Essential Soaps

Skinflint has introduced a new range of soaps to the product range.
These soaps are made in Perth exclusively for Skinflint and are formulated with plant oils, botanicals and pure essential oils. They are triple milled to remove all water which makes them much harder and longer lasting than most soaps.

Available in five wonderful fragrances:
Coconut & Grapefruit - luscious citrus and tropical coconut
Exfoliating White Clay -  kaolin with oatmeal loofah and a hint of citrus oil
Lavender - pure lavender essential oil with crushed lavender flowers
Rose Geranium - pure rose geranium essential oil with rose buds
Spice - a wonderful blend of spicy essential oils, making it an excellent soap for the men in your life

Large 200g soaps for $5.50

New Product!

Sugar Scrub is back in the Skinflint product line up! 

It has been re-formulated and has brand new packaging. These fabulous PET kilner jars have a clip top and the scrubs come with a little wooden scoop.
Two fragrances are available - Peppermint (pictured) and Rose Geranium.

Peppermint Sugar Scrub is fantastic for Foot Spas when used in conjunction with Mineral Salts as a soak and finished off with either Gardener's Balm or Body Butter for soft smooth feet that will look good in those summer sandals.

Rose Geranium is excellent for Hand Spas and all over body use in the shower.

Both contain pure essential oils and are formulated with rice bran and castor seed oils.

Only $15.00 for 225g of Sugar Scrub. A little goes a long way!

Price Rise in 2011

Although prices will rise slightly next year, Skinflint products will still be great value for money.

The rise is due to the cost of a new and more natural preservative that will be used in Skinflint products from now on. This preservative is three times the cost of the one presently being used and twice as much is needed in the formulation, so the cost of preserving Skinflint products has increased six-fold.

Plantaserve P is a unique paraben-free and formaldehyde-free liquid blend preservative featuring phenoxyethanol as a primary active ingredient in an emollient base.

The change will occur gradually as new batches of each product are required. Body Butter and Clarifying Face Lotion now contain this new preservative, but the price for both these products will remain the same until January 2011.

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Soap

This is simply a gorgeous soap. It's formulated with coconut, palm kernel, olive and castor seed oils and has shea butter making it a really gentle soap for all the family.
OMH Soap contains buttermilk powder, honey powder and ground oats for a gentle exfoliating feel. It's lather is creamy and the scent absolutely divine. I've been smelling my hands all day after making this!

It's definitely a customer favourite as I've made five batches in the last three months and have sold out completely.

Travel Sizes Available with Purchase

If you purchase any of the main products from the Enriching or Clarifying Skin Care Ranges, you can now receive a travel sized version of each product for a few extra dollars.

Cleansers, Toners and Face Lotions all have a travel sized product available. These are all under the 100ml airline policy requirement so can be taken on board a plane when travelling overseas or interstate.

Cleansers and Toners are only $5.00 extra, while Face Lotion is $10 extra when purchase alongside the full sized product.

New Reed Diffuser Fragrances

Two new fragrances are now available in the Reed Diffuser Oils - Matcha Tea and Tropicana.

Matcha Tea is a type of green tea and has all the delightful fragrance of this, but is rounded out with citrus notes of bergamot, lemon and grapefruit. It's very fresh and suited to any area of the home.

Tropicana is a delicious blend of tropical fruits - papaya and pineapple and has a finish of amber to tone down the fruitiness. A great one for younger people, well suited to bedroom areas.

Reed Diffuser Oils are now coloured so they look really pretty in clear glass bottles. My daughter Jess has been scouring second hand shops for interesting glass bottles and jars. She found a wonderful jar with a silver lid with holes in it - perfect!

Reeds don't need to be turned. I've just learned this fact which has opened up new possibilities for decorating the reeds. For decorative ideas, you can add wooden or crystal beads to the ends of the reeds. look out for beads with larger holes and glue them on if the holes are a little too large.

Invasion of the Soap

 It's taking over my workshop! I have been making loads of soap lately as it's so popular and I'm beginning to run out of room to store it for curing.
I've had to do a much needed clear out of the Skinflint workshop shelves and have set up the curing racks there. The showroom smells divine with three different soaps curing plus the soy melts and the display soaps.

