New Fragrance Lines

With Christmas just around the corner, the Skinflint Workshop has been a busy place these last few weeks.

The beautiful looking and smelling Tayberry & Teakwood Soap is now a permanent line in the product range. It has proved so popular and has sold out completely within weeks.

A new batch is curing in the Skinflint workshop right now and it will be ready to use on the 16th January. I will label and have it ready for sale before Christmas. A little note will come with it to indicate the curing time it needs.

Two new Soy Melt fragrances are available. The luscious Very Vanilla and the breezy Sea Moss are great new additions to the Home Fragrance range. Along with these, there's the cute little Soy Candles available in four fragrances - Bananarama, Mimosa Breeze, Dragon's Blood and Fresh Cut Roses. At only $9.00, they make a great small gift or addition to a gift basket.

The Container or the Product?

I make skin care products from my little workshop next to my house. I’m only small scale and my premise is to provide good plant based skin care products with all the extra goodies of the big brands, but at a reasonable price.

I do this by using basic packaging and basic labelling. My products are functional, not pretty. I don’t expect my customers to pay for packaging, glossy magazine advertising and movie star endorsement. They should be paying for the product itself.

I was not surprised then, to find a prospective wholesaler tell me that she loved my products, but she wouldn’t sell them in her salon because of the packaging. She said the hair products were lovely and all my creams were just beautiful. But, she just couldn’t bring herself to put a plain packaged product on her shelves.

She has expensive, exquisitely packaged and labeled skin care products on her shelves already and was looking for another line, and, bless her, she wanted something local.

In the time I’ve been making my products, I’ve spent a lot of time researching skin and hair care products and what goes into them. I spend hours looking at labels when I go shopping and am amazed at the amount of rubbishy ingredients in top label products. Clinique moisturisers, for example, contain mineral oil. While mineral oil isn’t harmful, it is a ‘nothing’ ingredient. It doesn’t penetrate the top layers of the skin or nourish in any way. It will actually prevent anything else in the product from penetrating, making the product useless.

Worst of all, it is dirt cheap. Yet, Clinique market their Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion for $74 for 125ml.

At the very high end, we have L’Occitane Immortelle Divine Cream at $140 for a mere 50ml. Containing nothing more than water, plant oils, waxes, vitamin E and A, in my mind, this is an abomination! The jar is absolutely beautiful, a collector’s item, but really, is that what you want to buy – a beautiful jar? Even worse is the variety of preservatives in this product, not one, but a whack of them, including Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Propylparaben & Tetrasodium EDTA.

Then there’s the organic, pure and natural skin care ranges with nothing artificial, no ‘chemicals’, nothing man made. Packaged in expensive containers in lovely little boxes, these products have little more than water (pure spring water, of course), plant oils and emulsifiers in them. Yet, a product like Burt’s Bees Moisturising Day Crème costs $30 for just 57g.  The ingredients of this product are basically, water, oils, beeswax and borax (the emulsifier), thickeners and anti oxidants to prevent the oils going rancid. 

Do people really want a product because it’s in a beautiful double walled glass jar with a metallic gold lid? Does this make them feel the product inside must be so much better than anything in a plastic flip top tube?

If you’re interested in value for money, please be discriminatory and read the labels on your skin care products. Don’t pay for advertising, packaging and endorsements. Look for the products with the basic packaging, little advertising and great ingredients.

Soy Candles

The latest "The Skinny" can be found on the Skinflint Website.  There's information on different ways to use some of the products, the latest online special and the lowdown on Enriching Face Lotion.

The Skinflint Workshop is back in action with lots of products being manufactured. Some will be packaged differently until stocks of new containers arrive. Since the regular labels may not fit on the different container, the labelling may also look different. Hopefully by January, all will be rectified!

Dragon's Blood Soy Candle

I've been making some gorgeously fragrant soy candles in these cute little Baby Metro Jars. They will be available for sale soon at only $10.00 $9.00 each. Fragrances will be listed on the website as they become available. The apple gives you an idea of the size of these cute candles.

Soy wax burns cleanly and leaves no residue unlike paraffin wax. Most candles purchased from shops (such as Dusk) are made from paraffin wax since it is harder and less likely to become damaged in transit. When the flame is extinguished, the smoke is black. If the candle is in a container, the glass becomes black after time. Soy wax doesn't do this, making it the choice for the candles from Skinflint. It is far more environmentally friendly and is easily cleaned up with soap and water.

