Deep, dark secrets of the commercial shell trade...

You know those little plastic-covered baskets filled with shells that they sell at the tourist places near the beach?  I guess I always figured locals picked the shells off the beach and sold them as is.  Turns out most of those shells were collected live in the ocean and then the animal inside was promptly killed and the shell cleaned out and sold.  Easiest way to get a perfect shell.  So all of those shells decorating mirrors and lamps etc were probably collected live and then killed just to make our mirrors and lamps etc seem beachy.  Hmmm.  Now that doesn't seem too peachy...

how to break down the scent of a fragrance

A know-it-all musician came up with the naming of essential oil fragrance weights: top notes, middle notes, and base notes. Top notes are the fleeting scents you smell immediately – and then they pretty quickly fade away. Citrus and mints are a couple of loud-mouth top notes that scream, “HERE I AM” and then quickly leave by the backdoor. The middle notes are noticed next but also fade fairly quickly. Herbs and flowers such as Rosemary, Lavender, Palmarosa, Pettitgrain, Rose, and Geranium are examples of middle notes. The lingering scents you notice the longest are the base notes. They tend to be woodsy, musky scents like Patchouli, Vetiver, Frankincense, Cedarwood, and Sandalwood. Sort of the full-figured fragrances that lounge around after everyone else has left the building. And then there are the oils that bridge the blend of fragrances. Instead of acting as a top, middle or base note, these bridge notes blend all of the other notes; they sort of act like the peace makers and work to make everybody get along. Litsea cubeba, lemongrass, lavender and ylang ylang are examples of those easy-to-get-along with bridge notes. And that's what a musician of long ago decided was the best way to dissect a fragrance.

It’s a perfume; no, it’s a cologne; no, it’s an aftershave…ok, I don’t know what it is

There really are definitions for these fragrances. It's based on the percentage of essential oil (or synthetic fragrance oil) to total weight. Perfume's the heaviest and aftershave the most diluted. And everything else is somewhere in between. Here's the general breakdown: Perfume - 20% to 30%, Cologne - 15% to 20%, Eau de Cologne - 12% to 17%, Eau de Toilette - 5% to 10%, Aftershave - 2% to 5%. And now you're ready for jeopardy perfume definition day...if it should ever come up.