We'll be vending this weekend!

Reef Botanicals (and some washcloths & photos from Fabric of my Mind) will be at the Carlstadt Fresh Air Market on June 10, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Come visit!

In the park on Broad & 3rd Streets in Carlstadt, NJ.

This is How They're Saying "Thank You"

This holiday season, we've gotten a ton of gift basket orders, and it turns out that most of them are actually "thank you" gifts.  A guy who wanted to thank people who cared for him when he was laid up ordered - count 'em - five gift baskets as Christmas gifts.  He wanted one Men's Basket, and four for women.  He left it up to us, just asking that each was a bit different.  So we did a Mocha Basket:

It's got a Cafe Mocha sugar scrub, a Chocolate Decadence pillar candle, Honey Chocolate, Fudge Chunk, and Coffee soaps, and a Chocolate Chip Mint lip balm.

A Fruit Basket:

With a When Life Hands you Lemons sugar scrub, a Citrus Blast bath salt, a Garden Party soap, a Lemongrass & Sage soap, and an Autumn Harvest votive.

We did a Stop & Smell the Flowers Basket.

This one's got a Lavender bath salt, a Heaven Scent salt scrub, a Lilac Votive, a Smooth Operator shaving & bath soap, and a Lavender soap.

And a Skin Loving Basket:

We did this one with a Home for the Holidays pillar candle, a Totally Tasteless lip balm, an Almond Pastry facial scrub, and Oatmeal Honey & Purity Soaps, plus a Deadwood Spa Bar.

And then there was a woman who wants to thank her partner for their business' success left the basket up to our discretion, so we did a mixed bag of a basket, based on stuff she'd like:

This one's got a Heaven Scent salt scrub, a Chocolate Chip Mint lip balm, a Healing Tea soap, a Smooth Operator shaving & bath soap, an Almond Pastry facial scrub, and a Home for the Holidays votive.

Just some ideas of various baskets we can do... really, anything we make can be combined into a gift basket.  It's really fun, actually, to figure out good combinations of things!

The Holiday Gala - and a SALE!

Today we were on the road again, at the Minerals Resort and Spa in Vernon, in what's become our usual booth, but with some new touches...

Like that nifty banner on the front of the table, and the sign up top.  This one...

The gift baskets were a hit today.  In fact, one woman bought a Men's Gift Basket for her son, and then said, "I really don't want to go to the mall; what else do I need?"  She proceeded to purchase a bunch of additional items, and then announced triumphantly that she'd completed her holiday shopping without having to hit a mall, which gave us an idea I'll get to in a minute.

This was also the first time we had our Dead Sea mud masks out in person.  People loved them.  Loved.

Cool, right?  Know what's cooler?  That idea I mentioned... a holiday sale!

From now through December 19, all of our seasonal items are 20% off!

How great is that if you've still got some last minute holiday shopping to do?  Our Home for the Holidays candles, Home for the Holidays Bath Salts, and Autumn Harvest candles are all 20% off, just in time for you to buy stocking stuffers, Secret Santa gifts, teacher gifts, and anything else you need.

From now through December 19, all gift baskets are 15% off!

The Men's Basket and any custom baskets, all 15% off, just email us and we'll plan the perfect basket for your friend or family member!

Plus, we'll get any orders out immediately and can ship directly to your recipient if you'd like!

Have fun shopping!

Cyber Monday Sale!

Black Friday is upon us.  There's not enough money in the world that could induce either me or Eric to enter a mall on that crazy day.  Sorry, no sale is good enough to warrant risking being elbowed in the eye or stomped on the instep.

We like online shopping.  We're betting you do too.  And we have so many gift ideas for you!

So...

From midnight to midnight EST on Monday, November 29, Reef Botanicals will be holding its first Cyber Monday Sale, the internet's answer to Black Friday.  The benefit to holiday shopping online, of course, is that everything comes directly to your front door (or the front door of your gift recipient!) and you don't need to fight those insane crowds in the stores.

For 24 hours, every single item at Reef Botanicals will be 10% off and every order over $30 will qualify for free shipping*!

*Valid only within the United States for Priority Mail shipping, and Canada for Regular Mail.

That's 10% off our candles, like these Autumn Harvest, about which I blogged but didn't have a photo to show you until now.

Autumn Harvest

Home for the Holidays

It's 10% off our Dead Sea mud masks and facial scrubs.

Almond Pastry Facial Scrub

Dead Sea Mud Mask

It's 10% off our salt & sugar scrubs.

When Life Hands You Lemons Sugar Scrub

10% off our soap, shampoo, and shaving oils.

