Ebb & Flow: March 2020

The highs and lows of the month.

Perfume:

Solstice Scents Lavender Vanilla EDP (review coming soon)

Perfume Oil:

Arcana Wildcraft Chillum

Body Oil:

Aftelier Ancient Resins

Skincare:

Aftelier Honeysuckle Face Elixir

Lip Balm:

Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Lip Balm

Conditioner:

Future Primitive Inglenook Conditioning Hair Rinse

Scrub:

The Bathing Garden Magician's Bonfire

Sleep Aid:

 Old Ways Healing St. John's Wort Magnesium spray with lavender, peppermint and patchouli essential oils, custom blended. April recommended me to this lady who sells on Instagram. Going on my second bottle. Review to come soon.

Candle:

Bath & Body Works Comfort: Vanilla & Patchouli- beautiful candle, nice creamy vanilla with some depth to it.

Wax:

Candles From The Keeping Room Peppermint & Cypress

Bathroom Spray:

Lasting Scent Candles Candyland Dreamin' Aroma Mist

Incense:

Sea Witch Botanicals Herbal Renewal

Eating:

Sumo oranges

Drinking:

Aha sparkling waters in Orange & Grapefruit and Peach & Honey

Reading:

The New Holistic Herbal by David Hoffman and just finished Candlenight byPhil Rickman (excellent spooky story set in Wales!)

Watching:

Lord of the Rings, The Office, Tiger King

Listening:

My Moonlight Moods record and various Celtic instrumentals on YouTube while blogging and working.

Awaiting:

April looks to be pretty much the same has the end of March has turned out to be. Mostly hanging out at home with the family with a few grocery store runs. I do look forward to weekends so I can swim and sun and garden all day long. I am also looking forward to some online orders arriving.

Dreading:

Nothing. Just staying hunkered down.

Hit:

The gladiolus bulbs I bought at Walmart before this all went down. I had picked up about three bags and they really took off! I cannot wait until they bloom.

Miss:

Michigan Bulb Company- still. I ended up cancelling my order and they did refund me, which is good. Still bummed about not being able to plant. But it is for the best. Too hot and no rain right now. 

Low:

The virus. My heart breaks for those who have been affected by this. The loss of life. The cancelled weddings. The isolated funerals and births. Everything is topsy turvy. I miss my students. 

High:

Hopefully good can come out of this. Hopefully we can use this as a paradigm shift in society to refocus on what truly matters. Other than Pollyanna hopes I am also happy to watch my flowers bloom. To see a Black and White Warbler, a Pileated Woodpecker, and two Cedar Wax Wings in my yard. I am thankful to be able to work from home. I am thankful that our small family is content to be holed up all together.

How are you doing?

Candles From The Keeping Room: January/February Order

Can you tell the state of being over here? I did not even un-bag my precious beauties. But hey. It is a post and that makes it progress. :-) I actually typed this one up yesterday right after I made another purchase from Carol at Candles From The Keeping Room. I was late to the party so I only grabbed the goodies that were available. Thankfully, Carol always has an abundance of amazing tarts so I was able to find plenty. This order is from earlier in the year and was on the smaller side. I just grabbed some random scents as usual. Some old favorites and many new to me. Each bag runs about $6.50 and has about 6 ounces of wax in it. I follow Carol in her Facebook and she gives plenty of notice when she is going to open. 

Tropical White Musk- A soft and feminine scent, hazy musks, gentle sweetness and the ghost of tropical fruits and blossoms. I think I have had this long, long ago. It smells familiar. 

Apple Wood Fir Needle- I believe I had this one as a sample a winter or two ago. It is a gorgeous woodsy scent with firs, pines, cedar and a dash of amber and apple. Not sweet, but crisp and cool. Lovely. 

Autumn in the Park- A gosh darn good blend of sweet crisp honeyed apples pared with lemony fall leaves and a touch of sweet caramelized pumpkin. Not a heavy blend but a gilded autumnal delight. If you haven't tried this one yet, you are missing out. This is one to melt while listening to "Autumn in New York" with Ella and Louie.

Christmas Spice- This one is new to my nose. It is a spiced orange and candy blend that is almost fizzy and tartly sweet. Not as heavy and deep as a pomander but along those lines with an effervescent and gingery quality. Unique. I think I will like melting this one.

Christmas Cactus- First time sniffing this one. I love my Christmas cactus plants (strangely I had my white one shoot off a bloom the other day out of no where). Not sure of the notes, as I don't see it online, but it has a green herbal and vegetal quality, like aloe and crunchy, watery green things. There is a sweetness to it, like mellow berries and dewy citrus. It is a pretty scent. 

