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It’s no great secret that math isn’t my strong point. 
So when it came time to calculate the possible combinations of our new Smack! product, I took the safe road and consulted an internet permutation calculator. Of course, those only work if you enter the correct factors, and I managed to enter 25 types (from an early draft of the Single Note list) rather than the 24 we ended up with. So the actual range of options is limited to a puny 17,550. We’ll be correcting that number on the website, but obvs can’t do much about the mistaken news releases. Thanks for understanding. 
And, addressing some questions that’ve popped up since the product release…
Smack, like all Villainess products, is sold and filled by weight. Any airspace is your jar is a combination of the wiggle room it started with (so we don’t have to overly smush your scoops and so you’ve got maneuvering room to sample each flavour), and (the inevitable) settling during transit. All jars are carefully weighed to screen human error before we ship them out.
On the topic of smushing, each single note goes into the jar separately. They are not mixed, swirled or homogenized in any way. Feel free to mix them in the privacy of your own home.
Fresh Squeezed Citrus is actually our long-lost Indiscreet fragrance. I forgot to mention this, but the same reasons we discontinued it (it’s an unoriginal single note) made it a perfect fit for Smack!
Scoop order (on your invoice) is unrelated to fill order (that’s alphabetical, as a result of the checklist labeling).
You don’t have to pick 4 single notes. You can pick 1, 2, or even 3 if you want. Just use the drop-down menus to tell us exactly what you want. 
Smack! is different from Smooch! because it’s a foaming, cleansing exfoliant. Smooch! doesn’t foam, and Smack! is nowhere near as emollient as Smooch!
Any other questions? Join us on the forum in the new Smack! FAQ thread. 
Vil·lain·ess \ 'vi-lən-nəs \ n : a woman who is a villainVil·lain·ess \ 'vi-lən-nəs \ n
1 : an uncanny, articulate woman
2 : a deliberate antagonist or tease
3 : an intelligent woman in a tabloid or gossip
4 : the fall-girl in a particularly difficult situationVillainess. Redefining "bad."
Syndication:
My husband crunched the numbers, and he says that you actually have a possible 331,176 combinations, if you count the fact that you can use any flavor as many as four times. He also says that if you choose a different scent for each scoop, you STILL have 225,024 distinct combinations. I’ll admit that my math sucks, but he seemed pretty sure about it
Posted by Kelly | August 28, 2009 8:33 PM
Heh, there’s been some discussion along those lines - 331,776 w/ repeats, and then 255,024 provided you don’t repeat. I’m fuzzy on the math, but I think those numbers assume order is relevant. But since you’re digging through 4 layers ABCD is effectively identical to BADC.
The 17550 accounts for repeated scoops (that is, 4 of the same flavour, 2 of the same flavour, etc), but doesn’t take order into consideration. Which, if I understand correctly, makes each jar of Smack! a combination (and not a permutation). I’ve had to brush up on the terms - it’s been a LONG time since I’ve done much math, and even longer since I’ve toyed w/ stats!
Posted by supervillainess | September 6, 2009 9:32 PM