Mad Oils vs Bramble Berry Colorant Quality?

[rparrny]

Then you must have excellent taste in FOs and don't need more enabling . . . you're well on your way to being as sick as the rest of us

How can I participate with only two? Oh wait...I ordered a sample pack of 2 ounce samples from bitter creek so now I will have 9!
Enablers...all of you enablers...

 

[rparrny]

I have a stupid number of FO's and am in for a sniffie swap. We did that once a long time ago and it was really fun. Also, since they are just to smell, once you are done and have made notes, the box can be passed along to another person.

How brilliant...a sniffie chain letter!

 

[rparrny]

Another thing I would love to see on vendor sites: A category for "superstar FOs" a list of FOs that will not discolor, effect trace, rice or do any other nasty thing. I think I finally find a FO I would like to try, only to look it up and find it will effect trace or something.

 

[gigisiguenza]

I have a stupid number of FO's and am in for a sniffie swap. We did that once a long time ago and it was really fun. Also, since they are just to smell, once you are done and have made notes, the box can be passed along to another person.

What a great idea! And when you receive the box and did your sniffing, made your notes, and put it back in , you could add some sniffies to the box that aren't in it.

I also have a suggestion on how the sniffies can be created so they are easily packaged, can be labelled, can travel safely, won't be stinky and alert the usps folks, and will contain their scent really well.

Long time ago I sent a friend a bunch of perfume samples so she could try and dupe their scent for me in her perfumery hobby. What I did was simply clip a qtip in half, dipped the swab into the scent, wrapped the tip in a teeny piece of cling wrap, put it in one of these little vials, labeled, and sent them off. I sent her musta been over a dozen scents. Took me no time at all to do it, labels and all (painters tape or narrow masking tape works). She sent me back her dupe attempts in the same kind of packaging. Worked like a charm because we could fit so many into such a small package and they held the scent inside so well.

Here's the links to the type of vials I used. I bought them at the craft store dirt cheap (6 for a buck or two I think), in the beading aisle.

http://www.hobbylobby.com/Beads-&...l-Clear-Plastic-Storage-Tubes/p/9503-TE0367

http://www.michaels.com/10226097.html#q=Tubes&start=15

 

[newbie]

Even cheaper is to get a package of small baggies, the 2x2 inch. I also clip a q-tip in half, dunk the swab, pop it in the bag and label it. Less labor intensive that cling wrapping and taping it. And yes, you can get a TON of those in a small package.

 

[vmakkers]

I would love to participate in a sniffie chain letter thing. I have a crazy amount of FOs that I wouldn't mind doing a qtip sniffie sample for. I already have a good amount of them in those small baggies for sniffie samples for friends so it wouldn't take any effort at all to throw them into the box for everyone else. I am a hoarder and I hoard all things, including soapy supplies but I still feel like I haven't found all the fragrances I'm looking. The sniffie chain letter can be like temporary hoarding

 

[makemineirish]

I love the idea of a sniffie chain letter. I actually have quite a few more sniffies than I do FO's as I have accumulated a number of them to assist in my selection process.

Most of us are pretty limited in the number of vendors that we have tried due to the practical logistics of consolidating shipping fees. This would be an amazing opportunity to find unexpected options. I am always on the hunt for my favorite version of staples, but would really like to be surprised by things that I might not have thought to pick myself.

 

[rparrny]

This thread is great! This is Carrie from Nurture and I would love to get some feedback if that is alright. A couple of questions... When you say more adult colors, what do you mean? I don't think MO sells anything we don't, or at least very few colors. We get them from the same place. Our site has been a constant work in progress and I was wondering if there is anything any of you would like to see changes up or done differently to help with your shopping experience. I know there's a lot of places to choose from now and would sincerely appreciate any feedback you can give!

Carrie,
I just placed my order...took me so long because of course I wanted everything...I see that you now offer a basic piping set for me to play with, which is what I asked for...I love a company that listens to their customers...of course it was added to my cart...thank you for listening! BTW I was pleasantly surprised to see the cost of shipping...lots of choices...and I love choices and the price was very reasonable...BB just lost my business...

 

[lenarenee]

Is it official....there will be a sniffie "chain letter"? I'd love to participate, and while we're at it how about a color "lookie"...small chips of soap with a description of the colorant used?

When I ordered micas from Nurture and Mad Oil I didn't have the patience to try them one by one....so I made 1lb loafs with 6 - 9 colors in them to test them out. It would be easy to take the end pieces and "chip" them to add to the envelopes.

And, that might be a less time consuming way to sample the fragrances....soap chips after they've been soaped. There's be a lot less packing, plus - you'd smell the fo after their soaped/morphed.

