Platypus Dreams Gourmet Bodycare

Drying Room Seconds Sale

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:55:00 +0000

A couple of times a year we sort our drying room, these were taking up much needed space.

So it is time to sell out our soap seconds, they are now available for purchase on our website under the Special Offers section.

Soap Discounted by 50% or more
Heart Bath bombs discounted by 83%

There are limited numbers available so get in quick to avoid disappointment.

NOT AVAILABLE FOR WHOLESALE PURCHASE

Holiday Spice - Limited Editon

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:57:00 +0000

Our Christmas soaps and Room sprays are finally here.

I had planned to launch these 1 month earlier but we got busy early this year and it's better late than never. Launching a new product takes quite a bit of time as everything is done in house, from conception, formulation, graphic design for the labels and marketing, then making the product taking the photos, writing the script and finally uploading it for everyone to enjoy.

This year I wanted to embrace the festive season, so I chose something which smelt of Christmas. I know that's hard to describe, but I think we have managed to do it. Not only does it smell festive but it looks the part as well.

A refreshing goats milk soap, scented with notes of Cinnamon, Sweet Orange, Ginger, Cloves, Nutmeg, fig, and notes of cranberry.

It smells of scents from the festive season, but can be used all year around.

It reminds us of a unique little shop full of beautiful cottage crafts, quilts, festive wreaths, dried flowers, shabby chic and lavish bowls of potpouri.

Holiday Spice Gourmet Soap

Holiday Spice Room Spray

...So what what else is new...

Well I spent quite a few hours the other night shopping. Ummm downloading music for the workshop Ipod, kind of got carried away, but had a great time.

Itunes is addictive..20..50..100...150 songs or more... yep it cost but just have to have good music to work to, its an essential necessity. Well for us it is. It's been 12mths or more since my last stint on Itunes. Just click the button and it's there in a few seconds. I love it, no hustle and bustle of shopping in the Christmas crowds and you get exactly what you want.

Now we have some excellent music to bop to while working. Got a great cross section of music, here is a list of the Artists. I won't list the songs as the list would be way too long.

The Angels, Anita Cochran, Billing Curington, The Black Sorrows, The Blues Brothers, Boom Crash Opera, Brad Paisley, Brad Wolf, Brian Davis, Brian McCoas, Canned Heat, Cat Stephens, CDB, Charles Daniels, Collin Raye, Diesel, Dire Straits, Divinyls, Dragon, Duffy, Dusty Drake, Guy Sebastian, Hank Williams Jr., James Otto, Jason Meadows, Jeff Carson, John Butler Trio, Jonathan East, Kenny Chesney, Madonna,Michael Jackson, Neal McCoy, No Doubt, Poison, S Club 7, Savage Garden, Sean Patrick McGraw, Shania Twain, Shania Twain & Billy Currington, Tom Cochrane & Red Rider, Tracy Adkins and Tracy Byrd.

Favourite new song is: They Don't Care About Us by Michael Jackson
Awesome Beat and fantastic to bop to....and the words wow.
Haven't listened to any of Michael's stuff since Thriller... such talent is all I can say.

Second favourite is: Like It Like That by Guy Sebastian very catchy tune and excellent beat. Guy has done an awesome job on this song.

If you love music with a beat and something to dance to go look both of these songs up. The last one is very upbeat and makes you smile.

Been listening to bands like ACDC, Match Box 20 and a large assortment of Latino dance music.

Music stimulates my creativity because, that way I can block everything else out and get on with the most important things. Making and doing what I love best...

Coming soon Xmas Soap

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:13:00 +0000

Our new christmas soap and some other Christmas goodies are coming soon.
We are currently in the process of taking their pictures.

Patterns and stories in soap

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 08:49:00 +0000

Today while the soaps were being packed Amey brought these beauties to my attention. She said 'These can't go out unless you have pictures of them, some lucky person will get these and they are just great'.

Here is the story about the pictures in the Frangipani soap

while walking around the bottom of the mountains (looks kind of like mountains)

I stumbled upon a rock and this is what it looked like inside

after such a long walk, I went for a dip in the ocean and the waves were gently rolling in.

Had a wonderful time.

Soap sitting with it's respective tags waiting to be wrapped

Today I was busy making lotons, this is a pic of the last batch for the day ready to be labelled. It's Cocoa Honey and Shea hand and body butter.

