Adventures With The Sage

You will need some salt, any type that you desire. I’m going to use about 2 lbs of Extra Large Salt. Put salt into a bucket and pour contents of the diffuser reed bottle over the salt. If you want, you can stir the salt to coat thoroughly. Now we have a bucket of salt that can sit outside on the patio or on the front porch and fragrance the area. Wow! That was really easy!

Clean out the diffuser reed bottle and you are now ready for a new scent! Remember, if the scents change to different notes, then you need to replace the reeds to avoid scent contamination.

You can also use this method instead of using diffuser reed bottles. Check the Potpourri Salt posts!

Next week is our Bath Tub Pleasure Week! Bath Fizzies for the kids and the kids at heart, bath oils for those leisurely evening baths, and bubble bath for bubbly entertainment! Wow! This is going to be so much fun!

I’m going to explain how to test with cyclomethicone and then we will make a Monsters Away spray for kids.

Testing Cyclomethicone and Fragrance Oil compatibility:
Using clear dram vials, put 1 mL of cyclomethicone into the vial. Add 1 drop of fragrance oil. Watch the oil settle to the bottom, float on top, or disperse. It is important to watch the drop because not all fragrance oils have a color. It is very hard to see fragrance oils that are colorless, so watch carefully. Once you have determined where the drop went, cap and shake the bottle. Did the drop return to the bottom? Is it still floating on top? Is it completely mixed in?

We want a completely mixed in product. If you aren’t sure, and sometimes it is hard to tell, leave the bottle overnight and recheck it in the morning. Oils which are not compatible will remain separated from the cyclomethicone. Oils that are compatible will be completely mixed into the cyclomethicone.

Now, for making Monsters Away Sprays. We used some fun clip art from www.clipart.com and made the labels. We used the 1 fl oz cylinder bottles, with spray matching heads. These can be found in the Size 20 section of our Containers Catalog area.

Collect needed items:
Cyclomethicone
Fragrance Oil of your choice
Small Transfer Pipettes
Containers and caps

Let’s do about 1% fragrance oil. If you know the scent is compatible with Cyclomethicone, AND you want to make a lot of spray, then use 1 fl oz of scent into 1 gallon of cycomethicone. If you are making small amounts, like 1 bottle at a time, then put 28 mL cyclomethicone into the 1 fl oz bottle and 0.25 mL fragrance oil. Cap with sprayer. Shake well.

For kids sprays use something like Juicy Grape, Vanilla Cream, Wild Strawberry, Cotton Candy, or some other bright scent.

Label with a cute Monster Away label. If you are making a dry oil spray for adults, or tween-agers, that aren’t worried about monsters, then follow the same directions as above, but use a different label. You might try more perfume style fragrances like Rose, Cotton, Sandalwood, etc.

Monster Away Spray can be used in a bedroom, on a blanket or pillow before going to bed. Do not spray over hard surface floors. The cyclomethicone can make a wood or tile floor very slippery, so please use caution.

Would anyone care to write a Robert Munsch-esque story about sending monsters away while the kids sleep? I think some fun scented sprays would work into the story quite well. If you are not familiar with Robert Munsch, try to find Purple, Green and Yellow. This is one of my favorite stories. If you can’t find Purple, Green and Yellow, then get The Paper Bag Princess. You won’t be sorry.

Next week is our Bath Tub Pleasure Week! Bath Fizzies for the kids and the kids at heart, bath oils for those leisurely evening baths, and bubble bath for bubbly entertainment! Wow! This is going to be so much fun!

What is the difference between a perfume and a body mist?

A perfume is something applied in dabs. This is the small amount applied behind the ears and the wrists. Unfortunately our media advertising programs have worked against perfumes, and concentrated materials in general. We have been taught, through ads in all different mediums, that more is better. This is why perfumes have taken a lesser place in the market.

Body sprays, mists and splashes are all applied generously. Think of the commercials you see which splash gallons, or it appears as such, of scented liquid across the body. If this were a real perfume, then the body would stink until 2030! We don’t want you to lose your family because they can’t stand your new odor, or have the neighbors complain.

So, let’s consider the amounts of fragrance material used in each form of scenting liquids. Perfumes are 20 to 35% fragrance material. They are usually carried in alcohol, special denatured types so you won’t drink them to get drunk. Body sprays are often as little as 0.5% (this is half of 1%) and may go as high as 3%. Again, these are in special denatured alcohol.

Scenting the body is as much art as it is science. A person should never wear so much perfume/body spray that others can’t stand being in the same room. This much scent destroys the ability to smell, and offends other people, all at the same time.

If you want to make small amounts of perfumes or body sprays in alcohol, for your self and family, then you can use Everclear from the liquor store. If you chose to sell the products, you must get a special denatured alcohol and the necessary permits for purchasing, and storing, such an item.

