Happy Fall!

Fall is upon us and we are preparing for the holidays. We are thrilled to announce that we will be in Franklin, TN's PumpkinFest October 29. If you are in the middle TN area, come join us for a fun day in beautiful downtown Franklin. Also, we are finally on Facebook. YAY! "Like" us so you can stay up to the minute with sales, updates and articles.

The New Year is Here...

...and that brings cold weather and new resolutions. With the majority of the country in a deep freeze, cold weather can be extremely harsh on your skin. With the heat warming our homes, the warm, dry air is not our skin's friend. The loss of moisture in the air pulls it from your skin, leaving dry, itchy, flaky skin.

At the beginning of the year, almost everyone makes resolutions for themselves. Whether it be losing weight, starting a new hobby or just to finish those house improvements, a New Year is about starting fresh.

So if you are one of those readers that is suffering from winters cold weather and you promised a new you in the new year, allow Shea & Company to help you out. Our scrubs will banish those dry, flaky areas to reveal a new glowing you. Then finish with our body oil to lock in the moisture to get you through your day. I promise, with the help of our fresh and tropical fragrances, you can mentally transport yourself to a warmer, friendlier climate. Spring is right around the corner, I promise! In 2010, take some time for yourself!

Bundle of Joy

I know, I know...its been way to long since I updated everyone. My sincere apologies!! As you probably know my hands have been just a little full with our bundle of joy. Saxton William made his debut on August 5, 2009 at 6:52 pm. Weighing in at 8 pounds 13 ounces he is a mini-me of his father!

As any new mother would do, I took time off to spend with my wonderful husband and this sweet bundle of joy. Plus, I needed to learn and understand Mommyhood a little before I juggle everything at once.

Thankfully, we are rip-roaring ready to go back in our kitchens...Shea & Company has opened her doors. Stay tuned for more information regarding our fall and holiday collection. By the way, you can start ordering those gift baskets and holiday items now! For the wholesale clients, we are finalizing the details for the gift baskets. If you would like to custom order gift sets for your spa or store, please contact me as soon as possible.

It's Here

The summer collection has officially arrived. We are still updating the website with photos and information. While the website is being updated, you can still shop. The new fragrances are listed under the body scrubs and body oil.

So what are the new summer collection fragrances? We thought you would never ask! This year we are debuting fragrances that are found in nature and are very simple, thus our Pure & Simple Summer Collection. Savory Strawberry is a classic fragrance. We promise it smells like biting into a sweet, juicy strawberry! The second fragrance, Sweet Lemon, is a clean, bright lemon fragrance. Sweet Lemon is a great summer fragrance that will wake you up in the morning. Tropical Mango Kiwi is a sweet mango combined with a hint of tart kiwi. This is definitely a fragrance you will need if you are heading to the beach! We are so excited with the new fragrances and we know you will be too!

Also, we are closely watching phthlates. These pesky ingredients, found in fragrances, are drawing lots of attention in the cosmetic and body care industry. If you are concerned about this ingredient and are wanting another alternative, Savory Strawberry and Tropical Mango Kiwi are free of these phthlates. Don't worry, we are conducting research on our other fragrances to be able to say they are phthlate free soon.

So go ahead and start shopping the new collection and be summer ready! http://www.sheaandcompany.com/products.html

Mango's and Pregnancy?

Its been a little bit since I have updated everyone on Baby Peters. I had a doctor appointment this morning and everything is going well. The baby's heartbeat was very strong and about 144 beats per minute. Evidently, we woke him from a nap because afterward he was moving around like crazy. I have officially hit a new "pregnancy" milestone. I am now experiencing tiredness and walking in the house causes me to huff & puff. Thankfully, this is very normal but it has caused me to not to be very happy. Have you ever experienced being out of breath walking into the grocery store and having to stop in the produce section to take a break? Over the last week or so, I have experienced this very situation. I learned, from the doctor this morning, that my body was working overtime. Ha,ha, I had no idea!!! Seriously, thankfully, this is very normal and I need to take this new milestone with a grain of salt... The belly is really starting to show and I am feeling more and more pregnant everyday. YAY! I hope to have new belly pictures this week.

We have officially made it to 23 weeks and the baby is about the size of a large mango (approximately over 11 inches long and weighing it at over a pound). Right now, loud noises are becoming very familiar to the baby, such as the dog barking. So Mr. Whitlee has been talking to the baby everyday so Baby P will be very used to noise once he is outside the womb.

We also have started our construction project in the nursery. There is a spare room off the nursery that we are turning into a playroom. The room is getting a true makeover. We are still deciding the theme for this room. Any suggestions? I will post pictures soon now that things are really moving along.

What are phthalates?

Over the last few years, we have experienced a large push to stay away from parabens. As consumers and manufactures, we have been educated on how to spot these parabens on labels and how to avoid them. With our society moving toward organic, natural and green products, our choices are growing everyday on many items that used to contain these nasty chemicals. Since Shea & Company has been in business, our entire collection has never contained parabens!

Now in the cosmetic industry, we are hearing a lot of coverage about phthalates. What are phthalates? What should you be looking for on manufactures' labels? Shea & Company wants to educate our customers on these ingredients and help you recognize the warning signs.

According to the website Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (http://www.safecosmetics.org/),
Phthalates (pronounced THA-lates) are plasticizing chemicals that are probable human reproductive or developmental toxins and endocrine disruptors. Phthalates cause reproductive birth defects in laboratory animals, particularly males.Two phthalates often used in cosmetics (dibutyl and diethylhexyl) have been banned in the European Union. Unfortunately, phthalates are still found in some nail polishes and hair sprays, and are commonly hidden on ingredient labels under the term “fragrance.”

The Mayo Clinic suggest checking the product labels on your cosmetics. But other products, such as perfume, are not required to do this. You can contact the manufacturer, if you have questions about the phthalate content in a specific product. There are Web sites that claim to provide lists of products that contain phthalates, but the accuracy of such Web sites isn't known.

While this information can seem scary, you probably want to raid your bath room cabinets to start looking for these pesky ingredients. I don't blame you. Since I have become more educated about these ingredients, I have been searching for fragrances and ingredients that do not contain phthalates. Our Spring & Summer collection is set to debut very soon. With the impending collection about to take center stage, we are proud to announce that two of our fragrances do not contain phthalates. Plus, our labels will announce, easily & clearly, which fragrances will not contain these ingredients.

Like the Mayo Clinic suggest, for questions, please contact us. We would love to speak with you via phone or email and answer any questions about our fragrances. Stay tuned to this blog page and our web page for more information on the release date of the new collection.

Happenings at Shea & Company

Spring seems to be quickly approaching. In Austin, we have already been experiencing weather in the 80's and that will definitely give a girl spring fever. However, the last couple of days our weather has been cold and rainy. But never fear... Spring is here!

We are busy putting the final touches on our Spring & Summer Collection. While we don't want to give away the big collection, yet, we are preparing for a fun summer! Last year our collection was very tropical and beachy. This year, we are preparing a classic, pure and simple collection; fragrances that are reminiscent of summer. We are preparing to debut the collection in April. So stay tuned to our blog and website for additional information on the release date.

In the meantime, if you are dealing with cold weather and snow or need a little dose of spring, visit our website to check out our favorite summer fragrances. We had such a wonderful demand for these fragrances that we allowed them to remain on the website all year. So go ahead and get your spring on. Try Papaya Breeze, Tradewinds, Bourbon Vanilla, Citrus Yuzu & Coconut Lemongrass as these fragrances will promise to deliver a dose of spring that your body is craving.