3 BROTHERS GROCERY & DELI

I'm very happy to announce that mood milk products will be available for purchase at 3 Brothers Grocery & Deli in Hoboken, NJ.(@ 11th & Park) next week! The display is nearly finished ... just a few labels to print and bags of bath salts to fill. 

So, if you're in the hood, stop by, say hello to Blanca (the wonderful store owner)and snag yourself some of the first mood milk products on the market!

LADY (or LORD) OF THE SHOWER!

A royal vegetable oil soap scented with a powerful and uplifting blend of French Rosemary Oil, Champagne Fragrance, and Ylang - Ylang Oil. Topped off with a dusting of dried rosemary herbs. Appoint yourself Lady or Lord of your shower and indulge in your kingdom (ha!).

LITTLE BITS-O-PROGRESS

The mood milk website is under way ... www.MoodMilk.com! This morning I posted the place holder that will be up until the boutique opens. It's not much to look at just yet, but, exciting things are in the making on the back end. I can't wait for the shop to go live! 

< mood:impatient >

ANOTHER NEW BREW!

>SCENT No.004
>MOOD: PLAYFUL

Another batch of vegetable oil soap scented with a playful blend of Litsea Cubeba, Bergamot, Ylang-Ylang, and Cedarwood Essential Oils. It's also infused with an extra helping of moisturizing Avocado Oil.

A FRESH BREW

 

>SCENT No.003

>MOOD: RELAXED

A recent batch of vegetable oil soap scented with a relaxing blend of Lavender Population and Bergamot.

MAKING & NAMING & PACKAGING, OH MY!

IMAGE FROM PAPAYA! ART - 2010 WEEKLY PLANNER

Pheeew! Happy to finally have found the time to blog! I've been working my sweet petunia off over here to get things ready for Mood Milk's grand opening! Along with the natural vegetable oil soaps I'm planning to offer a few other items:

> bath bombs

> bubble baths

> shave cream

> lotions

> body spritz 

> lip balms

> candles

> room spritz

Making, testing, and naming the products as well as organizing all the business mumbo jumbo, designing the website, and developing packaging has kept me running in fifth gear. It's a lot to take on so I've made Emily Dickinson's advice my mantra ... "dwell in possibility, dwell in possibility, dwell in possibility" ...
< mood:focused >

*PROFILE: ROSEHIP*

Botanical Name: Rosa Rubiginosa 

Skin Benefits: Rosehip Oil is extremely high in essential fatty acids and is known to help treat dry, irritated, weathered skin. It is also suitable for treating burns, sunburns, scars, and stretch marks.

Absorption: Rosehip Oil is quickly absorbed by the skin and does not leave an oily feel.

Scent: Rosehip has a soft floral scent which is a sweeter, more "pink" aroma than straight rose.

LATEST BREW

 

>SCENT No.002
>MOOD: PEACEFUL

 

Fresh out of the mold today came my favorite batch of soap yet! This batch was scented with an Essential Oil blend of Frankincense, Rosemary, Pink Grapefruit, and Hungarian Lavender. The aroma is amazing! When I first smelled it a vision of walking along a path lined with dew covered grass and crooked old trees popped into my head *sigh*. The scent is slightly invigorating yet relaxing at the same time.    

*LOVE* FOR JOJOBA OIL

JOJOBA OIL (pronounced ho-ho-ba) is extracted from the seeds of Jojoba Trees. Even through it's commonly referred to as oil, the botanical extract is actually a liquid wax with a chemical make up similar to the oil naturally produced by human skin (sebum). It's believed that using Jojoba oil on skin can trick the skin into thinking it is producing enough sebum, thus balancing oil production. This makes Jojoba Oil a good moisturizer for all skin types. For oily or combination skin it controls the production of sebum and on dry skin it creates a moisturizing effect.   

Jojoba Oil Highlights + Characteristics: 

> Provides hours of moisturization and will not evaporate like many water based moisturizers.

> Effective in balancing oil production in all skin types.

> Spreads well and absorbs into the skin well (non-greasy).

> Non-comedogenic; will not block pores.

> Natural carrier of Vitamin E and aids in wrinkle prevention.

> Natural anti-bacterial properties; is capable of eliminating some skin bacteria.

> Natural anti-inflammatory; helps reduce skin inflammations.

> Non-toxic and hypoallergenic; it rarely causes allergic reactions.

Jojoba Oil is pure MAGIC! Mood Milk *hearts* this natural elixir! Happy Valentine's Day!

MUNCHIES FOR OUR BRAINS

"A tidbit a day keeps the doctor away"...okay, that might be pushing it but tidbits of new knowledge certainly can't hurt, so, I've been making an attempt to learn a little about all the possible soap ingredients and essential oils everyday.

Tonight I had the thought that it might be nice to start posting informative profiles on all the possible ingredients here so we can learn about them together. Stay tuned...info on Jojoba Oil is coming up next!

I'd also like to take a few lines to thank all my friends & family who heeded my SOS when I started to feel out of my element with all of this. Your comments, emails, and phone calls mean the world to me. Thanks for showing me & Mood Milk so much love. Cheers to each of you and all your awesomeness!

INTRODUCING MOOD MILK!