Getting ready for Christmas - Gifts

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:08:00 +0000

Here is one of the first of our gift boxed goodies for Christmas, I am working towards putting more up on the website within the next couple of weeks.

It contains one slice of Raspberry Turkish Delight Cake that's really scrumptous with chocolate and raspberries that smells like you want to eat it. Gift-Boxed-Raspberry-Cake

This is a pic from last year, time sure flies by. Cakes heading for the drying room

Trial Size - Shampoo and Conditioner

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:20:00 +0000

I decided to do a trial size in our new shampoo and conditioner for our customers, it is only $4.50 for one slice of the Herb Garden Shampoo and a 20ml bottle of the Herbal Spice Conditioner. This is enough for approx 2-3 applications depending on the length of the hair.
Trial Sizes Available

Trial Size Natural Shampoo and Conditioner

Totally Natural Shampoo and Conditioner - Now Available

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:15:00 +0000

It's finally completed and I am happy with the formulation. I must say so is my hair happy about it and I have had positive responses back from all the testers. They even like the smell which is quite festive with Citrus, Nutmeg and Cinnamon oh yumm, even though there is still the hint of Cider Vinegar but that's the price one pays for a totaly natural product. The hair is shiny, manageable and feels really good, here is some of the script from our website on the product.

It's a totally natural hair conditioner that helps leave your hair silky and shiny with bounce. Based on natural Cider vinegar and Honey with Australian Botanical extracts like Lilly Pilly and Kakadu Plum for their rich source of vitamins.

Other vitamins including Panthenol Vitamin B5 and protein from Oats, Silk, Marine Collagen derived from algae and kelp. Plant extracts also include Papaya and Horsetail which is excellent for the hair.

Usage: After shampooing hair with Platypus Dreams shampoo soap and it is rinsed clean. Apply a small amount of conditioner to wet hair, approx 5 pumps depending on the length of the hair. (approx 50cent piece in size) Gently rub into the hair including the ends, thoroughly rinse the hair. Dry and style as normal.

Note: this conditioner has been specially formulated to be used in conjunction with our shampoo soap, results will differ greatly when used with other products.

Ingredients: Cider Vinegar, Honey, Almond Oil, Panthenol, Silk Peptide, Marine Collagen, Extracts of Horsetail, Papaya, Lilly Pilly, Kakadu Plum, Hydrolized Oats, Vitamin E, Lime, Clementine, Nutmeg, Cinnamon... Contains no parabens, preservatives or silicones.

Trial Sizes Available

Cutting soap this morning

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:14:00 +0000

Oh I just had to grab for the camera and share this with you all. It was such a pleasure cutting a batch of Rose Exotica soap this morning. Not only did it smell extra nice as we have a new supplier of Rose Geranium and Ylang Ylang essential oil from France and the quality is just so good, but how the swirls turned out is just totally stunning. I just love the detail in this soap and I am quite pleased with the swirls and how they go from different shades of pink being thick in some places right to very fine detail to the point that they fade out. Can't help it if I am all about the detail on things.

I did a quick stack of some of the soaps to show off their beautiful swirly patterns above and here they are on their drying rack.

Rose Exotica in the drying rack

Soon to be re-released Shampoo Soap

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:11:00 +0000

It's been at least 2 years since I made shampoo soap, I got quite bored with making it and it was really time consuming as we used to infuse all sorts of herbals into the soap. Now with extracts becoming more available and a new herb grinder which I must say is nothing but a weapon, life is now much easier when powdering herbs in bulk volumes. I have decided to bring back our shampoo soap as anything I have been using just doesn't seem to work for any period of time.

I am still in the final testing phases with it and it is jammed packed with herbs like Hops, Horsetail, Black Horehound, Nettle, Neem. On the vitamin side of life I have addeed extras like Panthenol - Vitamin B5, Vitamin E, Silk Peptides and a mixture of hair loving essential oils. It is one herby smelling soap, first tests are showing no signs of it leaving the hair greasy or clammy which soap has a tendancy to do.

Also being tested is a conditioner for the hair which is so far showing good signs of being something that I will be happy with and I am very picky so this is quite a task. It is going to be all natural and based on cider vinegar with extracts of Horsetail, Marine Collagen, Silk, Panthenol - Vitamin B5, Vitamin E, Nettle extracts, Hydrolized oats and a couple of other goodies. I am still tweaking the conditioners ability to provide shine on the hair, I am happy with how the hair feels on the whole sofar. The hair shines but I want more shine and I will see if I can achieve it, not sure if its even possible naturally.

