Happy Hour!

Are you a fan of our Facebook page? Be sure to "like" us to get info on Happy Hour sales during these hot summer days.

http://www.facebook.com/rusticescentuals


You can use the savings for lip balm tubes, lip balm flavor oil, candle scents, soap scents, shrink wrap bands, candle colorants or just about anything else! Click. Relax. Save!

Yes - It's That Easy!

We recently had our products reviewed by a customer who wanted to make party favors for her child's birthday. It turn out so well! Read about it here. (She also has wonderful photography skills!)

It got us thinking - learning how to make your own lip balm is easy. And inexpensive. With inflation making small gifts no longer affordable, it's time to think outside of the box. Year 'round we need party favors, hand-outs and little gifts. But it's also time to begin thinking about hand-outs, favors and gifts for Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Yes, Christmas! Those stocking stuffers can add up quickly.

You can make a tube of lip balm for less than $.50, but a tube of lip balm retails anywhere from $3.00 to $7.00 and up. Further utilize your creative skills by matching flavor oils with color coordinated lip balm tube caps and custom make the tube's labels with your own computer & printer. You'll be the hit of the season or party for being so creative and thoughtful! We've also had customers make custom lip balms for wedding favors.

We carry a variety of wholesale lip balm bases made with luxury oils and natural waxes. They're creamy, smooth, light and leave no sticky feeling on your lips. The bases are versatile and suitable for use in lip balm tubes, lip balm tins, small pots and cosmetic containers.

You can't go wrong with your custom ideas. Make lip balm for the young and young at heart - we have everything from Dill Pickle lip balm flavor oil to Grand Marnier & Apricot. All of our lip balm flavoring oils are vegan friendly.

We'd love to hear feedback about learning how to make lip balm! Send us feedback on Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/rusticescentuals

Sweet As Honey?

Honey Bee Fragrance Oil is here!

What's sweet as honey? Honey Bee FO. After many customer requests, we finally hit THE right honey for you. Yummy, drippy honey by bees flying in fields of wildflowers in fresh mountain air. This is a complex and beautiful fragrance of sweet honey balanced and rounded by hints of powdery wildflowers, vanilla and sandalwood. If you need a strong honey scent, this is it! Works wonderfully in candles, soaps and toiletries.

What's New page

Honey Bee fragrance oil

On a different note, we are busy working on a new Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/rusticescentuals

We hope you click "Like" us on Facebook - we'll be doing some Facebook-only specials & giveaways as the page launches. We will also be posting more photos of our warehouse facility so that you can see what our business is like. Some of the photos are already up, so come on over and say hello!

Update

As many of you know, raw materials pricing has skyrocketed out of control in the last several months. I want to post to let you know how we are handling it.

We will NOT do a blanket, across-the-board price increase. That's just not reasonable or fair. Any increases will be done on specific products which incur increases from the manufacturer. We won't artificially inflate prices only to have frequent "sales."

So far, we have been able to absorb most of the price increases through diligent cost-saving actions. We recycle shipping boxes, we use newspaper and biodegradable peanuts for packing orders, we maximize employee payroll hours, we maximize warehouse space and bulk purchasing, and we try to always make informed purchasing decisions. If a product's price goes so high as to make it an unreasonable purchase option for you, we will go out-of-stock until the price lowers.

Today we will be raising the minimum purchase requirement from $12.00 to $15.00 on both sites - RusticEscentuals and LipBalmTubes.com.

In addition to skyrocketing raw materials, shipping has also increased due to fuel costs & surcharges. Again, we are trying to purchase in larger bulk to make the most of transportation dollars. We can't control what a package costs to ship to you, but we can take as many measures as possible to save costs on our end which results in stable product pricing.

We are a true wholesale business and want to offer as many product options for you as possible. The current raw material and economic climates are making adding new products a little more difficult, but we will continue to search as we wait for the climates to stabilize. We refuse to compromise quality.

Look for a new Facebook page very soon - it's in the works! Melissa and I need a better way to communicate with everyone more frequently and are eager to be jumping into social networking.


Amy Coker Pascoe
Owner

French Toast flavor oil is here

YUM!

French Toast flavor oil for lip balm is here. Warm, buttery french toast dripping with syrup. It's a treat for the lips!

What's New

French Toast flavor oil

Limited time introductory price on 1-oz. bottle is 15% off. $2.96

Suggested cap colors for lip balm tubes: beige or brown
Use natural or white lip balm tubes with a color coordinated cap to complement lip balm flavor oil.

Beige caps
Brown caps

All lip balm tube cap colors.

Introductory pricing - 15% off

We've been adding new flavor oils for lip balm to our line and all are available today! Introductory pricing of 15% off is being offered for a limited time on 1-oz. bottles. Regular price $3.49; Introductory price $2.96. Go ahead...give them a try! No special coupon code needed in the shopping cart - pricing is already adjusted.

