# Micas & More going Full Times



## Lin19687 (Jun 3, 2019)

!!!!!

June is LAST PRE-BUY, then she is doing it full time.

Check out her FB video


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## amd (Jun 4, 2019)

I am totally stoked about this! Especially if she carries the True Lilac FO.

Just a note of caution: I tried the watermelon lemonade FO and it's mostly faded and still a week from cure. I used 1 oz PPO. Oh well, at least they're still cute cupcake soaps??


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## Lin19687 (Jun 4, 2019)

I don't buy her FO's, I get mine from NG so I can't say.
But I do buy ALL my Mica from her.

Her little pod cast thing on FB said that 2 and 4 oz bags will go up a smidge .  I am not worried, her prices are GREAT !


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## amd (Jun 4, 2019)

So far the Watermelon Lemonade FO is the only one that has disappointed me. I only order them if I'm already ordering colors - which I need to do, I'm out of shimmer brown again. I have to add the Cool Water dupe to my cart too, I've had a number of requests for it again.


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## Lin19687 (Jun 4, 2019)

Well June Pre-buy is the last of any lower price I think.  I don't think there is a lower price for FO's tho.

I only listened to 1/2 of her thingy.


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## dibbles (Jun 4, 2019)

The 2 and 4 ounce micas will go up a bit in price, but I don't think it will be by much. The FO prices won't change unless her cost changes. At least until her suppliers increase the cost to her. The way I understood it, the only prices that will change are the 2 and 4 ounce micas. I'm glad she is going full time. I will order from her more often.


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## lenarenee (Jun 4, 2019)

I bought the huge sample lot from her 2 or 3 years ago - have any of her micas changed since then?  So many of them were disappointing.


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## amd (Jun 4, 2019)

Disappointing? How so? (Not asking to be snarky, but genuinely curious what didn't work out for you.)

I know she's phased out a few colors because you can make them by mixing two colors (she has a doc on the FB group that gives the ratios for mixing), and renamed a few - Peak Green is now Mint Green which kind of ticked me off because now I have two of the same color - and she's added some new colors.


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## Lin19687 (Jun 4, 2019)

I think the Black I have doens't mix as well as the others, but still good.  And it could just be me 

I did find that if I mix them and let them sit a bit before either adding in the Lye or mixing into the batter, they mix better.


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## dibbles (Jun 4, 2019)

I was so sad when Nurture discontinued Wisteria Purple, and Cosmic Purple is the closest l have been able to find. It’s a beautiful deep violet.


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## earlene (Jun 5, 2019)

dibbles said:


> I was so sad when Nurture discontinued Wisteria Purple, and Cosmic Purple is the closest l have been able to find. It’s a beautiful deep violet.



Yes, I would say Cosmic Purple has been the one I use most, and re-order more often.  But I also really like the Powder Blue now, too and have been branching out to more and more of the colors so I don't get into a rut color-wise.  I have to admit, most of my micas were Steph's when I started out.  Then I took that color-mixing class that Carrie did at SoapCon and got a couple of sets of Nurture's Micas, so found that I like them, too.  Now I even mix and match between them and have obtained some pretty results.

It is sad when any vendor discontinues a favorite product. That seems to happen way too often, IMO.  Or maybe I've just lived long enough to see more than my fair share.


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## cmzaha (Jun 5, 2019)

I am another that loves Wisteria Purple and will try the Cosmic Purple when I run out. Most of my mics have come from Steph and have never been disappointed in her micas. As for the black mica I have had no mixing problems with it and usually mix in some with my AC.


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## shunt2011 (Jun 5, 2019)

I too miss the Wisteria Purple.   It was such a lovely color to work with.  Another scent of hers that doesn't stick is the Blackberry Magnolia, at least not for me.   I made the soap in February and it's barely there now by my nose anyway.   I was really disappointed as it smells great OOB.


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## amd (Jun 5, 2019)

Poop! I just made a batch of cupcakes with the Blackberry Magnolia. It's all I can smell in the soap dungeon right now, so I wouldn't mind if it faded a bit, but I don't want it to fade completely! Grrr.... I might reach out to Steph and ask her about how long she tests the FO's for scent longevity. I'm not sure I've ever seen her comment on that, maybe her testing is just how it reacts during the soapmaking process. Or maybe she uses more FO (in which case not much savings).


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## Sultana (Jun 6, 2019)

dibbles said:


> I was so sad when Nurture discontinued Wisteria Purple, and Cosmic Purple is the closest l have been able to find. It’s a beautiful deep violet.



Sometimes that get discontinued because they are having trouble getting it from their supplier because they have either d/c it or they can't get it regularly enough to be dependable.


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## dibbles (Jun 6, 2019)

Sultana said:


> Sometimes that get discontinued because they are having trouble getting it from their supplier because they have either d/c it or they can't get it regularly enough to be dependable.


Yes, I think that one was discontinued because the supplier discontinued it.