To make with alcohol, let’s make something closer to a cologne or body spray. We will use the fine perfume atomizers for this project. Because this application uses a fair amount of material in the application (a full spray) we want to keep the amount of scenting oils low so the body isn’t overly scented.

Everclear or high % vodka
fragrance oil of choice
pipettes
atomizer

Measure 5 mL of alcohol into the atomizer bottle. Add 2% fragrance oil. (5 * 0.02 = 0.10) This is 0.10 mL of fragrance oil. Fill a pipette with fragrance oil. Count how many drops are in 1 mL of scent. There will probably be about 20. Each scent is different, and each pipette can be different too. Once you know how many drops are in a mL, calculate how many drops are needed. If 20 drops are in a mL, then the math looks like this 20 * 0.10 = 2. This means of the 20 drops in a single mL, we only need 10% for our project. 20 drops multiplied by 10% is 2 drops. Add the scent, in drops, to the alcohol in the atomizer bottle. Cap the atomizer. Shake well. Label. The body spray is done.

We have tested various scents, this one is lighter and fruitier, so we are using it at a higher usage rate. Something heavy like sandalwood or patchouly would be used at a lower rate.

Shhh! Don’t tell anyone how easy this was. They won’t believe you, but just in case they did, our secret would be out!

Notes:
Before you ask why the Everclear based perfume is still clear and the vodka based perfume is cloudy, I will explain that. The vodka is 50% alcohol content in volume, or 100 proof. The Everclear is 95% alcohol content in volume, or 190 proof. What is proof? Proof is simply the percentage doubled, or the arbitrary standardized strength of the liquor. Alcohol is a solvent, so if you have a higher percentage of alcohol, the finished perfume will stay clear. This is why the Everclear which has 95% alcohol is clear, while the vodka which has 50% alcohol is cloudy. The vodka has more water in it, so the water and oil don’t mix!

Next week is our Bath Tub Pleasure Week! Bath Fizzies for the kids and the kids at heart, bath oils for those leisurely evening baths, and bubble bath for bubbly entertainment! Wow! This is going to be so much fun!

Collect needed items:
Water
Fragrance or Essential Oil of Choice (I’m going to use Fresh Fruit Salsa Fragrance Oil)
Polysorbate 20 or Polysorbate 80 (I’m using Polysorbate 80)
Scale
Glass Beaker or mixing jar
Notebook or paper for math work (optional)
Containers for Room Sprays

Recipe as a Formulation:
5% Fragrance or Essential Oil
5% Polysorbate of choice
90% Water

Wait a minute! How do I determine how much fragrance oil and polysorbate I need? That is an easy question.

For today’s post, I’m using a 2 oz PET Bottle, Size 20 (101-1141). We need to simply move the decimal point from behind the 2 to in front of the 2 to get 10 % of the entire bottle.

Example: 2.0 —- 0.20 = 10% of 2 fl oz

Divide the 10% in half for the needed 5% of fragrance oil and the other 5% of Polysorbate. Weigh the needed amount of fragrance oil and Polysorbate, and then fill the bottles. Once the bottles have been filled with the needed amount of our fragrance and Polysorbate mixture, you can add the water.

Wow! That was amazingly easy! Tomorrow we are going to cover making perfumes and body mists, so stay tuned! (Wait! I’m not a radio announcer, so what am I doing?)

Next week is our Bath Tub Pleasure Week! Bath Fizzies for the kids and the kids at heart, bath oils for those leisurely evening baths, and bubble bath for bubbly entertainment! Wow! This is going to be so much fun!

Items that we will need:

Sugar, or Salt if you prefer
Glycerin Scrub Base
Spoon
Fragrance Oil (We are using Red Clover Tea)
Scale
Mixing Bowl
Containers
Purple Raspberry Color in the dropper bottle from the Jan 12 2009 blog post

Add fragrance oil and color to the gallon of Glycerin Scrub Base. Recap the gallon jug and shake. You are going to need to shake the jug like you are a crazy maniac. If you can’t shake the jug like crazy, then find someone else in your house or the neighbor boy. You could make cookies like Andrea’s Valentine Sugar Cookies as payment!

After the Glycerin Scrub Base is mixed, add to the sugar and mix thoroughly. I like to add the sugar to the scrub base just because that way some of the sugar doesn’t get forgotten at the bottom of my mixing bowl. Stir until completely mixed. Once the scrub is mixed, go ahead and spoon into containers and cap. Yippee! We now have adorable scrubs to give out as gifts.

