Thank you for participating in our Lavender Pop Quiz. You will learn some fun and surprising lavender facts, and the first 5 participants to get 95% right or higher win free products. You can choose between free 8 oz body butter, shea oil, or any size travel spray. Here is how to play.
Step 1- Read the test below.
Step 2- Send in your answers to us via chat in the following format
1. True
2. False
3. a
4. The Piggly Wiggly grocery store
You will get your grade and prize. No worries if you don't get 95% right. Of course we appreciate you for participating. So here are the rewards.
100-95% right = FREE PRODUCTS
94%-80% right = 50% OFF COUPON CODE
79%-60% right = 30% OFF COUPON CODE
59% and below = 15% OFF COUPON CODE
Okay let's get started!
8. Lavender is part of what herb family?
a) the mint family
b) the rose family
c) the sunflower family
d) the Adams family
9. What chakra is the color purple associated with?
a) the root chakra
b) the heart chakra
c) the crown chakra
d) chakra khan
10. Who sells Lemon Lavender Pound Cake
a) Williams Sonoma
b) Sur La Tab
c) Neiman Marcus
11. Who brought lavender to New Mexico?
a) Spanish Conquistadors in the 1600's
b) English Settlers in the 1700's
c) Prince in 1999
12. Where can you buy culinary lavender?
a) Walmart
b) Amazon
c) Whole Foods
d) All of the above
13. Where can you find a lavender martini in Dubai?
a) Nikki Beach Resort and Spa
b) Emirates First Class Lounge in Concourse B
c) That private VIP party that you can't remember going to.
14. Lavender was used as what in France during medieval times.?
15. What French king liked to bath in lavender scented water?
16. Who sells organic lavender flavored ice cream?
17. What's the name of the lavender farm featured in our Instagram reel?
18. What is the name of the lavender drink on the Starbucks secret menu?
19.Who is the female pop artist that used the word Lavender in the title of her song?
20. Where is the largest lavender farm in the world?
Well those are the 20 questions. Thanks so much again for participating, and if you have any questions please send a chat :-)
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First a little history. Well this is the abridged version of the abridged version. Other wise this might turn into an e-book lol. If you'd like to know about the full back story of Skin Like Butter you can find it here. This bit is how Etsy and Skin Like Butter came to be. I'm pretty sure it was the summer of 2011 and I was doing a really cool craft fair called Patchwork. Patchwork was the scaled down Southern California version Renegade. It was where hipster met fancy. Fancy is a real thing. Before there was Etsy there was Renegade. You know what we are going to dive into the hipster/fancy world just for a bit because it's worth noting. The hipster vibe is rooted in the fancy world. Not luxury, but fancy. There is a huge difference between the two. Meaning hipster would be vintage, wiggle dress, an antique broach, an art deco armoire, a turn of the century bike, Solange Knowles' amazing wedding, vinyl (I know there is more to it, but I'm trying to be brief), Then the fancy world meets the hipster world with fancy food, fancy coffee, seasonings, vintage goes farther to antiques. Okay we are getting the vibe now? Okay so I'm doing Patchwork and someone gives me this brochure for something called CRAFTED.
Patchwork, Renegade, and a few other events were all juried and hard to get into. CRAFTED was going to take that to another level, and unlike the other events it was going to be a venue. It was Etsy (the way Etsy used to be) live and in person. The grand opening was amazing. When CRAFTED opened the internet was a teenager, and Etsy was a toddler. Etsy was a big part of CRAFTED, which I'm going to talk more about CRAFTED in another blog post because wow those first 6 months were amazing, and although it didn't live up to it's potential it's still awesome. Like I mentioned earlier CRAFTED was the live and in person Etsy so it was softly required of you to have an Etsy shop as part of your acceptance into the marketplace. Although I loved Etsy, I never planned on ever having an Etsy store. I wanted to stay rooted in the Fancy world, and build a fancy brand but well sometimes God has other plans. It was really just timing. Well it was a lot of hard work, but timing for sure. Between the years of I would say 2010 and well 2020 the internet took off like a rocket. The Skin Like Butter Etsy store took off like a rocket too. Everyone who is here was along for that wonderful ride. Thank you so much again. And to the thousands of Skin Like Butter Etsy store lovers who aren't here....hey still here!!! Come home!!
