Thursday, July 16, 2020

Sihaya & Company: In Darkwoods Wild Summer Box

This box was provided free of charge from Sihaya & Company in exchange for photographs. All opinions are my own.


Sihaya and Company's summer box is a feral darkling of a beauty. It was filled with many fragrant and alluring treasures.


B. Perry Studios handcrafted bar soap scented in River Rock ($10) came in the box. Notes of cool water, pebbles, moss, ferns, wild honeycomb, oak, cedar, pinewood and honeysuckle make for a lush bathing experience. I am a huge fan of Brooke's soaps. I have purchased several of them over the past year or so. This one is just as amazing. The bar has a bouncy feel and velvety texture. It lathers easily, creating a cascade of bubbles. The scent sketches out the burbling river landscape that Brooke set out to capture. It is clean and refreshing with grounding notes of woods and flowers. This is what Mother Nature would bathe with, her skin scent for sure. I will happily be washing with this in the shower the rest of the summer. 


A clay mixture for creating face masks from Balefire Apothecary was included. Amanda, the maker, used to have a shop called Ghoulish Delights. She has since rebranded and expanded on her natural skincare and health aides. This mask version is Blood Moon ($11) and utilizes bentonite clay, hibiscus and rose hips among other ingredients to revive tired skin. I used this mask in the shower by mixing in equal parts water to clay and massaging into the face. After about 10 minutes I rinsed and my skin was left feeling soft and smooth. I would say there was some mild exfoliation. I enjoy Amanda's products and will happily use to completion.


There usually is a perfume in each box and many fabulous artisan houses have been featured in the past. This month Alkemia created Forest Rose for the fragrant offering. 

Forest Rose- Notes: Dark heirloom roses, arctic roseroot, Alaskan cypress, juniper berries, Sitka spruce, balsam pine needles, bracken ferns, green cedar tips, and luminous green amber. $18

From the vial germinates green rose buds and earthen moss. This is not the sunlit bergamot cheer of oakmoss but more along the lines of lichen blended mosses that spring up from damp fallen logs by a creek. Damp on the skin the layers of rose petals skim open like the pages of a book, here the moss is reminiscent of the bergamot and oakmoss I previously eluded to, evoking a rose hued blending of a fougere and chypre from yesteryear. This fougere gathers its elegance from the woods rather than the vanity and rather than lavender in the heart it is a wild rose growing amid a stand of evergreens. Their bright citrusy hued needles must be what brings the bergamot and oakmoss to mind. The rose begins to fade into a brittle globe of aged beauty that is accented by sharp lemony juniper berries and powdery amber resin. Green best describes this scent. From tight green rose buds to evergreen forests, emerald ferns and sage colored lichens... it all comes down to greenery. Living. Lush. It is a beautiful scent.


Dryad Tea Darkest Wood: Oolong and chocolate notes layer with almond and the faintest hint of wood smoke and cinnamon. $7
This tea tastes amazing. I brewed up a cup with a sprinkle of sugar and a gurgle of vanilla cream. In the bag the smoky chocolate emerges foremost but once steeped the almond and soft spice float up. The woodsmoke mimics the aroma of lapsang souchong to my nose and tastebuds. I love it. A 4 minute steep resulted in a smooth yet full bodied smoky tea experience with the subtle sweetness of chocolate and almond. I will drink this aplenty in the fall and winter. Or rainy days.

Minxes' Trinkets Lunar earrings are beautiful! I am very picky about jewelry and will rarely wear dangle earrings (I am traditionally a stud girl) but these earrings are getting worn. These surgical steel hook earrings feature hand-patina verdigris crescent moons with faceted smoky quartz briolettes dripping down. They are light-weight and wear effortlessly. I would guess the price to be around $20 based on similar styles on their website. I have already worn them twice.


Sihaya & Co. In Darkwoods Wild- Notes: The intoxicating scent of a hidden wildwood. Blackberry, red currant, sage, cedar, soft moss, and curling ferns. $13
Look at the shimmer on this. LOVE the lavender and aqua glitter magic happening on this one. On cold sniff the tart blackberries and piquant currants are the centerpiece of this fragrance with the gentle ferns and moss and greenery wreathing the jeweled berries. The berry choice here definitely lends darkness to the scent that is aligned with the theme, but Christina of Sihaya has a talent and eye for detail when it comes to curating these boxes. This candle burns at a medium throw in my bedroom. I look forward to smelling it every evening.



Another fabulous box ($60) goes down in the books.

Those earrings though... I just love them. 

4 comments:

  1. That's it, I'm ordering the Sihaya box this fall! Have been eyeing them for two years!!

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    1. Fall is the best time!!! I mean, fall rocks already, but the box is just like a "WELCOME FALL!!!" that it makes the heart happy. I hope you get it and you love it. <3

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  2. OH WOW!!
    I swear every box sounds so decadently wonderful, amazing and luscious. I want every product featured here!! <3
    The soap, perfume and tea!!! :O
    The earrings really are so very gorgeous. That candle looks and sounds like a most beautiful dream. And of course, I pretty much love everything I've tried from Amanda.
    I love hearing your thoughts on all these gorgeous products. <3 <3

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    1. I swear, Chris is amazing at making these boxes. She really has a great eye for what tickles the fancy.

      Thank you, April!

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