Soap Photo Contest At The Soap Bar

Get your handmade soap photo to me by the end of this Saturday, November 10th. Go see the rules of the photo contest over at The Soap Bar Blog. Here is one entry, just to give you an example (sent by Steph at playingwithsoap.blogspot.com.)

Real Cookie Monsters....

I don't know how I ended up at Tim Boucher's blog. Isn't it funny how looking for beautiful cupcakes online led me to "big mouth-o-cookies"?

I Have Been Tagged

"What does it mean to be tagged? This is a blogging game where each player starts with 7 random facts/habits about him or herself. People who are tagged need to then report this fact on their blog along with their 7 things, as well as these rules. They then tag 7 others and list their names on their blog. They're also asked to leave a comment for each of the tagged, letting them know they have been tagged and to read the blog."

So you want the juice on me?

1. I'm co-dependent. I have a tendency to make sure the people around me get what they need without thinking too much about how it will effect me. It comes from love, I tell ya!

2. I have a thing for late 60's early 70's muscle cars (mostly mopar) - Love old International Scouts, too! (cars, not the boys)

3. I continually do my own hair - cutting, dying...etc. because I am no good at delayed gratification at ALL. My friend Lola is always shaking her head at me. (She is a hair stylist in Williamsburg, NY).

4. I hate the cold, dark weather.

5. Eating out is one of my guilty pleasures.

6. I talk in my sleep.

7. I destroy common idioms - I can't ever remember them properly.
Example: A few years ago I wanted to say,"you threw a wrench in the works" and it came out "you threw a bone in the fan". My husband loved it so much, it has turned into a common saying around here and we use it all the time... How is it I remember that? (my kids are screwed).

Funny, I was just trying to remember the darn idiom and I asked my husband, Brad,"is it: a monkey in the wrench?" Of course, he laughed at me. I am hopeless.

Okay, I fessed up. So now I tag:

Soap Queen Anne-Marie
Stellar Beauty Jeannie
Playing With Soap Steph
Beauty Addict Kristen
Makeup Bag Erica Valente
Jewel Box Dreams Susanna
Rare Bird Finds Sharla and Mei Lynn

Can't wait to see what confessions/stories they have to share.

Run Lola Run

Run Lola Run - A German flick with Franka Potente - love her! Anyway, since seeing this flick, I have always wanted to dye my hair red. Fast forward 10 years, I pulled the trigger.

I share:


You can spot me a mile away!

Scent Poll

Would you want to slather your body with your favorite holiday scent? Or wash with it? I came up with a few choices of possible faves, but please, add your own in the comment section.

1. Gingersnaps
2. Pumpkin pie
3. Hot Apple Pie
4. Champagne
5. Egg nog
6. Turkey and stuffing (joke)

Please let us know. Polls make for good returns....

Clorox Buys Burt's Bees! (a reprint)

This is reprinted verbatim from Soap & The Finer Things

Bleach manufacturer Clorox is the latest big player to muscle into the naturals market with the acquisition of Burt's Bees for $925m.

Large companies are beginning to pick off small natural and organic personal care firms to capitalize on the growth of the niche market and ultimately boost its top-line growth.

On its current double-digit growth path Burts Bees is set to achieve sales of $170m in 2007, which is around five times less than the price Clorox paid for the company.

Justifying the high price is the sales potential of Burt's Bees. Clorox expects the acquisition to provide an additional two points of sales growth in the fiscal years 2008 and 2009.

Clorox CEO Donald Knauss said: "This acquisition allows us to enter a growing market that's consistent with consumer megatrends."

"The Burt's Bees brand is well-anchored in sustainability and health and wellness, and we believe it will benefit from natural and 'green' tailwinds"

Organic Monitor director Amarjit Sahota told CosmeticsDesign.com that Colorox will also benefit from the green image of Burt's Bees.

As for Burt's Bees, Sahota questioned whether the move would be in the long-term interests of the firm, despite the deal meaning that Burt's Bees products will be sold through mainstream retail channels.

He said: "We expect Burt's Bees to become damaged by the acquisition because of its impact on customer and retailer perceptions of the brand."

In a recent interview with CosmeticsDesign.com Sahato expressed concern that multinationals with strong established retail channels are marginalising smaller brands and selling diluted natural and organic products.

He called for tighter regulation of the naturals market to prevent companies from selling 'natural' cosmetics that contain relatively few natural ingredients.

Burt's Bees, which was previously owned by private equity firm AEA Investors, has been a strong campaigner for greater regulation of natural and organic cosmetics in recent times.

Sahato fears that may not continue after the latest buy-out because of the demands of the mass-market and the fact that Burt's Bees new parent company has no history of selling natural or organic products.

