anatomy of a product

 We have people ask us all the time how we come up with our products for Vintage Cottage Beauty.
We start with an idea.  This one came from a request from my sister Paula who wants us to develop a lip balm with color in it.



Our basic lip balm is  equal parts bees wax, olive oil and cocoa butter so that's what I started with.  What do I use for color/  AH HA kool aid it's colorful and leaves a long lasting moustache.  It tastes vile unsweetened so let's add some honey.  Heat up the mix and see what we've got.  It won't mix together, must be the water in the honey with the oil in the basic mix.

So round 2 lets use emulsifying wax and see what happens.  No luck with that one either.

Let's try good old food coloring mixed into the basic balm.  No that won't work either.  Round 4 lets do the wax with the coloring and balm.  Yeah! it mixes sort of.



this color gets everywhere

 


the color was actually better in person.

keep scrolling my computer is misbehaving!



















3 hours, 4 trials, 2 burnt fingers and a few muttered curses later we have a product in containers.  Ready for our guinea pigs whoops friends to try it.

A final note on this round.  The color separated in the pot and there is not enough glide when you put it on your lips.  I hate it.   Back to the drawing board.  And you thought the beauty business was all fun and glamor.