[QUOTE=Frizzle;7112618]
This one is, yes. I understand the FB aversion, as I only have a business FB account, not a personal one.
I will be doing a non-FB-based giveaway on my blog in a month or two, though![/QUOTE]
Good, I am in the anti-FB camp
[QUOTE=BAC;7113590]
I remember when I worked in the research lab of a large cosmetics company, the chemists had to add certain ingredients for āstabilityā so that it maintained the same consistency under varying conditions. Do you know a chemist who might be able to help with this? Not that its a big problem, I can manage fine with it as is.
Did everyone see the article on Libby and Higher Standards in this weekās COTH?[/QUOTE]
Wait, what?!! I thought not to expect it until Monday the 12th!!! Where!!!
And i donāt know a chemist, but Iām willing to keep tinkering!
Libby (was it a good article?!! Iām a digital subscribing and I havenāt found it yet ā help!!!)
I found it! I found it!!
OMG ā I am so excited! I never thought Iād see myself in COTH.
Thanks so much to all of you guys!!!
Libby (going off to figure out how to print it now!!)
We are so PROUD of you!!
Sorry I didnāt see your post to help earlier Libby. It was in the Aug 12 issue which was emailed to me yesterday (itās usually emailed before the actual publication date). Congratulations!
Add me to the list of people who LOVE the conditioner!!! It is awesome. I cleaned all my tack today and will go back and āredoā my saddles which received oil instead of the conditioner. I much prefer the conditioner. And I love that I donāt feel dirty!! Usually after cleaning all of my tack I have to go shower because I feel all oily and greasy. Not with your stuffā¦ I actually feel like I got a mini manicure while I was at it.
All my friends will be getting your stuff for Christmas. Plus a big bunch for myself. 
YAY!!!
I cleaned The Mareās bridle last nightā¦ itās nice leather (SmartPakās Wellfleet line, so about a $250 bridle). I canāt remember the last time it got cleaned, and it gets little useā¦ maybe 3 times in the last 6 months. It wasnāt really dirty, but stiff and dry and just didnāt feel good.
Soaped itā¦ wow. The other tack Iāve cleaned has been pretty well maintained, so the conditioning properties werenāt too obvious. On this bridleā¦ wow. I probably didnāt even need to use the conditioner. I soaped it, wiped it off with a towel, and was amazed at how nice it felt. I used the vanilla mintā¦ It smelled like I was cleaning my tack with a candy cane :D.
The conditioner is definitely a weird texture. I just use my fingers to apply, and I had to press pretty hard to break through the surface. But once I broke through, the balm underneath was fairly soft, but by the time I went back for more, it had hardened up again. Iām kind of confused by it, actually. I donāt know if the formula changed between the ābuy it before you can buy itā square jar container and this, because the texture seems different and this jar really does smell like cookie dough. I hadnāt noticed a scent on the preview version, but this one has a (yummy) scent.
The texture isnāt really a problem, as it spreads and rubs in easily with the warmth from my hands, itās just a little weird. Iāll try putting it someplace warm a couple hours before I plan to use it again and see if that makes a difference.
I love this stuff! I plan on ordering a bunch as Christmas presents for my horsey friends.
If I may offer one suggestionā¦ the label bleeds and wrinkles if wet. How about a 100% Vinyl or polyester label? Or when you get into high volume production, getting the jars screen printed?
As always, I cannot thank you enough for the suggestions! Amastrike ā I am trying to fiddle with the balance in the balm to make it softer and to get it to stay softer ā I think the difference in scent has to do with the source of the ingredients. I am not using either the bleached cocoa butter or beeswax, so it is the natural scent of each of those. One companies had a stronger āsweetā smell to the cocoa butter than the other did. I could get it completely deoderized, but I didnāt want to do that, though if ponies start eating tack because it smells so good, I might have to!
gypsymare ā do you know how long youāve had your labels? And does your jar have a side label? I have run a test with these new labels, and placed them in water for 24 hours and had no degradation in labels. On the jars I shipped without side labels, I printed those myself and that was why I went to the commercially printed labels. But, if your jar is the new labels (top and side label with directions on the side) and you are having trouble with bleeding and wrinkling, please let me know! I do NOT want to think Iāve solved a problem, only to still have an issue!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Libby
Oops, somehow posted in the wrong place.
