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

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.