New Yankee Candles

I have a bit of a candle obsession.

It started a few years ago when I used to work at the Christian Dior head office. I was the Front of House gal and a PA, and one of my jobs was to keep the entrance of the office looking pristine and perfect. One of the regulations was that there always had to be a Diptyque candle burning and it had to be Opoponax. I had to bulk order these candles (about 20 at a time) to ensure we always had one burning. When the candle got down to about a quarter empty (or full if you like) that candle was discarded, as it looked messy apparently, and a new one was lit.

Now, this seemed like a HUGE waste to me, and considering my 21 year old brain couldn't fathom the idea of binning an almost £40 candle, when it still had about 15 hours of burn time left, I asked if I could take the discarded Diptique candles home with me. And they said yes!

So that was the start of the obsession. Not just for scented candles, but expensive (tsk tsk) scented candles. They just smell better, burn better, last longer and look nicer. Yes I am a bit of a candle snob. I tried the cheap versions, but they just didn't do it for me. However, I also realise that spending £40 on a candle is a bit cray cray, so my eyes were opened up to the world of Anthropologie candles and, of course, the amazing Yankee Candles. Here you have candles, which do everything the crazily expensive candles do, but for a quarter of the price (depending on sizes).

I received a marketing newsletter from an online gift company recently, about a flash sale for Yankee Candles. Normally these emails make no impression, but I was quick to click on the links and be taken to the Yankee Candle section of the website. All candles at 30% off! Cue one happy girl!

Now, I am trying to save and not splurge at the moment, due to doing major house renovation works, but I have been very good recently so I thought, these candles would be a good compromise purchase - 30% off AND you could argue that they are a home essential, thus needed for the house. That was all the convincing I needed.

I decided to limit myself to just 2 of the large jars. These have around 100 - 135 hours of burn time, plus the chunky glass jars look great and can be used as storage jars when they have finished (thrifty girl me!)

After scrolling up and down the choices for ages, I finally narrowed it down to 4 candles. It is hard choosing scents without smelling them, but I knew I wanted to go for sweet, edible smells. Their floral fragrances are gorgeous, but I aim to put one in the kitchen and one in the lounge, and the yummy smells always seem to suit my house the most.

After a bit more umming and ahhing, I finally chose Vanilla Chai (my favourite hot drink) and Snowflake Cookie (who could resist such an adorable name?) The Vanilla Chai is a deep red and smells just like its namesake. Vanilla, cinnamon and slightly spicy. Mmmm! As for Snowflake Cookie, it's a pretty fairy pink and smells all warm, sugary and just like freshly baked cookies. It makes me hungry just smelling it.

We're not moving back into our home for another 4 weeks or so, and I have been very tempted to light one up at my parent's house, where we are staying, but I am going to save them for when we move back home. Is it sad that I can't wait to light them up, even more so than to see my home with its new look?!

Have you tried either of these scents? What's your favourite candle? Enjoy x

Anthropologie Whipped Cream and Pears Candle

I am a huge candle fan. Whenever I have a birthday or Christmas rolls around, you can be sure that there are several candle requests on my wish list.

Over the years, I've sampled quite a few different brands and scents and my all time favourite candles come from the beautiful Anthroplogie. To be exact, their Illume Boulangerie range. Not only do the candles smell amazing and look fabulous - they come in gorgeous, vintage French style ceramic screw top jars, but they are a great price. £14 for 40 hours burn time...but I've found they last slightly longer than that. My top fragrances have been the Sweet Vanilla and Cinnamon and Vanilla and Fig...that is until I tried Whipped Cream and Pear last year. A-MAY-ZING! Just the most precious fragrance of fresh pears and sweet cream...sweet but not sickly and makes the whole house smell beautiful.

I was very excited then when my hubby presented me with a hand wrapped parcel from Anthropologie for our anniversary on the 27th. I opened it up and a HUGE candle fell into my lap. Upon inspection, it was a giant version of the Whipped Cream and Pear candle. The Incremental version of these candles is brand new and twice the size of the original size, giving you 80 hours of amazing burning time. That's a whole lotta goodness. At £24 it is a tenner more expensive than the original, but with double the burn time, I think this is great value for money, especially when you take into account other luxury brands are at least £10 more than this!

What do you think of Anthropologie candles? Are you a fan? Enjoy x

Everything's Peachy

A few weeks ago, I had a very special couple of visitors, my oldest friends, the gorgeous twins Rocsana and Negar. They moved to LA back when we were about 14 years old, and as we've been the best of friends since we were 6, we've managed to stay in touch and remain as close if not even closer over the years. They swung by London town to meet their honorary nephew, Elijah!

They are the most generous girls imaginable, and as well as bringing Eli a whole heap of gorgeous new clothes, I had asked if they would pick up a candle from Bath and Bodyworks, a shop we used to have here, but alas, no more, which I had heard a lot of good things about. Well, being the super generous gals that they are, they bought 4 of the candles for me!! I am a huge scented candle fan, I always have one or two burning in the house and I couldn't wait to add this to my collection.

They smell utterly divine. A beautiful blend of peaches and cream, which makes the whole house smell delectable...kind of like you have a peach pie baking in the oven. People enter the house and immediately start sniffing the air and asking, "what's cooking?"

Now, sadly you can't get this candle in the UK (sniff sniff) but luckily I have 4 to keep me going. All I can say is if you have friends or family in the States, get they to pick one of these up for you. You'll fall in love with the delicious sweet smell and want to have it burning 24/7!

Are you a fan of scented candles? Which ones are your favourites? Enjoy x