Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Ebb & Flow: July 2018

The highs and lows of the month.


Perfume:
Sixteen92 Baker Street

Perfume Oil:
Nocturne Alchemy Eternal Ankh Blue

Body Oil:
Nocturne Alchemy Santalum Bath Oil as body oil

Whipped Soap:
Bohemienne Life Folktale

Scrub:
Bohemienne Life Folktale

Skincare:
Paula's Choice Retinol and Barrier creams

Makeup:
Benefit Boing concealer for under eye area

Candle:
Bath & Body Works Incense

Bath Bomb:
Life Flower Care Satvia, so minty and herbal <3

Watching:
The Crown and random movies on Netflix here and there.

Listening:
To Savanna play the guitar, more summer thunderstorms and more Enya.

Reading:
Maria Montessori's biography for my Foundations of Montessori Philosophy course. I am desperate to get to some spooky books again though... feeling those fall feels.

Awaiting:
Getting back into that school time routine. Weeks full of hard work and weekends ready for play. A fresh start to a new school year.

Dreading:
The extra bill of Savanna having a phone but the time has come. There will be restrictions on it but I know she is very much excited. Another milestone of her growing up.

Hit:
Poesie Perfumes Queen of Air & Darkness room and linen mist, more to come on this later.

Miss:
Plantlife Sore Muscle massage oil... I wish it had helped after some serious kayaking I did a while back but nothing. The old Bengay worked more effectively.

Low:
Thinking about how fast the summer went by. Maybe not meeting some goals, but not beating myself up for it. Not gonna help.

High:
Vacation in Savannah, celebrating my husband's 37th birthday (which was yesterday) and thinking of a new school year and new slate approaching. I am pretty happy about passing my most recent certification exam to be a teacher for K-6th grade, so I am finally "in field." That is a pretty good feeling. Lots of good memories were made this summer: kayaking on the Weeki Wachee and tubing down the Ichetucknee and swimming in Lithia Springs and in the Gulf of Mexico. 

How was your July? Did you celebrate Harry Potter turning 20? Any good news? Loving anything or disappointed in anything?

Monday, July 30, 2018

Obscurus: Freakshow Summer Collection Wax Tarts

These wax tarts were provided by Obscurus at Femme Fatale Cosmetics for photography and reviewing purposes. 


Freakshow is the latest summer collection to release from Obscurus, a relatively newer company run by the owner of Femme Fatale Cosmetics, Sophie.  I reviewed their spring collection and a few general catalog scents not too long ago. It thrilled me to get another box filled with Obscurus' fragrant wares, especially freakshow, carnival, oddity themed. How fun is that?! Their wax tarts come in clamshells are are 100% soy with a high ratio of fragrance and essential oils, so some breakage may occur as they are a touch softer than the average container wax. The tarts run $9 a clamshell AUS which is about $6.60 USD. 


Questionable Curiosities- Notes: Juicy watermelon, raspberry and peach syrup spun into clouds of sugar. 

The fruits are rich but also a touch creamy. They almost have a chewy Starburst texture to them. Very cheerful and ideal for summer melting. Two cubes melted in the kitchen and living area with a strong throw. It maintained that sweet candied melon and berry brew. Very nice.


Morbidly Peculiar- Notes: A crispy fried banana on a bed of vanilla ice cream dusted with cinnamon.
A ripe, soft banana caramelized with sugar and warmed with spice. This smells like my favorite fried plantains crusted with sugar that comes with the food at Texas de Brazil, just a pinch of cinnamon added. I am drooling. I am thrilled this is not a candy taffy banana but the real deal. I am tucking this one away for October melting.


Mysterious Oddities- Notes: A creamy vanilla and coconut milkshake dusted with cocoa and sugary sprinkles.
The coconut and vanilla are lovely and sweet but they do lean more tropical and beachy rather than gourmand on cold sniff. I melted two cubes in my living area and kitchen and they threw medium-strong. The beachy aspects melted off and more of a creamy bakery moved in with the coconut and vanilla. I wouldn't call it a milkshake but it was tasty. 


