Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 17, 1995 TAG: 9511170018
SECTION: HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE PAGE: HGG-26 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH COX
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Bath products are for everyone, all ages, both sexes, and make great teacher, aunt, secret pal and stocking gifts. The scents and flavors, the appropriateness and the market for these bath goodies vary widely.
Walk into a Bath & Body Works store (Valley View Mall) and become inundated with the layers of different fragrances.
Layering, mind you, is the key phrase there. According to spokesperson Barbara Jorgensen, layering is a new concept that allows you to create a unique fragrance that lasts all day.
"I was told to never, ever mix fragrances. But people are doing whatever they feel like doing - you cannot believe the phenomenon,'' she said. Stephanie Bird, store director, pointed out that in general, Bath & Body works has three "categories" of scents - fruity, clean and floral. When layering, a good rule is to stay within one category, but that's just a guideline. The store has swatches of paper (good for your dresser drawers) on which you can spray combinations of scents - they call the combination of vanilla body splash over Plumeria body lotion "Island Vanilla," and vanilla body splash over peach nectar body lotion "Peaches and Cream." In the clean category, you might try a combination of honeysuckle and sea spray scents.
You'd think, perhaps, that this approach to smelling delicious is restricted to youth, but not so, says Jorgensen. "A significant number of older women, who are having a good time making their daily routine fun,'' indulge in the new scents now available. After all, said Jorgensen, "It's not caloric, it doesn't depend on size, and people can always use a soap or body lotion.''
At Bath & Body Works, the possibilities extend from body lotions to home fragrances, so your environment becomes an extension of yourself. With scented packets that can be used in a variety of ways - sprinkled in the vacuum cleaner, put in a simmering pot, placed in a holder in the bathroom or kitchen - your home can be layered, too.
Try vanilla and mulberry, suggested Bird, for a tangy and warm fragrance. Or light one of their pillar candles that lasts about 45 hours.
From a $4.50 jelly jar filled with fragrance, to a $12.50 jar of Milk & Honey Cream Bath, you can select a basketful of items or give one special gift.
During the holidays, the store has a variety of gift baskets, sleighs, boxes, buckets, mugs and trays filled with pre-selected fragrances in a variety of forms. They are specially priced for the holidays; for instance, a decorative wall hanging contains shower gel, body lotion, glycerin soap and a mesh sponge, a retail value of $35 for $27.50.
But why buy special soap at all, when the soap you grew up with works just fine? Because, explained Caswell-Massey representative Gary Zimmerman, his soap line is triple-milled. This process extracts as much moisture from the product as possible, making it longer-lasting and placing fragrance throughout. In other words, there is some expense justification as well as a great deal of pleasure in using luxurious bath products.
Vickie Terry, owner of the Blue Ribbon Boutique on the Roanoke City Market, said she can look at some customers and know they're going to buy a gardenia-scented product. She also claims to know who is going to buy violet.
Terry carries a line of products especially mild enough for little girls - Crabtree & Evelyn's Susannah. Teenagers like Spring Rain, and grandmothers, she said, like scents such as rose and violet. In addition, Crabtree & Evelyn has recently introduced a new line, La Source, with vitamins A and E. It's available in a clay masque, hydrating cream, soap, shower and bath gel and a massage gel.
Terry can put together a basket or bag of goodies - and does so for corporate clients during the holidays - tie it with a French ribbon, and make it fit for a king, queen, prince or princess. After all, everyone's entitled to luxury.
by CNB