New Year, New Yum Yum Candle!

We're a little delayed in writing this post.  We've been very busy working on our new look (have you visited our website lately?), some new ideas, new products and brainstorming on how to be greener and better in 2012.  We've been so excited about all of these things that well... writing our first entry for 2012 slipped on our list of things to do but...

HERE WE ARE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU!

Like many, we've committed to making this new year different from last year.  We've committed to being a better Yum Yum Candle, providing our customers with an even more yummy and "scent"sational experience while being as gentle to mother Earth as we can. 
So what's new and different in 2012?

Our website upgrade!   We felt our old site was a little outdated and well... stale.  We wanted a more modern and fresher looking website.  Something clean and easy to navigate with a different layout than before. If you haven't visited our new site, please do so and let us know... what do you think of our new look?

Our Classic Collection candles are now available in an 8 oz. recycled glass option!  Tins are neat and great for travel, but some candle fans love the look of glass so we've made that option available.

Our reed diffusers are back and better than ever!  Made using round, recycled glass bottles, we've added 3 new diffuser scents AND you have the option of adding color to your scented oil to compliment your decor.

We've reduced the size of all natural soy candles to a 6 oz. size and changed the glass jars to one more contemporary.  We've also decided to skip labeling these candles.  It's more eco-friendly to not label them and the candles are absolutely beautiful as is.  Now if you prefer to have a label, we can add one for you at a nominal cost, but we think you'll agree with us... these candles need no labels.  They're simply gorgeous and classic as is.

What else is new?  We'll, we have several Valentine's Day themed products now available.... from strawberry shea hand soaps to massage candle tealights.  We're also happy to welcome back our Love Gift Candle as seen in the August 2011 issue of Essence Magazine.

Let's see... what else do we have up our sleeve??   A customer loyalty program.  We have some of the best and loyal customers out there and we want to give them the special treatment they deserve.  Look for this program to start a little later this year as we fine tune the specifics.
2012 is starting off busy as you can see, but great.  We believe this year will be an awesome one on so many levels.  You know... the mind is a powerful tool.  Believe great things and great things will happen.  We believe we've started 2012 off on the right foot and we're committed to making the year fantastic.  

What are your goals for 2012?  What do you believe about your 2012?  Whatever it is... keep believing, keeping working, keeping growing... it's on the way... trust and know that it is if you believe!

Live well... and make life yummy!

Work vs. Life Balance

Being an entrepreneur isn't easy. Your days are often long.  Your nights are often not a time for winding down and relaxing, it's time you use to work more and sometimes worry about decisions to make and avenues to take.  (Hey, that rhymes! lol)  Your personal life becomes a blur and willingly you allow it happen because you believe in your your business, your vision and your brand.  It's only when something happens, a life event that shakes you up some, or maybe you become ill, that you take step back and remember that you may need to spend a little more time on you and those you love... after all, if you're run-down, sick or stressed out, what good are you really to your business, your customers, your clients?  None.

As entrepreneurs, it's important that we care for ourselves so we can best serve our craft.  Taking just a few minutes a day to focus on self, is a few minutes well invested and truth be told, needed.  Bottom line = We need to stop and smell the roses.  Life is too short not to.

Below are a few suggestions for taking care of you.  Some of them are downright obvious and should be innate but a driven entrepreneur often forgets about them and needs a little reminder.

• Go for a 10 minute walk to clear you mind. While walking, mentally focus on other areas of your life or just observe your surroundings. Nature is inspiring.  It's beauty can help produce feelings of tranquility and relaxation.
• Eat. (You'd be surprised how many entrepreneurs neglect to eat in order to work more.)  Even better... schedule lunch or dinner dates with friends or your family to keep connected.
• Drink plenty of water. (Coffee doesn't count.)
• Take a few minutes each day to meditate or pray.
• Shower or bathe by candlelight before going to bed. (This works wonders for a good night's rest.)
• Do something that will make you laugh. Laughter really is good medicine.
• Smile. It's contagious and is a mood booster.
• Remember that Rome wasn't built in a day.

Summer Pleasures

Summer is our favorite season.  It's a season of vacations, time with family and friends, theme parks and grilling great foods, all while being able to wear bright clothes and the summer staple... flip flops.  (Love those!)

What do you love about summer?  What's on your To-Do list before summer ends?  Up next on our list...  to take beautiful summer pics for our scrapbook so we can remember them fondly during the upcoming winter months when it's really cold in NJ!

Congrats Pookalita!