I ordered May 19th from Etsyā¦ Iād have to go to the barn to see what label it has. The top of the label feels like a plastic seal but it must have some paper filler to wrinkle like that.
Itās certainly nothing bad nor does it affect the productās performance. Iāve had plenty of fly spray bottles do the same thing. It just looks more professional if the labels stay looking good. And since I work for a company that also does industrial labels maybe Iām a bit more sensitive to it 
[QUOTE=gypsymare;7119575]
I ordered May 19th from Etsyā¦ Iād have to go to the barn to see what label it has. The top of the label feels like a plastic seal but it must have some paper filler to wrinkle like that.
Itās certainly nothing bad nor does it affect the productās performance. Iāve had plenty of fly spray bottles do the same thing. It just looks more professional if the labels stay looking good. And since I work for a company that also does industrial labels maybe Iām a bit more sensitive to it :D[/QUOTE]
Ah, yes ā those are the older labels that I printed myself on the ink jet printer! They had a glossy coating, but were just paper labels. The new ones shouldnāt do that at all, but Iām thinking about another test! Those were the fill in ones that I used until I got the proper side labels I was happy with
Whew! The new ones are supposed to be vinyl but I was getting worried!
Thank you!
Libby
I saw your picture!! And technically I got a shout-out in the article. Whoop Whoop :lol:
I have finally exhausted my sample and getting ready to order some more. And for the record, whatever recipe you used in the balm that you sent me has been the perfect consistency. It never melted or got super rock hard. Really, itās been just right.
Jumping on the band wagonā¦
I clean a lot of tackā¦itās part of my job description. And my boss is VERY picky about the feel of her reins because she rarely rides with gloves. After 42 pages of accolades I have decided to give Libbyās magic concoction a try on my personal tack with the goal of changing over from the only acceptable tack cleaner to Libbyās for my bossās tack. I canāt wait to get my order!
Our contest is up! :yes:
^ Which I find odd because I sent an email to the address provided, as per rules of the contest and apparently the contest is closedā¦ Unless there are two large giveaways happening?
[QUOTE=phlora;7121961]
^ Which I find odd because I sent an email to the address provided, as per rules of the contest and apparently the contest is closedā¦ Unless there are two large giveaways happening?[/QUOTE]
That was probably the Moxie contest that Libby participated in. She & I started our own contest, which is similar to the Moxie one, and it just started today. Itās on my FB pageālink is in my signature.
And, yes, the Moxie contest closed a few weeks ago.
Yay! My two jars of Vanilla Mint arrived today and they smell soooooo yummy! Definitely my favorite scent so farā¦ and Iāve had at least one jar of each 
Hopefully Iām set for a while and wonāt need to buy anymore soon (as long as you donāt tempt me with new scents Libby!) - I now have a stock pile of 5 jars of soap and 1 balm. I even gave away 1 from my last order. Thinking of gifting one more to another friend just to share the love (and addiction).
I tried my sample of soap on some FILTHY (think gobs of fuzzy green mold) tack. A-freaking-mazing!
But now I have a questionā¦yesterday I scored a pair of barely worn Vogel boots. Made in 1985, worn a few times, but really not broken in. The leather is in shockingly good condition aside from being put away dirty (horse sweat on the inside of the calf plus lots of dust) and a bit dry. Itās also the stiff vintage leather so I would love to soften/condition as much as possible before torturing myself with the break-in period. Iām leary of products that might mess up the ability to revive a deep shine (omg, these look like theyāll wind up parade gloss shiny with the right TLC), but I canāt imagine that the HS soap would be a problem. I havenāt ordered the balm yet, but was thinking about that for the lining (fully lined!) and maybe the ankle folds. Am I crazy? Unless I win the lottery, Iām never gonna going to be able to afford customs so finding an almost perfect fit albeit in an older fashioned boot seemed like it was worth the elbow greaseā¦pun intended.
