SALE: Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday!

Here are all the details on features products, discounts and order processing for this upcoming holiday.

Sale Pricing:

Our sale prices may not be HUGE or “Door Buster” level. What our sale prices do offer is an additional savings on some of our newest or most popular items that are already priced lower than our direct competitors. This is all part of belief that you deserve to feel great every day!

  • NEW LOTION FORMULAS are 15% OFF regular price
  • 10% OFF JÖL Candles
  • 15% OFF JUNK OIL
  • Buy 2 Get 1 Free Beard Care – Choose from any of our 3 Oil formulas and Beard Butter, get your choice of Beard Oil Free
  • Primp+Jol Club Full Membership: Quarterly Subscription is $4.99 (plus $1 sign up fee, renews every 90 days)
  • Primp+Jol Club Full Membership: Annual is $19.99 (does not auto renew)

GIFT WRAPPING is available on most every item. We also have GIFT CARDS that you can send to those on your gift list and lots of great Clearance Items that you can pick up for yourself. Our FREE SHIPPING with orders over $39 is active as well, otherwise our shipping is $6.00 flat. Our local shoppers can also select FREE scheduled pickup of their order.

Prices are effective starting Thanksgiving Day and run through Cyber Monday. 11/26/2020 – 12/01/2020

Earliest pickup times will be Monday 11/30/2020. All orders will be shipped beginning Monday 11/30/2020. Pricing is limited to in stock items, no rainchecks or back orders. Free shipping option is based upon cart total after all discounts are applied. Gift Cards are account credits that must be used in whole unless recipient creates a user account to apply as they wish. Sale Prices only apply to regular single items and no subscription versions, with the exception of the Primp+Jol Quarterly Membership. Please see our Policy / Terms & Conditions as well as Membership Terms & Conditions for more information.

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A Sale on Luxury

We don’t do big price discounts as doing such cuts deeper into our profits. To keep our prices consistently more affordable when compared to our direct competitors gives us little room to offer 25%, 30%, 40% discounts like those competitors will. We rather offer lower prices year round and use modest discounts to encourage additional sales.

How are they able to afford it? Easy, they charge more year round. Their products carry an every day higher price for like products with like ingredients. Offering 30% off is very attractive and will drive more customers to their website. Of those, a fraction will feel the savings is worthwhile and make a purchase. During this time of the year the purchase is most likely a gift where the recipient will be impressed with the brand and perceive price/value of the product. If the gift recipient wishes to buy the item for themselves later, they are likely going to pay the every day price.

Our strategy is different by necessity, as well as feeling that a more stable pricing structure is more ethical and serves all customers more equally. The 15% off sale we have on select items should make them more attractive to purchase without diminishing the overall value of the item. If replenished later, a customer can expect to pay a similar price for the same item. To start with a lower every day price for an item makes it an every day value and more attractive to purchase as needed more frequently. This means a customer can buy as they want it, not only when they can afford it.

Despite our products being less expensive and with tighter margins, they are not lower grade goods. A lower price was by design. We may be not as polished as other brands, but our ingredients are on par if not better – and will perform very well when stacked up against brands like LUSH, Keihl’s, Blue Beard, Beardbrand, Cremo and others. Ultimately that is the point for us. In time, we expect that as our sales increase and our pricing remains relatively static that our profits will increase. This will then lead to a more polished look to our products which will then set the bar even higher for what “value” truly means.

We don’t paint a picture of luxury. Your experience is what is the luxury. How you feel during and after using our products is where the luxury is found. Marketing, advertising, packaging and all that can be manufactured outside of the product itself can be faked. Luxury is not an image. Luxury is not a price point. Having a beard that has a natural sheen, or skin that is soft, and having a fragrance linger ever so slightly with you that it makes you feel confident and strong is where true luxury exists.

J&L can offer you luxury without pretense and without an unnecessary expense.

Photo by Ishan @seefromthesky on Unsplash

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Head Office Communique – Nov. 12, 2020

New Lotions are about to launch

Work is nearly finished on our line of new lotions. All of them 100% designed and made by us, from scratch. We are very proud of what we have come up with so far and we are certain you will love these too!