Soy Candles make a great small gift for teachers and work colleagues and are an ideal item to include in a gift basket. I expect these candles to be snapped up, so get your orders in quickly!

Fragrances so far are:

•  Mimosa Breeze - A very complex, exotic and soft feminine-floral scent with hints of warm jasmine, rosewood, musk and cedarwood.
• Fresh Cut Roses - the ultimate Rose fragrance, just like a whole lot of freshly picked rose petals.
• Bananarama - a fruity combination of tropical banana, pineapple and grapefruit with the tiniest hint of coconut.
• Dragon's Blood - warm, woody and earthy scent, with notes of amber, vanilla, sandalwood, patchouli & light tones of powdery musks and hints of asian florals to bring out subtle spice undertones. 

Rising from the Ashes

Well, not so much ash, but a lot of dust and mess.

Since the ceiling collapsed in the Skinflint Workshop, I've been feeling miserable. Many of my containers are water damaged and cannot be used, around $1000 worth of containers have been lost.
Since I can't afford to replace them until insurance money comes through, I was planning to shut down operations for a while.

This is normally the busiest time in the Skinflint workshop, getting stock on the shelves for the Christmas period, so you can understand my misery.
However, I've decided not to let it get to me and have worked out a partial solution. The home kitchen will be completely sterilised one day a week to enable Skinflint production, no food cooking allowed on that day. I'll have to work around the container issue and perhaps package some products in different jars or bottles.

And, this will also give me time to start planning some new products. I'm working on Chocolate Body Scrub right now and my hands are smelling quite delicious. Stay tuned for more!

A Basket of Chocolate

Without the calories...

 It's finally available! My new labels have arrived and Chocolate Kiss Lip Balm is ready to go.

New Chocolate Kiss Lip Balm has a delicious flavour rather like Chicos, those luscious chocolate babies.


All Skinflint Lip Balms are formulated with a blend of coconut, castor seed, jojoba and almond oils and contain kokum butter and natural plant waxes plus vitamin E.


They keep the skin of the lips soft and smooth, protecting them from the elements. At only $4.50, you'll be hard pressed to find a cheaper hand made petroleum free lip balm!

October Special

This month, both Enriching and Clarifying Cleansers are reduced by 15%. That means the 130ml tube will cost you only $10.20!

Skinflint Cleansers are different from the more common detergent based foaming cleansers that most companies produce. They are a milky,  wash off cleanser, which makes them far more gentle on the skin, while still being very efficient in removing dirt and make up.

Enriching Cleanser is formulated with almond and castor seed oils and contains both olive leaf and nettle extracts. It's gentle, effective and washes off completely without leaving any residue. Your skin will feel refreshed and soft, rather than squeaky clean.

Detergent based cleansers such as Dove Foaming Cleanser, Clinique's Rinse Off Foaming Cleanser and Nivea Foaming Facial Cleanser all contain harsh surfactants such as those used in your dishwashing liquid.
These strip the skin of it's natural oils and leave it tight and dry. They are no more effective than oil based milky cleansers, yet many people still persist in using them, especially teenagers.

Clarifying Cleanser is formulated with coconut and castor seed oils and contains a small amount of yucca extract, a natural surfactant from the yucca plant that helps cleanse oily skin.  It's very mild, yet cleanses the skin of  extra oil, dirt and make up without leaving it feeling tight and dry.
It's important for people with very oily skin not to over-cleanse as this leads to over active sebum production, creating a vicious cycle and stressing the skin even further.

If you like to have a stronger cleansing effect, try using Skinflint Face Polish. Containing bamboo powder, Face Polish has a mild exfoliating effect that doesn't irritate dry or acne prone skin.
Clarifying Face Polish also contains Rhassoul Clay, a wonderful, slightly gritty natural clay that assists in gently cleansing the skin. Leave on the skin for a few minutes to allow it's drawing effect to cleanse deeply into pores, before gently massaging and scrubbing away dirt and grime.

All Skinflint products have a 100% Money Back Guarantee.

New Limited Edition Soap

The latest Limited Edition Soap from the Skinflint workshop is so pretty! I love the colour combination of deep orange & black swirls in the cream background. The fragrance is Tayberry & Teakwood, a favourite fragrance in the Soy Wax Melt range.

Made with a high percentage of coconut oil and incorporating both cocoa butter and mango butter, this soap should be quite a hard bar, but with a creamy lather that's gentle on the skin.

