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The Suds Report Newsletter
May 2002
Hello All:
First off, it's our birthday! SudsReport.com is
officially one-year old today. I want to take this
opportunity to thank our tireless, creative contributors for
all their wonderful work. Thanks to them, I think we
have assembled a nice collection of articles over the past
year. Thanks also to all of you for giving us an
audience, and for all your encouraging feedback.
It's
kind of funny, when I first considered creating the site, I
wondered if I would have trouble finding enough new material
for such a narrowly-focused topic. Well, I continue to
be astounded at how much there is to explore on this topic,
and so I see no end in sight to fresh material for the site.
New at
SudsReport.com
We've added two new articles this month. First, get the scoop
on some clever novelty soaps in
The Real Dope on Cool
Soap.
Then, discover how to liven up kids' baths in
Run! Daddy's Givin' Baths! For a refreshing change, this article is written by a father.
That's right, guys, it is possible for you to bathe your
kids.
Bath, Body and Mother's Day
Bath and body products can make wonderful Mother's Day
presents, but, like any other personal item, they can be a
little tricky to select for someone else. I've come up
with a list of guidelines that I think can help find something
that will be appreciated. Of course, you know your mom best, so feel free to
bend or completely ignore these guidelines!
It's spring, so go with fresh, spring-like scents.
Florals, fruity scents or fresh herbal scents can all be nice
for warmer weather.
Don't make her feel old. Now that I've joined the club,
"Mothers" don't seem as old as they used to. Please,
no "old lady" products. Ask yourself this
question: "Would my grandmother use this?"
Go for the pretty package. When I'm buying
products for myself, I don't care so much about fancy
packaging. For gifts, though, I think it makes a
difference. Gift sets and gift baskets are always good.
Here are a few selections I like:
Essentiel Elements has a nice assortment of gift sets,
elegant but reasonably priced. Plus, they offer fresh,
appealing scents including lavender, rosemary and citrus.
Crabtree and Evelyn also has some nice gift sets,
including Lavender Hatbox and  Aloe Vera
Essentials. Find them at
Beauty.com.
Another fun option: blisslabs' Packed Fresh Bliss
Gift, with citrus and eucalyptus scented products,
including a candle.
For elegant packaging and creative fragrance, it's hard to
beat
Thymes.com. They have a nice selection of gift packages (a little pricey).
KissMyFace.com has a nice selection of gift sets: fresh, natural and
reasonably-priced.
Happy Mothers Day!
Butter
Me Not?
Shea butter seems to be the moisturizer of choice these days.
Many companies proudly claim high percentages of shea
butter in their products: 15%, 30%, etc. So, my
reasoning went something like this: If 15% is good and
30% is better, wouldn't 100% be the best?
Well, not
necessarily. One reader described her experience this
way: "I recently ordered 100% shea butter...and was
disappointed with the product. It was grainy and gritty in
texture. I called the company and was told this sometimes
happens and to microwave the product to soften it. I did this
and it did soften, however it immediately returned to the
grainy texture when it cooled."
I
had a very similar experience with 100% shea butter, and with
another product containing a high percentage of cocoa butter.
The moral: Shea and other butters are fabulous
moisturizers, but choose the level that's right for you.
If you're looking for a creamy all-over moisturizer, a lower
percentage may work well. If, however, you want
something really intense for elbows, feet or knees, 100% may
be your answer. When in doubt, ask questions before you
buy.
THE
Sunless Tanning Source
You can't open a magazine these days without seeing an article
about sunless tanning products and procedures. 'Tis the
season, after all. In my opinion, though, the single best
resource for information on sunless tanning is right online:
Sunless.com. This site truly contains everything you
could ever need to know about sunless tanning. Take a
look and see what I mean (and, if you get the chance, tell
them Suds Report sent you).
Scents
of the Future
I'm pretty sure about two things when it comes to bath and
body products: First, fragrance is very important; and
second, consumers are fickle. Combining those two points
begs the question: What is next as far as fragrances?
One pretty good guess comes from Barbie Smith of
SweetScentsCandles.com. After all, fragrance is her
business. Here are her predictions: "This next
year or two will see a heavy international presence. Asian
scents, in particular, will stand out...[for example] Bamboo
and Jasmine, Indian Chai Tea, Japanese Lotus Flower and Thai
Lemongrass... Citrus scents will also remain wildly popular.
Lastly, "green" scents are making a comeback: fresh scents
that reflect nature."
These predictions make sense to me. Recently,
super-sweet dessert-type scents have been very popular, but I
think the tide will eventually turn and we'll see more
light, fresh scents. The popularity of green tea
scented products seems to signal an early foray into Asian
fragrances. But only time will tell.
And the Winner Is
Congratulations to our April giveaway winner: Mary Viviyal from Sugarland, Texas. Mary won an assortment of
honey products from
LauraMercier.com bath and body line.
For
May, we're giving away an assortment of goodies from
Perlier.com
Kiwi Energy line. Just right for spring!
In the
Works
In the next few months, we'll have a series of articles
profiling small
online bath and beauty merchants who have
carved out their niches in cyberspace.
We'll also have
an article on
foot-care products to get your feet ready for
sandals. Also in the works:
green tea
bath products,
hand made soaps, Rachel Perry products,
dessert-scented
products and more!
Well, thats about it for now. As always, please e-mail us with
any comments or suggestions.
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