  • DAILY MOISTURIZING LOTION – the replacement for FACE, HAND + BODY. A great general purpose all-over/anywhere lotion that deeply moisturizes, isn’t greasy and can be had in 3 fragrance options as well as unscented. All the hydrating basics are here: Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Coconut Oil and Aloe Vera. No parabens, phthalates, propylene glycol or harsh ingredients – same goes for the rest of our lotions…
  • DAILY USE ACNE LOTION – something very new that stands alone as an awesome lotion with the added edge of acne fighting salicylic acid. An All Natural lotion built upon lighter, thinner oils that are less likely to clog pores while still providing great softening and moisturizing. Free of common skin drying or irritating ingredients.
  • DAILY REVITALIZING LOTION – Everything you loved about our “old” REVITALIZING LOTION but with some new boosters added. Seaweed is still there to help boost collagen, but now we are adding Hyaluronic Acid, Silk Protein, Panthenol and Sodium Lactate to hydrate deep and revitalize your skin even more.
  • DAILY EXTRA CARE LOTION – This lotion is loaded with the richest butters and oils for protecting your skin from environmental dryness. Oatmeal protein is added to take care of the itchiness and possible irritation that comes with very dry skin. Also contains Hyaluronic Acid to help pull the moisture as deep as possible into your skin.

All of these LOTIONS will be 100% natural and plant based [vegan friendly], packed into 180ml – 6fl oz Tube-bottles. Prices will be between $10 and $13 depending on formula. Look for these to trickle into our store over the next couple weeks.

We have also improved a couple of our other skin moisturizing products as part of our commitment to total skin care

  • WHIPPED BUTTER – This body butter cream is slightly retooled to remove added pigment. We also made it creamier, to make application easier. This Cream does contain Lanolin [not vegan friendly] and is packed into an 240ml – 8fl oz. tub. $18.00
  • DRY FEET CREAM – formerly FOOT + DRY SKIN CREME – This long time favorite will see a tiny upgrade. We are going to create a thick whipped version to allow this product to be more easily applied, have a little less greasy feel and add a couple ingredients to make it more effective. We are adding Hyaluronic Acid and Goat Milk to this recipe. The Eucalyptus and Mint will remain to naturally fight athlete’s foot and provide a cooling relief feel. Plus, you will also get twice as much product for roughly the same price.

Stick Deodorant on the horizon as well…

Earlier this year we mentioned that we had to delay any new product development due to supply chain issues associated with the pandemic. Although that gave us the opportunity to work on the candles we recently introduced as the suppliers were there for that. Now that there is some level of improvement on the supply chain, we are able to begin the first test units of Stick Deodorant.

The plan is to have 2 to 3 variations, likely in the way of fragrance from whatever essential oils we use to increase their effectiveness. No matter what the end formula will be, not one of our stick deodorants will contain magnesium, aluminum or baking soda (soda bicarbonate). These three common ingredients are often irritants to many folks, and can often lead to increase in perspiration. We will use Zinc Ricinoleate as an odor eraser. Made from castor oil, it is a very natural ingredient as well. To help with moisture absorption, we will add clay and tapioca starch. Much like everything else we make, STICK DEODORANT will be as natural as possible and ideal for most folks needs.

Stock Deodorant will be in 2.65 oz twist-up tubes. Price is still being determined.

And, now for our biggest NEW PRODUCT news:

JUNK OIL is getting a sidekick. Very shortly we will introduce JUNK GREASE. A cream lotion version of the popular deodorizing body oil, using most of the same ingredients. The core oils will be there for all their best properties for odor fighting, it will have the same Lavender & Bergamot essential oils for a neutral fragrance. We will also add Aloe Vera & Sodium Lactate to help hydrate the skin – as hydrated skin is less likely to develop jock itch! Zinc Ricinoleate will also be on board to fight odor.

Why this lotion? “Dry” lotions and creams have been coming around since we first introduced JUNK OIL. Guys like the ease of application that these creams offer as well as the softer feel. For much the same reason we introduced JUNK OIL to begin with, these powders only make you sweat more. Powder clogs pore, your body’s defense is to produce more sweat to push it out. More sweat equates to more stink! More stink adds to these makers adding more fragrance; so much more that you might think you spilled a bottle of cologne on yourself.

Many of these new sprays and creams rely upon silicone to provide that “dry” feel. Silicone is a polymer that sits on top of your skin to give you a “slick and dry” feel but does absolutely nothing to hydrate your skin and protect it from fungal infections that thrive on such an environment – yup, that’s what jock itch is!