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## lenarenee (Jun 13, 2019)

amd said:


> Disappointing? How so? (Not asking to be snarky, but genuinely curious what didn't work out for you.)
> 
> I know she's phased out a few colors because you can make them by mixing two colors (she has a doc on the FB group that gives the ratios for mixing), and renamed a few - Peak Green is now Mint Green which kind of ticked me off because now I have two of the same color - and she's added some new colors.



Disappointed by how much more mica it took to achieve a good color. for comparison,  my fave supplier gives recommendations for usage, and I rarely have to use beyond the lowest amount. M&M often took 3 or more times the rate I was used to. (And at the time my recipe was so white that I rarely used td) 

Also disappointed by the number  of samples that morphed and didn't recover.


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## amd (Jun 14, 2019)

@lenarenee she tests everything, so this surprises me. I think I started buying from her in 2016? or maybe even as recent as 2017 - and everything I have used has had a normal usage rate. She quite frequently posts videos when she is testing new colors / FO's - I know there has been at least one FO that did not perform well in her test video and she said she wouldn't carry it. If you purchased before those years, I would be willing to send you some samples of colors to try again - PM me if you're interested!


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## shunt2011 (Jun 14, 2019)

@amd - I loved it out of the bottle.  Now it's just meh.....hope you have better luck.   I used it at 6% too.


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## Lin19687 (Jun 14, 2019)

amd said:


> @lenarenee she tests everything, so this surprises me. I think I started buying from her in 2016? or maybe even as recent as 2017 - and everything I have used has had a normal usage rate. She quite frequently posts videos when she is testing new colors / FO's - I know there has been at least one FO that did not perform well in her test video and she said she wouldn't carry it. If you purchased before those years, I would be willing to send you some samples of colors to try again - PM me if you're interested!


I concur, not issue with the Micas, other then what I said before.
There are a tin if info about her stuff and usage rates.
Wonder what recipe it would morph in... must be the FO that does that ??


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## amd (Jun 14, 2019)

So far for her FO's I have used.... (all at 1 oz PPO)

*Cool Water:* Soaped lovely, scent holding at 16 months.
*Honey I Washed the Kids* dupe, have never smelled original so I can't compare, but I really like this one. Slight discoloration, no issues soaping, scent holding well at 6 months.
*Watermelon Lemonade*: Soaped lovely, but scent is so light, mostly watermelon, no lemonade. I can't smell it unless it is completely by itself at 7 weeks old.
*A Thousand Wishes*: A witch to soap with, riced and accelerated in my recipe, and then hung out in a gloopy state forever before hardening. Scent is good at 7 weeks.
*Blackberry Magnolia*: Accelerated slightly (expected with floral) but extremely workable. Strong scent at 3 weeks old.
*The Tonic*: I loved this one OOB, changes a bit in soap (BUT soap isn't even a week old yet so that could change). Soaped with no issues.

The Cool Water I will definitely be going back for. Waiting to hear if she stocks the True Lilac, I will try that in comparison to CC True Lilac.


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## Cosmo (Jun 15, 2019)

Addressing the concerns of Wisteria Purple by Nurture, Cheshire Cat is an exact match: https://nurturesoap.com/products/cheshire-cat-purple-mica


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## dibbles (Jun 15, 2019)

Cosmo said:


> Addressing the concerns of Wisteria Purple by Nurture, Cheshire Cat is an exact match: https://nurturesoap.com/products/cheshire-cat-purple-mica


Thank you Carrie. I'm hoarding my last little bit of Wisteria. I'll try the Cheshire Cat when I order next.


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## lenarenee (Jul 2, 2019)

amd said:


> @lenarenee she tests everything, so this surprises me. I think I started buying from her in 2016? or maybe even as recent as 2017 - and everything I have used has had a normal usage rate. She quite frequently posts videos when she is testing new colors / FO's - I know there has been at least one FO that did not perform well in her test video and she said she wouldn't carry it. If you purchased before those years, I would be willing to send you some samples of colors to try again - PM me if you're interested!



You are very generous amd; I think I'd like to take you up on that!

I'm sure she tests, and naturally she can't test for all varieties of recipes. But since my recipe was so white (no oo, high lard) I was very dismayed at the performance of quite a few. ( I looked up the date of my order and it was mid 2016.)

Lin, I think you're wondering if the FO's I used contained vanilla?  They didn't; I don't color discoloring fo's.  

I also noted that M&M micas had an unpleasant smell to them. Never before had I noticed a scent from micas and that was off putting as well. However, the last 3 batches of soap I made changed that. They were "old" Nurture and Mad Oils (before they changed) micas from my first days of soaping (up to 5 years old) and the greens and blues had a sour smell. Either I just never smelled micas before, or something happens as they age??


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## amd (Jul 2, 2019)

lenarenee said:


> Either I just never smelled micas before, or something happens as they age??