The takeover of Burt's Bees follows two major acquisitions of natural personal care players last year, namely L'Oreal's acquisition of Body Shop and Colgate-Palmolive buy-out of Tom's of Maine.

Thank you, Anne-Marie, friend and guru of all things, soap and biz related.

Crush On You with Sprinkles!

Yesterday in the attempt to make a more affordable shopping experience for those who are having trouble pulling the trigger on $22.00 for a 9 ounce body scrub, I played around with our Crush On You in Pecan Praline with red sugar sprinkles in a 4.75 ounce jar. I really like the sprinkles. I have gotten into the whole decoration aspect of things lately. ( We made our son's chocolate chip costume with my husband this Halloween).

Looks good enough to eat, I think. When I formulate, sometimes the scents are so appealing and foodie-good, that it takes everything in me not to eat the stuff. I have to say, it doesn't taste very good... I have tried it.

I am continuing to crack the whip on myself. I must make holiday goodies for the (you guessed it) holidays. Fun fun goodies.

Last Night For October Promo

Last night for octpromo coupon! See here.

Happy Halloween!

Eat lots of candy and beware of the vampire bat.........

Mary J. Blige + My Pumpkin Scrub

Mary J. Blige looks stunning on the cover! Inside the magazine in the beauty pages, GenLux included us among their Holiday guide:


You can see the whole thing on our Press page at Product Body.

Happy Halloween and boo to you!

Lip Balm Disappointment

I have been pretty disappointed with lip balms in general for a number of years.

• Lip gloss is too sticky and when it isn't, it vanishes too quickly.
• Lip balm generally feels either too greasy and un-conditioning or too waxy.

I am not big on huge brands like Vaseline, Chapstick, Nivea etc. Carmex was good for me in college, but that was umpteen years ago and my lips need more. I need to not have it sit on my lips like a pile of melted candle wax or slip off my lips like a slip-n-slide.

Every so often, I find a brand I like, but before I get through the pot or stick, I realize the bad parts I hate about it. If I taste anything, I am grossed out. If it is too smelly or too icky smelling, I'll throw it out. The scent is super important to me, too, so if it smells like Cheetos or Root Beer, count me out even though I am a foodie gal.

Because of my curmudgeon-like attitude, I think I will have to torment my family again and whip up more goodies in the kitchen, but this time for the lips.... until I find a formula that will really speak to me, or rather sing to me. Tis the season.... Winter is upon us and I owe it to the folks who feel the same way I do.

Regarding lip plumpers. I have despised the tastes of the ones I have tested. What the heck are they seeping into the goo? Any thoughts?

Two Very Hip Chicks

Last night I watched a Quentin Tarantino flick: Death Proof. Loved it! Zoe Bell, real stuntwoman (now actress) and Rosario Dawson, recently on the cover of Bust mag with the brass knuckles, were both great and the movie as a whole was even better.

Rosario Dawson:

And introducing Zoe Bell

I am not here to write a movie critique, but this one is unique. I like the style, the story and I have to say, Kurt Russel is dynamite; his best work. I don't think the movie was well received by the general public, but it's my favorite of Tarantino's since Pulp Fiction.

Money, Anyone?

We are offering our blog readers and anyone else who gets wind of it $10.00 off your order when you shop with us and spend $50 or more at Product Body Shop. octpromo is the coupon code - Just enter it at checkout. If you've been wanting to try something, now might be the time!

Offer ends November 1st!

Have a great weekend!!

"Lotion Commotion"

Knit Simple Magazine
2007 Holiday Issue

Product Body moisturizers are recommended to knitters on page 8. This is a hip magazine. Knitting has entered a completely different realm in the fashion world. I think it is accepted into the young culture and is considered cool to be a knitter. Every photo is of a young woman, and the projects are gorgeous!

Pumpkin Pie Vodka

And more for the Halloween spirits.....

Vodka infused with pumpkin and spices. Drinks are getting so fancy, but I like the pumpkin twist. Wonder if it tastes any good. If you've tried it, please comment. We all want to know if it is delightful or just another marketing theme.

Modern Spirits Vodka shares drinks you can concoct with the booze:

Cocktails	Glass	Treatment
Everything Nice		2 oz MS Pumpkin Pie vodka 1 oz heavy cream 2 tsps maple syrup Splash of orange liqueur Shake hard and strain into a Graham cracker-rimmed glass
Pumpkin Flip		2 oz MS Pumpkin Pie vodka chilled 1 egg white 1 tsp brown sugar Shake, strain and top with grated nutmeg
Modern Pie		2 oz MS Pumpkin Pie vodka chilled Dollop of honey-sweetened Mascarpone
Pumpkin Shake		2 oz MS Pumpkin Pie vodka 1 scoop vanilla ice cream 1/2 oz simple syrup Splash of orange liqueur 3 large ice cubes Combine in blender and pulse until smooth Top with whipped cream Garnish with pinch of nutmeg
Thanksgiving Duo		2 oz MS Pumpkin Pie vodka 1/3 oz 100% cranberry juice 1/3 oz maple syrup Shake and pour into glass over ice Top with soda

Holiday party cocktails?