I would say it will be a couple of weeks and these should be available on the website as long as I am totally happy with them. Here is a sneak peak at the soap and later I may make a soap just for Blondes and maybe a deep conditioning natural hair mask as well.

Just Yummy with gorgeous swirls

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:52:00 +0000

Yummor (meaning - Yumm I want more)

Every time I make or cut this soap it makes me just want to eat it. It smells just like Hershey's Butterscotch lollies. This time the swirls have come out looking absolutely divine, I am so happy with them that I decided to update the website pictures and also show them the blog. Such a shame that we don't have scratch and smell computer screens.

If you feel like a slice of heaven then head over to our website and grab yourself one.

Random Pictures and Cameras

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:51:00 +0000

It's been quite a while since I posted on the blog and that is because we are quite busy, here are some pics that I snapped this morning an put into a collage. We have cakes and bath bombs everywhere and here is a small snippet of some of them.

I have had a new digital Canon 50D slr camera for quite a while and sadly I haven't had enough time to play with it.

I still have my 35mm Canon AE1 which I don't use anymore, well I think it is that model from memory, was quite expensive way back then and I think I bought it around the early 80's. I loved taking photos with it and I have still got all the big lenses and convertors. I am wondering if any of the Cokin filters will fit this new one as I have quite a large selection from when I used to play around with creative photography as a hobby. It's amazing all the settings like playing with the light settings and shutter speeds are coming back.

I am enjoying getting some depth of field with the new camera which was impossible with the last one I had even though it was not cheap, I am going to use the old one when I need to do quick snaps an can't take the bigger bulky one with me. The old one is a sony cybershot 7.2mp which is the size of a mobile phone so it fits into the pocket really well.

Hopefully I will get out and about with the new camera and take some nature shots which I can post the blog.

This is a pic from up the back of our place, we back burnt 2 months ago and all the grass trees have new green growth, they grow much better after a burn.

I also found this paper daisy had come up and flowered since the fire went through, I am still figuring out the new macro lens. Need to get the focus a little better to get a clearer photo, these were shot on an overcast day though.

Celebration Soap Cake

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:12:00 +0000

We have been making soap cakes, lots and lots of different styles of cakes and our workshop looks like a bakery/candy shop at present. This is a sneak peak at one of our latest creations soon to be released.

I have looked around and have not found any cakes like this one. It's been on the drawing board for quite some time and is totally 100% unique and something that we dreamed up as an image in our minds. I took these mental images of fun, carnival, party, children on a carousel at the fair laughing and giggling. With input from one of my friends who is a wholesale customer I got to creating this uniquely designed cake.

I am quite sure you won't find anything around like it, well currently right now as I am writing this blog and putting up the pics I am sure you won't because I have searched.

It's all about fun and party times, we thought we would celebrate the joy of being different and unique. Cheers Pssst there is more to come....

Serving you better Christmas is coming....

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:23:00 +0000

Christmas orders have started and it's time to prepare for the Festive Season.

Online Shop Changes: To decrease delays and ensure you get better service during the pre Christmas season, we have closed 2 sections of our online shop and added some new gift ideas.

Until the New year we have closed down the Guest Soap and the Custom Works sections for those who are wondering where they have gone. This is so that we can meet our normal despatch times even during the silly season as they call it, remember everything is handmade by us.

Guest Soap Restocks for B&B's: For our customers who place regular orders or are placing re-stocks of their guest soap please email us via our contact form if you cannot find our email from your last order. Please don't leave these orders till last minute as the turn around will be 4-6 weeks.

Wholesale Accounts: 31st of July is the cut off this year for new wholesale accounts, we will be taking on more new accounts in the New Year. If you are thinking about stocking our products and have your application in already but you are not a current stockist, please get in contact with us ASAP so we have an idea of your stock requirements coming up to Christmas.

Wholesale order turn around times: Please note, as it comes closer to Christmas stockists who order and stock our products all year around will have priority within the wholesale despatch area.

I know this post is a bit unusual but our blog seems to be the most widely read medium buy both our online and wholesale customers.

Thank you for your support and understanding.

Pomegranate and Cotton Candy Bath Bombs

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:17:00 +0000

As soon as I released the 2 new soaps Pomegranate and Cotton Candy a couple of months ago we have had people asking, so when are you going to do them in bath bombs.