Smooth Operator Shaving & Bath Soap

10% off our gift baskets.

Men's Gift Basket

10% off our lip balms.

Orange You Glad I'm Your Honey Lip Balm

And 10% off our fizzy bath bombs and bath salts.

Serenity Fizzy Bath Bomb

Creamsicle Bath Salt & Eucalyptus Bath Salt

And every United States order over $30 qualifies for free Priority Mail shipping, while every Canadian order over $30 qualifies for free Regular Mail shipping!

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No Halloween?

It seems like Halloween was everywhere, every blog on the Internet, every website, everywhere... but at Reef Botanicals.

Thing is, we didn't do a seasonal soap.  Nothing really fit.  But that doesn't mean we ignored Halloween!  Mind you, I'm a face painter!  So what was I up to this weekend?

Well, you can read about it fully here, but I will tell you that I face painted on Saturday before going to Forest of Fear with Eric at Sterling Forest, wherein we looked like this...

And yes, I did my own face, with the exception of the splatter, for which I needed Eric's assistance.

Believe it or not, with our Oatmeal Honey soap and Almond Pastry Facial Scrub, I got all of that mess off and was able to spend Halloween looking like this, with my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew.

Yup, I'm the clown.  More face paint, but no zombie!

Oh, and I also won two sets of these nifty Wilton Halloween sprinkles in test tubes, but not early enough to use them this year.  I did give one set to my sis.

Now that Halloween, my very favorite holiday of the year, is officially over, I can start looking forward to the "holiday season" otherwise known as shopping mania.  I personally have a lot of shopping to do this year, since I've got not only my normal gift list, but two nephews, on on each side of the family!  And the one in the photo above, my sister's son, will be turning one on December 22, right smack between Chanukah and Christmas.  That makes for a lot of gift buying!  And gift making, since I do plan to make some nifty things... and yes, I'll be blogging them, of course.

But I also have some suggestions for all of you for some easy holiday shopping.  I guess you know I'm talking about Reef Botanicals.  It's just that we've got some great gift ideas for you!

We can work with you to create a custom gift basket for anyone on your holiday shopping list, man or woman.  Our baskets are affordable, attractive, and chock full of great stuff that everyone loves, whether it's a Men's shaving gift basket or completely floral-themed.

If you want a smaller gift item, how about our new line of bath salts or the ever-loved sugar and salt scrubs?

Tell me a Home for the Holidays bath salt wouldn't be perfect for someone on your list!

For great stocking stuffers, there's our Almond Pastry facial scrub, lip balms, bath bombs, or someone's favorite scent of soap!

And we're still working on things, so there's more to come!  Keep checking here to get ideas!

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Our Day

Today, we spent the day at the Autumn Extravaganza Arts & Crafts Show at the Minerals Resort & Spa in Vernon, NJ.  We'd done this show in April when it was their first attempt a a craft fair, and had a decent day with a lot of interest.  It was a very small fair but with good vendors.

This time, a vendor organizer company had taken over and the fair grew from one room (the gym of the spa) to three rooms (the lobby, gym, and small back convention room).  Still a small fair, but nice.  Unfortunately, it also grew by three more vendors of handmade soap.  Total:  4.  That's unusual, especially for a fair of this size, and initially they were placing three of us all in adjoining booths!  Well, two of us obviously moved, and we lucked out and were placed in the lobby, directly to the right of the entrance doors to the spa.  That meant we had a differently-shaped space (the original was 10'x10') and needed to reorganize.  We actually really liked the way we were able to use the area.

That whole length there was Reef Botanicals!  We had two 6' tables end to end, and then a 4' camping table on the end forming an L.  Our banner is there at that far end because that's where the entrance to the spa was.

We got traffic from every direction and were very happy with the setup and location.  In fact, the spa is having another event on December 12, just before the holidays, and we plan to participate in that one too.

Although the patrons were somewhat inundated with soapers, they seemed really excited by our product line, and we did well.  Our most popular sellers of the day were the Hair Dew shampoo and the Home for the Holidays bath salt, though also especially popular were the lip balms, facial scrub, candles, and Smooth Operator shaving & bath soap.  People took a lot of cards too, and we're hopeful that the event gained us some regular customers!

If you're in the area, look for us at the event in December, where we'll also be offering gift baskets for the holidays.  Don't be fooled by the fact that it's a resort; the place is really friendly and non-members are as welcome as members.  In fact, the staff there were treating even us more like guests than anything!

In the meantime, everything is still available at our website, as well as on our HAFshop, and of course our giveaway is still underway until October 31!

Reef Botanicals on the Road

Mostly Rte. 80, I think.

