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

We have lots of gentlemen customers at the Fresh Bet website. In the past we have only been able to offer the Zen for Men bodycare line. We are now pleased to announce that we have just added the Caswell-Massey line for Gents.

Caswell-Massey is “America’s Oldest Perfumer” established in 1752. They are America’s 4th oldest continuing company having been established in Newport, Rhode Island in 1752. This year they are celebrating their 254th Anniversary!

Caswell-Massey has a wonderful history that encompasses fragrances worn by such luminaries as Presidents George Washington and John Kennedy, the Eisenhower Family for the White House and other noteworthy Hollywood Celebrities like John Barrymore and Cole Porter. These are sophisticated gents who found many of the Caswell-Massey scents to their liking.

We are starting out with: Greenbriar, Jockey Club, Newport, Number Six and Sandalwood. We have soaps, body wash, lotion, after shave balm, shave cream and cologne.

Caswell-Massey products have a deep sense of history and authenticity with quality being their top focus. They use only the finest perfume grade oils to scent their products and there are no synthetic shortcuts. Only the purest, natural botanicals are utilized and they do not utilize animal testing. These are truly luxury items for those who use only the very best toiletries.

Click here for Caswell-Massey.

A few weeks ago, Wade & I were down at the store when a gent came in to look for some men’s care products. He was clearly a sophisticated professional who was searching for upscale skin care. We’ve always had a small selection in this area and it became clear to me that we needed to do something about that right away!

I started researching upscale men’s lines and we decided to add two fine lines to our Fresh Bet offering: Roger & Gallet and Caswell-Massey. It only seemed logical to me that we should go to the Atlanta Mart to sniff these new items in person before we ordered. So, I dragged Wade down to Atlanta as my official men’s product line buyer. I am pleased to report that we now have 2 lovely new men’s lines in stock just in time for the Holiday gift-giving season.

Roger & Gallet of Paris is imported from France with elegant and beautiful packaging. We are starting with 3 of their unisex fragrances and 2 of their Men’s fragrances. All of these are best sellers and the price points are fair enough for such luxury items.

For the gents we have: L’Homme and L’Homme Essential.

Their best selling scent and also their oldest is called: Jean Marie Farina. This scent is used by both men and women alike.

Their next best selling scent is Vetyver. We also opted to add their line called: Bouquet Imperial which my husband liked and the packaging is Orange so this works well for us here in Clemson. We are starting out with basics in Cologne, Soap, Bodywash, Lotion and a few gents hair products.

Click here for Roger & Gallet.

Our Rep has just informed me that the Enchanted Meadow Factory has decided to drop their Chai line of Zen for Men. This is sad news for us because Chai has become a best seller with our clientele and is also loved by the ladies as well.

We will attempt to stock up on this scent for winter, but when the Factory inventory is depleted there will be no more. So, if you love the Enchanted Meadow Chai scent, stock up now!

We have just been notified that the Claire Burke Factory has decided to discontinue all Refresher Oil Sprays. Apparently they are already sold out on Original and there will be no more. They still have Applejack, Wisteria, Citrus Blush, Sheer Vanilla and The Sea so we will attempt to stock up on these before they are entirely depleted.

Several weeks ago they informed us they have discontinued production of the large deluxe size bag of Potpourri which was 3.0 dry quarts. Now with this change to the refresher oils, it would seem they will be coming out with all Potpourri including one refresher oil. In other words, we can no longer offer Refresher Oil as a separate item.

Throughout the next few months we will probably see a new size potpourri being offered with the refresher oil to replace the existing 1.6 quart small bag and 3 qt large bag. I will continue to ask them to consider bringing back an individual refresher oil that is not in spray format.

This past July while attending the Gift Show, I had a chance to meet Rebecca; who is the co-owner of Sonoma Lavender. She told me that heat wraps and spa booties were some of her most popular items. I had seen them in their catalog before, but wasn’t sure about offering them.

Well, I came home and thought about it for awhile and decided we should give it a go. So, we now have quite a bit of new Sonoma items for your spa at home personal time this winter. Sonoma also introduced their new scent: Sonoma Spice - absolutely fabulous dahling!

We have always offered the Sonoma Lavender because Lavender is such a personal favorite of mine. The Sonoma Eucalyptus was their 2nd scent they released a few years ago and it has definitely been picking up in popularity. Many companies just don’t offer Eucalyptus and the Sonoma is all natural…win-win!

Now their new Spice is beautifully presented in rust and purple colors with some of my personal faves: cinnamon, cloves, lemon and rosemary. (I just adore Rosemary!).

Kayce and I have been busy adding all the new Spa Plush heat wraps, neck pillows, spa booties and sachets-by-the-yard to the website for the past week. All of these plush spa beauties are made from rich fabrics that just make you want to run your hand across them and savor the softness of their touch. Beautiful colors in elegant greens, Vibrant Purple & Rust and of course soothing lavender colors in various embroidered or dot patterns.

My mother Norah, used a neck pillow as she got older to help naturally relieve neck aches. She would pop it in the microwave briefly and then lay in her lounger with her neck pillow late in the afternoon. This sage green color was Norah’s favorite!