You have the scents available in Soap, lotion, scrub, body spray, powder and perfume come on you can do it. Please, pretty please...

Well finally here they are, they are just released and now available on our website.

Sorry it has taken some time, we have been really busy. Oh my they smell just so delish and are such a pleasure to make. Once you try one in the bath, I am sure you all will agree they have been well worth the wait.

Plus an added bonus is that they match the soap and will look excellent when teamed together in little gift packs. So keep them in mind next time you need an inexpensive gift for that someone special. You will find them online here.

Pomegranate Bath Bomb

Cotton Candy Bath Bomb

Building Materials - Doors

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:42:00 +0000

It has been quite a few years since I have been doing renovations or building so I am a little out of touch with what is out there. 9 years ago I took 6 months off work to do a full renovation of a small workers cottage.

Back then I honestly bit off more than I could chew, it was a weatherboard cottage and the external boards had to be stripped, some of them had upto 15 layers of paint from plastic style paint to the old lead based paint. We moved walls, built new ones, moved the kitchen and bathroom from one side of the house to the other, built the vanity and inbuilt cupboards, stripped peeling ceilings (my pet hate). I learnt to tile and cut tiles around tap fittings.

I knew that back then buying all the building equipment like framing/finishing guns, routers, mitre saws and saw benches would come in handy. The place we are currently living in I built the bathroom vanity, laundry cupboards and kitchen out of timber and did all the cedar slab benches 6 years ago.

After my brother found out I could tile I took on tiling a full living room, bathroom and laundry in slate, never again it nearly killed my back. Took me 2 weeks, it looks absolutley beautiful and will be there forever but when I see it, sadly I think of how sore my back was.

I like building and woodwork but just don't get the time to do it, at one stage I looked into an apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker or builder but back then it was very hard as a female to get a start or break. Women just didn't do this kind of thing, how times have changed.

Currently we are building a new workshop as the old one is too small. I am guestimating that we will outgrow this workshop maybe in a couple of years, so it has been planned with future extensions to be added at a later date.

I have been looking at doors which would be suitable for offices and the entrance doors and came across these doors.

They are an energy efficient door with an internal venetian enclosed in between glazed glass. The venetian has a magnetic mechanism on the side of it so that the venetian can be raised, lowered and opened and closed. The other bonus is that the controls can be removed so no one can fiddle with the venetian. I saw these doors and immediately decided these were the ones for our new workshop offices etc even though they are a little pricey just for a door but the door will be there for many years to come and I am very certain I will be glad that I chose this style.

They let lots of light in if necessary and they are minimum cleaning and fuss. Minimal maintenance is high on my priority list because then there is more time for other things.

I have found some fabulous fittings and things that will make life so much easier and slowly but surely these things will be incorporated into the scheme of things.

Like I just got hold of a Zip mini boil which is instant hot water on tap for tea and coffee, this is a must in any work place because there is no time wasted sitting around waiting for the jug to boil. More time relaxing or having a break with a cuppa.

Green Tweed for Men Soap

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 05:03:00 +0000

We thought it was time for a soap especially for the men in our gourmet soap range. It is called Green Tweed and we describe it as a scent for men that is sexy, powerful and masculine. I tend to describe the scent as a little like cool water but then again not like it. Cool water is not expensive smelling and this scent is more expensive smelling and a lot more complex.

It is a fresh scent with notes of green, light floral but not floral, hints of citrus, musk, ambegris which is earthy and deep. It is the kind of scent that can make a woman drawn to a man, and this scent is one that makes a woman proud of her man.

Green Tweed is available online here.

If you would like the Green Tweed scent made into any other products in the Custom Section please select an unscented product and then in the notes tell us that you would like it make into Green Tweed as we have not updated it in the fragrance selections on these products. Like you can have Green Tweed Powder, or Silky body oil spray which is excellent for after shaving or shaving with oil, it gives excellent glide to the razor.

Natural Lip Balm

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 04:11:00 +0000

With winter here it is time to look after your lips, indoor heating and the wind can be quite harsh on your lips and before you know it they are dry and sore. We have put together a really nice lip balm formulation, an improvement on the one we used to make a couple of years ago.

I have been receiving lots of requests to bring back lip balms. According to our customers some said it was the only thing that really worked quickly. So now we have lip balm back again and on the website, the packaging and label has changed slightly but it is as good if not better than before. Cheers to super smooth, luscious kissable lips.

Here is the info from our website on the new lip balm.