 It was great to see some regular Skinflint customers and meet new customers at the Katanning Show on the weekend. I would love to hear from those who are new to Skinflint products. Any comments and feedback are welcome. Please email me with your comments or queries.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Yes, I'm a busy little bee at the moment, making supplies for upcoming shows. Lip Balms yesterday and Gardener's Balm today. I can't do much more today as I have a Council Meeting this afternoon.

Gardener's Balm is a unique product that I created to help people who have trouble with really dry, cracked skin on their hands. Of course, it's not just for gardener's, it's excellent for farmers.
Gardener's Balm contains urea, a skin softener, plus allantoin which is known for it's healing properties. Olive Leaf Extract contains flavonoids which stimulate connective tissue and promote regular growth and balance in the skin. Olive and jojoba oils along with pure organic cocoa butter provide emolliency and softening to the skin.

I have a fabulous testimony from a customer who came to me last year at the Newdegate Field Days and showed me her cracked, bleeding hands. She helps her husband run a cattle farm and was despairing at what to do as working in the yards had become difficult with very sore hands. She went away with a tub of Gardener's Balm and two weeks later rang me to exclaim how thrilled she was that her hands were healing! I knew that the balm would help soften the skin in order to allow healing to take place, but had no idea that it would happen so quickly or so dramatically!

What wonderful news. She came to me in Newdegate again this year to show how good her hands were as she's been using Gardener's Balm religiously since then.

NEW PHOTOS
If you check out my website, you'll notice some lovely new photos. Kellie Guest (nee Dolan, from Nyabing) has been photographing all my products to ensure consistency throughout the website. Up until now, I've been taking them and they're a mish mash of different lighting, backgrounds and effects!

Such a horrible day weather wise today. Hot wind making everything even more dry than it is and now a movement ban so we can't shift any sheep to water.  It's been a shocker of a season for grain farmers here and everyone will have to tighten their belt next year. It's good to know that I can provide good quality skin care products at reasonable prices so my local and other farming customers will still be able to afford Skinflint

New Diffuser Oil Fragrance!

Skinflint has a released a new fragrance in the Reed Diffuser Oil range. Apricot Freesia is a combination of fruit and floral. It's a wonderful fresh fragrance that doesn't have the cloying sweetness of many floral fruit fragrances.

Red Tea & Lychee will be phased out as it's not a particularly popular scent. I'm pretty sure this new one will be very popular!

I'd like to introduce one more fragrance. What would you like?

Berry?
Vanilla?
Lemony?

Add your comments at the bottom!

Reed Diffusers

Reed Diffusers have been pretty popular, but I'm having trouble getting hold of the glass bottles at a reasonable price. The bottles are a good price, but postage is ridiculous!

So, I've decided to let customers either purchase or re-use their own glass bottles and can supply the reeds and diffuser oil for them. This makes it a really economical way to scent your home. The other benefit is that I'll be able to supply a larger range of fragrances including essential oils for the diffusers.

Diffuser Oil is available in a range of fragrances in a 130ml bottle for only $12.50 and Reeds are in a bunch of 6 for $2.50. You can buy gorgeous coloured bottles at discount stores and have your reed diffusers match in with your decor.


Be sensible, be a Skinflint!

New Look Blog

This is my third blog post today! So much is happening in the world of Skinflint and I have to tell everyone about it.

My blog has a new look thanks to my favourite web designers redlimeweb. Cherie and Joe have been fantastic in helping me get the look I want with the minimum of fuss. They're always available by email, day or night - do you guys ever sleep?

I thoroughly recommend redlimeweb to anyone who is contemplating getting a web site for their business. Please let me know what you think of my new blog design by leaving a comment.
Everyone who comments receives a free lipbalm!!

New Logo Style

Have you noticed my logo? It's had a re-vamp. I loved my old logo, but the graphic designer who developed it for me has gone AWOL. Not answering emails or phone messages. I needed my high resolution file for a banner that I'm having made and I lost the file when I had a computer crash in May. So, there was nothing more for it than to get another logo made up.

I turned to my favourite graphic designers and illustrators, Two Funky Girls . Gillie and Virginia did a fantastic job. They also designed my leaflets, which I'm thrilled with. Thanks again girls!