Christmas Fantasy- Smells like a flower shop at Christmas, decorated with cinnamon pinecone wreaths and carnations and lilies and bowls of potpourri. I love it.

Evergreen Oasis- Also new for me. The notes play out like a sum being more than its parts type of thing: pomegranates, guava, patchouli, apples, leather, caramel, cedar. But to my nose it is just a lovely piney scent. Spruce and cedar, perhaps some dark patchouli, but no fruits really. A stand of trees in the wild.

Balsam Boughs- This one is airier, cooler and sweeter than Evergreen Oasis. I enjoy both equally. The eucalyptus in this one is refreshing.

Vanilla Snowflake- I enjoy this scent from Bath & Body Works. I think this is my first time having a dupe of it in wax form. It is nice and strong, vanilla peppermint with a hint of creamy coconut. A wonderful blending.

Free Samples:

I am always thankful for the generous samples Carol adds to the orders her customers place with her. I invariably get whiffs of wonderful new scents that become fast favorites.

Tropical Cocktail smells like a yummy pina colada.

Pineapple Pear Pound Cake is a juicy sweet tropical bakery.

Coconut Water and Pineapple is probably the best tropical pineapple I have sniffed. The coconut water pulls like a tropical musk and it smells lovely together.

Coconut Water and Mango is similar but more peachy than pineapple.

Gourmet Sugar Cookie is a wonderfully crunchy and dense sugar cookie scent.

Warm and Toasty is a dulcet fireside scent.

Christmas Around The Campfire is one I wish I had in bagfulls. Campfire and sugar cookies. Mmmmm. Yes.

Four: Twenty Gummies is herbal and fruity at the same time. I quite like it. I don't really get cannabis from it, which is fine with me. 

Fresh Raspberries and Whipped Cream comes in the cutest little raspberries ever. I love this fresh and juicy sweet raspberry. It smells like the raspberry Shannon at The Bathing Garden uses and I love that one.

Black Magic Sangria is a lush berry filled musk. I am happy I was able to get a bag of this yesterday at Carol's opening.

I am super happy with my order from Carol. She will probably always be my very favorite place to get wax. I will keep buying as long as she keep selling. Are you melting much? What scent trends are you enjoying right now?

Glitterati: Mystery Box

Got some beautiful chunks of scented loveliness on deck today. You may have noticed my posting schedule is whack-a-doodle right now but I figure posting something randomly is better than to not have posted at all. My sister Heather is ready for me to ship her a box of wax to scent her Texas home so I figured I would get on some wax posts today while I pack her up a box. 

I signed up for the most recent Glitterati Mystery Box list and my name came up (number 1,000 and something or other) and I couldn't have been happier about it. I had a few kindly gifted chunks from my sweet friend April that I have been hoarding and that was it. I think this box was a little over $40 shipped? It came with a dozen generously sized chunks of overpour from Janine's custom orders. 

Love Spells & Lemon Drops- I believe this is a rather popular blend that Janine gets requested often as it has been in almost every mystery box I have ordered. It is a bright and fruity floral mixing of Victoria's Secret Love Spell and a sugary lemon candy. I think I have some not so great scent associations with Love Spell and it just never quite sits right on my nose. I know Heather will enjoy this though. She used to work at V.S. back in the day and I think she enjoyed it.

Lavender Vanilla Bean Noel- Just reading the name had me feeing like I had won the lottery. Two of my very favorite scent notes. The Vanilla Bean Noel is rich and dense with pillowy marshmallow vanilla goodness. The lavender is softly lurking within and creating a sleepy time scent of soothing lavender vanilla. A dream boat.

Lavender Buttermint- Reading this second scent let me know I had won the lottery. A soft creamy spearmint laced dinner mint with nuances of lavender vanilla. Another dreamy scent that will be melted in the bedroom very soon. 

Blue Cotton Candy Caramel Apple- This blend is pretty fantastic. It is a cheerful blending of sweet cotton candy and lush caramel drenched mac apples. It smells of an old fashioned carnival treat. The apple isn't overly cloying and the sweetness is balanced with creaminess. Brilliant blend.

Sparkling Grapefruit Pomelo Sage- I have enjoyed these oils separately in the past from other vendors but Janine made a knock-out combo with this blending. It is a relaxing yet vibrant aroma of tropical grapefruit zest and summery breezes. It is sweet but not candy, fresh but not like cleaning products. A citrus fruit salad enjoyed by the shore on a sandy beach blanket. With our weather warming up considerably this will be melted in the near future.