While we still love our JUNK OIL as much as many of you do, JUNK GREASE is another viable option for men who wish to kick out the stink and keep their junk fresh. Being it is also 100% natural from edible plant based ingredients, it is extremely safe to use in your most sensitive areas. Look for JUNK GREASE to hit the store in the coming weeks. 180ml – 6fl oz Tube-bottle for $13. JUNK OIL is 120ml – 4fl oz bottle for $15.00

And then?

We take a break from introducing new things. We have one more item that is being re-tooled and may be introduced before Christmas. After that comes to market, we will be applying our available time to improving some back of house projects, like a new look for our online storefront and all new photos for every product we make.

Although there are no plans for any “all new” products, we do plan to constantly analyze our fragrance options and change up some offerings here and there. Don’t be too surprised to see some of our new candle scents pop up in soaps and beard oils. With the addition of Stick Deodorant, we have pretty much met our Manifest Destiny goals.

We hope you all have a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving!

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Help Needed: T-Shirt Design

We wish to expand our image by providing a couple novelty T-Shirts based around our products. There may also be interest in also offering simple logo based branded T-Shirts.

Our idea is to have these be a means for us to donate a portion to a local charity we wish to support and to give us and others a means to show off. A preference will be for designs that represent the aesthetic of the brand and the product while being lightly humorous.

What we are considering to represent:

  • J&L Pogonotrophics brand
  • Junk Oil
  • The Original Beard Butter
  • J+L Apothecary

The method for how we will offer these is through a 3rd party Print on Demand service that can dropship directly to a customer. We may also look into having a few made to sell in person.

We have long said we would not get into branded merchandise. The caveat being, that if we did offer branded merchandise it would have to be for charitable reasons.

What we are looking for is a person or team that can create appropriate artwork that is ties to our old-style look for J&L Pogonotrophics, using appropriate era flare and style. Preference is for someone locally (Chicago) that has some level of experience in T-shirt or poster art design and avoid cartoon like styling. We are willing to pay a fair market value for the work. Artist will get credit for the work. Their logo or signature should be placed appropriately within the design.

A slogan or phrase we wish to include is still being developed. The ETA for introducing such is not determined. It may have to wait until after the Holidays.

If you are interested, please email us: sales@pogonotrophics.com If readily available, send a couple example images that reflect similar work.

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Local Curbside Pick-Up is now live

We are finally able to provide a simple means for our local fans to get their favorite goods and save on shipping fees. Many have asked for such a service after our previous method of offering pick-ups came to an end. With doing all our daily operations out of our home makes it difficult to offer a means to shop in person, or even pick up an order. Recently we were offering select customers to privately arrange a pick-up but logistically it was painful and created a lot of inconveniences for all involved.

Our new system makes this easier to manage and puts you in more control of when you pick up your order by giving you choices of days and time slots to schedule an appointment. With blocks set aside for scheduling, allows us to be ready and prepared without interruptions to other operations. We can make sure we are here for you!

Being within the era of COVID, this is also a very safe way to shop with us. Build and pay for your order, at checkout select Local Curbside Pick-Up as your fulfillment option. From there you will be presented with a scheduling pop-up where all our available times and dates are listed. At this time, we are not offering this 7 days a week. Sundays we are 100% closed. The rest of the week we offer 4 to 8 hours of the day to 30 minute windows for appointments. As early as 9am on Wednesday, and as late as 8pm on Thursdays. Saturday’s are open 10am to 2pm. We will not offer same day pick up as many of our items may take some time to finalize and if there are any special requests we may need to prepare, such as gift wrapping.

This service is 100% FREE! Although it is designed for our local Chicago customers, it is available to everyone regardless of where you live. Something to keep in mind when you are selecting your Shipping options at checkout if you are not in our area. Now we know some folks may select this in error when they realistically are unable to pick up their order. In these cases, please contact us and we can work with you to arrange shipping. Primp+Jol Club Members always receive Free Shipping, so it is up to you if you wish to have it shipped or pick it up.

After your order is received and in processing, you will receive an email with details on how it will work. Basically, you come to the corner near our offices, park at the curb and text or call us to say you have arrived. We will be ready to run down to you with your goodies. Letting us know what vehicle to look for will be a big help.

This is new and hard to fully test. If you do encounter any issues, please contact us so we can manage them.

