DSA Aromatherapy Blog

Kool Forest Mint Dark Chocolate!

diane@dianelotions.com (Diane Seago-Atkins) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 21:06:01 GMT

Endangered Species Dark Chocolate with Deep Forest Mint 70% cocoa content - gorilla

Price: $2.74/HEB

85 g, 3 oz

Their info: 100% ethically traded. We buy our cocoa from small, family-owned properties, helping sustain the habitats and communities they are in.

Ingredients: dark chocolate (cocoa mass, unbleached water filtered beet sugar, soy lecithin (as an emulsifier), and natural vanilla), natural mint flavor, Indianapolis, IN Product of USA

I wasn’t too excited when I first saw this bar with mint—didn’t want to have a creamy explosion of peppermint seeping through the thin chocolate skin like those boxed candies. Oh, no, this bar smells like smooth chocolate and then the mint aroma wafts through gently as a bit of a surprise—not overpowering. No, nothing blocks the chocolate taste that is both creamy and more a liquid chocolate taste as opposed to cocoa powder. Each square has enough softness to take you back to the original Kisses with a light touch of mint just to make it interesting and somehow capturing your hand and making it break off another set of three squares. If you were lost in a fairytale forest, you would want this one with you. It’s very comforting and one of the best. I wasn’t up for wine in the early afternoon so used some Cool Mint lip moisturizer to keep the mint taste going for awhile.

Satisfaction Rating: 8.5 >

Diane Seago Atkins
DSA Aromatherapy

http://www.dianelotions.com

diane@dianelotions.com

800.506.6295

Love That Strong Dark Chocolate!

diane@dianelotions.com (Diane Seago-Atkins) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:40:02 GMT

Chocolove xoxox Strong Dark 70% cocoa content

Price: $2.74/HEB

90 g, 3.2 oz

Their description: Strong, bittersweet Belgian dark chocolate crafted primarily from African cocoa beans and a small amount of Caribbean cocoa beans.

Intense, well-rounded cocoa flavors melt smoothly in your mouth then transition to a pleasant cocoa aftertaste.

Ingredients: cocoa liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin.

Made in Boulder, CO with Belgian chocolate

Lot Number: 010708 Tastes Best before Jan 2010

This bar is all about texture. Maybe it’s my memories of first discovering Belgian chocolate at Harrods in London. . . but, then again, that was probably milk chocolate. And this is the new me, the one who never really cared for chocolate—always preferring vanilla—who now craves and appreciates dark chocolate. Well, the first square was just sumptuous—with a medium dense texture hinting a bit of a cocoa powder base, not too thin, not waxy, not soft—just the right height on the mound to feel satisfied. The taste is more in the palate and the sides of the mouth at first and washes across from side to side, filling your mouth with flavor, rather like a gentle ocean wave that reminds you of warm Gulf Coast waters lapping the beach about the time of a crimson red sunset. In the center of the square you’re getting about ¼” of pure chocolate to sink your teeth into. If you can eat just one square to start, you will feel the taste soften and spread evenly through your mouth with no afterburn, as I like to say, when something is too sugary and makes you want to use breath drops to eradicate the sharp aftertaste. No, this baby is smooth and balanced and non-bitter. Don’t forget to inhale the pure cocoa butter/vanilla aroma before your first taste. Following my 9-square indulgence, I sipped a bit of Ironberry 2006 Cabernet Shiraz Merlot (Australia) —ooh la la.

Satisfaction Rating: 8.4

Diane Seago Atkins
DSA Aromatherapy

http://www.dianelotions.com

diane@dianelotions.com

800.506.6295

FDA Globalization Act of 2008

diane@dianelotions.com (Diane Seago-Atkins) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 22:57:34 GMT

FDA Globalization Act of 2008
**Will you please sign our Indie Beauty Network petition?**

I haven't had the desire to write about this because it's not light and fluffy and has disturbed me. Introduced through the House Energy & Commerce Committee in April is a draft discussion that directly affects my business because of proposed blanket (annual) registration fees ($2000-$12,000) and onerous reporting requirements. The stated purpose of this draft is to help empower the FDA to regulate food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics in the global economy we now enjoy. A congressman from Michigan was concerned because of the recent problems we've seen--like the contact solution and tainted peppers, onions, and/or tomatoes. There may be other concerns that have to do with the financial interests of the overall larger industries, but we have no information on that. The House goal is to pass legislation by December 2008. Our existing cosmetic laws were implemented in 1938 and have been changed little since then, and the cosmetics industry has been a relatively safe one. When Congress asked the FDA how many cosmetic manufacturers there are in the US, the FDA could not answer. The new legislation is meant to be for consumer safety but, guess what? It will require that people like me--even if I make one bar of soap a year--pay a $2000 annual registration fee to the FDA along with completing mandatory paperwork requirements like registering every single ingredient, any change in ingredients, what the adverse effects are of the product, and what we think might be an adverse effect of the product in the future. If we import an ingredient, then there is an additional registration fee of $10,000 per year. A small business like mine cannot pay $12,000 in annual fees. As a consumer, you will not have the choices you have now in cosmetic products if small businesses die. Only the Estee Lauders and large companies will be able to pay these fees. Right now, registration of a cosmetics manufacturing company is voluntary. Registration of cosmetic ingredients is voluntary. I belong to the Indie Beauty Network, an organization of independent cosmetic makers and suppliers. We were organized in 2000 and now have 700 members. However, two of our members who are supplies of raw ingredients have 30,000 customers between them. That means a lot of other people who are not part of our organization are making cosmetics. If you want to continue to have a choice in what you buy and you want to support small businesses, please visit our website and sign our petition opposing the FDA Globalization Act of 2008:>

http://www.indiebusinessblog.com/indie_business/2008/06/stop-the-fda-gl.html

To sign the petition, scroll to the bottom of the page and fill in your information. To hear our Indie Beauty Network position, you can listen to the video by our president, Donna Maria Coles Johnson.

Our president, Donna Maria Coles Johnson, and several members of the Indie Beauty Network have already met with Congress. Obviously, Congress and the FDA were not aware that there is a cottage industry of cosmetic makers in the US or they would not have proposed such exorbitant fees for small businesses. Many of us make our living creating unique, made-by-hand products with natural ingredients rather than an onslaught of chemicals mixed in vats by machine. In general, we don't make a lot of money because our work is labor intensive and we use quality ingredients that are expensive. We do this because it is important to us to have a choice, we value our health, and we love what we do. Our purpose is to make a safe product.

Like the pesticide industry, we may be given a list of FDA-approved ingredients that we can use. Just to let you know what I think about that, I would never use FD&C colors in my products. FD&C colors are colors considered safe by the FDA for use in food, drugs, and cosmetics; most of the colors are derived from coal tar and must be certified by the FDA not to contain more than 10ppm of lead and arsenic; certification does not address any harmful effects these colors may have on the body; most coal tar colors are potential carcinogens, may contain carcinogenic contaminants, and cause allergic reactions.

As our IBN president points out, "The existing laws have allowed free entry into this industry. Small businesses have been able to thrive and make significant contributions to the industry. We want to operate without unduly prohibitive fees and regulations. We support a vibrant, robust marketplace where consumers have choices."

This treatise was powered by dark chocolate & Yogi chai black tea.

Diane Seago Atkins
DSA Aromatherapy