Fresh Bet Bits, Claire Burke Original Memories, Home Fragrance Product Updates and Commentary

I have painted my nails for the last 25-30 years and I just can’t tell you how much I love our new Peacekeeper Nail Paint. First, it’s all organic and natural without any formaldehyde or other toxins. It wears like iron and dries super quick. I actually have been able to stop using a base coat and top coat. I found it bubbled when I used standard top/base coats. Now I can slap 2 coats of Peacekeeper Nail Paint on my nails and it’s totally dry within 20 minutes.

When I first saw the Peacekeeper line at the Minneapolis Gift Mart last summer, I noticed they had some beautiful lipsticks and lip glosses. I have been very focused on adding more natural items as I believe we are all tired of chemical-based products.

Now I don’t wear lipstick anymore, but I did wear it for many years when I worked in Corporate America. I continue to be impressed with the folks at PeaceKeepers who donate all their after expense profits to various women’s causes. Their organic products are perfect for Cancer survivors/patients and any woman who values a chemical-free beauty product.

We are now offering 3 new colors in Lip Gloss: V Day, UNIFEM and Eternal Equity. As you can see by the names of the first 2 colors, these are dedicated to special women’s causes.

There are also 3 new colors in Lip Paint: Paint Me Content (Rose), Paint Me Wise (Burnt Orange) and Paint Me Loving (Pink). The lip paints come in stylish black plastic twist tubes.

Peace Keeper Lip Paints were nominated as finalists for “Best Lip Product of the Year” by Cosmetics Executive Woman(CEW). The revolutionary mineral makeup is rated as one of the safest cosmetics in the US. Made from natural ingredients like Vitamin E, Jojoba oil, Grapeseed oil and Candelila Wax.

Click here for Peacekeeper Cause-Metics.

Enchanted Meadow does a beautiful job with their potpourri. These gorgeous bags of botanicals are all lovingly hand-assembled at their Canadian plant near Vancouver. Last year they discontinued a long-time favorite called Fleurs de Provence. This year they have introduced their new scent called Prima Fleur which is similar.

Prima Fleur is a romantic and feminine blend of pink botanicals fragranced with complex floral notes of greens, muguet and white jonquil. We are starting out with the bag potpourri, reed diffuser oil refill and refresher oil.

Click here for Prima Fleur by Enchanted Meadow.

2008 has brought us several new Peach fragrances for the home and bath. Peach has been out of style for the past 6-8 years and seems to be making a comeback for 2008. Leave it to Enchanted Meadow to put together 2 tasty scents of Mango and Peach for an absolute fruity delight!

We now have their bag potpourri, reed diffuser refill and refresher oil available in this yummy summer blend of Mango, Key Lime and Georgia Peach!

Click here for Mango Peach by Enchanted Meadow.

Several months ago we added the Finders KeyPurse key hooks and our ladies are loving them. So when I attended the January Gift Show and saw these great colorful purse accessories, it just seemed like a good idea to try adding more great new items in this direction.

The thing that grabbed my eye was the bright colors! These nicely crafted leather pieces are by Baekgaard, a Danish company. I tend to like European products and these are really cute. Their passport holder is featured as one of Oprah’s Favorite Things and they come in bright tartan plaids.

We are starting out with an assortment of Hold Everything Wallets, Passport Covers, chic City Hipster Purses and a couple of larger purses. Because we are a suburb of Clemson, I was very drawn to their new Violet color and the Pumpkin (Orange). These are the school colors in our area and I also added the Caribbean Blue and Yellow for our local Daniel High School moms.

Baekgaard’s new Colorful Leather Collection is fresh and bright for Spring and Summer. If you need a stylish passport cover for your summer vacation, we got it!

Update your style for spring with our great new wallets and purses by Baekgaard!

It’s been awhile since I took pictures of the Store to post on our blog. Leia used to love doing our windows and changing out the displays. Well now Deb loves doing this “chore”. Deb is doing a beautiful job with our window displays as you can see from her new St Patrick’s Day and Easter Windows:

Here are a few new pictures of the inside of our little store:

I did discuss taking a group photo of the Fresh Bet Ladies. Their response was underwhelming; so I will ask them again another day after they’ve gotten used to the idea. After all, I totally understand because I’m not much for pictures of myself anymore either. But we will try to get a group photo posted soon.

We are all very impressed with Aromatique. Their colors are gorgeous and the scents are simply divine! While we are not yet offering their Decorative Fragrance (Potpourri), we do now offer their Room Spray, Refresher Oil, Candles and Reed Diffusers.

For Spring, please consider a beautiful old-fashioned floral bouquet called “The Smell of Spring”. Their Fresh Fig is already selling well for us and is a great clean scent that is not too sweet. Our newest arrival is Citrus Plum Berry. YUM!

Long cold winter evenings are perfect for the brass light ring with refresher oil set pictured above. Simply add refresher oil to the lamp ring and place onto a light bulb. Please don’t fill the trough completely full though. When you turn the lamp on, the heat from the bulb will gently release wonderful fragrance into your room.

We also offer Room Spray and Glass candle in this lively citrus blend. Enjoy a fragrant blending of citrus, plums, and berries touched by a hint of musky vanilla and remind yourself that Spring is on the way!

Click here for Aromatique.

Apparently I went slap-crazy a few weeks ago when I ordered so many awesome new WoodWick goodies. I was delighted to see WoodWicks offering up new Reed Diffuser Refills because so many of our customers have requested these.