Personally I love the Purple and Rust colors. Winter will soon be here; so grab a pair of these fabulous spa booties to warm up cold and aching feet:

Last, but not least, consider these fun heated pets for your inner child:

We have Lou the Lavender Teddy Bear, Spunky the Spice Monkey, Lulu the Lavender Poodle, Lil the Lavender Bunny and Lovey the Lavender Lamb. These fun heated pets look great and they are functional aromatherapy when heated in the microwave to release their fragrant blends.

A while back Pamela asked me why we didn’t have more bubble bath and bath soak items. It got me to thinking that maybe we were lacking in this area. So, I decided we should add more variety to our “At Home Spa” page.

Because I believe more of us are seeking natural and organic products, I have added the 30 year old line made by Abra Therapeutics. Their new line of Aroma Therapeutics is beautifully packaged and made with wonderful essential oil blends.

We are starting out with several bubbling meditation bath scents and body scrub in 10-14 oz jars that are perfect for the winter months: Moisture Revival, Cellular Detox, Deep Relaxation and Sensual Surrender.

Because many of us like to sample items before we buy a larger size, I have also added several of the bath packets by Abra in: Muscle Therapy, Stress Therapy and Cellular Detox. This is a good try it size and would also be great as a stocking stuffer or gift basket addition.

Click here for Abra Aroma Therapeutics.

Below is an excerpt from the TC Fragrance Focus Newsletter written by Jen Hart in Nov 2007:
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When smelling too many intense scents, the sense of smell can become saturated, making it hard to discern the difference between fragrances. Sniffing the scent of coffee beans can actually clear your nasal passages, in the same way that sorbet is served to cleanse the palate between courses in a restaurant. It is sort of like a reset button for your nose.
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We have just added several coffee bean shakers in the Fresh Bet Retail Store for this very reason!

Below is an excerpt from the TC Fragrance Focus Newsletter written by Jen Hart in Nov 2007:
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FOR HER
PERFUME — The strongest, longest-lasting fragrance form. Apply at all the pulse points. The heat of the body at these points will assure a well-balanced fragrance application.
EAU DE PARFUM — Found in many of the fine fragrance collections, it assures a long-lasting concentrated application and prepares the skin for the perfume application.
TOILET WATER — Less concentrated than Eau de Parfum.

FOR HIM
COLOGNE — Men’s cologne is usually the most concentrated and lasting form of fragrance, blending natural essential oils and aroma molecules. Like perfume, a fine cologne may contain several hundred different ingredients. Since fragrance rises, it should be splashed or sprayed on the body from the feet up.
AFTERSHAVE — Next in strength to cologne, it is also made of perfume oils in a hydro-alcoholic solution. Created to be applied to the face, there are two forms of After Shave Lotions — one features cooling astringent qualities to heal small nicks and cuts. The other, a relatively new
development in After Shave Lotions, incorporates ingredients which moisturize and smooth the
skin. The scent is formulated to perform for a short time.

Sadly with today’s high fuel prices UPS is raising our costs by 5% for 2008 for all ground shipments. These new rates will go into effect on December 31, 2007 for calendar year 2008. Below is an excerpt from their notification:
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As 2008 approaches, all of us at UPS would like to express our appreciation for your continued business. To help you plan for the coming year, we want you to know about new UPS rates and services that will take effect December 31, 2007.

UPS published small package Daily Rates will change as follows*: UPS Ground and UPS Standard to Canada services will increase 4.9%. Air and International express services will increase a net 4.9% through a combination of a 6.9% increase in rates and a 2% reduction in the air and international fuel surcharge.

Changes will also be made to accessorial charges. Delivery Area Surcharges and Residential Surcharges will increase by $0.10. The Additional Handling charge will increase by $0.50 and the charge for Address Corrections for UPS Ground packages will increase by $1.00. The charge for Declared Value will increase by $0.05 per $100 of Declared Value, with a minimum charge of $1.80, and you, as the shipper, will have the option to bill Declared Value charges for Freight Collect shipments to your account. To see the complete list of accessorial changes, please visit ups.com/rates.
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Please know that I absolutely HATE having to raise our shipping costs to our customers. But, we are a small business and we try to keep our rates evenly matched to our actual costs. Therefore, we will most like have to increase our shipping costs as well.

Fresh Bet will continue to shop between the US Postal Service, UPS & FedEx to try to find the best shipping rate for our customers. We appreciate your patience and understanding in this area.

We had a Rebate Program in 2006 that was so well received, I thought we should repeat it again for 2008! The basics are the same. The result is essentially a 10% rebate for our loyal customers who choose to make Fresh Bet their home fragrance retailer of choice.

Here’s how it works:

* You will receive a postcard with your next shipment that explains the program on the front of the card.
* On the back of the card you simply record each purchase by Sale # and dollar amount.
* When you reach the desired level, simply mail it to us and we will mail or email you a rebate coupon. Simple enough!
* The program will end in the 4th quarter of 2008, so be sure to mail your postcards back to us by November 2008.

Now you can accumulate your purchases with Fresh Bet Home Fragrances over the next 6-12 months and use your Rebate Coupon towards FREE Stuff!

Here are the rebate levels:

* $200.00 - $249.99 - $20.00 off Coupon
* $250.00 - $349.99 - $25.00 off Coupon
* $350.00 - $449.99 - $35.00 off Coupon
* $450.00 - $549.99 - $45.00 off Coupon
* $550.00 or more - $55.00 off Coupon

So keep an eye out for the lavender Rebate Postcard in your next order! As always, thanks for shopping with Freshbet.com.

Bet