Essential U Blog

Advent Special at Essential Wholesale Instructions

Every year Essential Wholesale celebrates the Advent Season by counting down the days until Christmas with our own version of an online Advent Calendar.  Each day starting at midnight Pacific Standard Time a new Advent Special is revealed.  The special is good for 24 hours and then it expires and a next Advent Special is revealed. 

One of my favorite memories as a child was waking up every morning of Advent to open the next box on my Advent Calendar. This is our way of electronically sharing the Advent Season with you.  Enjoy and stay tuned.  We have an exciting Advent Calendar of specials prepared for you this year.  You can also watch the Advent Calendar unfold here. 

To Social Media or Not

There is a conversation happening online.  More than any other marketing method in the course of history small business has the upper hand in the arena of social networking over big corporations.  The intimate atmosphere that naturally occurs in social networking creates abundant opportunity to influence untapped markets. 

      

The fact is that if you haven’t joined the conversation then you cannot direct the conversation towards your business.  The internet is today’s Main Street America.   A small business that does not have a blog, newsletter, facebook page or twitter account is literally doing business without a storefront sign in today’s society. 

Kitchen Chemistry :: YouTube DIY Reed Diffusers

Square Reed Diffuser with Citrus Recipe
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons Dipropylene Glycol
1/4 cup Lime Essential Oil
1 Tablespoon Litsea Essential Oil
3 Tablespoons Orange 5 Fold Essential Oil

Directons:  Pour into Square Diffuser Bottle, add reeds and use. 

Round Reed Diffuser with Well Being Essential Oil Blend
1/2 cup Dipropylene Glycol
1/4 cup plus 3 Tablespoons of Well-Being Essential Oil Blend

Directons:  Pour into Round Diffuser Bottle, add reeds and use. 

Read abut the safety of Dipropylene Glycol here. 

New Reed Diffuser Supplies at Essential Wholesale

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of all the supplies you need to make Reed Diffusers from Essential Wholesale. We have added a glass round diffuser bottle, a glass square diffuser bottle, natural raffia reed diffusers, dark raffia reed diffusers and Dipropylene Glycol. 

      

Making Reed Diffusers for retail sale or personal use is very simple.  Please watch the Kitchen Chemistry YouTube video for a simple tutorial. 

Dipropylene glycol is produced as a byproduct of the manufacture of propylene glycol.  It works well as a solvent of essential and fragrance oils.  Dipropylene glycol is not acutely toxic by oral, dermal, or inhalation exposure.  Dipropylene glycol is not toxic to genetic material based on in vitro and in vivo study findings.

Dipropylene glycols low toxicity and solvent properties make it an ideal additive for perfumes, reed diffusers and skin and hair care products. It is also a common ingredient in commercial fog fluid, used in entertainment industry smoke and haze machines.

Further safety data can be found on this pdf from INCHEM with information provided by OECD SIDS (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s Existing Chemical Database and United Nations Environment Program. 

Life is Messy :: Live, Love and Laugh Your Way Through it

Sometimes life can be messy.  Today my life has been particularly messy.  I had a bad night sleep with too much on my mind to fall fully asleep for the whole night.  I woke up still tired.  You know the feeling?  I had a mental wrestling match with myself regarding leaving my warm blankets.  My house was cold and damp, like it can only be in Oregon. 

      

Eventually the responsible part of me won and before my alarm went off a second time I got up.  I picked nice cozy warm clothes to face the grey chilly day I could see waiting for me outside my window.  Once the morning ritual of getting the kids out the door for school was in full swing I was ready to take on the day with the enthusiasm of a woman who had slept much more than I had in reality. 

I was helping my youngest daughter find something in the walk-in cabinet when suddenly life got really messy.  My kids had placed the 32 ounce Costco maple syrup onto the kitchen shelf in the space left vacant by the old 8 ounce bottle of maple syrup.  Needless to say, it didn’t fit and when I lifted the bagels off the same shelf the maple syrup shifted just enough to send it flying through the air and raining down on me and everything within several feet.

John Bailey from Personal Care Products Council on Today Show Tuesday

John Bailey, Chief Scientist of the Personal Care Products Council is scheduled to appear on The Today Show tomorrow morning (Tuesday November 30, 2010) at 8:50 a.m. on a segment about cosmetic safety.  John Bailey will appear with the authors of "No More Dirty Looks" Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt along with Shanna Swan.  Tune in and tell me what you think. 

Oatmeal & Cranberries from Your Kitchen are Great for a Home Spa Treatment

Oatmeal is the ultimate multi-purpose food.  It can be used to make one of the most amazing foot soaks of your life in addition to many other beauty treatments.  Oatmeal foot soaks are the most soothing and deeply restorative treatments for dry cracked and painful feet. 

      

Simply follow the directions on the oatmeal box to make a very generous helping.  Once the oatmeal is made simply add a touch of lukewarm or cool water to get the temperature and indulge your feet.  The same idea can be used for a hand soak as well.  Oatmeal is incredibly soothing on dry irritated skin.  Add a few drops of any essential oil to add a touch of aromatherapy to your experience. 

Pumpkin Agave Cheesecake Recipe

For the holidays I always make a Agave Pumpkin Pie for my kids, but I've never liked Pumpkin Pie so I also make a Pumpkin Agave Cheesecake too.  This recipe is the perfect alternative for your guests who don't like pumpkin pie, but enjoy a hint of pumpkin flavor in a rich creamy cheesecake!  Yum!

      

Pumpkin Agave Cheesecake Recipe
Cheesecake Ingredients
2 8-ounce packages organic neufchatel cheese 
2 organic cage free eggs, separated
½ cup organic agave nectar
1/2 cup from a can 100% pure canned Libby's pumpkin*
¼ teaspoon organic cinnamon
¼ teaspoon organic nutmeg
½ teaspoon organic ground cloves
¼ teaspoon organic ground ginger

Topping Ingredients
¾ cup organic sour cream
2 tablespoons organic agave nectar
1 teaspoon organic real vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon organic cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon organic nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon organic ground cloves

At Essential Wholesale We Are Thankful For....

We asked Essential Wholesale Family, "What are you thankful for this year?"

Shane: “Friends, family and to be gainfully employed.”

Myka: “I am thankful for my husband, my kids, my dogs, my cats, my house, my car, EW and all their fabulous products!  I am also thankful for Netflix. . . . but that may just be extraneous information. I could go on and on. . . .but I think that covers the basics.”

      

Dennis: “Family, friends and God’s never ending blessings. I am constantly amazed at how he always provides our needs. I am blessed to have such amazing people working with Kayla and I.  I am blessed to have awesome kids that love the Lord and know the truth.  I am blessed to have the opportunity to turn some passions in to reality.  God is good!”

Ryan: “I’m thankful for my health, family, and great friends that surround me. I’m also thankful for securities like a good job and warm home. I should also mention that I am thankful for the La Nina weather pattern, which is supposed to deliver a copious amount of champagne snow for us to ski!”

Private Label Selector Demo with Logan

This week we did a drawing at Essential Wholesale for one of our employees to win their very own Private Label Selector project.  Logan was the winner.  He and his wife decided to use the Private Label Selector to create Monster Shampoo in honor of their daughter. 

      

We wanted to use Logan's project to show you just how easy it is for you to use our Private Label Selector program to create your own line of products for retail or as gifts this holiday season.  It took Logan only a matter of minutes to place his order. 

       

Logan sent our Graphics Designer a photo of his daughter and from there Alex created a custom label just for Logan's project.