Happy October! Thanks for joining us here on the blog this month! It’s an exciting one around the Barclay-Nichols’s household as it’s our pup’s birthday today – Sasja’s five, I can’t believe it! – and Raymond’s birthday on the 11th. There’s also Thanksgiving, which is also the 11th – we usually celebrate by doing leftovers, meaning we cook some chicken or turkey in the instant pot, make some stuffing and potatoes and gravy and some kind of vegetable, and eat it heated up or on sandwiches – then Hallowe’en! What an exciting month!
What’s happening around the blog?
As you may have read in some of the updates, I’ve been struggling with some serious arm and hand spasms and pain for weeks now, and things are getting better – woo hoo! I’m still only able to write for a couple of hours a day and am still pretty limited in what I can do, but I’ve been working on some posts I’ll be sharing here shortly about new ingredients – loads of botanical extracts I’ve been enjoying – and a series about using silicone substitutes in hair care products for sure.
We’re doing a Zoom workshop on Sunday, October 17th at 11 am to about 1 pm PST (Vancouver time), with the topic to be determined. I’m leaning towards making oily gels right now, but it’ll depend on how functional my arms and hands are that day. If they are still messed up, then we can do a Q&A!
I’ve been collecting loads of ingredients over the last year, doing loads of experimental batches and formulating, and it’s almost time to share them as I have to observe the products for stability and such over time. I’m hoping to write up a number of these in October for this month through December.
As a note, if you’re interested in the ChemBox subscription, they’re doing one for October, which you can find here. I wrote about this box in this post and in this follow up post, if you’re interested in learning more. (This is most definitely not an ad, sponsored content, affiliate link or anything like that. Just sharing as the last one sold out and it was so much fun getting a random assortment of ingredients and packaging to use in all kinds of cool formulas!)
As we do every month…
If you’re in need of supplies, $10 subscribers to the month have five discount coupons this month for Formulator Sample Shop, Lotioncrafter, Voyageur Soap & Candle, and Windy Point Soap Making Supplies. Thank you for this lovely gift out of the goodness of your hearts, lovely suppliers!
If you’re a $3 subscriber or higher, click here to see the duplication request post!
Please note that requests for duplication are only considered if they’re posted in the duplication section as this is part of the $3 and up subscribers benefits. I cannot possibly re-create every single formula suggested as this blog would be nothing but duplicated products, and how boring is that? I can only choose so many, and I go into detail about my process for choosing formulas in both the duplication request post and in this post.
And don’t forget that you have access to the formula directory! The formula directory is constantly being updated to include even more formulas from around the blog, so if you’re looking for a formula, you’ll find it in the formula directory!
Also check out the new monthly post – Ingredient substitution ideas post ($3 and up)! Because it’s getting harder to find supplies thanks to shortages and shipping issues, if you have an ingredient you’re trying to find or need help substituting for in a formula, please share your thoughts over there!
If you’re a $5 subscriber or higher, click here to see the month’s Q&A post! (I’ve continued from last month’s post as there were some great questions I needed to look at again!)
And don’t forget about the monthly Super happy fun member-to-member post for October 2021! It’s more important than ever that we connect with other people during this awful time, so please feel free to share your thoughts on this post or others on the blog!
You can always find the links to these monthly posts in the pinned post section, which is found to the right of just about every page on the blog on desktop and most mobile, or the bottom of every page for the odd mobile device. Or do a search for “Q&A” or “duplication” to find them. I’m afraid I don’t have time to do searches for you if you write to me as I’m swamped and my arms and hands are still in minor spasm, so doing one of those two things will find you those posts very quickly.
If you’re a $10 subscriber or higher, you’ll get the e-zine for the month – which is generally issued on the 27th or later. I’m never sure what the topic will be until I start reviewing outlines, notes, formulas and everything else, but there are – as always – a few different ones on the go. Watch for this post towards the end of October 2021 for the e-book for the month.
Last month it was all about making oily gels with Sucragel – check out the e-book in the shop – and this month should be about making oily gels with sodium surfactin and Sapogel Q!
If you missed one for a month during which you were a subscriber, please click here to see those coupon codes. (Please download them as soon as you can as these links can expire after a year or so.)
Thank you for joining us for October 2021! I hope you all know how much we appreciate your continued support of the site, the e-books, and our little family! Your monthly subscriptions keep this blog free of ads, pop ups, affiliate links, sponsored content, and all the rest of those revenue generating things that clutter up your screen!