NEW FLAVORS:

Dill Pickle




Fizzy Pop
(compare to Sprite or 7-Up)

Grand Marnier & Apricot

Lemondrop Pucker

Mango Lassi


Nutmeg & Caramel Swirl

Popcorn


Wild Red Cherry Pie


Zucchini Bread

Visit our What's New page for all of the new lip balm flavor oils at a glance. Full listing of all available Flavor Oils.

Click these pages if you'd like to go directly to a specific flavor oil:

Dill Pickle
Fizzy Pop
Grand Marnier & Apricot
Lemondrop Pucker
Mango Lassi
Nutmeg & Caramel Swirl
Popcorn
Wild Red Cherry Pie
Zucchini Bread

Pre-Spring Cleaning

I realize it isn't yet Spring (despite how much we are wishing for it!), but we're beginning to clean up & organize the warehouse from the busy holiday season and looking toward spring, summer and fall. We'll be adding new products along the way (there are several already in the works), which means we need to make room for them on the shelves. Be checking the Fragrance Oil Clearance Rack and Specials pages in the days and weeks to come for some fantastic bargains.

Fragrance Oil Clearance Rack

Specials

We expect to update the Specials page with some weekly, bi-weekly and monthly specials that are not discontinued products. We'll also notify you when new products arrive, but keep an eye on the What's New page.

What's New

What causes the smell after rain?

Most people notice a distinctive smell in the air after it rains. It's frequently linked with spring, like smell of fresh cut grass is associated with summer. You'll find it in a lot of poetry and also on many inspirational lists of things to be happy about. But what causes it?

As it turns out, the smells people associate with rainstorms can be caused by a number of things. One of the more pleasant rain smells, the one we often notice in the woods, is actually caused by bacteria! Actinomycetes, a type of filamentous bacteria, grow in soil when conditions are damp and warm. When the soil dries out, the bacteria produce spores in the soil. The wetness and force of rainfall kick these tiny spores up into the air where the moisture after a rain acts as an aerosol (just like an aerosol air freshener). The moist air easily carries the spores to us so we breathe them in. These spores have a distinctive, earthy smell we often associate with rainfall. The bacteria are extremely common and can be found in areas all over the world, which accounts for the universality of this sweet "after-the-rain" smell. Since the bacteria thrives in moist soil but releases the spores once the soil dries out, the smell is most acute after a rain that follows a dry spell, although you'll notice it to some degree after most rainstorms.

Another sort of smell is caused by the acidity of rain. Because of chemicals in the atmosphere, rainwater tends to be somewhat acidic, especially in urban environments. When it comes in contact with organic debris or chemicals on the ground, it can cause some particularly aromatic reactions. It breaks apart soil and releases minerals trapped inside, and it reacts with chemicals, such as gasoline, giving them a stronger odor. These reactions generally produce more unpleasant smells than bacteria spores, which is why the after-the-rain smell isn't always a good one. Like the smell caused by the bacteria spores, the smell of chemical reactions is most noticeable when it rains following a dry spell. This is because once the chemicals on the ground have been diluted by one downpour - they don't have the same reaction with the rainwater.

Another after-the-rain smell comes from volatile oils that are released by plants and trees. The oil then collects on surfaces such as rocks. The rain reacts with the oil on the rocks and carries it as a gas through the air. This scent is like the bacteria spores in that most people consider it a pleasant, fresh smell.

These are a few common rain smells, but there are also all sorts of other scents after it rains. There are many aromatic materials the moisture & impact of rain can stir up, and the moist atmosphere following a downpour is particularly good at carrying these particles through the air. So, when you talk about the after-the-rain smell with a friend, you may mean one thing while your friend is thinking of something else. You'll both agree, however, that the air has a much stronger aroma to it after a good rain.

New FO now in stock

We received a customer request for a Victoria's Secret type - Honeysuckle & White Patchouli. Once the sample came in from the manufacturer, we fell in love - especially since it's dead on to the VS original. It's now in stock and we think you'll adore it also! This sophisticated feminine scent is absolutely divine in a warm and indulgent way.

Honeysuckle & White Patchouli

Product shortage notification

EUGENOL

Eugenol is a liquid extracted from certain essential oils, especially clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, basil and bay leaf. This extract can sometimes be a common raw ingredient in the manufacture of fragrance oils. Most all of the major fragrance oil manufacturers are having a huge issue with obtaining Eugenol right now. The entire clove leaf/Eugenol crop essentially never happened due to the complete lack of the necessary "dry season" in Indonesia. Most manufacturers are unable to obtain Eugenol from their suppliers - if they *are* able to procure a limited supply, prices are up at least 400%. The current situation is dire, manufacturers are helpless in obtaining Eugenol and new crops are not expected until spring/summer 2011.

The Eugenol shortage has started affecting our ability to obtain a few fragrance oils. These oils are low in stock and we anticipate not being able to purchase more until next summer:

Madagascar Spice

Pumpkin Bread


We will continue to update as we get in reports from our manufacturers. We will also continue to update on any shortages of fragrance oils that we will not be able to restock until the Eugenol crisis passes. Please order what you need now - we will process orders in the order received until current stock is exhausted. Thank you.