So yeah now that we have the Skin Like Butter Etsy store back story sorted, we can now talk about the big beautiful yacht that is skinlikebutterbodycare.com. This site is actually the Etsy store rebuilt, but just better. Actually, well no not a fan of leaving Etsy well ever, but as fate would have it there was a brand new theme (thank God for those amazing theme designers for non tech people like yours truly) that was almost the exact look and feel of Etsy stores. I was really happy about that so that my returning Etsy shoppers could feel right at home here on Shopify. So as we tour the store there are going to be a lot of references made to the former Skin Like Butter Etsy store.
Skin Like Butter is a lot. There were over 1500 listings on our Etsy store. Even though I had a mini boutique on the front page of the Etsy store with drop down menus on all of the items, that is not the way the Etsy shoppers would shop. What I would always notice was that they would always go to the search bar first and search for their favorite scent. Once they did that it would work like this. Lets say they put in Creme Brulee. Well what they would get would be
Well you get the picture right. All of the Creme Brulee listings would appear and they could pick which one they wanted. The little life boat didn't do that. There could only be the store and the drop down. So here well I'm up to the big 5 items. There are separate listings for the
in I think I'm up to 120 scents for each. No worries though all of the listings for every scent for every product will have their own listing just like they did on the Etsy store.
Now this is where Shopify starts to outshine Etsy. Here is the major difference. Etsy is a marketplace, where as Shopify is a platform. Kind of think of it like this. Etsy is a huge cruise ship that allows brands to create amazing treasures for the passengers on the huge ship to discover and enjoy. Shopify on the other and provides the tools for brands to create unique custom sailing vessels for THEIR passengers to enjoy amazing treasures AND a custom tailored voyage as well. For example in this case the wish list on Skinlikebutterbodycare.com. Etsy is huge right. So what in the world could be better than a wish list on Etsy right. What might be better is a wish list sourced from any brand on the planet all in one place. Your wish list can have Skin Like Butter, Tiffany's, Restoration Hardware, the delicious little cheese shop you discovered in Nice,France. All of your wishes all in one place.
This what I wanted to badly on Etsy because I really REALLY appreciated it when you guys chose Skin Like Butter out of all of those hundreds of choices not once, but over and over again. Now here on Shopify you get automatic rewards every time you shop. You get rewards for a whole lot more too. You can visit the rewards program by clicking on the little crown in the lower left hand corner.
Unlike Etsy, there are and unlimited amount of coupon codes, with all kinds of combinations here on Shopify. More on that in part 2 when we talk about gift giving, and tips and tricks for savvy shopping. Speaking of coupon codes here's one right here. WELCOMEBACKDAY1S. This is if you are a day one and haven't ever slipped away, if you just came back today, and everything in between. This coupon code is to celebrate our most popular item. Our body butter. This coupon code doesn't expire. It's a one time use code you can keep in your back pocket literally lol. It's buy One 8 ounce body butter, and get a travel size free.
Again this is a big THANK YOU NOTE to everyone to contributed to this one year anniversary of the rebuild of the Etsy store coming true. Is this hard? Absolutely. Still have those Titanic moments and think well this might be the last day. TBH still not sure if that day is on the horizon. But I'll keep fighting and hanging on to Skin Like Butter alive, and the much loved and dedicated customers happy...new and old. Welcome aboard!!!
See you soon for part 2
]]>Fancy, and LUXURY are not the same. However, most people don't know the difference, or even that there is a difference. Also, that fancy is a real actual product and class category.
Wait. Before you click off because you don't agree, or this seems completely unimportant to you. There is one fancy thing that people do know about. Boutique Hotels.