As we get deeper into the Holiday season we will make changes to our appointment times to better serve you. If this works well and continues to be an appreciate benefit, we will keep it on indefinitely.

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The 411 on JÖL Candles

As we grow much closer to the planned launch date for our first series of our 395g – 14oz (16 ounce in candlemakers’ terms) in stainless steel paint cans, we are doing a solid run through on our intentions, goals and ambitions – as well as product details.

The GENERAL facts:

ALL candles will be at minimum 395 grams per unit. Most are weighing about 410 grams. So, 14 to 14.5 ounces per can. Being that candles are produced by weight, but sold by volume; these are all 16 fluid ounces.

We are using 100% Natural Soy Wax, made from US grown soybeans. We wanted something easier to work with, easier to clean up, burns cleaners and offers more flexibility in scenting. Our scents are all 100% natural. Because they are also skin safe (as we may use some of these in other products) they are also paraben and phthalate free. The wick is 100% cotton/paper and gauged well for the size of container. We are not using any colorants or dye, the candles are 100% natural in color.

The Stainless Steel Paint Can is our means of keeping it simple and safer. The can will not break in shipping, certainly wont shatter when being used. It may dent, or scratch; but that will not stop the candle from burning. The lid allows a firm seal to close it, so you can transport it (when NOT lit) easily without damaging the candle or anything that the wax would come into contact with otherwise. We made the label super easy to remove, using low adhesive tapes to hold it in place. Why is that you may ask. The design aesthetic of the can, though very familiar and even obvious, can blend into most home decor or can easily be dressed up to your own style. Tie a ribbon around it, wrap it with decorative cloth or paper. Get out marker or paints to apply your own design. Whatever route you go, just make sure how you dress it up does not come near the flame. With the candle inside the can, that should be easy to do.

We are leaning heavily on deeper, intense fragrances with these candles. We find these scents more sophisticated and modern while also doing better about covering up unwanted scents in your home. For now, don’t look for food or strongly floral scents from us. Do expect earthy, multi-layered and robust fragrances. Scents are a little heavy, aiming for a 10% fragrance load per candle.

There will be 8 fragrances at launch. As a follower, you are well aware ho much we like to offer variety in scents. 4 of the scents are candle friendly variations of existing fragrances we use in our soaps and beard care. WhiskeyTango is a modification of LEXINGTON; Cedar Leather is OXFORD, or most popular fragrance these days; Balsam + Cedar is our FRONTIERSMAN scent without the pine fir oil; Black Cherry Pipe Tobacco is our beloved custom order scent HOWARD’S PIPE – which is named for my father. Bamboo Forest scent is new to our beard care and soap lines as well as candles, it made it’s debut a few weeks ago with SHOWER GEL but was planned for candles all along. The final 3 are very new to us and became instant favorites of our testers. Oakmoss + Amber, Tonka + Oud and Ginger Saffron. These newest scents have great scent note descriptors within the item listings. We are working to develop the same for the other scents.

How we stack up to others:

We are new to professionally making candles, but have made them as a hobby many times over the years. Working with soy created a couple minor challenges that we are ironing out as we go. Our candles will not look machine made or poured. Each one is hand poured in very small batches, like everything else we do. This means that there may be some minor superficial imperfections here and there. Again, just like everything else we do. But, we can assure you that the performance of the burn and the fragrance is on point! They will last a good long while, burn clean and smell great. Our math shows that 80 to 110 hours of burn time can be expected. Due to the design of the can, there is a chance for some tunneling – wax staying on the side of the container as it burns. Letting the candle burn longer the first use, and each subsequent use, will reduce if not eliminate this. With the lip of the can, it has an effect on airflow which allows the sides to remain a pinch cooler, which is a factor in this. We knew this going in and that is why you get over 395 grams per candle.

Price. How much our products cost is important to us as we know it is important to you. If you browse Etsy and Amazon, you can find like candles (16 oz. soy, paint can containers) selling for $30 to $50. Ours are priced $20 to $24. We also throw in an opener, in case you don’t have one handy. Why are some of our candles more expensive? The component with the highest cost impact is the scenting oil. Those that are of a higher price had a substantially higher priced scenting formula.