Website update

Our new shopping cart is ready, so we will be moving the site to a new host and installing the shopping cart this weekend. The upgrade will begin late Friday afternoon/early evening and the site may be unavailable anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of days depending on how you access the site. Please make sure that you place any urgent orders before close of business on Friday to ensure your order is processed before the site goes down.

I'm certain we will have a few growing pains as the shopping cart is implemented, but it should not take long. The new cart has many wonderful features that you've been asking for so I hope you'll be pleased. There will be no more issues with the cart timing out and you'll have the option to create and save a "wish list" that you can come back to later.

Thank you in advance for your patience.

New Fragrance Oils

All of our new FO's are now online. You can get an easy overview by visiting the What's New page.

Please don't forget to make sure you're subscribed to the SCOOP Newsletter - you don't want to miss the Scent Event in August! You can sign up for the newsletter here:

Subscribe to the SCOOP Newsletter

Email:

Catching up ...

I hope everyone is doing well during these long, hot summer days! We have been busy reorganizing the warehouse, adding new shelving, and getting ready for the fall/winter season. We have also been testing a whole slew of new fragrance oils and 16 new yummy scents are on the way! And more are currently being tested.

Please make sure you are subscribed to our SCOOP Newsletter.
(see blog post below this one to subscribe)

We are planning our annual Scent Event sale in August, which is quickly approaching. You don't want to miss this sale!!! It will be the perfect opportunity to try all of the new fragrances. Here are the scents that are on the way:

Amish Spice Loaf
Bonfire Bliss
Butternut Pumpkin
Corn Husk
Frosted Winter Berry
Frosty Pines (far from your typical "pine" type scent - you'll adore this one!)
Gingerbread Brulee
Mistletoe Whisper
Oak Barrel Cider
Pickin' Pumpkins
Pomegranate & Oak
Sparkling Poinsettias
Sugared Shortbread
Toasted Almond Torte
Warm Vanilla Nutmeg
Woodland Breeze

If you've changed your email since subscribing to the newsletter, you will need to resubscribe with your new/updated email address. Remember, this is a double opt-in subscription so you will need to verify subscribing to the newsletter by responding to an email.

We are also putting the finishing touches on a new shopping cart that we have been working on since early spring. We listened to all of the feedback given to us about the current shopping cart and feel very positive & excited about this. No more cart time-outs! You will have the option to create an online account so you don't have to enter your personal information every time you order. Another benefit of creating an account is the ability to create your own Wish List - this will allow you to save products to look at later.

Need or want products we don't carry? Let me know if you're searching for a special fragrance oil, flavor oil or other product for your candle/soap/toiletry needs. Thank you.

The Scent Event Sale

Thanks for making the SCENT EVENT sale such a great success! All orders have now been shipped.

If you missed the sale, make sure you're signed up for our newsletter to have sales directly delivered to your in-box:

Join Our Newsletter

Email:

SCENT EVENT Sale Reminder

We are having fun fulfilling Scent Event orders! Many of you are trying a lot of fragrances - and we hope you enjoy them.

REMINDER: The Scent Event sale expires on Thursday at noon (Eastern). Get in your orders!

More new FO's have arrived

Please check the What's New page for all of the latest additions.

Japanese Pear & Ginseng
Pumpkin Creme Brulee
Spiced CranApple and Ginger
Apple Butter & Caramel
Apple & Pumpkin Strudel
Cedar, Sage & Blackberry
"Fresh" Lemon Sugar type
Lime Crystal Kisses
Rocky Mountain Memories
Sweet Pumpkin

We also sent out a SCENT EVENT newsletter with a sale announcement. Sale begins on Friday. Did you receive a newsletter? If not, please email me at Amy@RusticEscentuals.com I will forward a copy to you.....but please subscribe so you can receive future announcements. Thanks!

Vacation Notice

The warehouse will be closed from Friday, June 26th through Friday, July 3rd.

Online orders will still be accepted during this time and will be shipped upon reopening on July 6th.

New ValueLine Scents Are Available

We have been working to add more fragrance oils to our line. Today we've added four great ValueLine scents:

Strawberry & Kiwi Sorbet
Caribbean Guava & Fig
Almond Rum Cake
Cinnamon & Raisin Bread

Check out the updated ValueLine FO's! These oils continue to be competitively priced at $12.45 per pound with bulk discounts available. We are in the process of testing the new scents in soy wax.

Winter storm update

Power has been restored and we are caught up with shipping orders. Folks who have pending orders will soon be receiving them. Thank you for your patience!

Order status update

Due to a severe winter storm and loss of electricity, we are currently running 2 days behind on shipping orders. We hope to have full electricity at the warehouse within 2 days and have all orders shipped by no later than Friday. We appreciate your patience.