Lemon Zest (B&BW type) Fragrance

Acai (pronounced "ah-SIGH-ee") is a small, tropical, deep purple berry, and mangosteen is a tropical fruit with a citrusy-peachy flavor and aroma. Both fruits are hot, hot, hot right now, which makes our Acai & Mangosteen fragrance a tropical double-threat. Fruity top notes of strawberry, peach, orange, melon, and mandarin sit atop a fruity-floral middle of freesia, lily of the valley, raspberry, and papaya. Deep sweet balsamic vanilla notes complete the accord. Like a sunny day in the rainforest in a bottle! Flashpoint: 142F

Too good to be true? Hardly! The internet is so full of artificial bases that I'd become convinced that it must be scientifically impossible to create a natural one -- and then what should come flying in over the transom but this balmy beauty, easy to use and natural in every way. When it comes to making lip balm, I can't imagine using anything but this base now -- the consistency of the finished product is better than anything I ever came up with blending oils (yes, even fancy-pants, high-priced oils like jojoba and kukui nut) from scratch. INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE: Heat our All-Natural Lip Balm Base until melted in a microwaveable container -- microwaves vary like crazy, so taking the relative power of yours into account, heat the lip balm base until melted (I make about two ounces of lip balm at a time, and my turbocharged micro takes about a minute and a half to melt it down). Add your favorite Sweet Cakes flavor oil and our All-Natural Sweetener if desired, then pour into lip balm tube. (We offer a snazzy jars selection!) If you prefer a stiffer balm, combine the All-Natural Lip Balm Base with beeswax. ANOTHER USE: This lip balm base also makes a perfect salve. The addition of our Lavender 40/42 essential oil would make a really basic, all-purpose salve; for the more ambitious, try infusing it with all sorts of healing plants and herbs. INGREDIENTS: Castor seed oil, beeswax, lauryl laurate, carnauba wax. Melting Point: 142F - 160F

At long last we've finally tracked down an *all-natural* sweetener specially designed to be used in lip balms. This thick, pale-golden liquid is derived from licorice and is sweet as can be -- in fact, it's recommended that you add only 1-3% of it by weight to your lip balm creations. To all those who've contacted us in the past to ask why your own homemade lip creations don't have as much flavor and oomph as commercial ones, here's your answer. NOTE: Anticipating your questions, I asked the flavor chemist if any harm could come from ingesting, say, 3 or 4 or 5 times more sweetener than is recommended, and he said that you can use as much sweetener as you darn well please (although we don't recommend doing so -- it may change the texture and consistency of your lip balm adversely). Flashpoint: >200º F For those of you who sell your lip balms, the INCI name for this product is "Natural Additive (as sweetener)." Sweeteners -- even "grocery store"-type sweeteners like honey and stevia -- can be notoriously hard to mix into lip balm. Through our own experimentation and feedback from our customers (particularly RuthAnn of Mermaid's Bath -- thanks, RuthAnn!) we've come up with the following tips for incorporating our sweetener into lip balm: Make your basic lip balm mixture (whether it's "from scratch," using various liquid oils plus beeswax, or using our preblended base plus beeswax). Add to this our All-Natural Sweetener (we recommend using 3% by weight). Stir continuously as the base cools (the sweetener will want to pool at the bottom initially, but will become more willing to blend and integrate as the mixture cools down). When the base has cooled and is opaque and thick, put the container in a hot-water bath to remelt, stirring constantly. Voila! The sweetener will stay nicely combined with the base. A couple more caveats/comments, courtesy of our customers: "You must allow the mixture to cool COMPLETELY after the initial melt before you put the mix in a hot-water bath or over a double-boiler to emulsify the sweetener with the lip balm." "Stir constantly both while you cool the mixture until you can't stir anymore AND while you re-melt the mix -- if you don't stir at all times, some of the sweetener will not mix in and will be left sitting in the bottom of the cup or pot when you pour." "I followed your website instructions to a 'T,' and my lip balm came out great!" Is it worth the trouble to sweeten your lip balms? We think it is; virtually all commercial lip balms are sweetened, and we find that when lip balms are left unsweetened they taste "flat" to the user.

If the sky-high price of chamomile essential oil puts it out of reach, consider our partially synthetic version -- which gloriously enough contains essential oils of chamomile, lavender, sandalwood, and geranium. BOTTOM LINE: We searched for a chamomile fragrance for over two years, and this is the only one that we feel could stand in for chamomile essential oil. NOTE: Chamomile is considered a relaxing, calming scent and blends well with lavender. Flashpoint: 141º F.

Enjoy the smooth balance of sweet chocolate and deep, rich amber in our interpretation of this new B&BW favorite! This unisex fragrance begins with fresh green top notes that quickly lead to a succulent middle of milk chocolate and mild spice, all atop a warm, sweet, resinous base of amber, musk, vanilla, and precious woods. Imagine all the uses for this scent blend -- shampoo, soap, shower gel, candles -- the amber adds a fresh twist to a tried-and-true favorite! BOTTOM LINE: Quite possibly the most harmonious pairing since Bob and Carol were introduced to Ted and Alice. Flashpoint: >200º F

This rich lemon-fig blend begins with citrusy top notes of essential oils of lemon and orange. It blooms into a fruity-floral heart of ginger, apple, geranium, real rose and green tea absolutes, and a touch of mint. The warm drydown consists of fig, spice, amber, and white musk. You know all those exotic new candle brands -- the ones where even a votive is, like, $30 and comes in its own tiny crate sitting on a bed of shredded cashmere? Citron et Figue is the kind of mesmerizing, expensive-smelling scent that you'd find in one of those . . . Flashpoint 172F

A wonderful warm citrus herbal blend with top notes of orange and grapefruit, followed by a mid section of oregano and marjoram, rounded out with bottom notes of amber and musk.Flashpoint: 162F. Absolutely wonderful!

Clear polyethylene tubes with honey colored caps. Each tube will hold approximately .17 oz. of lip balm.

Clear polyethylene tubes with white caps. Each tube will hold approximately .17 oz. of lip balm.

Tiny seeds are a great way to turn regular soap into an exfoliating machine.