Another way our candles are just like everything else we do; there is absolutely zero pretense behind our candles. Our candles smell great, look nice and perform well at a more down to earth price when compared to other like makers of candles. There are no hidden agenda, now subtle promises of anything more. Architects Digest will not call you to include your home in an upcoming feature just because you burn our candle in your home. Now, we do hope the fragrances are well enjoyed and appeal to your senses; that you are able to relax comfortable while you burn the candle or your home seems more welcoming if entertaining.

Our candles will launch officially October 28, 2020. There will be a limited supply at launch and are prepared to kick up production immediately if they sell out fast. We expect these candles to be in stock through the Holidays at adequate levels. Pre-Orders for candles will start October 22, 2020, so we can be well prepared to ship on launch day.

Thank you and I hope you are as excited as we are to bring these new candles to you.

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Head Office Communique – 10/16/2020

PRE-ORDERS for CANDLES

With the launch of our new candles we are a tad bit concerned that the possibility exists that they can sell out quickly. If we are able to measure demand accurately, we can be prepared with replenishment much more rapidly. This is where Pre-Orders help.

First, for the Candle Fragrance Test Sampler pack, we can make those available sooner through a Pre-Order to ship all at once the day we make them available. This will allow us to make as many as we need to maximize the demand. We can make these available for a 10 day period prior to the official release of the candles (target date 11/6/2020). We can then launch Pre-Orders for candles no later than 10/31/2020. Once all units are claimed, we can then prepare a second Pre-Order period to meet further demand if necessary. Doing this will give us the opportunity to produce more of what sold most and keep in-stock levels up through the holiday season.

Pre-Orders lead into a sticky situation of paying for something before you get it. Cancelling Pre-Orders will have a cost applied to us as a processing charge is applied to us by the bank. We will not charge a fee for cancelling a pre-order!

As stated with the Candle Fragrance Test Sampler, the item is FREE. If purchased alone, there is a $2.00 Postage & Handling Fee. There is a limit of one Test Sampler per customer as well as a $2.00 rebate coupon to apply to a future candle order. The Candle Fragrance Test Sampler is available to Pre-Order today, to be fulfilled 10/22/2020

CURBSIDE PICK UP PLANS

Curbside Pick Up is currently being tested for functionality on our website. We hope to launch this by November 1st as part of our Holiday 2020 plans. Gift Wrapping for many items will also make a return around the same time.

Curbside Pick Up will literally be just that. When you checkout, select Local Curbside Pick Up, if available, as a shipping option. There is no charge for this service! Once selected, you will need to schedule your Pick Up by choosing an available Day and Time slot. There is a minimum of 1 day to process your order – there will not be a Same Day pick up option. Pick Ups will not be possible every day and will be limited to time periods where we can ensure we have someone available to come bring the item to you.

To be able to offer this, we ask that you keep your appointment time. Each appointment period is for 30 minutes, During that time we will be awaiting your arrival to hand off your order to you. If are going to be late, its not a problem, just let us know. If you cannot make your appointment at all, we will need to reschedule you for another available slot. If you opt to not pick up your order we will have to cancel and refund your order. Note, not all services can be refunded once performed. If your order qualified for FREE SHIPPING through Primp+Jol Club membership or be over our Free Shipping threshold, we will ship to you at a verified address.

My hope is that you find this added service a huge plus and will make shopping with us even easier and friendlier. If all goes well, we may continue this service after the holidays.

How will the pick up work if we don’t have a store? You will pick up your order from the home office location. Once you pull up and park at the curbside, you can let us know you have arrived with a quick text message or if we see you first we will run your order right out to you. There is no need to get out of your car. If you walked over, I will meet you at the gate to my building. As this is a residential building, I do have to make sure we are being safe and respectful of our neighbors. Oh, and mask/face covering will be required. Those who select Local Pick Up will get an email with instructions and in-the-moment contact information.

If you have any questions or comments about any of our products or services, please reach out to us. Email us at support@pogonotrophics.com or message us through Facebook or Instagram.

Thank you, John

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Head Office Communique – October 10, 2020

Introduction of JÖL Brand and CANDLES!

First about JÖL (or JOL). A part of our deeper branding for the always possible brick & mortar retail aspect of our business. As we have called out before, JOL has many meanings and all of them are good. Nordic in origin, it means party, gathering or celebration. It is also South African slang for, “You’re the bomb!” All of this is why we love this word. Add in that “J” and “L” are used to spell it.