Interesting about the smell - I hadn't noticed! Now I want to go home and sniff all my micas... and y'all can laugh at me when I tell you about rainbow colored boogers tomorrow... and yes, PM me about sending you some colors  I have quite a few that I have duplicates of because she changed the name of the color (probably my only true complaint about the colors, we won't discuss my OCD hoarding issues about MUST HAVE ALL THE COLORS), so I have plenty to spare!


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## Lin19687 (Jul 2, 2019)

@lenarenee  I just smelled 5 of the Micas I have that I bought last year. None of them have any odor to them. Nothing bad at least and it is so very very faint... I have color on my nose but I am not getting it all over my face to put it in my nose. lol
I have not smelled anything while soaping with them either.
I don't think I ever heard of that from them from anyone else.  So weird. Did you order anything else in the box or stored near anything else.  Just wondering if it picked up some other scent


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## earlene (Jul 2, 2019)

I can believe it about odors of colorants.  I can smell some of them sometimes, particularly while mixing.  Some blues smell a bit sulfur-ish to me.  Some greens also have an odor, but off hand I can't bring to mind a description.  Some mica colors are a mix of ingredients (to obtain the desired shades), and may contain TD and/or oxides.  Oxides also have an odor so would  contribute to the odor of certain colorant mixtures.  

Even though TD is supposedly odorless, I don't find that to be entirely true while mixing.  But some people seem to believe Vodka is odorless, too, and it is not.  

So perhaps, *lenarenee*, you have one of those more sensitive noses.


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## lenarenee (Jul 2, 2019)

earlene said:


> I can believe it about odors of colorants.  I can smell some of them sometimes, particularly while mixing.  Some blues smell a bit sulfur-ish to me.  Some greens also have an odor, but off hand I can't bring to mind a description.  Some mica colors are a mix of ingredients (to obtain the desired shades), and may contain TD and/or oxides.  Oxides also have an odor so would  contribute to the odor of certain colorant mixtures.
> 
> Even though TD is supposedly odorless, I don't find that to be entirely true while mixing.  But some people seem to believe Vodka is odorless, too, and it is not.
> 
> So perhaps, *lenarenee*, you have one of those more sensitive noses.



Interesting - it was a couple blues and greens I was using at the time for Fresh Bamboo and Euc/spearmint soaps.




Lin19687 said:


> @lenarenee  I just smelled 5 of the Micas I have that I bought last year. None of them have any odor to them. Nothing bad at least and it is so very very faint... I have color on my nose but I am not getting it all over my face to put it in my nose. lol
> I have not smelled anything while soaping with them either.
> I don't think I ever heard of that from them from anyone else.  So weird. Did you order anything else in the box or stored near anything else.  Just wondering if it picked up some other scent



I find it odd too because I've been soaping for what...5 years?  Only M&M micas, and these old blue and green ones ever had a noticeable smell.  Steph's micas were packed in little plastic bags with nothing else in the shipment, and packaged well.  Maybe they were old? (that's IF being old causes a smell)




amd said:


> ... and y'all can laugh at me when I tell you about rainbow colored boogers tomorrow.



  That's the funniest thing I've heard in weeks!   I bet some FO company would like to make a fragrance called rainbow boogers!!


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## Lin19687 (Jul 3, 2019)

I will have to smell the Greens and Blues better.  Maybe because I now mix the FO in before the Lye and usually color then too I only smelled the FO.

If I have Rainbow Boogars it will be AMD and your fault hahahahha.  
But I will have to do this AFTER work today   Blue and Green may not work well with my purple shirt


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## amd (Jul 3, 2019)

lenarenee said:


> I bet some FO company would like to make a fragrance called rainbow boogers!!


I can't believe there isn't one. I mean... we have Monkey Farts and Unicorn Poop... and Snowman Balls...

ETA: I'm on board with earlene's assessment regarding sensitive noses. I did take a sniff of a few of my pinks/reds last night, but I also have a cold so maybe that's why I didn't notice a scent. I also mix my FO before adding color, so usually I'm overwhelmed by the FO as well. Do most of your other colorants come in jars or pouches? I wonder if storage container can affect the mica scent? Because I do notice a strong plastic smell when I use M&M compared to the few Nurture/Mad Micas (in jars) that I have. I assume that's the pouch itself that I'm smelling (I also think Ziploc bags stink too...)


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## earlene (Jul 3, 2019)

*amd*, I had not even thought of that, but yes, some plastics smell just awful.  And then when odors adhere to the plastic containers, they can become intolerable.


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## scard (Jul 3, 2019)

I'm glad M&M is now full time. I haven't been disappointed by anything I have ordered. Maybe it's just me but the spatulas are the best I've found. I haven't had any issues with the micas and I have a bunch of them. The FOs I've tried have all been very nice, the ancient incense fragrance is lovely but does yellow quite a bit (but she does have a sample pic). I do use Nurture micas as well and have no complaints.


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