I decided I really, REALLY like the name Mood Milk for my soap and I'm stickin' with it!

So, welcome to the new Mood Milk Blog! I hope you'll take a second and read the previous posts (migrated here from a blog of a different name) to get an idea of how I arrived at this point.

I've had a lot of fun this past month making my first few batches of homemade soap and, this week, I decided I'm going to try to turn my soaping into something a little larger. I decided on a name, created a logo, started a new blog, and signed up to sell on Etsy (even though my first few batches won't be ready until the end of the month!) I've been a busy bird creating a cozy little nest for Mood Milk.

My goal is to have everything organized and enough soap made to start selling by May. I hope I'm not jumping the gun or setting myself up for disaster. Man, I could really use some support! I think it might be time to recruit some followers. I'm going to go let some friends and family know what I've been up...

A NEW DIRECTION

 

IMAGE FROM PAPAYA! ART - 2010 WEEKLY PLANNER

After making my first couple batches of homemade soap it's pretty evident to me that I'm hooked. This is a great feeling because I started the new year with a resolution to find a hobby that I love. We're only one month into 2010 and I think I've already fulfilled my resolution. I've never before stuck with a New Year's resolution so I'm beyond excited that I've not only found a hobby but I've also accomplished a goal.

There is, however, a small problem. I've only made two batches of soap and I already have 28 bars more than I need! I was chatting with a friend the other night about this problem and she suggested that I give my soap a name and try selling it. I like everything about that idea except the actual sales part. I'm not a sales woman! But, I am descent when it comes to marketing, I really like graphic design, I've always wanted to run my own business, and this new hobby is going to leave me with more soap than I'll know what to do with. I have to get rid of it somehow and why not try to make some of my money back in the process? I think I may try selling my soap at some point this year. 


After tossing this new idea around for a couple days I've decided to amend my New Year's resolution: I would like to have a selection of high quality soap for sale by Spring! Oh man, what am I getting myself into now?!?!

For starters, I think I may have come up with a name for my soap. Drum roll please...Mood Milk! I'm not sure why I like this name so much. I just like saying it and when I look at my soap bars the name seems to suit them. Oh, my little Mood Milk's! I think what I like most about it is that using "mood" in the name will give me a cohesive way to incorporate the benefits of the essential oils into my marketing.

I'm going to think about Mood Milk a little more and, if I decide to stick with it, I'm going to change the name of my blog and try to come up with a logo.  What 'cha think about that? Are you feeling the name Mood Milk?

MAD ABOUT SOAPING

I. can't. get. enough. I made another batch of soap last night! This second attempt went much smoother than Saturday night's first run. Once again, I can't wait to make my next brew. I'm mad I tell ya, MAD!

I followed the same recipe as before but this time I used an essential oil blend of Rose hip & Jasmine for the scent and BrambleBerry.com's fuchsia coloring. I also tried my hand at making a swirl pattern in the mold. Even though I'm not a fan of pink, I think the bars (pictured above) turned out lovely, don't you? They also smell so freaking good! I stop and huff them every time I walk by ;)

Speaking of scent. I've been reading The Essential Oils Book by Collen K. Dodt and I'm fascinated by the therapeutic benefits of all the different essential oils. I want to learn as much as I can about all the essential oils and more consciously incorporate special blends into my future batches of soap.   

I'M HOOKED

Oh my goodness, I wish I would have taken video of my first soap making experience. It was hilarious and so much fun! Ian and I were laughing the entire time. I'm only one day past making my first batch and I'm foaming at the mouth do it again.

From my first attempt I learned I'm going to have to buy a few more supplies as well as some important lessons for next time: 

1. Respect but don't fear making the lye (mixing the sodium hydroxide & distilled water.) I was irrationally afraid of this first step, because sodium hydroxide is quite a chemical, but doing it once put my mind at ease. The fact I wore double "safety goggles" (my glasses + bug-eyed sunglasses) made me feel better too. I think I'll keep practicing this safety precaution. 

2. An electric stick blender is a must have. I don't know if my arms can handle stirring a mixture for 45 minutes again. A stick blender will also considerably speed up the necessary mixing time.

3. Do not stir too hard. As the minutes ticked by I tried to stir harder and harder in hopes of speeding up the time needed for trace to develop. This made no difference and became super sloppy. I lost a good amount of my mixture down the sink drain. 

4. A mixing bowl with a pour spout would also be helpful. Pouring the mixture into the mold was a little difficult without a pour spout and I lost more of my mixture on this step.

Other than that everything seems to have worked. I won't know for sure for another 4 to 6 weeks because that's how long the soap has to set before use. If everything goes according to plan, over the next few weeks the saponification process will play out perfectly and the pH level of the soap will be safe.

Now we wait...again...This process requires so much patience but I think that is one of the things I like about it. In this era of instant gratification overload, the soap making process is kind of refreshing.

ZERO HOUR!

The time has finally come for me to give soap making a try, tonight is the night. I can't believe how excited I am about this!

Ian and I just finalized the recipe I'm going to use (check out my previous post, Lend Me Your Brain, for more about that.) We also set up all my ingredients and supplies in the kitchen. There's nothing more to do except dive in.

So, here goes...*eeeeeeee*