Now do I have your attention? Okay let's continue
There is a distinct difference, but the reason most people don't know about fancy is because fancy is hidden from the masses. You won't find it at the grocery store, you won't find it at the mall, not even in Beverly Hills. Of course it's on Amazon, and the internet as well if it's not on Amazon, but you have to know the right key word to find it. I'm so afraid of posting this blog post because I feel like I'm going to come off as snobby, or ill informed or both. There is a real trade show called the Fancy Food Show. You have to have certain trade credentials to get in. It's not called the gourmet food show, or the luxury food show, or the natural food show (that's a thing too). There is a reason why it's called the Fancy Food Show. The internet is forever. So if I make a fool of myself with this post that's forever. Yikes! But I'm going to take that risk because I know even if you think I'm some silly, ill informed snob, once you discover the world of fancy (not luxury) your life will be enriched and as they say, thank me later :-).
There are actually more areas like musical instruments, architecture, fashion, interior design, I could go on. But I want to stick to thinks you use in you everyday life.
Now let's talk about the characteristics of fancy, and the stark difference between fancy and LUXURY. I think these two beautiful automobiles show the difference perfectly, and is a great place to start. These bullet points might repeat from the paragraphs above, but I wanted to put the points in this format to make them stand out and also to be easily remembered.
Let's start with fancy
Okay that covers the important parts. I will talk a bit more when we get into the specific categories. Now lets talk about LUXURY.
LUXURY
Again there's more to it but I think we have enough to work with to make the overall distinction between fancy and LUXURY. Here are more photos to illustrate the point.
Fancy is a Grade A cashmere sweater, and buttery soft Italian lambskin trousers. LUXURY is a cotton t-shirt with GUCCI printed on it and GUCCI sweatpants to match. Whether it's a belt buckle, a broach, sweat pants, or the famous bag, it's still LUXURY because it's a GUCCI belt buckle, broach, sweat pants, or handbag. Where as the cashmere sweater may be luxurious, it's not LUXURY. It's fancy. You're not going to get any social status from wearing a Grade A cashmere sweater, and highest quality buttery soft Italian lambskin trousers, but it will feel so amazing and luxurious. Now remember I said you don't find fancy at the mall. Where you will find it is tucked away in very rich and affluent neighborhoods and small quaint little cities like Chocolate & Cashmere, that's tucked away in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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You know what never gets old? Getting up in the morning and watching a beautiful battalion of hot air balloons glide across the sky as I watch them on my balcony. Those sunsets are pretty awesome too, but those balloons are something else. A battalion of Lear Jets streaking across the sky um just wouldn't hit me the same way. Every now and then a team of fighter jets tear across the sky and scare the living day lights out of me. So yeah for me I'd take drinking a nice bottle of wine in a hot air balloon any day to drinking it on a private jet. Now taking a private jet to my favorite fancy boutique hotel in Cape Town, South Africa -
Now that is bucket list stuff right there. Would you be able to get social status when you tell your friends that you stayed at the La Fontaine in Africa. Well probably not. First of all because when people envision Africa luxury and social status definitely doesn't come to mind. And who has even heard of the La Fontaine. However, if you said you stayed at the Waldorf in Vegas, yup social status galore. Totally different experience though.
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I know you can find those things listed above (not the demerara sugar) at the grocery store, but they won't be the fancy version. I wanted to mention them though just so you will have it. That is what I would talk about in part 2 is how to find the fancy versions of all of them. This is actually the tip of a very large iceberg. It's a start though. So yeah if you want to impress your friends at a dinner party just grab some champagne and caviar. Done and done. However, if you want to indulge like royalty, fancy food, not gourmet food. is the only ingredient that will do that. That is why there is a trade show called the Fancy Food show. It's very hard to get into, you need the right credentials and it's for the trade, but it is Disneyland for the palate. If enough people actually read this blog post, I might do a part 2 just on fancy food because there is a lot to cover. However, since I only have a little more than 300 Instagram followers...um I'm thinking maybe I might get 5 people to read the blog lol. No worries, it's part of the nature of being fancy. Not a lot of people know about us.