We are starting out with 10 WoodWick refill scents:

* Cinnamon Chai * Cotton Flower * Honeysuckle *
* Lavender * Linen * Orange Grove * Redwood *
* Sandalwood Clove * Tuberose* Vanilla Bean*


All of these Reed Diffuser Refill sets are beautifully gift boxed and include: one 7.4 oz bottle of oil and 10 new reeds. They are designed to fragrance for at least 3 months. Now you can create your own reed diffuser by using the glass container of your choice that best suits your decor.

Click here for WoodWick Candles, Reed Diffusers and Refills.

You could even mix & match the oil scents to create your own custom fragrance. Lastly, this is better for our landfills so we don’t keep throwing away jars and packaging. Because the oil is the most expensive part, these sell for $20.00 vs. the entire set which sells for $27.00

We also have more new WoodWick Reed Diffuser sets now available in:
* Aloe * Lemon Chiffon * Orange Grove * Pineapple * Water Lily *

Lastly, we have 5 new Old Virginia Wax Tarts just in for Spring/Summer 08:
* Campfire * Lavender * Lemon Meringue * Orange * Soft Cashmere *

Click here for Wax Tarts by Old Virginia at only $1.00/each

The folks at WoodWicks have created 12 new scents for Spring/Summer 2008. We have just received a shipment of the 22 oz size in these great new fragrances:

* Aloe * Amber Woods * Blackberry Crisp *
* Brown Sugar * Cashmere * Melon*
* Tuberose * Orange Grove * Peppercorn *
* Pineapple * Sunset Beach * Tradewinds * Water Lily *

Tuberose was very popular last year and then the Factory discontinued the fragrance. Naturally I was pleased they brought it back. Sunset Beach is not new, but was requested by Pamela to add to stock since it is one of her faves.

I have long known of Aromatique and remember admiring it nearly 10 years ago when I started this business. Aromatique has always stood firm that they only allow brick & mortar gift shops to retail their beautiful products. For this reason, we were never eligible before to offer this fine product line.

This month, while attending the January Gift Show in Atlanta, I stopped into their showroom to try again. Voila! Success! So, I am indeed proud and excited to report that we have now been accepted as an Aromatique retailer in our area.

We are starting out with 2 new scents that have just arrived at the store:
* Fresh Fig
* The Smell of Spring

Over the next 1-2 months we expect to receive:
* Peach Pizazz (NEW)
* Citrus Plum Berry
* Summer Sorbet

We will be offering: Room Sprays, Refresher Oil w/brass ring set, Reed Diffusers and Glass Candles. They gave me a Peach Pizazz votive candle to bring home and I have to tell you I was VERY IMPRESSED with the fragrance and scent throw. For such a small candle, it did an excellent job of fragrancing my entire kitchen and even wafted into the living room. Excellent performance!

Their glass candles are 5 oz and sell for $10.00 - a great value! Their room sprays are comparable to Claire Burke and sell for $10.00. I am so happy to be able to offer you a brass light ring with refresher oil set. These are perfect for winter evenings.

We will be working hard to get all these new items uploaded to the site asap. In the meantime, feel free to call the ladies at our toll-free number (1-800-322-0525) and they will gladly take your phone order.

We only recently added the Caswell-Massey line and it has been quite well received. Their men’s lines are wonderful so we thought we should expand the ladies bath & body offering.

Our 2 new scents are: Almond & Aloe and English Lavender. Caswell-Massey tells me these are their top selling ladies scents. Deb has already been using the Almond & Aloe lotion and seems to simply love it! I recall Jenn always like the scent of Almond too. My personal favorite would be the Lavender.

In Almond & Aloe, we are starting out with Cold Cream Bath Soaps, Foaming Bath gel and Hand & Body Emulsion.

For the English Lavender, we are starting with: their Foaming Bath Gel and Body Lotion.

There is a local gent who has been shopping in our store lately who seems to adore the Caswell Massey. He specifically requested their Verbena line so we now offer: Bath Soap, After-Shave and Spray Cologne in this delightfully fresh lemony scent.

Last, but not least, is my husband’s new favorite: Tricorn. The Factory mistakenly shipped us the Tricorn soaps and I gave a box of them to Wade for Christmas. He really likes this fragrance, so I thought we should also offer: After-Shave, Cologne and Bath Soaps.

So, if you are looking for a personal gift for a loved one for Valentines Day, consider our MADE IN THE USA Caswell-Massey bath and body for both men and women alike. Click here for more information.

Chocolate candles and home fragrances have been growing in popularity over the past few years. Typically I am reserved about adding new trends that I am not sure will be long-term. However, I continue to see more and more chocolate items, so I thought we better get on board.Sonoma Lavender is a lovely company out of the Napa Valley of California who produces natural, hand-made products in the USA. It has become rare to find domestically produced products, so I usually jump on them when I find them!

Sonoma has introduced a new line of Sonoma Chocolate just in time for Valentines Day. I sniffed these at the show and they are truly chocolate-ey! We are pleased to announce we have added 3 new items:
* Cocoa the Bear
* Sonoma Chocolate Soy Candle in Glass
* Sonoma Chocolate Soaps in round Gift Box

You can find these items by clicking this link.

If you are looking for other wonderful Valentine’s Day Gift Suggestions, we have them! Our Kama Sutra line is perfect for this holiday.
Click here for Valentines Day Gift Suggestions.