It won't be available for sale until 9th October, but promises to be a really popular bar. I'm loving the fragrance in soap, it's gentler and fruitier than the melts fragrance, which I also love.

September Special

This month, the first of Spring, brings a new web special. All sizes of Skinflint Bath Salts are 20% off for the month of September in the online store.

Skinflint Bath Salts contain pure Western Australian Sea Salt, Magnesium Sulphate (Epsom Salts), Aussie Spa Minerals (Zeolite Clay), Bi-Carbonate of Soda (water softening), essential oils and botanicals.

Available in Lemongrass or Rose Geranium, Bath Salts are packaged in a lined paper bag and come with a little wooden scoop. They are fabulous for using in either the bath or in a bucket for a foot bath.
Add some oil and make a wonderful salt scrub for your feet, elbows, knees etc. Place in little sachets and put in the linen cupboard to fragrance your towels and sheets.

Bath Salts also make a great gift, especially when combined with Sugar Scrub, Soy Wax Melts and Reed Diffuser Fragrance all in the same scent.

Product Versatility

When I was in the city recently, I had some spare time to wander around the shops. I love the fact that I can spend time in the beauty counters and not want to buy anything. Instead, I spend hours reading labels on beauty products.

I'm constantly amused at the similarity between products claiming to be so different from each other.
Shower Gel and Hand Soap, for example. They're exactly the same. They have the same types of surfactants and additives etc. and perform in exactly the same way. One should be able to buy a large bottle of whichever is cheapest and just refill the bottles! (beware when looking for the cheapest, though and make sure the ingredients all plant based. and there's no parabens used.)

Oils - Massage oil, Cuticle oil, Baby oil, Solar oil, Facial oil, Bio-oil, Moroccan oil - there's so many varieties of oil around that claim amazing properties when really they're much the same as any other oil.
Moroccan oil, for example is a type of oil called Argan oil, which is certainly an excellent oil for the skin, and I notice it's being touted as the wonder oil for hair. But, look closely at the label and you'll see that the main ingredients (first listed) are various types of silicones - Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone and their variants.
It's the silicones that make the hair shine, not the Argan oil.
Solar oil (used on cuticles after having gel nails applied) is a huge marketing rip off. Blend any light oils together and bung in some essential oil and Hey Presto! Solar oil.
Baby Oil is generally made from Mineral oil as this is the cheapest oil you can buy. It's derived from petroleum. Almond oil is around $8.00 for 100mls, whereas Mineral oil is $8.00 for 500mls. Baby oil is generally fragranced with linalool, limonene, geraniol etc, which are synthetic derivatives of essential oils and can be extremely irritating to delicate skin.

When I began making my products, I wanted them to be really versatile. I hate having to buy a heap of different products that do essentially the same job. I recently recommended to a customer to try the Baby Bath as an alternative to expensive dog shampoo for a pooch with sensitive skin. I'll be waiting to see how it goes, but it's going to be just as good as any specialty pet shampoo, probably better!

Looking at some of my other products, here's some alternative uses for them:

Rosehip Recovery Serum can be used as a smoothing hair treatment, use as you would Moroccan oil.
Also excellent for dry patches anywhere on the body.

Pure Moisture Shampoo makes an excellent shower gel. Also good to use as a gentle foaming face cleanser for extremely oily skin. I've even used it as an eye make up remover when I forgot to take mine away with me.
Also as a shaving gel for guys (or girls) who like bubbles when they shave.

Pure Moisture Conditioner makes a great moisturising shaving lotion for guys as well as for girls.

Bath Salts can be used as a scrub. Mix with some olive oil and use to scrub away dry skin on feet, elbows, knees etc

Soy Wax Melts make a great linen freshener. Place a mixed bag in the linen cupboard to lightly scent your towels and sheets. Also as a room freshener for a closed up seldom used room such as a guest bedroom.

Mum2B Belly Butter  is a wonderful moisturiser. Use as you would Body Butter, don't be put off by the name! It has similar ingredients to Body Butter, just a slightly different formula.

Baby Balm contains a high level of zinc oxide, a natural sunscreen. Use it on nose and lips to help prevent sunburn and keep the skin moisturised. Safe to use on animals, so perfect for protecting dog's with pink noses from sunburn.

Baby Oil is great to use on baby's scalp to soothe and reduce cradle cap. Perfect also for lips, cracked or dry skin anywhere on the body. Safe to use on animals.

