We are full steam ahead in all things vendor events and one of the questions that we are frequently asked is "what is ozone?" You may be wondering why our customers are so curious about ozone. I am glad you asked, ozone is one of the fragrance note that is in our salt and rose candle and with every potential customer who read the scent notes, I mentally prepare for that question, and it always comes, without fail.
When I was experimenting with and blending fragrances for this candle, the scent note ozone was one of the notes that jumped out at me. In my quest for knowledge and in preparation for and preempting the curiosity of my customers, I quickly did a google search to delve deeper, with the hope of finding out, what is ozone, does it even have a smell and if so how will this smell translate as a scent in a candle?
According to Odor Free the number one sellers of ozone generators, ozone does have a very unique smell that gets stronger the higher the concentration.
So, what does Ozone smell like?According to Eco Quest, ozone is a fragrance with a clean, crisp and fresh scent, similar to the scent that lingers after a thunder storm. The scent of ozone has been compared to the smell of an electric spark, chlorine or burning wire. Its marine character however, is reminiscent of a cool ocean breeze, and has a light green characteristic with an aquatic and crisp profile.
In a candle such as our Salt and Rose scent the ozone note plays well with the salty notes and is translated as a crisp clean almost oceanic note that marries well with the delicate notes of rose.
We know that "smell-o-vision" is not yet a thing (but it should be) and its hard to get a sense of what the notes smell like when looking at our candles online. To help with the decision making we give a detailed scent description with every product listing. We also share our event calendar with our email subscribers at the beginning of every new month and we also do weekly reminders on our social media pages. This gives our local customers and potentially new customers a chance to smell our candles in-person and are better able to make a more "scent-informed" decision. But you say, "what about the customers who are scattered across the USA, how can they/we smell the candles before purchasing?" Our customers who have blindly purchased our products seem to be pleased with them(thank you), some have left glowing reviews and have been multiple repeat customers over the years. However, we would love to make the scent selection process easier for them also. In the past we included samples of different scents that we offer in every shipped package and we are planning on going back to that route, starting with our holiday collection, so be on the look out for that.
In closing, if you haven't had the chance to check out our salt and rose candle, give it a try HERE. It has just the right amount of floral note with a clean fresh oceanic note, you'll love it.
Until next time, take a breath and stay lit!
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Today is Valentine's Day and I think it is the perfect time to delve deeper into this powerful tool and show how scents can affect our emotions and thereby affect our mood.
All five of our senses are equally important, but if you had to choose three of your five senses to live without, which of the five would you choose? Without putting much thought into it, unless you are a chef, you may put your sense of smell in the bottom two. Sight, smell, and hearing would be in the top three for me. However, no matter which three you chose, it is important to note that smell plays a very crucial role in the interaction with and the understanding of our environment and thereby our mood.
According to evolutionary psychology, "our noses are more susceptible to scents that we perceive as a threat to our survival. You find it easy to identify the smell of rotting food, for example, but some evidence also suggest human olfactory system may also be able to detect and interpret information from pheromones".
Memories are always intertwined with emotions and often associated with automatic emotions. Therefore, when we experience a scent that is stored in our memory, our brains tend to correlate it with certain recollections and the emotions involved with them emerges in tandem.
Scents can affect both our long- and short-term mood. If we walk into a room that has a pleasant smell it often automatically lifts our mood on the other hand if we walk into a room that smells unpleasant it can instantly shift our mood as well.
In that same view, if a scent reminds us of a great experience, it may put us in a good mood. But, if a scent reminds us of a bad experience, it may put us in a bad mood.
A good scent is not so much about how it smells, but more so, how it makes us feel, the emotions it evokes and the memories it conjures up. A good fragrance therefore is composed of notes that are designed to target and direct our emotions.
As you continue to use various scents whether in perfumes, bath or body products or your favorite candles, you will notice that you will continue to be drawn to one or more distinct scent notes. Go ahead check it out, I'll wait. Now look at the scent notes of your favorite candles, perfume, etc. and see which common scent/scents you notice. When you do, take note of how it makes you feel when you smell that distinct scent or scents and try to see if you can remember why this scent stands out so much to you. Hopefully it is not a bad memory that will spoil your mood today. If, so I'd like to apologize in advance
For me that scent is musk. I noticed that all the scents that I love always have musk somewhere in the scent notes. This is also evident in the candles scents that we carry here at Oh D'Luxe Candle Company.
Musk is said to recreate the scent of clean skin as if you were just getting out of the shower. Recently I started looking deeply into all the scent notes of the candles we carry here in our shop and more than 70% of them are made up of musk.. Some of these scents includes our bestsellers Fall All Year, Breathe and Vanilla and Ice candles and as expected they are amongst three of my favorites.
Vanilla another of our popular scent note is more of a round, warm and sweet scent. When burning your vanilla scented candle, it helps you relax and can give you the feeling of getting a warm hug. Our Relax candle is 70% vanilla, our Vanilla and Ice candle and our Zucchini Bread candle all have vanilla as the star but are on different spectrums of the scent family wheel.
Sandalwood another of the scents that our customers ask for by name is a rare wood, with a woody milky and comforting scent. It is known in Asia to bring balance and harmony to the mind, to help to bring back focus and to help manage anxiety. This is so evident in our Sleep candle that includes sandalwood as one of the main ingredients.
I hope you are enjoying the deeper look into our scent notes. We are currently working on a blog series that will help you make even more sense of scent notes, their meanings and descriptions. Stay tuned.
