Shower Time as Happy Time? Not Today...

This morning in my usual happy shower time, surrounded by my many jars and bottles of fabulous-scented bath products, I was planning out my day, making my internal list of things to do, my mind running 1000 miles an hour. I admit it, I wasn't focused on what I was doing.

Oh, I wish I had been focused. I am a self-proclaimed Sugar Scrub addict, lotion addict, hair care product addict, and then some. I love my fancy soaps, sitting pretty in their crystal dish like the jewels of a crown. I love getting compliments on how my hair smells as I walk by someone in a store. Okay, I like to smell good and I do it for myself more than for anyone else. So...?

So this morning in the shower as I'm thinking I'm also grabbing for my favorite jar of hair conditioner. It's the kind that you savor, you don't use it every day, but for when you want to feel extra special. It's in an older, fancy, plastic jar. Or should I say, "It WAS."

Yes, I dropped it. Only it didn't bounce...it didn't roll...it BROKE. It sat there on the floor of the shower, sitting upright, and I thought, "Oh, good, it's okay, only about half spilled out. Whew." I picked it up. The bottom and part of a side were still sitting on the shower floor, with my fabulous conditioner now inching toward the drain.

I didn't cry. Not really...I mean, it's only hair conditioner, right? But it was my favorite! My special treat! I hurriedly scooped as much as I could off the shower floor and then tried to figure out--with hands full of conditioner--how to open another container and add it to the existing product inside. (Not an easy feat, let me tell you.) In the end, I did manage to save about a fourth of the container. But it made me think.

I MUST really be a hair-care product addict if I'm willing to scoop my hair conditioner off my shower floor so I don't lose it! (Good thing I just happened to have cleaned the shower yesterday, although I don't think that would have stopped me.)

I felt I just had to confess. And yes, my hair looks and smells fantastic as I'm writing this, so it's all worth it. :)

Parent-Teacher Conferences, or My Kid isn't the Stinky Kid!

A few weeks ago we had parent-teacher conferences at school. After the initial pleasantries, the very first thing out of my third-grade son's teacher's mouth was a compliment on how nice he smells every day. I had to laugh out loud, of course, and she looked at me as if to say "What did I say?".

We women know that our families are a reflection of us. If our spouses/boyfriends/children/even pets are out in public and they look good and smell good, we're judged that we are doing a good job. If not...well, it's not THEIR fault, it's OURS. Because we didn't take the time to pick out their clothes, get them bathed, haircuts, etc.

Isn't that funny? I know in my household I've trained my boys with this philosophy. One look at them and they know to go back into their rooms and pick something else to wear. Or there's the look that means "Did you actually shower? With soap? Because...wow...you need to try that again."

I'm especially aware of all this because we live in a small town and I have a bath and body products business. If anyone is stinky around here, it reflects poorly on me! So even our dogs smell good.

Alex's favorite scent for everything used to be our Blueberry Waffles, but now with our 2010 Holiday Elegance Collection, he has a new favorite: Milk and Cookies. And he smells fabulous (for a nine-year-old boy)! Thank goodness, now I can worry about other things. Like getting him to clean his room.

5 Things You Can Do with Old Perfumes

Do you have older perfumes that you aren't sure what to do with? You don't really want to wear them, even though you still like them, but you don't want to throw them out? You could try adding them to other products. Here's some suggestions:

We offer unscented products. Why not give new life to your old perfumes by adding them to a product? For example, try our unscented Shine On Shampoo. Add a little bit of your old favorite perfume to it, mix it up, and voila'! A new version of your old perfume.

Or how about adding it to some Ocean Splendor Salt Scrub or our Whipped Sugar Scrub? It doesn't take much, but you'll smell beautiful and have smooth, silky skin afterward.

You could even add a couple drops or mists to your bath, with some of our Therapeutic Bath Salts or Himalayan Pink Salt chunks.

Or maybe you want to add it to lotion. Our Emollient Lotion is wonderful for your skin, and when you add a couple drops or a mist of your favorite perfume to it, it's got your signature on it.

There's many things you can do with your old perfumes, get creative! Don't let them sit in a drawer or cabinet or gather dust in your boudoir--use them, wear them, enjoy them! It's why you bought them in the first place.

Bad Shopping Experience is an Opportunity

I like to think about bad experiences as opportunities. If I don't learn from that experience, the universe is bound to present me with another one, similar in nature, to make her point. So learn I do.

I recently ordered some products online from a company whom I had never ordered before. I was excited about getting my goodies in the mail; I had ordered something that was fun and just for me. (I don't do that very often.)

I received my automated order confirmation. So I waited. Patiently.

After several weeks, I hadn't received anything and was worried. The items all said "in stock". So I emailed the small company. I eventually got a response but it was basically a copy of the order confirmation. Thanks.

I waited some more, then emailed again, inquiring about the status of my order. "OMG! I've been sick. I'm sorry." More than a week later, I finally received my package. Six weeks total wait time.

Inside the package, I found my order. I expected to find a note or something from the one-person shop's owner, who I'm sure would want to retain me as a customer. Nothing. Not to mention that I was disappointed in the order itself.

I had been so excited about this purchase, but when it finally did arrive, all I felt was disappointment. Needless to say, they lost a repeat customer.

So, after having said all this, here's what I learned:

1. I don't want any unsatisfied customers.
2. I will always do everything in my power to ensure that orders go out in a timely manner.
3. I will always ensure that every order has extra goodies in it--from a handwritten thank-you note to samples, and more. Every HaEE customer is special and your orders are too.
4. If we do make a mistake, we will admit it, rectify it, and make it up to you. We will never just ignore you and "hope" that you place an order again with us someday. We will work even harder to make up for our mistake.

Feeling dissatisfied with a product or company shouldn't be an everyday occurrence. You should enjoy the product you purchased, be satisfied with the relationship between you and the product's company--because you are ultimately in the driver's seat. Our businesses exist because people want to purchase a particular product and want to be able to trust the company that makes and/or sells the products you purchase.

I want Heaven and Earth Essentials to be that kind of company.

If you ever have an issue with any of our products, I want to know about it so I can personally fix it. Of course, if you love something we've created, I'd enjoy hearing about that too.