Cheap Thrills- Notes: Ripe red apple slices covered in buttery toffee, salted peanuts and caramel drizzle.
Juicy MacIntosh apples, ruby and watery and crisp paired with thick sticky salted caramel. The apples feature foremost and are ripe with their fragrant bounty. The caramel sweetens as an accent note with the nutty saltiness of the peanuts keeping it from being overly sweet. Another one that will be melted in a couple months. 




Death's Minstrel- Notes: Delicious dark raspberry ice cream with pink musk lollies and a drizzle of honey.
A unique scent that is interesting to describe. My mind goes to fruity-floral but it is darker, more muskier than a typical fruity-floral scent. And yes, I do smell a touch of flowers in the musk and honey. Maybe a whisper of wildflowers or carnations? It might even be a floral tone to the raspberries. As it melted the floral tones quieted but the raspberries and pink musk did have a hint of a medicinal vibe. It threw about medium-light. 

Overall, these are fabulous wax tarts. I am thrilled with the performance of these on the whole and love the unique scent blends. I am itching for fall to come so I can melt that spiced banana and that apple toffee one. 

When you do start to melt your fall scents? Have you tried any new vendors?

Sunday, July 29, 2018

Mianra Artisan Bath & Body: Soap


My sweet friend Jean gifted me these amazing soaps after telling me about them recently. Mianra soaps are handcrafted in Cork, Ireland. Soaps run 6.95 Euros or $8.11. Mianra soaps are cruelty free and feature high quality ingredients, made in the cold processed fashion. 


The boxes are modern and simple but stylish. 



Jean gifted me bars scented in Pomegranate and Amber & Plum. 

Pomegranate is drop bead gorgeous and has a surprisingly musky tone of rich resinous amber and rosewood. A little friction brought forth bubbly suds and it was a dream to bathe with. No reside, abundant fragrance and a texture as smooth as sea glass.


Amber & Plum possesses a velvety smoothness that whispers woods and resin with just a shadow of dark plum skin that is as glassy smooth as a polished stone. It was just as much of a joy to bathe with as Pomegranate. I love both of these scents as an easy transition from summer into fall. 


I love both of these scents to the hilt. They smell sensual and polished and very much upscale. These are fruity soaps but more like perfumed interpretations of the fruits and I like that. 

Mianra also creates and sells bath salts, bath bombs, liquid soap and perfume oils among other items. I will be looking into making a purchase of my own here soon. 

What scents are you craving right now? What are you using to get clean?

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Melting Basket 124


Wax from the last basket that I would happily order again include: Sniff MY Tarts Marshmallow Fireside/Toasted Marshmallow/Graham Cracker/Fireside, Ten Digit Creations St. James Place, Candy Panda Minthogany, CFTKR Swedish Dream Salt, Lasting Scent Candles Summer Bonfire. 

Ten Digit Creations- Rosemary Mint/Rosemary Pepper/Sandalwood
Ten Digit Creations- Garden Mint/Hippie Hippie Shake/Winter Patchouli
Obscurus- Astral
Sniff My Tarts- Pink Sugar Peppermint
Lasting Scent Candles- Summer Bonfire again because it is so stinking good.
Handmade in Florida- Lavender Ice
The Bathing Garden- Faded Opulence
Glitterati- Strawberry Pink Chiffon Cookies
CFTKR- Grapefruit and Mint
The rest of the scents were generous gifts from my friend April, thank you!
Strange Fire & Perfumery- Cara Mia
Strange Fire & Perfumery- Black Goat
Paintbox Soap Works- 221B
Paintbox Soap Works-The Yuletide Mariner
Handmade in Florida- Caramellow Pop
Candy Panda- Southern Kitchen
Candy Panda- Birthday Cake
Starry Skies- Vanilla Bakery
Ten Digit Creations- St. Charles Palce
Rosegirls- Hussy
Vintage Chic Scents- My Dear Grandma
Sassy Girl Aroma- Groot

If you would like any of these reviewed in depth please let me know in the comments below. 


Only a couple weeks of summer break are left. I have been heading into school to get the classroom ready and I enrolled in a Montessori philosophy course so they have been and will be busy weeks. I have a hefty order from Handmade in Florida that I will be featuring this coming week along with a giveaway from Handmade in Florida. My custom order from Sniff My Tarts arrived and it will be reviewed as well. I have some new perfume houses to talk about too. 