Congratulations to Dawn Fitch (aka Pookalita), the creator of the natural bath & body brand, Pooka Pure & Simple, on her first retail store!  We can only imagine how exciting this is for her and the Pooka family.  Dawn and company are working hard to deliver the best, she's a wonderful person and a fellow Indie.  We're so very happy for Pooka! 

I stopped by today and snapped a few pics to share with our friends.  The official grand opening is September 10th.  If you're in the NJ area, please stop by. It's going to be awesome! (You have to smell her Pomegranate Kiwi Body Polish... it's amazing!) 

   Pooka Pure & Simple

   15. S. Essex Street, Orange, NJ

    Handcrafted soaps made by NJ's own, The Soap Coach!

    Goodies await in every corner.

    Products that moisturize and pamper!

    Luxurious body oils and whipped body creams.

   Simply beautiful!

    The Demo Station

    Yum Yum Candles  :-)

Christmas in July

'Tis the season for retailers and manufacturers to really start getting in gear for the holidays.  It's only July but it's time to get ready for the Christmas shopping season so holiday gift items are on the brain.

We have 2 great new candle scents we plan to offer.  They're a little different than your traditional holiday scents like pumpkin and gingerbread, but we like them a lot and think our customers will too.

Gift baskets will be available and we think may offer shea butter soap again this year too.  (They were a hit last year!)

Here's a sneak peak of a gift candle in the final stages of being designed.  We call them Bling Candles.  They'll be available in votive sets and 8 oz. sizes with a few colored ribbon options.  What do you think?  We like them!

Yum Yum Candle in Essence Magazine!

We're super excited about being featured in the August 2011 issue of Essence Magazine!!  Our "Love" Gift Candle is featured among products from other great companies we know and admire in the article Fab Finds $15 or Less.

I'm loving it! A LUSH Curly Wurly Shampoo Review

LUSH Curly Wurly Shampoo

Who doesn't love LUSH?  Their yummy concoctions for bath & body can make even the most uninterested shopper perk up with intrigue.

This past weekend I stopped by my local LUSH shop for a conditioner for my thick, naturally curly hair.  I ended up purchasing their Curly Wurly shampoo and boy am I glad I did!  It's just the thing for my dense and moisture-loving locks.

The first thing I noticed was it's texture.  It's thick, creamy, a little oily and contains bits and pieces of what appear to be coconut flesh.  It looks handmade and minimally processed.  As a crafter of handmade goodies for home & body products myself I have a great appreciation for handmade products.  I know that those made well, are simply fabulous!   I sometimes think people view handmade products as inferior... and well, a poorly skilled crafter likely makes inferior products but I know the reverse is also true.....a skilled crafter makes products that are SUPERIOR, surpassing the quality of those mass manufactured using machinery.  Needless to say, in the case of Curly Wurly, it's handmade appeal made it a winner for me in the appearance category.

Next, I observed its scent.  Two words: LOVE IT.  It smells like fresh coconut and vanilla with a trace of fruit oils to me.  Its scent was another winner for me.

Finally, I looked at its ingredients.  Woweee, what a list of nourishing ingredients!  Containing creamed coconut and coconut oil, papaya, cocoa butter, jojoba oil, shea butter, avocado butter and even fresh free range eggs among other ingredients, I became excited about the product so I decided to purchase it and try it out.

I honestly don't have much luck with shampoos.  Most of them strip my hair and leave it dry and tangled so I was a little nervous about how my hair would turn out.  My nerves increased while shampooing as I realized those tiny little pieces of coconut could get "lost" in my thick curly hair, making it impossible to fully rinse the product from my hair.  Much to my delight (and relief) the product wasn't too hard to rinse out.  I wasn't left with head full of coconut shreds... just maybe 2 or 3.  Not bad!!

Here's a close-up of the shampoo:

While rinsing my hair I immediately noticed how moisturized my hair felt.  My tiny corkscrew curls seemed to "pop" more too.  They seemed to clump together nicely, forming larger, more manageable ringlets and spirals.  (With hair as thick as mine, that's a desirable result.)

I didn't have to use a lot of product either.  Just two little scoops (one per each section of my hair which I washed in two sections) were enough to yield a nice, rich lather.   (The picture above was taken after use.)  I know I'll be able to get many uses out of the 7.7 oz jar which was approximately $22.  Another win!

Kudos to LUSH for creating such a wonderful product for those of us with very thick, curly hair.  I'm loving Curly Wurly and have added it to my short list of staple hair products.