Natural Lip Balm - Cocoa and Shea Butter

Keep your lips smooth and kissable with a creamy lip balm that is totally natural.

This lip balm is not your average lip balm and those who use our products know we don't do things by half measures, if we offer a lip balm we want it to be not just good but real good.

Why not have all the good things in one lip balm with some oils that are only found in high end cosmetics.

This lip balm it is absolutely jam packed with nourishing oils and butters, like Jojoba oil, Cocoa Butter, Meadowfoam Oil, Kukui Oil, Argan Oil, Shea Butter and Rosehip Oil.

It's not just a lip balm, but it can be used on chafing and minor scrapes. With Argan and Kukui Oils in there I am even going to try it lightly on some, let's say smile lines to see what it does.

The lip balm currently comes in 2 versions one unscented and one with Rose absolute as it has many excellent properties that it can bring to a lip balm.

The lip balms retail for $5.50 each, a little more than 2 years ago, they are 100% totally natural and have some fantastic oils in them. I believe you get what you pay for. They are available here.

New Gourmet Soaps available soon

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Wed, 20 May 2009 11:26:00 +0000

We will be releasing 2 new soaps they will be available on our website within the next week.

Pomegranate

Cotton Candy

(formerly known as Toffee Waffle in our other products)

Natural Gourmet Soap

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:24:00 +0000

I haven't been blogging much of late as we have been super busy, thought I would do a quick blog entry just to keep everyone up to date.

The new soap labels have arrived, we have been working on some new styles and they are only just some the exciting things that have been happening behind the scenes. We are working as quickly as possible to update the website to reflect the tweaks on the old styles.

Natural Shower Gel - Body Wash

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:29:00 +0000

We now have shower gel available for purchase on our website. Due to popular demand from some of our customers we have decided after much research to finally offer shower gel.

It has been quite a journey working out exactly just what ingredients were suitable. We have chosen ingredients which are mild, non irritating, suitable for sensitive skin and at the same time safe for the environment. We also added aloe vera and macadamia oil for extra moisturising, so our wash cleanses and leaves you smelling great without drying you out.

We wanted a shower gel/bodywash that was environmentally friendly, safe for use in septic systems that recycle waste water as quite a few of our customers are using Bio Cycle systems. Our products are plant derived from coconut and they are sulphate and paraben free.

They are available in all your favourite scents so that they match our other products for those who just love to layer scents.

For those who don't know, scent layering is all about using different products with different smells usually the same smell so that your whole aura smells of a certain scent.

Like using soap or body wash, scrub, moisturiser, powder, sprayable body oil and then finally perfume. This will give you a longer lasting aura of scent that is not overpowering but smells just right.

New Products

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:03:00 +0000

We have just added more new scrubs to the Silky Body Scrub Collection, these fragrances will now compliement the other products which are available in the same fragrance. They may not be up on the website for a little while as separate products but they are available in the custom products area.

Violetta which is a unique blend of Violets, Jasmine and Rose. Very feminine and reminiscent of days of old, ladies in flowing white gowns, beautifully adorned hats and fine lace at a lawn tea party. Also available in Gourmet Soap, Bath Bomb, Body oil spray and Perfume.

Frangipani is also one of our very popular products and to complete the collection it is now available in the body scrub as well.

Sugar Scrubs now available online

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 06:04:00 +0000

New yummy foaming emulsified 'Silky Sugar Scrubs' available now online with one new addition called Toffee Waffle which is simular to Pink Sugar.

We just can't get enough of this smell below is the description from our website.

Toffee Waffle - It's playful as what hits you first is vanilla, caramel and cotton candy. As time goes on you then smell the fruits of citrus, raspberry, fig and strawberry.

Then at the bottom you get Vanilla once again, light caramel, woody musk and light powder. On some this is a definite head turner for the opposite sex.

A sugar scrub that once applied to lightly damp skin turns into an exfoliating lotion that lathers with slight bubbles. Creamy to use with sugar crystals to gently exfoliate, polish and smooth the skin. When rinsed off and dried the skin feels smooth, supple and lightly moisturised.

If you feel that you want more moisture why not top off your pampering treat with a matching body product. (see the Custom Shop as we don't have toffee waffle in matching products just yet)

New Custom Shop Blends

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:33:00 +0000

I have been thinking about offering custom scented products which are made fresh to order for a long time but have never found the time to put them up on the website.