I am looking forward to fall for all the autumn festivities and flavors and scents but also because fall is a great time to garden in Florida. My wildflowers have been wonderful but I am ready for some more veggies too. And cooler weather for other flowers to grow in. 


Are you clinging to summer or ready for fall? 

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Tthomas Arts: Coffee Mug


Tthomas Arts is a store and art gallery run by Tiffany Thomas, a visual artist who makes creations that are vibrant and immersive, characterized by texture and abundance. There are ceramics, paintings and ornaments and if you are in South Carolina there are even classes. I would be tickled to take the Ghost re-enactment class with Adam. Could you imagine?!


Back to this epic mug though. It has a nice heft and feels good on the fingers when held. The gems shimmer and sparkle with gold and pearlized glaze and lie in beds of fluffy white clouds (or is it frosting with those cute aqua sprinkles?!). 




It holds the perfect amount of coffee, not too much so that it gets cold by the time to finish it and not too little so that you make ten trips to get your fill. 



Tthomas is restocking her mugs on July 28th. I follow her on IG and Facebook. The next release looks to be very promising for me as it is Atlantis themed with lots of oceanic vibes. 

I think my china cabinet is ready to be a coffee mug cabinet. 

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Travel: Savannah, Georgia


Savannah was beautiful. We had a very nice family vacation. There were miles walked, many delicious dishes consumed and many ghost stories heard. One of my favorite things to do was peep inside of the courtyards of the homes we passed.


The first full day was spent on Tybee Island. We climbed the light house, visited the battery and swam in the ocean for a little bit (until Adam and my brother-in-law got stung by jellyfish). 





We ended up stopping at the Tybean Coffee and Art shop and it was really cute. Great coffee. Worth a stop.


Next to Tybean Coffee and Art was this cute strip of artsy cottages. It was a Sunday so most were closed but it was nice to browse.


The next stop on the agenda was River Street. We ended up going there twice since we only saw half of it the first time. It is a stretch of very old factories and warehouses turned restaurants and gift shops. Lots of good places to eat though. We ended up eating at Dockside (pictured above) and The Cotton Exchange. 


Adam and the girls enjoyed watching the tug boats and barges roll through the river.


This was our house. It was built in 1872 and was on Calhoun Square, the only square in Savannah to have all original buildings lining it. There may have been an encounter in the house. Between my husband and some ghost children. He couldn't sleep the first night but didn't tell me his ghost story until we returned home to Florida. That is how spooked he was.


The house was near a trolley stop. It was fun to hear the bell ding as it went by. There were also numerous ghost tours and hearses that rolled by at night doing tours. That was interesting too. 


Eating good food was priority number one. Collins Quarter was phenomenal. The lavender mocha latte was to die for and the french toast was even better. We also ate at 17Hundred90, The Pirate's House, The Olde Pink House and to top if off, Leopold's for ice cream. Food was life on this vacation.


Book were too. I ended up buying four books while on vacation this year. The Book Lady and E. Shaver Books were my favorite stores. 





The Paris Market was fun and cute, if highly over priced. I ended up getting a bottle of matches there.


The Olfactory Co. was a neat store. I picked up a book and some spices there. If you ever go, make sure to visit the back room. 


We ended up visiting E. Shaver Books multiple times to pet the kittens. There were three in residence. Great books too by the way. And lots of cool nooks and crannies to read in.





We were only a block or two from Forsyth Park, which made for a nice evening stroll once or twice. The Mercer House was right near by too if you are a fan of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.





We did a guided tour of the Bonaventure Cemetery (speaking of Midnight). Learning about the symbolism and tombstone art was fascinating. It was a touch hot for a 3 hour tour (which was supposed to be two) so be careful when booking if you have other plans or children or husbands who tend to get bored.



The cemetery was huge. We only saw a portion but even that small portion was crammed full of beauty.





And fiddler crabs. The girls managed to keep themselves occupied until they got hungry.



The last day the guys decided to take us to Fort Pulaski. 



Underground passage ways, beautiful views and lots of mosquitoes. It was a nice time though and the girls got to see some history.


It was a nice vacation. Thank you for being patient with me as I adjust to being back home. 

I am taking another course so I am trying to juggle a little right now. I have a ton of posts to come. Lots of photos to edit and things to review. 

Have you been to Savannah? What do you like to do for vacation? How have you been?