Olive Gardener's Balm not just for gardener's hands, but fantastic for cracked heels, elbows or just as a general moisturiser for anywhere on the body. Just make sure you let it soak in before dressing.

Enriching Spritzer is wonderful to use as a cooling spritzer on a hot day. Also good to use on dry hair to wet it down and re-style. I use it in the morning because when I wake up my hair looks like I wore a bathing cap to bed.

I'd love to hear from customers who have found other ways to use Skinflint products. Please comment below or send me an email.

Customer Testimonials

When I first began to make my products I gave them to friends and family to test. They were required to fill out a questionnaire after about three weeks of testing.
About 75% of them were returned and I received some wonderful reviews which inspired me to improve various things such as consistency, fragrance, bottles and labels. 99% of the reviews were positive about the products themselves, and I got a real thrill from reading all the wonderful comments.

When I first designed my products I researched all the ingredients that have a positive effect on the skin or hair.
I compared different types of thickeners, emulsifiers, extracts, plant oils, vitamins and preservatives. To this day I continue to do this as new ingredients and new methods are introduced into the cosmetic and toiletries industry.

I know by looking at the ingredients whether my product has a positive effect on the skin or hair. However, since I don't carry out laboratory controlled tests, I can't determine the degree of the effect. In other words, how well it works at reducing the appearance of fine lines or softening the skin or relieving itchy dry skin.  That's why I find customer testimonials an incredibly valuable tool in determining whether I've achieved the aim I was planning when developing my formula.

People often tell me when they love my products and will explain how their skin has improved or their scalp no longer itches. I get some terrific feedback from my customers when they re-order a product and I like to use this feedback as testimonials for my products on the online store. A recent one on Facebook from my niece pleased me no end as it was a  heartfelt "Thank You".

The testimonials I reproduce come from what people have written to me in emails, on Facebook, mentioned in conversation on the phone, when I'm at shows or in the street. They are true statements from real people who were not paid to try the product, nor was the product provided free of charge. These people are customers who purchased the product of their own volition with no incentive whatsoever.

I think that means a heck of a lot more than some movie star claiming a product was the best thing they've ever used. If I was being paid to appear in an advertisement and given loads of free products, I'd say anything!

So, Thank You to my wonderful customers and keep those comments coming, I love hearing them.
They don't all have to be positive either.  Your comments help me improve my products, making them even better as I strive to keep my products up to the standards of those which are considered the very best in the industry.

Busy Beaver

I've been busy labelling soaps and reed diffusers and making soy wax melts. I smell wonderful! The photo shows Blackberry Sage soaps with lots of little sample soaps as well, all very fiddly to label as you can imagine.

I now must go and make 50 lip balms for Showcase Bags which will be going to 50 VIP's attending the NSW Tourism Expo. This is my donation to the Hidden Treasures of the Great Southern group who are being represented at the Expo. The promotion is for the Great Southern Bloom Festival, happening in October this year.

Reed Diffusers

I recently noted an article in Better Homes & Gardens Magazine which showed how to make your own Reed Diffusers at home.

The article recommended mixing essential oils with olive oil and using some wooden skewers as reeds. This sounds like a great idea, cheap and easy, but in reality is messy and won't work.

The reasons it won't be an effective way of scenting your home are three fold and relate to the items used - olive oil, essential oils and wooden skewers.

1. Olive oil is too thick to use as a reed diffuser base, it will not be drawn up into the skewers at all.
2. Essential oils evaporate easily. They need to be blended with fragrant oils to maintain some staying power.
3. Wooden skewers do not have the channels that proper rattan reeds have, meaning that the product will not be drawn up into them efficiently enough to allow for scent diffusion into your room.

It's not worth wasting good olive oil trying to make your own diffusers. Skinflint Reed Diffuser oil is only $16.00 and is available in 6 different fragrances, including two which have essential oils in them. It's made with a 'dry oil', specially designed to allow uptake into the rattan reeds without clogging. 

You can fill your own decorative bottle or purchase a square glass bottle for only $6.50 on the Skinflint website. Much easier than mucking around with olive oil and skewers!

Fragrances

Whew! Finally sorted all these out.

New Reed Diffuser Fragrances are Lemongrass and Rose Geranium. Cotton Blossom is deleted and Apricot Freesia and Matcha Tea will only be available while stocks last. Spiced Orange has changed slightly and is now called Autumn Spice.
The range is as follows: Apricot Freesia, Autumn Spice, Lemongrass, Matcha Tea, Rose Geranium, Salty Sailor, White Tea & Ginger.

