In case you're seeing this website called How's your Web? for the first time: It is actually my second blog hosted by Google's Blogger.com. My first one is called Perfume, Money and Sex. It's definitely 'edgier' ?? I don't recommend going there. LOL. I picked a totally innocuous title this time. But back to the first one: Who could really complain about that triumvirate of earthly delights? I'll be damned how some dried-up old prune even managed to report it so lightening-fast before my page setup was even done. I detest the foolishness of prudery. As if there weren't any issues to call any one of a number of politicians on instead. Or the governor's office. This is where I simply have to bemoan that many gawd-awful souls on this planet are as stupid as I am about where they direct their displeasure.

I'm not sure where that blog is going. It has sat fallow for a few weeks while I ponder where to take it since it's such a misch-mash of my odd head-wiring and could easily get me thrown off if I let my inner Schweinehund roam free. Interesting to me, a least. Well, back to that later I guess...

I'm a practicing and trained perfumer when my butt's not planted at my mac. I retired and left the madding Corporate World of fashion where everything is about the bottom dollar when it comes to what ingredients one is allowed to create with. Everything is totally 100% done by Big Committee; these people are no artistes. Perfumers are constantly given the odious task of matching whatever the popular "big-money-maker" of the month is and then to tweak it just ever so minimally so it's "re-original." Perhaps you've wondered why all the major colognes and perfumes coming out lately all smell like clones. They are. We all have those boring gray suits on penny-pincher accountants to thank for that – old farts who'd rather... well you get my point.

So, leaving the Corporate World, I started my own line of what have come to be called "niche" fragrances. All the rage now. In plain English this means "cottage industry" fragrances of any strength. I hand-nurture my luxurious fragrances at eau de parfum strength. Some of my scents are very (classically) "feminine," and the rest of them are purposely ambiguous. Happily the gender lines in fragrance preference are breaking down so that more and more men are wearing jasmine and other traditionally women's ingredients, while women are experimenting with literally everything... (not that that's new).

The movement to artisan cottage industry fragrances currently has the old staid business all in a fluff. The answer is written on the wall. Sooner than later there'll be a fragrance line unveiled by P&G itself rustically packaged and labeled La Ligne Niche. Mark these words. Sadly the public will fall for it. That's advertising dollars at work...

Being independent over a year now, I have no financial backing and do my work out of love of inventing novel and magical potions. Marketing is a damned hard struggle and really nasty word for me not having the capital to afford a $60,000+ page ad in a single issue of GQ or Vogue. As a result, I've turned to the internet for sales and am on a helluva steep learning curve considering I was never a "businessman type."

Sitting for hours tinkering at the computer, it dawned on me I'd overturned a huge, wet, slimy stone and found a fecundity of muddy bugs and worms in this e-world underbelly that may as well be the infamous intergalactic cantina in Star Wars. It's a lawless virtual Wild West full of every kind of slithering creature pushing every kind of money-making scheme alongside a handful of incredibly enticing flowers of scent and color never before seen.

I wonder if anyone relates to the temptation of a 2 million dollar win with a stake of only $36. OK, $36 about ten times by the time I figured out apparently not a soul on earth was as gullible to buying in like I was. I fell for this sort of ruse more than once.. yup. All them pretty-glittery web pages with Lamborghinis and mountains of G notes like Fort Knox pictured on 'em. I was a moth to flame. Can anyone relate?

Eventually I had to learn the hard way what you'll get from me without any pain.
Read on...