I've used my favourite flower, the lily to include in the design. I love the colours and the design and hope you do too! Please leave a comment and tell me what you think.

Soy Wax Warmers

Skinflint has just introduced two new soy wax warmers to complement the Home Care Range.

The first is a delightful little warmer that uses a tea light candle to heat your soy wax melts to release their delightful fragrance. These are available in Arctic White with a rusty coloured insert or Glossy Black with a red coloured insert. They're packaged in a clear plastic box, so make great gifts, along with a few Skinflint Soy Wax Melts.

The other is an Electric Wax Warmer. These are just fabulous, I'm using one right now and my house smells of roses. Since they're self regulating, you don't have to worry that they'll ever get to hot. The warmers maintain a temperature of between 70 and 80 degrees celsius and can also be used with essential oils.

The Ceramic Wax Warmers are $20.00 and the Electric Warmers are $35.00.

More Soap!

Whew! I've been busy these last few days making soap.
Unfortunately, at the moment I'm totally out of three of the six fragrances in my range. I was caught short recently by some large orders.

A batch of Blackberry Sage and a batch of Lemongrass & Tea Tree are now sitting on their racks curing. Tomorrow I'll be making Peppermint Choc Truffle.
Handmade soap takes about 4 weeks to cure. Some of the water evaporates and the soap continues to saponify.

Soap is even better if it's left for 6 months or more. Recently, I found some of my experimental soap, made about 3 years ago. It's one of the best soaps I've used in ages. Rock hard, but still bubbly and creamy, we used it until it was a little sliver. The fragrance was divine, but I haven't got around to searching through my archived notes to find out what it was!

I will continue to make batches of soap over the next month or so to build up my stocks for Christmas. Soap is always a welcome gift for people of any age and handmade soap is even more welcome. People who can't use supermarket soap because of allergies and the dryness it causes can always use Skinflint Handmade Soap.

Eye Make Up Remover

I've once again re-formulated my Eye Make up Remover (EMUR) with jasmine hydrosol. I've added a teeny titch of Brambleberry Jasmine Dreams to enhance the Jasmine fragrance from the hydrosol. I'm really pleased with the result.

Skinflint EMUR is detergent free and I believe it must be the only one on the market that is. Every one that I've looked at has a detergent base. This makes commercial eye make up removers extremely harsh and drying.

Skinflint EMUR is a very gentle creamy product which washes off easily. I use Enriching Cleanser or Face Polish to remove my Mineral Make Up, but find it's not oily enough to remove eye make up such as mascara. Mascara is an oil based product and it needs oil to remove it correctly.

I know that some people don't bother removing their eye make up, but I find I can't sleep if I don't take it off!

Skinflint EMUR is made with castor seed, almond and ricebran oils and has added vitamin E. It's packaged in a PET bottle with a press top lid for easy application.

Just squeeze a small amount on to your finger (I prefer to use my fingers instead of  make up pads as these can be scratchy and can leave bits of fluff on your eyelashes) and gently massage around the eye area.
Rinse off with a face cloth and water or a dampened make up pad.
You only need a tiny amount, so the bottle will last for ages!

100ml $8.00

Clarifying Face Lotion

Made a 2L batch yesterday. This is becoming a really popular product as people are discovering how it really does help clear up problem skin.
People with oily skin are quite blessed, really. But most won't appreciate it until they're older when they have less wrinkles than their friends. In the mean time, coping with pimples and greasiness can be a nightmare.

Clarifying Face Lotion contains Sebum-Reg, a product derived from sesame oil which has been proven in clinical trials to reduce the production of sebum (oil) by up to 46%.

So many of my customers have tried many different products over the years, all costing the earth. Many have been disappointed in the results. Products such as Pro-Activ may produce results, but at what cost? Excessive dryness and flaking, red rashes and irritation? Not to mention the ongoing expense! Plus, the ingredients are far from natural.

I much prefer to use natural, plant based ingredients such as black willow bark extract; a natural beta hydroxy acid which gently cleanses pores from the inside out. Tea Tree oil is a natural antiseptic and anti-fungal and is incorporated into the lotion along with a blend of other essential oils.

This product has been a hit with teenagers and adults alike, especially when used in conjunction with Clarifying Toner and Clarifying Cleanser and Face Polish.