We're participating tomorrow in the Autumn Extravaganza Arts & Crafts Show at the Minerals Resort & Spa in Vernon, NJ!

If it's like the last one we did at this spa, it promises to have some good crafters with nice wares.  We received a good response last time we were there in the Spring, so we're excited to go now that our product line has grown.

We have high hopes, so wish us luck!

Feel free to come meet us if you're in the area, where you can see, touch, and smell our stuff in person - including our new bath salts & facial scrubs.

In the meantime, don't forget our blog giveaway, which is still in progress up until my favorite holiday, Halloween!  Go here to get details and enter.  After all, free is a cool way to try something new, right?

My Favorite Yet

Oatmeal.

Yum, right?  Well at least I like it.  I eat it fairly frequently.

Here's what this site has to say about oatmeal:

Used topically, oatmeal is effective for relieving dryness and inflammation, including insect stings, rashes, and eczema.  It contains polysaccharides and lubricating fats, which prevent dullness and dryness.  It is also filled with natural pore cleansers.

Almonds.

Also yum.  Big yum.  Heck, you can even have almonds in your oatmeal.

Here's what this site has to say about almonds:

Used topically, almonds are said to be nourishing and healthy for both baby and adult skin.  It's very gentle and believed to have good anti-oxidant properties.  Ground almonds also have an exfoliating nature.

Honey.

Do I even need to say what I think of honey?  And doesn't it sound great with almonds and oatmeal?!

Here's what this site says about honey:

Honey is a natural humectant, helping to keep the skin hydrated and fresh.  It traps in moisture, leaving skin soft and supple, and hair glossy and healthy.  It is also antibacterial and a good source of antioxidants.

Bentonite Clay.

Okay, so bentonite clay isn't yummy.  At least, I don't think it is.  I don't plan to try eating it.

And here's what this site says about bentonite clay:

Bentonite clay has long been known for its therapeutic abilities.  Due to its high absorbency and its ability to pull oils and toxins from the skin, it is one of the best clays for making poultices and an excellent ingredient for skin care and spa treatments.

So why am I bringing all of this up?  Can you guess?  If you're a fan of our Facebook fan page, [okay, fine, if you "like" Reef Botanicals on Facebook, just call me old fashioned, I like "fan page"] you may have seen me post a status update quite a while back regarding a new ingredient I was very glad to find and obtain, for a new product I was trying to develop.

See, I've been dying for a facial scrub.

We've got three great body scrubs.  When Life Hands You Lemons is  based in white sugar and olive oil, and it's great.  Cafe Mocha is based in brown sugar and grapeseed oil, also great.  And Heaven Scent is our salt scrub, primarily epsom and Dead Sea salts, with olive oil.

While there are light oils that work well on the face, like almond, emu, and jojoba oils, I really wanted to keep the facial scrub pretty much oil-free... so no liquid to it.  The only oil in this scrub is the healthy and beneficial bit contained in the almonds that I ground myself.  So I did a bunch of research, and several trials, wanting specific ingredients... mostly honey.  But I didn't want anything wet involved so it wouldn't get yucky when stored.  Water, you see, would lead to a fuzzy (ick!) facial scrub, not a yummy one.  Hmmm.... what to do?  What to do?

What I did was a little search.  And I found... wait for it... honey powder.  That's right, food grade, sweet as can be, honey powder.  It's just dehydrated, powdered honey.  That's the sole ingredient.

Aha!  Did you picture the light bulb over my head there?  Here, I'll help:

So... on to my bright idea.

Many, many years ago, I had a commercial product that's no longer available.  It came in a small shaker container, and had a single ingredient:  finely ground beans.  Dry, finely ground beans.  What the instructions said to do was shake about a teaspoon of ground beans onto the palm of my hand, drip water into it and mush it around until it became a paste, rub it all over my face, and then wash it off.

Well... here I was, with almonds that I myself finely ground, oatmeal that I myself finely ground, some awesome bentonite clay at my disposal... and now powdered honey.  Sounds like a facial scrub to me!

We found shaker containers, similar to the one I used to have from that commercial bath and beauty company (only bigger), and voila!  We now have available for you our first facial scrub!  You use it the same way I do, the same way I used those ground beans oh so many years ago.  It doesn't get furry when stored.

And it's awesome.  May I present our brand new Almond Pastry Facial Scrub.

Oh, and by the way, here's a photo of the bath salts, so you know what we've been talking about so much:

And... another reminder.  When we reach 500 fans on our Facebook page, someone wins!

Update:  In addition to buying this great facial scrub, you can win it as part of our "For Your Face" prize pack in our first blog giveaway!

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