New Line of Body Products To Come

We have been so busy trying to launch our new line of goodies that I feel like I have neglected everything and everyone - so my apologies go out. I can't really comment too much about what we are doing other than it is a line for expecting mothers. I will keep you in the loop. It is almost ready for release.

Halloween Cupcake Design

You know I am cupcake obsessed. But now it is Halloween and I am loving the creepy confections. Allow me to share the love.

These 2 were created by Wisdom Of The Moon (also and Etsy shop).

This is made by Cake Creations By Lisa in San Francisco.

Ghostly Castle. This is a kid craft....but I think I would have chosen it for a wedding cake. Who is kidding who? Kiddley.com.


Creepy Goodies by Brownie Points Blog. Note the "tissue sample" in the background... :)

Love it! Will someone please mail me some cupcakes? I am so hungry!!

Okay, back to work. The next entry I write will be work related. This is just so much fun!

xoxox -Jo

Freshly Cracked Coconut

Desmond came over to me in the garden with a giant green coconut in hand which was bigger than his head . He had a mission. "Mommy, we have to eat this right now. Do we have a machete?" Why indeed we do, as blunt as it is, let's go get it. I was totally up for the challenge

I had no idea that cutting a coconut open was such a challenge, especially with the bluntest machete in the world. If you have never done this yourself, you might not be aware that coconuts come much larger than the brown hairy-looking ones you can get at the supermarket. That brown fiber-ey coconut lives inside the big green smooth exterior "shell" as you can see on one of the coconut trees in my back yard. They don't look big, but they are each about a soccer ball size but in football shape.

So it was me and the machete hacking, hacking, hacking. That green smooth exterior is really so fiberous and thick, you'd think that no one was ever meant to eat the darn thing in the first place. I whacked that thing so hard I made a crack and looked inside to see about 2 ounces of coconut milk. Desmond got a straw and we each had one long awaited sip. Hmmm. That was a little anti-climactic, but there was more to get. More whacking and it cracked! Yum white coconut. Not sweet like the Mounds we all eat, but tasty and crunchy. Isn't it purdy?
We shared in delight.

Des with his triumphant piece of coconut.

What fun it must have been to come home with a monster in hand and within 15 minutes, a yummy, healthy snack that we busted open ourselves. Right in our backyard!

I shall get moving towards incorporating coconut into my formulations being that I love the smell so much. Why haven't I done that yet?

Angry Kid - Stinky Finger

This had me cracking up. Enjoy the sickness......

Presenting "Angry Kid"



Please leave feedback. I am curious if I may be the only one who thinks this bit of nut job humor is funny. Thanks!

Allure is just Giving It Away!

Allure.com is giving away Chanel's Fall Makeup Collection—that’s more than $700 worth of eye, lip, face, and nail colors. One winner will receive 23 products including the limited-edition palette of pink-beige Shiny Satin Lipgloss in Orchidées, eye shadow quads in Garden Party (greens and pinks) and Sequoia (peaches and browns), and nail polish in Tulipe Noire, Lily Beige, and Magnolia Rose.

All you have to do is log on to allure.com/freestuff all this month for your chance to win. I'm going there right now.... Good luck to you too!

Correction: Not "Offbeat", more "Indie"

I recently started a Pretty Women series (not finished yet). Part One was focused on The Top Three Women Of External Beauty. Then Part Two was Pretty Women: More Offbeat. Corrected by my big brained husband, Brad, my 3 choices were not necessarily "offbeat". "Robin Wright Penn?", he asks me. I think about it. I guess I meant more INDIE, more un-spotlighted, more unique in nature. Physically do I think Robin Wright Penn is offbeat? No. But the movies she's been in are less blockbusters and more independent films. My kind of movies. Anyway, so I correct myself and call it Part Two: More Indie.

My hub also noticed that all the women I chose are all blonde and that Debbie Harry looks a lot like Michelle Pfeiffer and Kelly Carlson looks a lot like Marilyn Monroe. Hmmm. OK, there seems to be a beautiful blonde theme in my brain. I guess I could have blonde envy....maybe I'm a blonde wannabe.

Or I could be Jean Harlow reincarnated.

(Isn't that the most beautiful photo of her?)