Pink Chiffon Oasis- Man, I cannot remember the last time I had a Pink Chiffon blend. It had quite the heyday a year or so ago. It works wonderfully in this blend. The coconut and tropical fruits get a lift from the sweet musk and fruity florals of the Pink Chiffon. Most excellent.

Pineapple County Fair- I can't really get a handle on this one. Janine's County Fair scent is amazing. I love the funnel cakes and sweet treats that it reminds me of, but the pineapple is throwing me. I am rarely a huge pineapple in wax fan unless it is a primarily tropical scent. This kind of reminds me of pineapple upside down cake, which I love to eat. I will have to shave some off and see what I think once it is melted. 

Cucumber Melon Apple Mango Tango- Sweet, fresh and fruity. A blend that is a match made in Bath & Body Works heaven. My husband's favorite BBW scent on me back in the early 2000's was Cucumber Melon. He will get a kick out of this I think.

Peppermint Pralines- Quiet possibly the sleeper hit of the bunch. I would not have merged cinnamon bakery and peppermint together. Ever. But whoever had the vision of this scent was really on to something special. It smells like eating snickerdoodle cookies on a polar bear's lap wearing a Santa hat while riding the Polar Express. Who is wearing the Santa hat? You decide. I will be melting this and reminiscing of my childhood. 

Mango Papaya Waffle Cone- This blend sounds like Sandra. Sandra. Did you do this? A tropical frozen treat served in a waffle cone. Juicy, sorbet-like and summery. Like a sunny trip to a theme park with your best friend. Sandra. I lost track of the other mango scent I was saving for you. But this one won't escape me until I send it off to you. I promise.

Pineapple Cake Batter- I think whoever was blending during this time was seriously craving summertime and pineapples. Another pineapple upside down cake blend but less bakery heavy and more sweet.

Tropical Pistachio- Another huge fan favorite that always winds up in my box. Super strong thrower of cherry-almond intenseness. 

Overall I am thrilled with my Glitterati Mystery Box. I have several I adore and a handful I will be passing on to loved ones who I know will adore them too. Have you had any Glitterati recently? What blends are you craving right now?

Happy National Fragrance Day!

Melting Basket 149

Good Morning, friends. Hope you are all well. I know things have been quiet on here frequently as of late. February was crazy busy then March blew in like a lion. Now with schools shut down until April 15th I do find I have more time on my hands to tinker with things long neglected. I cannot really smell right now (I swear Colorado dryness and elevation did a dozy on my sinuses) but I do plan on melting these tarts anyway. I actually already melted a whole basket a month ago but I never got around to posting it. 

Sniff My Tarts- Blue Sugar/Clove/Nutmeg/Toasted Marshmallow

Ten Digit Creations- Rosewood and Amber

Ten Digit Creations- Palo Santo/Bourbon Tobacco/Wood Spice)

Obscurus- Algol (Strawberry, Yuzu, Vanilla, Watermelon, Orange)

Vintage Chic Scents- Killer Clowns From Outer Space (Cotton Candy)

Epic Wax- Amber Noir <3 gift

Epic Wax- Sandalwood Amber <3 gift

CFTRK- Fig and Rhubarb

CFTKR- Cucumber Wasabi Cilantro

CFTKR- Patchouli Oud Wood

CFTKR- Sugared Strawberry Spruce

A motley collection to be sure. Hoping my nose wakes up soon.

Some things that have been keeping me grounded:

- Cat snuggles. I don't think Toddles has been more happy to have all her humans on constant demand.

- Baking: Cookies and (YES!!!!) cinnamon rolls using yeast. I think homemade bagels are next.

- Planting: seeds and little $1 pots of annuals. Pretty much anything cheerful looking. Excited about a buttload of bulbs that are supposed to arrive today.

- ESOL classes. Not fun but keeping me feeling connected to my job. I have been seeing some posts on Facebook already from grumbling parents who are friends about how much/what teachers are assigning to their kids. Gives me some anxiety about March 30th when I am supposed to roll out online teaching which I have never been trained for and is not part of my repertoire. 

- Reading in our new hammock. My stepmom picked up the girls these netted sensory swings. One I hung up as a traditional swing and the other I made into a hammock. Best thing ever in this phenomenal weather.

- Swimming.

- Painting my toenails.

- Wearing sweatpants all day every day.

- Painting. Finally finished my Hobbit Toms. Moving on to some galaxy Vans. I think. Or maybe wildflowers.

How are you doing? Are you home or having to go into work? What is helping to keep you level right now?