MakeScents February 2011 Issue

Today I purchased the February 2011 issue of MakeScents from Barnes and Noble. I know that it sounds odd that a February issue of a magazine is on the shelf on the last weekend of the month of issue but since it is an international magazine, it is always going to be stocked on the shelves an issue behind.

It is a nice issue devoted to making products for Valentine's Day which included bath bombs with flowers and detox bath salts. Other products included in this issue are aches and pains massage bars, fresh mint soaps (with heart embedded shapes), potpourri, rose water shower jelly, winter facial detox products and special hand cream. What was really interesting about the hand cream/lotion recipe ingredients included were beeswax, paraffin wax, borax, oil and potato water. Yes, I said potato water. Also missing was a preservative. For all of you cold process soapmakers, this issue included a cold process soapmaking project by Sonja Porter. Oh Yes! I have to say that the editor missed or made a faux paux. On page 50 the headline for the project is Rose Petal Body Scub. It should be Rose Petal Body Scrub.

Now at the end of March will be the new issue of this magazine. Some of the topics covered will be making a chocolate body bar for Easter, making gifts for Mother's Day, making scents - solid perfumes and sugar cubes and other surprises. One big surprise is the fact that starting next month the magazine will be called Naturally Beautiful. The magazine will be going under a radical makeover but will still have the same great content with projects and recipes for making your natural beauty products; but according to the outgoing editor there will be much more for us to read and enjoy. I have to say that only after purchasing two issues I really prefer the current name of the magazine - MakeScents. I think it is clever but maybe the publisher (or someone at the top) decided that the magazine needed to have a more general name since the magazine covered more that scents.

So I will have to say that the jury will be out until the new issue comes out in March. And will have to see if the publication will have more than 65 pages to an issue or if the the price of an issue will go up. But one thing that I found hysterical when I purchase the magazine was that the clerk behind the counter did not know that they sold this magazine. I said to her that I only found out about this magazine earlier this month when the January issue was available. It is the only magazine that is dedicated to a variety of bath and body products - not just soap. I hope this magazine will succeed and prosper for years to come.