Soy Wax Melt Fragrances are Autumn Spice, Blackberry Sage, Coconut Lime, Lemongrass, Parisienne Pear, Patchouli Musk, Rose Geranium, Tayberry & Teakwood.

Sugar Scrub is now available in Rose Geranium or Lemongrass fragrances. These are packaged in a 250g clip top PET kilner jar and come with a little wooden scoop. Rose Geranium contains real rose buds while Lemongrass contains powdered lemongrass. Both are scented with pure essential oils.

Bath Salts are available in the same fragrances and are packaged in resealable bags. The 500g packet is a neat little plastic lined paper bag and the 3kg and 5kg sizes come in ziplock plastic bags so can be decanted into jars for use in hotels and spas.

Australia Post again

Further to my previous post about this Government owned monopoly, I have since found an article in the West Australian about Australia Posts huge losses.

Where are they losing money? Not from Australian postage, in fact they're making bucketloads out of that, but not enough to cover their losses from processing overseas packages.

It seems we're all shopping online overseas (maybe because postage is cheaper?) and the postal service is inundated with all those parcels. To try to rectify this, AP has put in a submission to the Productivity Commission to change the rules governing international parcel handling costs. If they are successful, expect to see an extra charge passed on to you, the consumer, on the receival of an overseas package.

In the meantime, AP will just keep putting up the prices of domestic parcels to try to make up the shortfall. Which means, that Australian online shops are going to either lose customers to the overseas online shops or bear the brunt of the cost. Consumers will turn to overseas online shops because of the wider variety, often cheaper prices and, of course, the cheaper postage.

Here's an online article all about it. Read the last line, in particular.
Thanks, Australia Post, for making it difficult to run an online business because I live in the country.

Menthol Rub

I've had quite a few requests for Menthol Rub over the past few months, so have decided to re-introduce this for a limited period of time.

The rub is made from pure plant oils - olive, jojoba, apricot kernel and neem and has added beeswax and mango butter, all fantastic for your skin. The best part of the Menthol Rub experience is it's essential oil blend - Wintergreen, Bosisto's Eucalyptus, Peppermint & Black Pepper.

This product can be added to a steam bath for inhalation or massaged into sore muscles, congested chests and sore, blocked noses. It's a great replacement for Vick's Vapour Rub which is a petroleum based product, and for Dencorub, which uses only Wintergreen oil, no other beneficial essential oils.

100g PET Jar  $17.50

July Special - Face Lotions

On special this month are both Clarifying and Enriching Face Lotions. Both products are packaged in 125ml tubes and are great value for money as they last ages.


Clarifying Face Lotion incorporates a break-through ingredient that can reduce oiliness by up to 46%!
Sebum Reg is an amazing product from the U.S. which is a botanical polyphenol-rich complex from argania spinosa kernel extract, serenoa serrulata fruit extract and sesamum indicum (sesame) seed extract. High content of lignans & phytosterols control sebum production.
For those with oily skin which may be prone to break-outs and blocked pores.

Enriching Face Lotion contains precious oils of jojoba, almond, macadamia and red raspberry which help plump the skin with moisture. Red Raspberry oil is reputed to act as a broad-spectrum UV-A and UV-B shield with a SPF of around 28.
Hylauronic Acid is included to help reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and sun damage.
Lightly scented with a blend of essential oils, including Rose Maroc.

Normally $30.00, now on special for $24.00.
Only available at this price for the month of July.

Australia Post Hinders Online Businesses

As the title suggests, I believe that Australia Post is undermining Australian businesses that rely on online sales.

The cost of posting a parcel within Australia has risen 4 times in only 24 months. Each time it's a 10% increase.
The price of sending a small package, up to 250g,  now costs $5.00. Most packages I send come in at the 500g to 1kg range, which is now going to cost over $13.00 to send to the Eastern States and over $9.00 within WA.

I recently received a package from the US, some gorgeous push pins that I bought on Etsy. The cost of postage was $2.59 US, amounting to much the same in Aussie dollars. If I were to post the same package back to the US, it would cost me $7.70!!

If I were to buy my book club books from Dymocks Online, an Australian bookseller, it would cost around $40 for postage, if not more. If I buy the same books from the Book Depository in the UK, the postage is FREE.

