for a perfect quick gift! 

Facial products have been very popular so we'll be bringing back our Instant Facials, as well as a few of our other popular face care products. If you haven't seen, or tried, the Instant Facials, you're in for a real treat! It's not a clay mask; it's more like a cleansing balm that turns into a thick, rich cream with the addition of water. Ingredients are added to turn this cream into a gorgeous, skin-loving mask that rinses off cleanly with water, leaving your skin feeling revitalized and pampered. There will be two or three varieties available; they sold out last year so you don't want to miss out!

Another popular item we'll continue making is our lip balm (as opposed to lip gloss). We have two recipes and both continue to be very popular; we won't stop making them. Our regular lip balm comes in a variety of flavours, including peppermint, orange sherbet, chocolate, and more. We've been using the same base recipe for over 20 years. Why fix what ain't broke?

Our Nourishing Nighttime Lip Masque has become a customer fave over the past couple of years. It's a rich, thick lip balm that sticks to your lips, made with the addition of lanolin and castor oil, helping keep your lips moisturized all night. Most people who use it, though, swear by it as an everyday lip balm that actually works! Me included.

I'm really looking forward to our 2024 season and I look forward to seeing all our new and usual customers. Our first market of the season is the All You Need Is Love market on February 11 at the East Kelowna Market. See you there!

Conundrum

There are times retail confuses me. Products I think will be popular aren't and products I wish weren't popular... are. Two prime examples are lip gloss and bath bombs.

Lip glosses are easy to make, relatively inexpensive, look and feel amazing. Unfortunately, they get very few likes on Instagram when I post about them (2 likes in a month) and they don't sell well. Lip balms, sure! Lip glosses, don't bother. I don't get it. 

Bath bombs, on the other hand.... I posted this picture on Instagram and within minutes, it had almost 10 likes (I know, that isn't a lot but you get my point, right?). I really don't like making them, though. They're finicky and messy, and I decided long ago not to make them for sale. 

 What would you do? 

Lip Gloss... Oh Yeah!

 I've got it down now! And I'm very happy with how this lip gloss has turned out. It's taken a bit of experimentation but now? Wow! 

I've never really been a lip gloss fan but I'm finding that, with the right ingredients, it can be more than just glossy; it can be moisturizing, too. We've added ingredients like Jojoba oil, Castor oil, and even Hyaluronic Acid.

So, what's the deal with Hyaluronic Acid, you might be wondering? For one thing, it is a naturally occuring substance in our bodies, generally in eyes and joints. It can penetrate the skin's surface and increase hyration for longer and at a deeper level, promoting a smoother, plumper, and more radiant appearance.

Hyaluronic acid's ability to attract a trememdous amount of water (up to 1000 times its weight!) makes it the skin's powerful natural inner moisturizer. Cosmetically, this translates into soft, hydrated skin that looks firm, plump, glowy, and youthful.

And, we've put it into our lip gloss! 

Adventures in Lip Gloss

 Lip Gloss. It's one of those things that I have a love/hate relationship with. I can remember a little girl, sitting in front of me in church one Sunday morning and, literally, every five minutes or so, she'd apply another layer of Grape lip gloss to her lips. With every application, she scent of the Galactic Grape flavouring oil penetrated my head and I ended up having to leave with a raging migraine. 

That said, the look and feel of a good lip gloss never fails to intrigue me. I've dipped my toe into making lip gloss a little and wasn't very happy with the results. I mean, it looked amazing the day I made it but by the following day, some of them had separated and the oils seeped out of the tubes. Not pretty!

I've been doing as much reading as I can about a very popular lip gloss base but everything I'm finding isn't really answering my questions. Well, over the Easter break, with four days off, I decided to look into it again. I finally found a little more information and I think I've got it figured out. It's still a sticky and messy procedure but at least it isn't separating anymore. 

And, oh my, it feels so nice on the lips. With the addition of some skin-soothing oils like castor, jojoba, and coconut oils, it won't dry out your lips and the gloss! This is what lip gloss should be!

Now, I'm just waiting for a new shipment of some classy tubes. 

Overnight Lip Masque

I love me a good lip balm but one thing I love even more is a lip masque that is rich and sticky enough to last all night. Ingredients like castor oil, jojoba oil, argan oil, and shea butter are great ingredients for an effective lip masque but if it could have hyaluronic acid added to help combat and minimize those stubborn little wrinkles and lines that develop as we age, it would be even better!

One issue is that hyaluronic acid is water soluble, not oil soluble and lip balms are, generally speaking anhydrous (they don't contain water). 

This little tube of lip balm has become one of our bestsellers and, apart from containing all the beautiful oils listed above, it's made with an oil soluble form of hyaluronic acid!

This rich, lovely lip balm is perfect for night time application as it sticks and lasts, helping to keep your lips soft and supple throughout the night. Personally, it's my favourite lip balm for day or night... hands down! I've already noticed that those little lip lines are diminishing with regular use.

It's lightly flavoured/scented with just enough peppermint essential oil to provide a bit of a tingle without drying out your lips.