Notes:

I’m at the bottom of my bag of sugar and the bottom of the bag always has more sugar dust. This dust is easily dissolved by the scrub base and can make a syrupy layer at the bottom of the jar. To remedy that problem, I added 3 tablespoons of salt to the 8 pounds of sugar I used for the scrub. If you are using larger sugar crystals in this recipe then the salt can be omitted.

Next week we are going to work on cold process soap. Don’t forget the supplies you will need!

Ingredients that we will need are:

Sugar, or Salt if you prefer
Red Morocco Clay
Hemp Oil (Natural or Refined)
Sweet Almond Oil
Shower Gel & Liquid Hand Soap in One
Cranberry Fragrance Oil
Lime Essential Oil

Equipment that we will need:

Scale
Large Mixing Bowl or Bucket
Separate container for oils
Transfer Pipettes
Container to package finished product

Weigh dry ingredients into large mixing bowl and mix together thoroughly. Set the bowl aside. Weigh oils, liquid soap and fragrance oil into the oil container. After all the fluid items have been weighed, stir until blended. Add oil mixture to the dry ingredients and stir. Spoon into containers and cap. Tada! We now have a beautiful finished product.

Notes:

When I made my first test batch, I wasn’t sure how the Shower Gel & Liquid Hand Soap in One would work. I thought that the Body Polish would be really bubbly, but I was surprised when the the finished Body Polish gave slight suds when scrubbing. The original recipe makes approximately 10 fluid ounces. Now you can make just a jar for yourself, or a dozen jars for friends and family.

Next week we are going to work on cold process soap. Don’t forget the supplies you will need!

When making a sugar scrub, you need to choose the oil you want to use. Wait a minute! How do make a choice with so many different options out there? Our technical support staff helped me determine the three weight categories of fixed oils. The categories are as follows, light, mid-weight and heavy. How do we determine the weight of an oil? We figure the weight of a oil by the texture and feeling as the oil is rubbed into the skin.

Our personal evaluations gave us Coconut Oil Fractions, Colorless Jojoba, and Macadamia Nut Oils as our light oils and leading into the mid-weight were Rice Bran and Sesame Oils. The mid-weight oils are Almond, Apricot Kernel, Grapeseed, and Sunflower. The oils between the mid-weight and heavy are Golden Jojoba, Olive and Wheat Germ. That leaves the heavy oils which we determined were Aloe Extract, Avocado, Hemp, or Shea Oils.

Each oil you test will vary. I like to test new oils on the inside of my arm when I receive them. I write down in my notebook the feel of the oil. Did the oil feel light, velvety, or oily? What did the oil smell like? What date did I test the oil? The last question is important because an oil that I find nice and soothing in February will probably feel too heavy in August, the most humid month for us.

I’ve chosen Colorless Jojoba and Olive Oil for my comparison project. Now what about the sugar? You can use any sugar that you want. We usually recommend using a white granulated sugar. You can use either brown sugar or white sugar.

If you use brown sugar, I highly recommend that you use a fragrance oil that will work with the molasses scent of the brown sugar. Whoa! Did I just say something that didn’t make sense? Ok, try this. Imagine the nice warm smell of brown sugar and then someone adds a fragrance like Cool Water or Lilac. These fragrances simply do not mix with the molasses scent of the brown sugar.

Fragrances that work with the molasses scent would be some with spice notes like Apple Jack, Gingerbread & Spice, and Welcome Home. You could also use fragrances with vanilla notes like Warm Vanilla Sugar or Vanilla Cream.

Lastly, you could use fragrances with a simple citrusy note and create a wonderful baked dessert smell. For example, Raspberry would make a great raspberry oatmeal bar with a crumbly top or Cranberry for a cranberries and brown sugar glaze. I should stop because I’m making myself hungry.

Just try not to combine brown sugar with blue/marine scents or green/herbal scents.

You will need:

Granulated sugar of your choice (I’m using white)
Fixed Oil of your choice (I’m using Colorless Jojoba and Olive Oil)
Fragrance oil (I’m using Oatmeal, Milk & Honey)
Mixing Bucket or Heavy Zipper Style Bag
Spoon if you use a bucket
Transfer Pipettes
Containers to fill with finished product

Set out your mixing bucket. Measure 2 cups of sugar into the mixing bucket. Now we can add 1 cup of oil. Stir or knead the sugar and oil together. Once the oil and sugar have been mixed, you can add the fragrance oil. I added 2 mL of Oatmeal, Milk & Honey. After the fragrance oil has been thoroughly mixed into the scrub, you can now fill your containers.

See! I told you it was easy!

FAQ and Interesting Tidbits

Did you know sugar is a humectant? Now before you think I’m using some weird foreign language, a humectant is simply a substance that promotes the retention of moisture.

Next week we are going to work on cold process soap. Don’t forget any supplies!