Just an aside; comparing Nurture and MO, my experience with NSS is that "what you see is what you get", (got about a dozen NSS micas). The one mica from them that morphed was clearly stated it would do so and exactly what it would morph into (forgot the name...nice blue mica, morphed into a wonderful denim color for manly soaps! MO, slightly less success but nothing I'm displeased with. In fact I just did Twilight mica, and the final color was not as dark or vibrant...but was beautiful....I'd purposely go that shade again. (for Salty Mariner).

The tone of MO's website has more "energy" and "fun" than NSS. But, I'm on a budget...and NSS with all of their detailed information I know exactly what I'm in for and know my money is well spent.

When I'm able to be more frivolous, I try Mad Oils. However, while their micas look and sound more complex....most of what I got was virtually identical to what I had from Nurture.

And I'm one that is extremely turned off the more sexualized names, titles and pictures of shirtless men. Shoot...I can't even shop on MO website with my little one around....who's very involved with every step of soap making....for fear of what she'll see/read. I hope NSS doesn't go that route.

I haven't tried fo's from either.

 

[newbie]

Nothing official but I may ask one of the mods to so a sniffie swap or colorant swap. I think it would have to go officially by swap rules, same as soaps. More complex to organize though because you don't want people sending the same FO's or colorants so it could be a bit of a sorting nightmare- but worth it in the end. because of that complexity, I would limit the swap to a specific number, but then everyone can pair up with a non-participant to whom they can send their box when they are done.

 

[rparrny]

And I'm one that is extremely turned off the more sexualized names, titles and pictures of shirtless men. Shoot...I can't even shop on MO website with my little one around....who's very involved with every step of soap making....for fear of what she'll see/read. I hope NSS doesn't go that route.

I haven't tried fo's from either.

I agree...I was responding to Carrie's question about why MO shoppers consider their colors more adult when they use the same colors from the same supplier. My observation was that the site layout was "adult" in nature with the half naked guys and that might be where the perception lies. That being said naked guy aside I do like the graphics and homepage of MO better and I found Nutures homepage to be very plain and didn't wow me.

About the sniffy swaps, can we include EO's in that as well cause then I have something to offer someone??? Pleeeease?

 

[reinbeau]

Hmmm - I don't want the website to 'wow' me. I want information, logically laid out, so I can make my purchase and then my own creativity can flow. Nurture's pages work fine for me. I hadn't seen any of these half naked men on the MO pages, maybe because I just don't care for the whole schtick over there. :::shrug::: I'll stick to NSS

 

[lenarenee]

I agree...I was responding to Carrie's question about why MO shoppers consider their colors more adult when they use the same colors from the same supplier. My observation was that the site layout was "adult" in nature with the half naked guys and that might be where the perception lies. That being said naked guy aside I do like the graphics and homepage of MO better and I found Nutures homepage to be very plain and didn't wow me.

About the sniffy swaps, can we include EO's in that as well cause then I have something to offer someone??? Pleeeease?

I hope you didn't take my post as a criticism.

Mad Oils site has a definite personality and tone that comes across even on a computer.

NSS's site has been through many immense changes as they've grown and changed so quickly. When If first ordered from NNS less than two years ago, there were two families of micas to order from...the Vibrance and the pastels for a total of maybe 20 colors. That was the whole store. No molds, fo's, oxides, tools, botanicals, etc. I think back to the big sale (and it's crash due to shopping cart issues) and then Carrie spent months on re-vamping things to get them back up to the level she had before (in terms of the amount of information about her products, real-life pics of her micas in soaps, etc). There hasn't been time to worry about "personality" I think.

 

[rparrny]

I hope you didn't take my post as a criticism.

Not at all, but it did make me realize that my comments may have given the impression that I thought the half naked guys on the homepage were a plus to the site.
I was really pleased that she added the basic piping kit as I had suggested. I also like the no nonsense shipping...nothing pisses me off more than companies that profit from shipping. Do they really think we are that stupid that we don't know the difference?
As her business grows, Carrie will continue to make changes...because I liked her site so much, when she asked for feedback I went back to the site and really took note of what I liked and didn't like...for me, a business that values customer service above all else gets my money...and my time to give feedback that I hope will help her.
Now it's just a matter of waiting for all my new colorants...can't wait for my yellow vibrance...got some holiday soaps still to make and I have special plans for that one...

