My Name is Mud

Or... at least my face is.  Don't believe me?  Look!

The things I do for you guys.

I kept joking with Eric that we were going to be making mudpies, but this is oh so much more than that.  Our first mud mask!  Yes, really.  And this is some high-end stuff, which is making its way into our luxury line.

The primary ingredient in this mask is Dead Sea mud.  Then, we added Rhassoul clay, Bentonite clay, and sea kelp to make our own custom blend for the biggest benefit.

What's the hype about mud?  Why Dead Sea mud?  Never having used a mud mask before, I had the same questions!  So I did a little research, and here's what I found out about Dead Sea mud...

Believe it or not, it's believed that Dead Sea mud is one of the healthiest things you can use on your skin.  Seriously.  And it's pretty much for the same reasons so many people travel to the Dead Sea itself to reap its benefits.  What are those benefits?  Improved blood circulation and natural skin generation, cleansing and removal of dirt particles, impurities, and toxins, skin relief for disorders such as psoriasis, eczema, acne, and even wrinkles, moisturizing, and the removal of dead skin cells.  And as it dries, it pulls out any toxins that may be present in your skin cells from your everyday diet, while firming and tightening this all-important organ.  Yes, that's right, if you remember from your first anatomy class, skin is the body's largest organ!

This mud has such a high concentration of all natural salts and minerals that your skin needs, like potassium, magnesium, sodium, bromine, and calcium, that it's unlike mud from any other place in the world.

And with a mud mask like this, you don't have to travel to Jordan or Israel to get these benefits!

If the mud is so great on its own, why did we add the clays?  The better question is how could we not?  We wanted an all-in-one product that provided the absolute most value it could.  So... about those clays...

Rhassoul clay has been used for over 1400 years as a natural beauty treatment for skin and hair. It has a unique ability to absorb tremendous amounts of water, which makes it ideal for cleansing and detoxifying the skin. It also has a higher percentage of trace minerals than other clays, without any petrochemical derivatives, synthetic preservatives, surfactants, or artificial colors, all of which are common in commercial soaps and cleansers. It has been found to leave the skin with less dryness, less flakiness, improved skin clarity, elasticity, and firmness, and improved skin texture.

And 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.

And then there's that sea kelp again, which we also use in our Mock Turtle shampoo and Deadwood Spa Bar.  What's up with the sea kelp?  Sea Kelp is being used increasingly for cosmetic purposes, due to its high vitamin and mineral content, as well as its essential fatty acids and chlorophyll for detoxification purposes.  It has a natural elasticity that makes it an ideal ingredient in cutting-edge anti-wrinkle beauty regimens.  It can revitalize both skin and hair.

So you see, we didn't cut any corners with this stuff.

At all!  And it's easy to use.  You take just a little on your fingers and coat your entire face lightly, being careful to avoid your eyes.  It starts off feeling cool, of course, while it's wet.  As it dries, it feels warm and tingly, and you can feel it tightening on your face as it works.  By the time the photo was taken, it had been drying a while, and it wasn't actually easy to smile!  Once it's dry, after about 10 or 15 minutes, you rinse it off, and it comes off clean, leaving your skin pretty darned smooth and soft.  At least, that was my experience.

And Eric's.  He wouldn't let me snap a photo of his muddy face, but he loves mud masks and you can bet your socks he tried it too.

(And no, I have no idea where I came up with "bet your socks," but I kinda like it!)

We've dolled up our Dead Sea Mud Mask in these beautiful little jars, and they're all ready for you now!  So... have at 'em!

Submitted to:

Showing You Some Things

I wanted to show you what we've been doing the past couple nights... candles!  Now, I don't yet have the good, real photos of the candles, but these are some progress shots.

We melt our wax in our largest crock pot (we have three).  In fact, here's what it looks like when all three are going at the same time...

That photo was taken the day we made six batches of soap and shampoo, plus our bath salts.  It was a long day, even with the help of our friend Kerry, who came early and spent all day with us.  Having her there was a live saver!

Kerry has asthma and severe allergies, so in addition to the gloves we all wear when making soap, we got her a face mask.  When the lye hits the water (or worse, the tea for Healing Tea & Mock Turtle or the beer for Mashed In), the fumes could be too much for her.

And that's Kerry's hand mixing our huge batch of bath salts.  Eric and I weighed and measured while Kerry mixed.  Like I said, life saver.

But on to our candles...

Like our Healing Tea, in a pretty mottle sage green, scented with green tea and eucalyptus.

And our Chocolate Decadence, in a mottled mahogany color, scented with chocolate fudge, hazelnut, and vanilla.  I love it when the house smells like this!  I love it so much, in fact, that I took the leftover wax and poured it into an old double boiler which no longer has the bottom pot.  We put two votive wicks in it and will use it as a sort of container candle for ourselves.  Why waste wax?

And our Autumn Harvest, which had its first pour last night and will receive its second pour tonight.  This one's a beautiful mottled red, and scented with apples and cinnamon, plus some pear, plum, grapes, nuts, and a hint of caramel.

All of these will be up on the site soon, ready for ordering.

Speaking of which, those of you who've ordered from Reef Botanicals more than once may wonder why, when I'm so detailed in blogging the pretty wrapping and packaging from other handmade artists, our packing materials aren't so pretty or consistent.  Well, thing is, we recycle.  We use the packaging materials in which our supplies and other things we order arrive.  So sometimes you'll get shredded paper, sometimes bunched sheets of packing paper.  Sometimes we'll use bubble wrap, especially around our glass containers.  When and if we run out of packaging materials from others, I run supermarket paper bags through a shredder and use that!  Only as a last resort do we actually purchase packing materials.  It's just our small contribution to the wide world of recycling, that's all.

So there you go, some stuff about us and how we work and what we're up to.

Shared with:

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!

Linked to: