This Week in Basescamp 003: Following the Fragrances

Basecamp is, without a doubt, a well-rounded sensory experience. From the eye catching photographs of staff trips in the woods to the soft touch found in each of our clothing items, from the sounds of feel-good tunes to the taste of espresso at our neighboring coffee shop, there's no question that Basecamp is homey and inviting. However, there’s something even more here, something unexpected. As it enters your sensory receptors you can’t help but expand the entrance in which it came: your nose. 

Basecamp is filled with fragrance. Whether it’s the Ethiopian Yergachefe coffee beans from our neighbors at Puritan, or the incense burning on a display table, it’s hard to deny the wonderful scents that envelope your being as you wade through the fabrics. If you follow the fragrances, then you’ll find the essence of nature’s finest offerings.

Juniper Ridge

100% organic, wild-harvested trail fragrances
Oakland, CA, 10% of profits are sent to Wilderness groups

Follow your nose to our replenished line of wild harvested soaps, incense, teas, and more, created by Juniper Ridge. This team has been making wilderness perfume around campfires since 1998, and their love for the outdoors is evident in each of their products. Created through the distillation and extraction of collected items in nature (wildflowers, tree bark, moss, etc.) they’ve created a scent that transports its user to a cedar forest or desert oasis. Juniper Ridge marks each product with a unique harvest number, inviting you to read the story and see the flowers that have been utilized in the product before you. 

Dr. Squatch

Organic soaps and colognes for men
Made in the USA from essential oils, never chemicals

If Juniper Ridge lays claim to the smells of the west, the guys over at Dr. Squatch reign over the east. With their hand-crafted bars of soap they’re taking over households one shower at a time. With scents like Cool Fresh Aloe, Bay Rum, Eucalyptus Greek Yogurt, and staff favorite, Gold Moss, you’ll be left smelling like you washed your body under a waterfall before rolling around in a meadow full of manliness. Word on the street is it drives the women wild, but don’t just take their customer reviews for it, you'll have to try it for yourself.

CreekBaby

Organic skin care & cosmetics
Handcrafted in the Ozarks

For something a little closer to home, check out our line of skin care from CreekBaby, a company out of Arkansas. Priding themselves in using simple, sustainable methods, many of their items include less than three ingredients. We carry everything from their moisturizers to facial powders, and sampling is always encouraged!

Chapped Lips/Skin?

Our friends at BuzzBuzz are local Fayettevillians that keeps their bees right here in the city. Wander over to their display at the Basecamp cash register for natural scents of grapefruit, peppermint, coconut, and orange. 

Another local smell-good option in the basecamp is Screaming Bull, a small company that specializes in beeswax based salve for cracked skin. Promising not to eliminate all those hard earned callouses, this salve is great for climbers, bikers, and handi(wo)men alike, as well as anyone who needs relief for chapped skin. Made with all natural ingredients including fragrances peppermint, coconut, rosemary and almond.

Land by Land

100% natural ingredients
Handcrafted in the New York

Wander over to our candle display, featuring exotic and all natural smells from Land by Land. Their Scents of Land and Travel by Land candles are made from beeswax, vegetable waxes and oils, natural fragrance oils, pure essential oils, and 100% cotton wicks, to give you a long lasting and clean burn. Embodying the essence of leather, bergamot, peony, cedar, cypress, thyme, and much more, these candles are sure to offer you a luxurious sensory pick-me-up.

Now, if you’re looking for a more adventurous fragrance fueled mission, check out our selection of trail guides that cover the state of Arkansas, and pair it with the Arkansas Wildflowers Guidebook. Sorted by color (too bad it's not by scratch-n-sniff), you’ll be on your way to discovering the fantastic perfume produced by our little slice of this planet. 

So, next time you’re in-store remember to not only shop not just with your eyes or hands, but also your nose. We may laugh, but only because we know we’ve done it too, and you’ll quickly find out as to why. 

By Eric Kearney & Ashleigh Rose

Photography by Rush Urschel