Australia Post claims rising fuel costs, rising power costs and higher wages as their reasoning behind the increases. All businesses are coping with these rising costs, however, as a monopoly, Australia Post have more power than most to raise their costs without concern for lost business.


So, after just working out a flat rate for postage that wouldn't cost me too much to subsidise, I'm now going to have to increase the cost of postage once more. Postage will now cost $8.50, an increase of $1.00.  I'm not happy about it, but hope that my customers understand why I must increase the cost, which is still heavily subsidised. I don't charge for the packaging, which is an added cost that I am prepared to wear.

Skinflint products still represent great value and with a flat rate of postage, it's a good idea to order a bit more than you need or to add a couple of other products to try.

June Special

 ENRICHING TONER & SPRITZER

I forgot to post this to the blog at the beginning of the month!

Toners and Spritzers are on special this month. $2.00 of both Clarifying and Enriching Toners and $3.50 off Clarifying and Enriching Spritzers.

Skinflint Toners are made from the steam distillation of essential oils. The liquid left are the oils are removed is called hydrosol. This liquid contains many of the components of the essential oil from which it was created.

Clarifying Toner & Spritzer is made from Tea Tree and Lavender Hydrosol and also contains Witchhazel extract, an astringent and strong anti-oxidant, making it an excellent anti acne treatment. Tea Tree is also anti-bacterial while Lavender is soothing.

Enriching Toner & Spritzer is made from Rose and Neroli Hydrosols, both very fragrant and soothing. Calendula extact is adding for it's wonderful healing and hydrating properties.

Toners are an excellent way to add extra nutrients to your skin. These nutrients are water soluble and need a water base to assist with the penetration into the outer layers of the skin.

They also make excellent after shave treatments for guys. No alcohol means no stinging or irritation.

Lip Balm Flavours

I've just had an interesting experience with lip balms that were due to be labelled. I had two baskets with two different flavours in them and I was unable to distinguish between the two flavours!
One was Vanilla Bean, the other Buttercreme. So, since I've run out of Vanilla Bean labels, I've made the decision to delete this flavour and introduce a new one.
If you're a Vanilla Bean fan, simply choose Buttercreme instead.

I'm testing out some Chocolate flavours to find the perfect Chocolate Kiss taste (edible fragrance really, it doesn't have a taste). Is Chocolate a flavour that you're interested in choosing? If not, what else would you like to see?

The choices are limited to flavours I can obtain:

Banana
Spearmint
Choc Orange Truffle
Coconut
Apple
Peach Nectar
Raspberry Coulis

List your preference in the comments area below.

Trial Packs

Skinflint has just added Trial Packs to the Face Care Range on the website.


These packs are an excellent way to experience part of the face care range without parting with too much money. They also make great travel packs

Each pack contains a 60ml Cleanser, 50ml Toner and 60ml Face Lotion. These are approximately half the size of the regular items in the range.

Available in Clarifying for oily and acne prone skin and Enriching for normal to dry and mature skin, they're only $25 each and would also make a lovely gift for someone who needs a little pampering.

Baby Oil

 This product is now available on the Skinflint website.  It's a lovely blend of both light and rich oils and is enriched with vitamin E.
Very lightly scented with chamomile, sweet orange and lavender, it's perfect as a relaxing massage oil for your baby. It can also be used to soothe any dry areas and to keep baby's skin protected.

For a limited time, Skinflint Baby Oil is available in an elegant aluminium pump bottle. These can be kept and refilled as needed.

If you have a friend whose having a baby, a Skinflint Baby Gift Pack makes a perfect gift. Simply choose the products you'd like and put the words, "Gift Basket" in the message section on checkout, or email me with your requirements.

Buy Skinflint Baby Oil here.

Cleansing your face

After many years of trying an enormous variety of both expensive and inexpensive cleansers on the market, I was unable to find one that didn't leave me with tight, dry feeling skin.
In the end, I stopped using cleanser and simply washed my face with a washcloth. This isn't ideal if you wear make up, as I do. It doesn't remove make up residue particularly well and can lead to clogged pores and blackheads.

Our facial skin is far more sensitive than the skin on the rest of our body. It's thinner, less likely to be exposed to the extremes of weather and much more delicate.