 

[makemineirish]

Hmmm - I don't want the website to 'wow' me. I want information, logically laid out, so I can make my purchase and then my own creativity can flow. Nurture's pages work fine for me. I hadn't seen any of these half naked men on the MO pages, maybe because I just don't care for the whole schtick over there. :::shrug::: I'll stick to NSS

Perhaps, I am in the minority. I agree that having the information logically laid out is important. However, I view that as the minimum requirement for a business. I would not use any vendor that failed to provide me with that fundamental necessity. I give bonus points to those that provide more detailed data such as fragrance oil behavior, depicting pigment hue at specific concentrations in cold process, or providing tabs to important sub-categories like phthalate-free.

That being said, I actually like marketing. I put a significant amount of thought into things that I package, whether for sale (not soap...yet?) or gifts. While quality and functionality are prerequisites in my purchases, I have an artist's soul. (I don't enjoy cookbooks without gorgeous food photography even while I understand that it does not contribute to the quality of the recipe.) Colors, textures, and whimsy provide the charisma that entices me to investigate a "brand" and makes me happy to include it in my home. After all, part of the allure of homemade soap is the artistry employed.

The half-naked man depicted for Saucy Santa fragrance oil was the only one I saw and one of the least interesting image in the section. To be fair, I am not that conservative and my "kids" are four-legged. I actually liked the amalgam of photos, particularly those for Smoke & Mirrors and Grow a (Pear). While I liked seeing the micas pictured in the finished soap on NSS, I appreciate seeing them pictured straight as well on MO since I often use them for decorative effects.

I understand that everyone has their preferences. I don't dispute the need for clear, concise, information. I just appreciate having more than the bare bones.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[rparrny]

That being said, I actually like marketing. I put a significant amount of thought into things that I package, whether for sale (not soap...yet?) or gifts. While quality and functionality are prerequisites in my purchases, I have an artist's soul. (I don't enjoy cookbooks without gorgeous food photography even while I understand that it does not contribute to the quality of the recipe.) Colors, textures, and whimsy provide the charisma that entices me to investigate a "brand" and makes me happy to include it in my home. After all, part of the allure of homemade soap is the artistry employed.

Exactly how I feel...I love browsing sites that are pleasing to look at and offer that little extra something...especially how to videos. In the end however, customer service gets my attention the most. I have given companies with products that I was unhappy with a second and sometimes third chance if the customer service impressed me.
My observation is that most members here are either artistic in their soap making or hope someday to be artistic. Presentation, presentation, presentation, whether your craft is soap making, cooking or pretty much anything else, your passion comes out and you want it to look the way you feel. I find sites that have that same kind of passion inspire me. I think MO's site and marketing is very smart...they are going for a certain demographic and doing a good job of it. In the end it was Carrie's customer service that got my business. It's just how I roll.

 

[reinbeau]

Well, I am conservative, old, and a mother of young men. So I don't get my jollies looking at them half naked. Don't much care for half naked anything, frankly. Am not too verbose, either, I save my energy for other things There are all sorts of us out there, something for everyone.

 

[rparrny]

Well, I am conservative, old, and a mother of young men. So I don't get my jollies looking at them half naked. Don't much care for half naked anything, frankly. Am not too verbose, either, I save my energy for other things There are all sorts of us out there, something for everyone.

Hey, hey, hey...my youngest is 33...we are not old, we're well cured.

 

[Cosmo]

I can't thank you all enough for the wonderful information in this thread! I think companies pay big bucks for this kind of info, and all of you were kind enough to share it for free. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I did make some changes to the site since originally posting on this thread. I changed the background o a themed background. Right now it's an autumn theme but soon it will be Halloween. I invested in a program that can make the background whatever I want, whenever I want. I thought that would be fun.

I coded a button into the wishlist link so you can add your products directly to your cart, and added a link to the wishlist at the top of the page that you can click on when logged in.

Better descriptions to the fragrances were added, along with buttons with a direct link to the IFRA docs.

I will be adding more pictures of the micas in MP. Also, may of the colors can be seen as mica in their powder form. If you go to the product page you can click on the pictures below the main pic to blow them up to full size. I will eventually have many more pictures than I do now.

I have added which fragrances are phthalate free directly to the main photo, so you can look at our fragrance category and easily see which ones are and which ones aren't.

I will be making some other changes soon. If anyone would like to contribute pictures of colors in soaps I would love to be able to add it to the product page to give some artistic flair.

Also, I would be happy to contribute to a sniffy chain letter! We are making lots of little samples now and I think it would be really fun!

 

[gigisiguenza]

Hey, hey, hey...my youngest is 33...we are not old, we're well cured.

Yep that's my story and I'm sticking to it

My oldest is 34 n my youngest is 28, and my oldest grandchild is 16...sometimes I feel downright ancient geez