I bet lots of Now Smell This readers can relate to the following scenario: you’re in, say, Paris (somewhere “foreign,” far from home) and you find yourself in one of those shops that sells expensive little rarities — red silk Chinese lanterns with hand-painted calligraphy, tiny porcelain monkey figurines from Thailand, gold-and-horn letter openers from Kenya, babouches from Morocco — and you come across a gorgeous box of soap; each hefty bar of soap is wrapped in handmade paper and tied with a heavy ribbon. The scent of the soap is lovely but you don’t recognize the manufacturer, have never heard of or seen this delightful product before. The enticing perfume rising from the box of soap makes you imagine using it back home: it will make you feel confident and happy, it will remind you of your trip, it will make you feel rich and glamorous. You look at the price tag: the box of soap is $120 — $40 a bar!
In shock, you put down the box of soap and start wandering around the shop. You think: “This is outrageously priced!” “Decadent!” You attempt to gauge how long the box of soap will last…a month? six weeks? “So each bath will cost.…” As you pace around the shop, listening to Shirley Bassey singing Diamonds Are Forever on the sound system, your mind becomes calmer, your thoughts clearer…