The myth that a cleanser must bubble up in order to clean the skin has been perpetuated by the cosmetic giants such as L'Oreal and Clinique. I remember using Clinique's Cleansing Bar many years ago and finding my skin drying out so much it was peeling. I've recently checked out the ingredients and found it's simply a detergent bar, sometimes called a syndet (synthetic detergent) in the industry. It's made from harsh surfactants that have been pressed together and extruded to create a hard bar. The only redeeming feature of these syndet bars is that they aren't as alkaline as soap and are more in line with the slightly acidic pH of our skin.

When I developed Skinflint Enriching Cleanser, I did a lot of research on skin and skin care. It was this research that led me to believe that no detergent or soap is good for the skin on the face.

Skinflint Enriching Cleanser is designed to emulsify any oils and dirt on the face and wash it away without the use of soap or detergent. An emulsified system is far gentler and more efficient than a detergent or soap based system.
Skinflint Clarifying Cleanser contains a small amount of the natural saponin, Yucca Extract. This is a totally natural surfactant that adds just a little extra cleansing to the product which is designed for people with oily and acne prone skin.

When you dry your skin after cleansing, it should still feel soft and smooth. There should be no feeling of tightness or dryness - if there is, your cleanser is too harsh for your skin type.

Some people are able to use soap and water on their face. Good on them, that's fantastic, they've got really tough skin. Me, I'm sticking to my wash off creamy cleanser, Skinflint Enriching Cleanser, knowing that I'm not drying my skin and making it more liable to wrinkle.

Check out the ingredients in your cleanser - does it have Coco Betaine, Sodium Lauryl/Lauroyl/Laureth Sulphate, Lauryl Glucoside or anything similar to these chemical names? If so, it's detergent based.

Glass Reed Diffuser Bottles

I've finally been able to locate some really lovely glass reed diffuser bottles!

These are so cute. They hold about 100ml of Reed Diffuser Oil and come with a stopper, lid and bamboo topper. Perfect for small shelves, window ledges etc.

At only $5.00 each, they make a great addition to the Home Fragrance Range. You can purchase one bottle, a set of reeds and your choice of reed diffuser oil refill for only $20.00.

These make a great gift. If they're popular, I'll start filling them with the fragrant oils and sell them as a set with the reeds, rather than sell them empty.

Solar Oil

I'm constantly amazed by the marketing ploys of cosmetic companies.

Did you know that when companies use people to test a moisturiser, the results are judged against those using no moisturiser? So, if you see there's an 85% improvement in the softness of the skin.....well....duh!

But, on to other things. Cosmetic companies get away with charging a fortune for really simple products with very simple ingredients. Take Solar Oil, for example (I just had my nails done at the wonderful Le Sheek Nails in Katanning). It is made up of four ingredients, almond oil, rice bran oil, jojoba oil and vitamin E. The company that makes it charges $23 for a 15ml bottle.  That is outrageous!

The bottle, label and ingredients would only cost around $3.50, if that! The larger the company, the cheaper the ingredients, labels and containers, so the actual product would most likely be worth much less than this. What you are paying for is the marketing - slick advertising in glossy magazines. It makes my blood boil.

This is the sort of rip off marketing that led me to making my own products. I don't particular want to make and sell my own brand of Solar Oil, but I'm certainly going to make it for myself. If you have acrylics and need some oil, add a comment and I'll make you some too, for the small price of $5.50.

Wagin Woolorama

Skinflint products will be on show at the Wagin Woolorama this year.

The stall will be manned by my daughter, Jess, and I and is located in the Markets area. Look for our gazebo on the left as you enter the markets.

Try out the gorgeous handmade soaps and test the Skin Care, Baby Care and Body Care products. Spend $50.00 and receive a FREE showbag with a great range of sample products.

Make sure you stop by for a chat!

Mineral Make Up

Skinflint will no longer supply this product online. There is a small amount of stock left so please contact me if you wish to purchase and I'll either supply or direct you to a supplier.

My supplier has changed the colours for this product and I'm not happy with them, so prefer not to stock it rather than supply a product that I'm not confident is suitable for most skins.

I've been using the Beauty from Nature brand of Mineral Make Up and am very happy with this one. I buy it online from Jennifer's Touch of Style . The price is the most reasonable that I have found anywhere.

Enriching Face Polish

Enriching Face Polish is one of the most popular face care products in the Skinflint Range. It contains powdered bamboo, a natural and gentle exfoliant that leaves your skin feeling smooth and refreshed.
Scented with a blend of pure essential oils including rose geranium, and enriched with nettle and olive leaf extracts, Enriching Face Polish excellent for mature, dry and sensitive skins.