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I believe in everything I do, but I have to be honest this is bit uncomfortable because this feels like a shameless plug. Everything I'm about to say is true I just think when I say it it's going to come off like I'm trying to sell something. You know salesy like a used car salesman. But you know now that I think about it, it is kind of important that I do say what I'm about to say. It will put Skin Like Butter in the proper context especially since it's not on Etsy anymore.
Actually let's start there. Skin Like Butter IS fancy, which is why it was so successful on Etsy. I'm going to sound like an old man now, but back in my day way back when Etsy first started it was a place where the fancy world, and the handmade world met. I had never planned on being on Etsy because I was already in the fancy world. That is a long story of that decision so another blog post. The important bit was and still is that I've always wanted to masses, or at least more of the masses to have access to fancy. The beauty industry is where fancy is REALLY hard to find. Luxury beauty is everywhere. It's in every mall and nook and cranny. Unlike fancy food which is just as hard to find, luxury beauty brands are sometimes not healthy AT ALL. Luckily that is changing, and with the internet most of the healthy beauty brands are very accessible to people. That makes me happy.
Okay so what's fancy about Skin Like Butter. Um how can I say this without sounding salesy. Well in a word it's the best of both worlds. It's healthy and luxurious at the same time. I have to be careful here because Shopify will ding me if I tell you the actual benefits of the ingredients. I will put it this way. Remember earlier when I was describing the GRADE A cashmere sweater. Well let's take Lavender Essential Oil for example. There are different grades, tons of grades, and I use the highest grade in our lavender argan oil for example. Take our Argan Oil. Wow there are a lot of variations in Argan everywhere. My argan oil is hand deodorized, virgin, organic argan oil. The Shea Oil is as unique as the argan oil. Why is that important? Because Skin Like Butter is fancy, not just healthy. I can't just have Shea Oil, or Argan Oil. There are many companies now days that do have Shea Oil, and Argan oil that are very beneficial. Skin Like Butters shea and argan oil has to be fancy because it has to smell amazing. Meaning it has to still be natural and beneficial, but designed in such a way that the scent canvass is completely clean so that all of the notes in all of our beautiful fragrances can accurately come through. Remember I'm fancy, so there are things I'm exposed to that aren't common. For example, years ago my friend and sorority sister and I went to tea at the Huntington Library in San Marino. OMG when I walked through their rose garden it was the most beautiful smell of rose I had ever smelled. And I don't even like Rose scents, or at least I thought I didn't. It took me about 2 years of searching and I found that exact rose that engulfed me at the Huntington Library, and my customers love it as much as I do. Had I not gone to tea that day that rose wouldn't exist, because I don't like rose. The same with Jo Malone. Ugh I fell in love with her Orange Blossom. Talk about fancy. DIVINE!! However, her ingredients for her body cream not so much. That scent was a must have, and I had it custom made when I couldn't find an Orange Blossom that smelled like her Orange Blossom. Actually the Skin Like Butter's Orange Blossom is a little better. That is only because it's a bit clearer which if you read finding your signature scent you would know why that's important.
I found out the hard way (4th paragraph if you read the story) that if you are a fancy brand it's not good for too many people to find out about you. Especially if it's all at one time. Remember, in the beginning I said fancy is not made for mass production. If you are reading this you are on the sister site of skinlikebutter.com. It's on skinlikebutter.com that you will be able to read the reviews of my customers who love Skin Like Butter and have been loyal for decades. And although it's a real struggle to stay in existence without Etsy, it's my customers who keep me fighting the good fight to keep Skin Like Butter alive. Okay fine it's for selfish reasons too because I want a fancy AND healthy which there is only one Skin Like Butter. But just so you know what I mean by fancy bath and body, not Luxury, and well not necessarily healthy (not unhealthy to be clear), but sooooo fancy let me share with you a few of my absolute favs. Shelley Kyle, Lollia, Tokyo Milk, Mor,
Why are there two sites. Well this is the fancy site :-). All jokes aside, this is the fancy site, but I also learned from what happened on Etsy to make sure I have two as a backup just in case.