As with all my products, the 100% Money Back Guarantee means you can try Clarifying Face Lotion for 14 days and if you're not happy with it, I'll return the full cost of the product.

Hand & Nail Cream

I must get a new photo. I have lovely new labels now which look so much nicer!

Skinflint Hand & Nail Cream is made with skin softening urea and moisture retaining sodium lactate. The plant oils used are sweet almond and rice bran, two of my favourites.

I also use shea butter in this cream for its wonderful moisturising properties. Shea butter contains a range of beneficial ingredients, chiefly among them are Phytonutrients, Vitamin E and Vitamin A. Phytonutrients which are good for cell regeneration and wound healing. They are anti-inflammatory and have an SPF factor of about 3-4.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant and also good for micro circulation. Vitamin A repairs skin and works on the germinal layer of the skin. I also include 0.5% Vitamin E in this cream. (Most skin care companies use less than 0.1%.)

Another ingredient added to Skinflint Hand & Nail is d-panthenol, or Vitamin B3. This vitamin actually penetrates the skin and the top layer of nails. It actually binds water in the outer skin layers, giving a plump, soft appearance to the skin.

Finally, oat protein is used for its humectant properties. This means that it helps the skin retain it's water, similar to the way that d-panthenol does.  It is also conditioning and film forming, so adds that extra protection needed in a hand cream.

Scented with luscious Frangipani, Skinflint Hand & Nail Cream is a bargain basement price at only $10 for 125g. Also available is the large pump bottle with 250g for only $16.50.

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Soap

One of the most satisfying things I can make would have to be soap. I am still thrilled when I see a tub of oils change into a luscious custard-like swirl of fragrant raw soap.

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Soap is very popular with my customers who have sensitive skin. Oatmeal has a wonderful reputation for soothing irritated skin, while buttermilk has been used over the years as a skin softener. Honey, of course, has antibacterial properties and has been associated with both buttermilk and oats as an adjunct in skin care since ancient times.

Skinflint OM&H Soap is scented with high quality Brambleberry fragrance oil and is gentle and light, suited to both men, women and children.

Newspaper Article on Acne Treatment

It's good to know that research is backing up what I've been advocating for years.
In an article in "The West Australian" on May 20th, the following was stated:

"Acne....should be treated with a more gentle hand, including what has long been considered a no-no - moisturiser.
An Australian dermatologist's meeting has been told that one of the world's most common skin diseases should be treated with gentle cleansing and a moisturiser."

Well, well, finally someone in the skin treatment field is talking sense! My belief is that acne must be treated with care. I recommend Skinflint's gentle Clarifying Cleanser and alcohol free Clarifying Toner, then light moisturising Clarifying Face Lotion. Clarifying Face Polish can be used sparingly twice a week - it has less scrubby material than Enriching Face Polish so as not to aggravate already irritated skin.

Those poor unfortunate sufferers who continue to use detergent based cleansers with artificial scrubbing beads will just be exacerbating the problem, and wasting their money into the bargain.

The complete Skinflint Clarifying Range will only set you back a measly $47 for the cleanser, toner and face lotion. Add another $18 for Skinflint Face Polish, if desired.
I've seen companies flogging acne  'soap' for around that total, ripping off people who are vulnerable to sales pitch and empty promises.

Skinflint can't and doesn't promise miracles, but I do guarantee my products with a full money back offer. It's certainly worth trying out Skinflint products as there is little to lose and a great deal to gain.

Clarifying Cleanser

Today I made 2 litres of Clarifying Cleanser. I thought that I'd add up how much of this product I've made since I started online sales in mid 2007. All my batches are recorded in a book, so I can go back and check every batch.

Well, over this two and a half year period, I've made 15 litres of Clarifying Cleanser! I was quite amazed at this quantity, since this cleanser is more for oily and acne prone skins, so is a more specialised product.

Clarifying Cleanser is a milky type cleanser that has a small percentage of sugar based surfactant, decyl glucoside to assist with emulsifying the oils in the skin. The formula includes castor oil, a known cleansing oil. Milky cleansers are best for oily skin as they don't strip the top layers of skin of moisture as do the harsher detergent based cleansers.