It's packaged in a large 175ml tube which can be somewhat awkward when travelling. So now you're able to purchase a Travel Sized Tube of 50ml for only $7 extra when you purchase a regular sized tube.

Enriching Face Polish is now back in stock.

Super Anti Aging Serum

As always, I love to research skin care ingredients. I've been studying anti aging ingredients recently and have come across the use of Vitamin C as an incredibly effective anti oxidant which can also assist in the repair of sun damaged skin.
Vitamin C, in particular, Ascorbyl Palmitate is a stable, absorbable version of Vitamin C used in facial rejuvenation treatments. It is a powerful anti oxidant that can

• Increase collagen production
• Promote healing
• Reduce fine lines and wrinkles
• Minimize the appearance of scars 

Because Ascorbyl Palmitate is fat soluble, it penetrates the skin very rapidly and reacts with the cellular biology to prevent cellular aging. It is anti inflammatory and has been shown to decrease the effects of sunburn when applied topically.

All this exciting information has led me to reformulate Skinflint Rosehip Recovery Serum to include a high % of Vitamin C in the form of Ascorbyl Palmitate.
This ingredient comes from the US and is very expensive, so unfortunately the price of this serum will rise a little.

Skinflint Rosehip Recovery Serum with ACE is still the most inexpensive anti aging product you'll find on the market today.
Rosehip and Red Raspberry oils both assist with the effectiveness of Vitamin E in the serum. Added Vitamin A increases the amount of anti-oxidants so making this product a super anti aging oil.

Available in a very attractive container with a pump dispenser, Rosehip Recovery Serum retails for $35.

Empty Shelves!

Wow! The last two months have been crazy in Skinflint Land. Sales have sky-rocketed, meaning many of the most popular lines are either out of stock or only available in limited quantities.

I'm working hard to bring my stocks back up again, especially soaps. I will soon be able to make double the quantity of soap due to a new mould arriving soon. Each batch will be around 5 1/2 kilos, yielding 40 soaps at a time.

Right now, I'm out of the following products:

• 100ml Replenish - now in stock!
• 100ml and 250ml Hand & Body Cream - in stock!
• Body Butter - now in stock! - fragrance different (my mistake, so $1.00 off)
• Enriching Cleanser 130ml - now in stock!
• Enriching Face Polish - now in stock!
• Clarifying Cleanser 130ml - now in stock!
• Gardener's Balm - now in stock!
• Eye Make Up Remover - now in stock!
• Rose Geranium Sugar Scrub
• Peppermint Sugar Scrub
• 250ml & 500ml Pure Moisture Conditioner
• Baby Bath 250ml- now in stock!
• Baby Balm - now in stock!
• Blackberry Sage Soap (1st Mar)
• Lemongrass & Tea Tree Soap (6th Mar)
• Limited Edition Soap ( 28th Mar)
• Oatmeal, Milk & Honey Soap  - low stocks, nearly sold out
• Peppermint Choc Truffle - now in stock!

As products become available, I'll adjust this list. Apologies to my customers for delays in order fulfillment.

I will be looking at something new and exciting towards the end of the year which will mean greater quantities of products available at all times. Keep checking my blog for updates!

Welcome to Skinflint's newest wholesaler, Bremer Bay Community Resource Centre. Welcome also to Vicki Zaharis of Sydney and good luck with your new Home Salon.

Skinflint in Bremer Bay

Skinflint products will now be available at the Bremer Bay Community Resource Centre in Mary St.

See, smell and try these products for yourself by popping along to the CRC on Tuesday. There will be a Skinflint stall from 11am to 2.30pm. This coincides with the School Holiday Kids Programme that the centre will be running, so you can take your children along to have some fun while you check out all the great Skinflint products.

Peppermint Choc Truffle

A new batch of this gorgeous smelling soap is curing in the workshop. The smell is delicious, always making me want to go and make a peppermint choc chip ice cream. Maybe I will today!

This soap is excellent for ridding the body of any unwanted odour and is a favourite of people who work with animals such as pigs and sheep. It's very refreshing and leaves a delightful fragrance in the bathroom.

Formulated with coconut, palm kernel, olive and castor seed oils as well as a titch of beeswax for extra hardness, this soap is a mild one but with lots of creamy lather. Pure peppermint essential oil and cocoa are used to scent the soap, so there's nothing artificial in it at all.

At only $4.50 a bar, Skinflint soap is really affordable hand made soap.