New for Year 2000 Colognes

• Amber Essence
• Lavender
• Lemon Geranium
• Marco Polo
• Montserrate Lime
• Mountain Sage
• Pacific Mist
• Phome
• Portuguese Breakfast
• Sauna
• Sun & Sky
• Surrender to Summer
• Tsunami
• Zanzibar

• cleaning your hands-will even remove “gasoline smell” from hands!
• refreshing your spirits
• refreshing your clothes
• refreshing your hair [not too often alcohol is drying]
• refreshing your room/car/space
• changing attitude/yours and others
• cleaning ink off desk/be careful of varnished surfaces
• removing smoke from a room/car/space
• removing any oil based messy stuff
• cleaning non-plastic glasses
• cleaning phones/antibacterial
• spritz your hands when you have a cold
• spritz public toilet seats and hand flusher/doorknobs
• emergency mouth wash [doesn’t taste great… I did say emergency]
• poison ivy [washes away urushiol, plant oil that causes itch]
• Minor cuts/scrapes [stings, remember Merthiolate?] antibacterial

Colognes were historically the first “dry cleaners”, hand sanitizers, mouth washes [!], room fresheners and antibacterial agents. We now think of colognes as merely “scent” for our bodies. We have forgotten that the Europeans, Egyptians, Romans and other ancients used essential oils in various mixtures as medicines and foods as well as enhancements to their physical bodies. Religious writings of the past are full of references to Frankincense, Myrrh, Cloves, Cassia,[Cinnamon], Sandalwood, Attar of Rose, the list is voluminous. Before the synthetic drug industry, plant and animal extracts were used widely and had powerful economic value. The Arab culture established caravan routes far into the African subcontinent centuries before Sir Richard Burton and company “discovered” and named Africa’s Lake Victoria.

If we are once again rediscovering the benefits and beauties of essential oils, we will learn that they are not oils at all, even though they generally float on water, but sophisticated plant compounds that are largely made up of complex alcohols. They are varied in their abilities to effect the heath of the user. They can have physical as well as mental and spiritual effects. The recent surge of literature devoted to aromatherapy is evidence that the layman is indeed interested in going back to the roots of healing. We moderns are taking to heart the recent chestnut, “Just Say No to Drugs”.

In light of this reemergence, we are urged to read all we can on the topics of health, healing, spiritual guidance, aromatherapy, herbal medicine, homeopathy, flower essences, runes, feng shui etc. It seems now that everything is effecting our health. This is a very ancient belief as historians have discovered. The same herbs used as a sacrament were also used daily for food, cosmetic, medicines, and even embalming. Trade was prolific. Lives were risked and wars fought over the Frankincense routes of the middle east.

As we begin to once again steep ourselves in the usefulness of everyday herbs we discover anew multipurpose uses for common concoctions. Cologne is simply essential oil diluted in an alcohol base. This means that the antibacterial properties are multiplied, the expensive essential oils can now be used more lavishly, and you can remove even more varnish from your furniture if you are not careful!* But seriously, these diluted oils are more useful than ever in cologne form. Since their scent is fleeting, they can be used around people who often do not like heavy perfumes. They are certainly more pleasant as cleaners than many commercially prepared concoctions. Easily portable, they do not freeze and may stay in your car’s glove box ready for soiled hands or a quick refreshing spritz. Changing your mood when driving can be a life-saver! It will also change the mood of your passengers, so make sure you understand aromatherapy, you may want to relax your guests but if you are the driver you don’t want to relax too much!

*essential oils will remove finishes from wood and metal because they are alcohol [solvents]