What's the most distinctive characteristic about fancy? It's hidden. That's the same with fancy hospitality. Hotel Bel Air, for example, is nestled deep inside of Bel Air. Before technology, if you had never been there, had never been invited to a wedding there, had never been invited to brunch there, you would never know it even existed, let alone how to get there. The Beverly Hills Hotel was for Hollywood celebrities. The Hotel Bel Air was for Hollywood Royalty, Los Angeles Royalty, well Royalty. Think about it. If it's designed for Royalty it's not designed to impress. They are royalty! You can't impress them. You affirm their royalty. So when you walk in the door they don't ask you for your royal id card lol. Of course not? They make you feel like royalty too. They don't impress you, they enrich you. The beauty, the gardens, the swans, the fragrance, the ahhhhhh. You get that whether you are paying $25,000 a night, or $500 a night. Maybe it's just me, maybe it's where and how it's situated, but although both the Beverly Hills Hotel, and Hotel Bel Air are owned by the same group, The Hotel Bel Air just has a certain magic that the other hotel doesn't have.
The fact that it's built on it's own island, and you can't miss it pretty much screams LUXURY from the tallest mountain top. Also, I'd say getting picked up in a Rolls Royce, and being the only 7 star hotel in the world is the definition of luxury. It's most expensive suite is $24,000 a night as well. However, according to their website rooms, which are full suites start at $1,042 a night. I've never been there, never rode in a Rolls Royce, and this is not my vibe AT ALL. This does however check all of the LUXURY boxes. According to the reviews all of the guests were more than pleased with their stay AND they can say they stayed in the only 7 star hotel in the world. So yeah in a cocktail party game of one upmanship they would win by a long mile, and cash in buckets of social status.
Leave it to the Four Seasons to blend and have it's own category....fancy Luxury. This is the tip top. Right here is the perfect definition of what I said in the Instagram post- GETTING YOU AS CLOSE TO HEAVEN WITHOUT THE ONE WAY TICKET. I mean sure the Four Seasons isn't advertised on TV and might not be a house hold name, but you'd have to be living under a rock if you've never heard of the Four Seasons. So it definitely checks the LUXURY box. Well if you've made it this far (thank you by the way) and have never heard of the Four Seasons this information right here is worth it's weight in gold and definitely is a benefit of reading the blog article. If you just have a cup of tea at the Four Seasons it will be life changing. If you haven't done that. Do that ASAP!
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Well this concludes the lesson. Well almost. I have one more little bit of information I'd like to share with you before school is out. However, before I do I hope just in case your attention span won't last past this point lol, I've done an okay job of letting you know that fancy and LUXURY are not the same.
Now for the extra credit.
Fancy, it's roots, come from royalty. Not centuries ago royalty, I mean millenia ago royalty. Fancy is always old. Even when it's new it's old. Fancy started with the Egyptians, and is still enjoyed by Royalty today. You can't get a job to be royal. There is no college major for throne acquisition. If something is created to be actually authentically fancy, that means it's created to be actually authentically priceless. It's value is that it is pleasing to the monarch. In order to be pleasing to the monarch, which means pleasing to the divine because pharaohs were gods and monarchs that followed were considered divine. The the energy had to match. The meal, the item, the entertainment, etc. (we will just let that etc. just sit there lol), had to be divine. It had to be fancy. You have to remember capitalism is a new phenomenon. Status symbols and luxury didn't exist before capitalism. The monarch certainly didn't need luxury or a status symbol, because He WAS LUXURY and He WAS THE ONLY STATUS SYMBOL. Fancy things were designed for him or her to enjoy and AFFIRM his or her royalty. Hence the term fit for a king. So back then if you designed something that's fit for a king. it's not like you were going to make it and have it delivered to Nordstom. Then have his staff trot down to the plaza to pick it up for him. No it was made and then delivered to the castle. Fancy then, and now wasn't accessible to the masses. So now can you see what fancy is? It's something that is available and accessible to and enjoyed by royalty and nobility still to this day. As well as those who live in the old, quaint little tucked away hamlets, and towns (not suburbs) that no one's ever heard of with cute little boutiques in charming little shopping areas....not malls, that a lot of time you can't even find on a map.