Thinking about a name for this area of the website was not easy, we had Blend Bar, The formulary, Custom Works, Apothecary, Fragrance Bar, Custom Shop and many more. Apothecary sounded like a drug store, blend bar sounded like we were making milk shakes or juices. Fragrance Bar is a trade name in Australia so that was out.

It was a toss up between 'The formulary' and 'Custom Shop'. Formulary well that sounded like we were offering formulas. Custom shop is where one goes to get accessories like a different scent for a product they have already tried, so this we felt was a much better suited name.

We have absolutely 100's of fragrances that most of our customers will have never seen, although some will have tried some of these in soap many years ago.

Custom made products will take approx 1 day longer for your order to be dispatched and they are available in Silky Body Scrub, Silky Body Oil and Silky Body Perfume.
Here are a list of the currently available scents, the * denotes some of the Lush type fragrances.

Ularoo *
Coconut & Lemongrass
Ancient Sedonia
Yummor Butterscotch
Lemon Sorbet
Violetta
Kaffir Lime and Jasmin
Vanilla Bean
Original Musk
Ripe Raspberries
Nag Champa
White Magnolia
Lavender essential oil
Passionfruit and Papaya
Cucumber and Melon
Wild for Mischief
Kudzu
Rain Dance
Berrylicious
Cherry Blossom
Coconut
Bath Standoff *
Flying Squirrel *
Honey Be Sweet *
Unscented *
Floating above the treetops *
Swimming Nekid *
Avas Bath *
Snow Baby *
Elixir of lies *
Candy Crush *
Karmic Reason *
Frenzy *
Jazzy jungle fruits *
Ice Brrrrrrrrr *
Vanilla Ice Cream
Frangipani & Coconut
Bay Rum
Cashmere Cream

*Please note this service is not available to Wholesale accounts.

Eco Transport

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 00:03:00 +0000

A friend sent me these photos which were taken by Harley Palangchao in the Phillipines I could not resist sharing them on the blog. This is an example of using the materials at hand. These boys will not only be fit from using their mode of transport, but look like they are having a great time.

I don't see any potential oil leaks and if you ever think that the seat of your motorbike is hard then I wonder how these guys would feel about it. This model even has brakes.

Here is what the photographer Harley Palangchao says on his Flickr photostream

Mystically peculiar from other regions in the Philippine (Asia) archipelago, the Cordilleras is home to rich cultures and traditions that are well-preserved amid strong influences from the “outside” world. This photo stream highlights the pride and glory of the proud villagers in the northern highland..

Absolutely divine photography see more of it here and you can piece together a little of life over there from Harley's comments on the photos.

Foaming Sugar scrubs

soapbysharon@bigpond.com (Sharon) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:08:00 +0000

It has been nearly 12 months since we made our last sugar scrubs, but we will be re-releasing them again soon. The new scrubs are like our old emulsified sugar scrubs but kind of on steroids and they are much better performers. Not that the old ones were lame by any stretch of the imagination that's for sure.

These are a totally new and improved formula, which is fantastic so far but we are sure that with a few minor tweaks we will have it down pat and ready to release real soon.

A sneak peak of the key performance features of the new scrub formula are:

No residual grease or grime build up in the tub = less cleaning
No slipping in the tub = no accidents
It has a light foaming action = better cleansing
Won't melt to a moulten mess even in 40 degree heat
Low irritant surfactants = extra gentle
A little goes a long way = money saving
Works into a lotion style lather and washes off really easy = application is a breeze
Skin feels supple, smooth and moisturised = like it should with no rough bits
Not an air whipped scrub = more in the jar + you save money
Matching products available = excellent for fragrance layering
Scent blends = addiction

During the formulation of this scrub we tried all sorts of ingredients from ground macadamia shells to dried fruit, strawberries and even coffee grounds. These things may sound yummy but at the end of the day they made totally no difference to the skin. Not only that but they left little bits all in the tub and in essence down the drain and in the plumbing, which did not sound too good to us.

So naturale it is pure white and natural raw sugar from our local sugar mill. Sugar is said to be good for the skin with lots of properties which we sure know, but we can't make claims about it. If you are curious google sugar in scrubs.

Scents so far are Rose Exotica, Lavender Mint, Vovacia, Cashmere Cream, Toffee Waffle (New!), Chocolate Kiss (New!), Violetta, Sweet Sugar and more to come.

Well that's it for now, next post should be announcing that they are available for sale online.