Making items that were not designed for being put on the body has been in our mind for years. There are things we are tinkering with or tossing into our planning meetings that we would be interested in making but would not make sense to be branded under the J&L Pogonotrophics or J+L Apothecary names. Part of that was behind finding a sensible retail operations name. Now that we are starting to introduce the first products that are not for bath, body or the beard; JOL was the logical name to use.

Why make candles?

We have asked ourselves that every time someone has inquired about them. Although I have made candles for personal use many times, I never thought about making that a part of our offerings. Over the years, we have had many requests for many of our scents in candle form and we have politely replied that it is not our thing.

With a belief that you should never slam the door on any viable good idea, the specter of candle making has been tossed around before being bat away. There has been seemingly logical reasons to not do it. It can be viewed as a over done category. Making candles will not help us fight the stigma of being a “craft maker” or this being a “hobby” for us. When you have customer after customer request something and willing to throw their hard earned cash at you for something and you tell them no; it makes us look like idiots.

Much of what goes into soap making translates well to candle making. Much of what we do falls into the soap making category – although we do not make our soaps 100% from scratch. Making candles means working with many of the same ingredients and tools along with similar production behaviors.

So, now our answer to why make candles is, “Why not?”

How to make Candles work with our existing offerings

We are well known for our fragrances in nearly all our products. That is what lead to the request for candles from the public. Especially from those who love our scents but do not wish to “wear” them. This is exactly how and why they work with our core business. At start, most of our candle scents will be the same if not very similar to existing beard oil and soap fragrances. Not all our scents will work well as candle fragrances as we currently formulate them. Since we use organic essential oils, they are very costly to use in the quantity needed for candles. We will work to find ways to emulate those scents, or find a complimentary similar scent.

Our Candle Philosophy

Make them well and sell them at a fair price. Pretty much our overall philosophy. It is also make them as distinctively J&L as we can. There is a lot of room for true innovation and originality, so we need to just place a few little twists here and there to differentiate us from the majority of what is already out there.

Packaging needed to be simple in form and function, not be glitzy or grandiose but not be pedestrian or bland. One of our bottle suppliers sells tins, and of those tins were little paint cans. The use of these as candle containers is not original, but we knew they suited our concept perfectly. The cans are shiny. They will pair with a modern decor or an industrial decor. They can be displayed in a home to stand out, or masked within other decor. The can allows the candle to be self contained and safer. The can will not shatter under the heat or in shipping. With us doing most of our business through shipping, it is important to cut losses caused by damage.

The labeling is simple, to the point and permits the paint can to literally shine. Why hide it with large stickers that border on being gaudy? We know it’s a paint can, you know it is a paint can, it does not need to look like one! The branding we are going with is the most reserved and sedate we have conceived. We are sure you will love it!

We sought new “homey” scents to use. Fragrances that would not be awesome for wearing, but you would love to smell in your home. Straight up food and overly floral scents are not on the idea board for now, if ever. Some of our new fragrances may not be 100% original to start with. The primary objective in scents was to offer up warmth and relaxation. We wanted to set a mood and help others embrace it.

Another part of our philosophy for candles is to bring a level of sophistication that are other products openly reject. J&L Pogonotrophics is steeped in a specific aesthetic that goes back to Victorian days. J+L Apothecary is all about vibrant generic-ness of 80s meets 2000s. JOL will be held back, reserved, a little shy at first; once you open it up it will be warm, friendly and have something real to say. Honestly, much like me.

When will Candles be available, and how much will they be?

We hope to have our first few scents available by Halloween. We have 6-7 scents established, and a couple more we are sorting out. The candles will be $19.99 at launch for a 16 ounce candle in a paint can. Can opener included! Compare this to other same size and container candles out there that are $30 or more! A couple scents that we hope to introduce are most costly to produce, those candles will have a higher price.

For the remainder of 2020, candles will be excluded from any discount plans. There are some hidden costs associated with start-up of this line that we must cover before we can offer discounts.

What more can we expect from JÖL?

After the holidays, we hope to introduce our line of scented air freshener sprays in matching scents to our candles. This has been another item that has long been worked on and we feel the time is right to do it. In time, we may add other sizes and styles of candles based upon the response.

Other things we have considered fall into the food & drink category. Mainly, aromatic bitters. It has been budding hobby of mine and when the time is right I will look into the regulatory aspects of trying to make them.