So many people with oily skin, myself included, make the mistake of thinking that they need to use detergent to clean their skin. I have spent a fortune over the years on high priced cleansers which would basically be similar to dish washing detergent to try to reduce the oil production in the skin on my face. Big mistake. My skin reacted by producing more oil and also by appearing to be dry as it flaked and peeled from the harsh stripping.

Lots of research led me to understand that emulsified oil and water (= milky cleanser) will help to emulsify the oil in the skin and remove it with just water. Now, I'm trying to educate everyone else to understand this concept. Those who have converted to the Clarifying Range of Skinflint products have great skin to show for it, which is so rewarding for me and for my customers.

More Soy Melt Fragrances

Skinflint Soy Melts are so popular that I'm introducing new fragrances. Here is a list of all the fabulous fragrances. The wax burners is a large one and uses two tea lights. They're only $10 on special right now.

The new soy melts are in bold:

• Coconut & Lime - zesty top notes of bergamot, lime and grapefruit with sweet coconut on a background of sheer vanilla and clean musk
• Fig & Melon - a rich, ripe late season fig with warm autumn melon notes
• Frangipani -  a sweet full bodied floral with green accents
• Ginger Lillies - a floral scent with the bite of fresh ginger
• Lemon Verbena - light and fresh lemony scent
• Parisienne Pear -(the same as French Pear) a delicious fresh pear fragrance with a sweet green apple, peachy-citrus top note; a caramelised fruity middle note; and a soft earthy musky base note with a hint of cinnamon
• Patchouli & Musk - amber, patchouli, sandalwood, and vetiver create the base for mid notes of geranium and violet, with light top notes of mandarin and lemon zest
• Rose Garden - light and floral, just like a garden full of roses
• Secret Garden - just like a cottage garden, with a hint of heather & hyacinth
• Tayberry & Teakwood - fruity, yet with a warm wood fragrance. Hard to describe, but a definite favourite
• Wild Berries - tangy and fruity, just like fresh wild berries

Still only $2.50 per piece or 5 for $10! These little tablets of fragrance will last for ages and can be used over and over.

Packaging Change

Following customer feedback on the new Spa Range of foot care products, I've decided to re-think the packaging. At the moment these products are in wide mouth PET jars. Customers have said it's difficult to use the scrub in the shower without getting water in the jar and they don't like to scoop out the scrub with wet hands.

I really appreciate such feedback and will now be packaging both the Footsies products in soft HDPE tubes. The tubes I use hold a little less than the jars, 225g, but are more expensive to purchase, so the price will stay the same.

The problem is that I only have a limited number of tubes and my supplier tells me that they are some weeks away. So, it will be first in, first served for these products.

I'll post photos to the website as soon as I get some labels organised.

New CoQ10 Face Cream

The latest Skinflint product is a new breed of skincare known as a cosmeceutical. This is due to the powerful effects of the ingredients. Tests have proven that heptapeptides, sodium PCA and co-enzyme Q10 all work to not only prevent further skin damage, but reduce that which is already present.

CoQ10 is a powerful antioxidant. Ultraviolet rays cause most of the oxidising damage to the skin and CoQ10 has shown that it is effective in preventing and actually repairing this damage.

Heptapeptides are relatively new in the industry and work by attaching to receptors which in turn prevent the repeated contraction of tiny muscles under the skin. This then prevents the formation of wrinkles. Heptapeptides will also reduce the appearance of wrinkles that are already present.

Sodium PCA occurs naturally in human skin and is responsible for binding moisture to the cells. As our skin ages, the amount of sodium PCA is reduced and needs to be replaced through topical application. It is highly water-absorbent, holding several times its weight in water, which makes it an excellent humectant.

In addition to these fantastic ingredients, Skinflint CoQ10 Face Cream contains sunflower, sweet almond and macadamia oils. Shea butter and Vitamin A contribute to the wonderful work that the super cosmeceutical ingredients achieve.

None of the above ingredients are cheap, however, and this product will appear very expensive next to Skinflint's regular range. Comparison pricing of products which have only one or two of these ingredients indicate that Skinflint CoQ10 Face Cream is still good value for money.

See more information on the Skinflint Website: CoQ10 Face Cream