If you read the cute little love story (which maybe not since it might have been a turn off since I've lost quite a few followers after posting it...but I digress) Reign. was fancy. There are fancy people too. Just like with everything else fancy Reign was hidden in plain sight. Who would actually believe his name was Reign. because he was royal, and he rarely told people he was. To most he was just a high school history teacher. Another example of a fancy person who we all loved was Princess Diana. It wasn't her royal status that made her fancy. She brought fancy to the royal family. It was her.
LUXURY is valuable. However, it's strongest most important value is the status it will give to the owner. Fancy is equally as valuable. It's only value is the extreme high luxurious quality of the item or experience. Fancy can give nothing more, and it's owner expects nothing less.
You know what before we do that let's talk about what it isn't. It's not in a bottle. It's not a trend. It's not status. It's not on sale at Macy's. Now here is the beginnings of what it is. It could be a brand, or within a brand only if the brand is authentic to it's message and soul. If it's some fake marketing trick to make money then no it won't be your signature scent. Most important your signature scent is real. It's authentic. It's uniquely you. Your signature scent can be one scent, or many scents. WAIT. SKIIIIIRRRRT What did you say? Many scents?! How can that even make sense. How can a signature scent be many scents? Well because a signature scent is not just a scent. It's a vibe. It's YOUR UNIQUE VIBE.
Oooh I don't know how people on social media reveal so much of themselves. Just full disclosure. This is so hard. So hats off to you guys. So yeah I'm going to use my VIBE as a way for you to discover your VIBE. So first take a look at this collage.
No matter where you are on this little blue globe we call home we have all been heavily influenced by the western world I would say since the beginning of the 20th century. Therefore, even though your VIBE might be heavily influenced by western culture, you can't ignore your individual cultural influences as well when you're seasoning your VIBE. I'm American, born and raised in California. So my seasonings are going to be casual elegance, as opposed to traditional elegance. Clean lines, with a hip and trendy edge like Melrose, West LA, and Santa Monica. My mother was a very fancy southern belle. My dad loved the ocean and I would spend many Sundays with him on his boat as a kid. So I was raised pretty fancy (Debutant Ball, pledged a very girlie sorority, et all), so yeah part of my seasoning is very girlie. But remember still clean lines and edgy so think silk not taffeta. Last but not least two favorite cities in Cali- Laguna, and Santa Barbara. So the seasoning in your VIBE, the meat on your bones so to speak will be where you grew up and those influence's. So in my case sure all of the 150 Skin Like Butter scents are my VIBE because they are all clean, clear, and elegant underneath. Do I absolutely love all 150 scents? No. However there are 25 that are my core Signature Scent. They all smell vastly different, but cover all of those unique characteristics that I described above. Here are my signature scents that make up my Signature SCENT
These are my core scents, like the core pieces of your wardrobe. Now if you look at these scents, then look at the collage, read my VIBE seasonings they will match up pretty close. The scents will also match my wardrobe, hairstyle, interior design, etc. They match MY vibe. They collectively are my SIGNATURE SCENT.
Okay so did you do your collage? Check? Seasoned your VIBE? Check? Okay now let's put this into practice. So what's your VIBE? What's coming into focus? Well depending on where you are living the next step might prove a little difficult. You can't smell through the computer which is where there are endless fragrance options. If you are living in a small town the in person options where you can smell the fragrances is probably really limited. Even if you are in a big city it still might be a huge amount of the same choices. However, whether you're in a small town or a major city, you have at least 2 if not all three of these big fragrance brands. Even though they are brands and not people, brands have a vibe too. So if your collage might look like a mosaic mess, you can look at the collages of these brands and see which collage you gravitate to. This can be the beginnings of your signature scent journey. These are three collages representing the 3 the big brands in the mall. One starts with a B,. one starts with an L, one starts with a J. Guess which is which. Okay so I'm going to totally break the rules of marketing by taking you to someone else's brand, but I'm in teaching mode so here we go. First I want you to really take a minute and try to guess the brands. Then write down your answers. Now click on the photo to see if you guessed right. Now make sure you come back lol.
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