The great thing about JOL is that it gives us a new column to work with that is not limited to a well defined image. JOL can be anything we want that doesn’t fit in with our bath, body & beard products. Furniture, linens, lighting…. honestly, anything.

Look forward to seeing the candles in the store soon. We also hope to have scent samples available to add-in to orders we receive.

Thank you very much, John

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Clearly Natural, Part 2

Early this month we posted an article about our approach to natural products by letting the their natural state stand out. As we move throw introducing the new clear packaging we are surprising ourselves with how the items appear. It’s not a bad thing, just different and at times comical.

STIR, NOT SHAKEN

Our new SHOWER GEL is presenting the most interesting reactions. When working scent and essential oils into soap and other base components there is a scenario called the “vanilla effect”. Named for the common culprit, many oils can cause a product to become yellowed or even brownish in hue and often cloudy. To incorporate all our added ingredients to the organic base liquid takes a gentle touch to properly blend all components well. It is soap after all and the lightest agitation will cause bubbles. You cannot whip or shake the mixture or else you end up with voluminous suds that will take weeks to condense and settle before you can even package it.

ROUGH DRAUGHT

These two characteristics has led to some interesting results. No matter how gentle we are, when filling the pouches, a head still forms on the soap. Normally this will take a couple weeks to go down and has absolutely zero effect on the performance of the product if it returns through movement. Combined with the vanilla affect of some of the oils, it causes the SHOWER GEL and PET SHAMPOO to look like freshly poured beers when we fill each pouch. The color differences between scent options provides the appearance of a light IPA to a farmhouse red ale.

SHOWER GEL and PET SHAMPOO showing off their true colors

Now there is no cause to be alarmed, and it should not need to be mentioned that this are not to be consumed internally. The bottom line is that we strive to keep our formulations and ingredients as simple as possible and plant based. We use very little emulsifier in our soaps as they can have a negative impact to the lather. The desired viscosity of our liquid soaps adds to the “head” forming and taking longer to flatten. And as it being soap, it will easily reform when agitated. That means, when it ships to your door it has likely been jostled and shaken quite a bit. No need to let it settle before using it, you will still get the same luxurious lather with every use. In fact, these liquid soaps have the most amazing lather you will likely find in any body wash!

Clearly, we make a great product. It may not be the prettiest (unless you love the visual aesthetics of beer), but the experience it provides is pure beauty.

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Head Office Communique – September 24, 2020

This should be a brief one:

B2G1 Offer is extended until Halloween. Yup, the buy 2 beard care products get a Beard Oil free is good until October 31, 2020.

New Products Coming

Early work has begun on new products. First up, natural stick deodorant. This has been on the back burner for the last couple years as we have been waiting for the right time. With our current refocus to bath & body basics for J+L Apothecary, the time is right to start development on this often requested product. We will have one or two options based on a base that will be great for even the most sensitive skin. The focus is not to offer up our “scents” as the function of the deodorant. We will take the same approach we did with J&L Pogonotrophics’ Junk Oil, and focus on maintaining freshness over layering in more scents.

Also in the works is something outside our refocus, but is often requested and suits our Primp + Jol concept. That is scented candles. Not a bath & body basic, but something that can add your favorite fragrances from our long list of scents to any room in your house. We have said in the past that we are not a “candle maker”, and that will hold true. Yes, we may make candles, but they will be considered an accessory type item. If they become our biggest seller, maybe then we will rethink this position.

We are also bringing our Clay Mask System to an end. The current inventory is being pulled to be reworked into something new. Our current inventory of Solid Cologne is also being removed as we rework this line. We will use our remaining inventory as scent samples for those remaining fragrances that we will give out free with some orders. We hope to reintroduce Solid Cologne before the holidays in a new shape, new size and some new scents. We are elevating this product to fully represent the stature of what cologne is for many folks. The listings for these items are being removed very soon.

Corrupted Product Data Issue

Recently we had an issue with corrupted product listings for a couple very specific items. We are not sure as to what caused the problem, but we were able to correct it as quickly as possible. Although we do not know the specific cause, it is likely linked to module updates to our eCommerce system. There were many updates the day prior to discovery of the corruption, and each of those modules connect to and rely upon our product catalog data. During these updates, our data backup was refreshed. This means that the data corruption occurred before the backup or was caused by the backup itself. Do rest assured, this had absolutely no impact on any customer data or personal identity information.

Gift Wrapping will Return November 1!

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