On behalf of my hubby and I, we would love to wish you a Happy Love Day. Today, light a candle and elevate your mood.
Be the light.
xx
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Since this is a blog about scents, we will naturally be speaking about how different scents can trigger the neurological process mentioned above resulting in what we call scent memory.
Have you ever walked down the street, and someone walks by you wearing a particular scent and you are instantly transported to a moment in time past? It also goes beyond that! Have you ever been hit in the face with a phantom smell? Oh, only me? Ok! Or maybe you don't know what a phantom smell is. I will enlighten you. A phantom smell is when a person smell something that is not there. In my case it does not happen very often but when it does, its usually a smell that is associated with my mom and my childhood and in that instance, I could swear she was still here with me.
So, scent memory is a memory that is specifically triggered by a scent or an aroma. It is very interesting to note that we all have our very own unique scent memory. In essence, our scent memories are exclusive to us and from our experiences.
A study published in Progress in Neurobiology explores the power of scent in triggering memories, suggesting the ability comes from the connection between the olfactory system and the hippocampus in our brains. The olfactory system are the bodily structures that serve the sense of smell. This system consists of the nose and the nasal cavities, which in their upper parts support the olfactory mucous membrane for the perception of smell and in their lower parts act as respiratory passages. The hippocampus on the other hand is a complex brain structure embedded deep into the temporal lobe. It has a major role in learning and memory.
All together these major players are key to the ability for us to recall things into memory by something as simple as a passing scent.
Scent memories doesn't just stop there, but it can even come from things that we can’t even remember. Those memories that may be so hidden in our subconscious that they are only brought to the surface by smells. That is one of the reasons why sometimes we smell something, and it smells familiar, but we can’t remember why we even remember it. Strange right? One of the reasons maybe because, that scent memory was developed early on in our lives, when we were just babies.
Did you know that our sense of smell develops in the womb and as soon as we are born, we are making scent memories.Wow! Every time we breath in scent molecules are mapped into our brains and stored in our subconscious, ready to be recalled at any moment.
So, while you burn your favorite Oh D'Luxe Candle, just think that whatever else is happening in that very moment, may be pulled back to your memory whenever you smell that same scent in the near or distant future. So wether you are currently smelling eucalyptus from our breath candle or rose from our salt and rose candle enjoy the moment and make it count in the present as it will count in the future as a beautiful scent memory.
until then..
be the light,
Oddette
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"The holiday season brings about gift-giving, spending time with loved ones, and of course, delicious holiday smells. From cinnamon to gingerbread to pine tree, there are many different scents of the season. If you are looking for the best ways to make your home smell like the holidays, we’ve got the article for you.
Redfin reached out to experts, including us, to share our favorite scents and ways to bring in the best scents of the holiday season in your home. So whether you’re celebrating in Bridgeport CT or Anahiem, CA, Check out 20 Scentsational Ways to Make Your Home Smell Like the Holidays to see how to achieve the sweet aromas of the holidays."
]]>When we were contacted by RedFin to be featured, I was skeptical , as I wondered if this was a real request or if it was a scam. ( the scammers are getting very creative, so I didn't want to take any chances). I did my usual checks to confirm wether or not it was the "real deal". It turned out to be a real request from RedFin and I went ahead in preparing my piece for the article which is a collaboration with other "scent centric" businesses who were also contacted by RedFin.
If you don't know who or what is Redfin. RedFin is a technology powered real estate company who also run the #1 real estate site in the United States. A huge deal right? We thought so too!
This collaboration/feature couldn't have come at a better time as we are all in full holiday preparation mode and speaks to one of our favorite ways to enjoy the holidays, through scent. I have included a short excerpt from the article below and you can read more by clicking on the embedded link.
"The holiday season brings about gift-giving, spending time with loved ones, and of course, delicious holiday smells. From cinnamon to gingerbread to pine tree, there are many different scents of the season. If you are looking for the best ways to make your home smell like the holidays, we’ve got the article for you.
Redfin reached out to experts, including us, to share our favorite scents and ways to bring in the best scents of the holiday season in your home. So whether you’re celebrating in Bridgeport CT or Anahiem, CA, Check out 20 Scentsational Ways to Make Your Home Smell Like the Holidays to see how to achieve the sweet aromas of the holidays."
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Hello....
I know it has been a minute. Ugh! I know its so cliche, but I did quit my 9-5 only to work 24 hours a day, give or take a few hours to eat, sleep and do the other necessary stuff. lol
But I digress...yes, scent layering...
During this entrepreneurial journey, I have learned so much about scents and have not only delved into candle making or making room sprays (air fresheners) but have also dabbled into the art of making perfumes, hand soaps and lotions. I however, choose to do the latter 3 only for personal use since they require a separate insurance and permits if I decide to sell them. Don't worry, I do plan to revisit them as soon as we get our warehouse space.
However, during my testing I keep coming across the phenom of scent layering.
I know what you are thinking.
What is scent layering?
Have you ever worn two of your favorite perfumes at the same time?
Have you ever applied one of your fragranced lotions to your skin and then complimented it with a perfume of a different scent, creating a completely new and unique scent?
If you were shaking your head up and down while reading this, then you my friend have already experienced fragrance/scent layering.
If you have never tried this before, I bet you are either thinking about which scents you can try this with or you are of the 1% who do not like fragrances.
Just as you can layer perfumes with fragranced lotions and two or more perfume scents together to create a new scent, you can also do so with candles.
The concept of fragrance layering with perfumes and or lotions is a bit easier to understand than with candles. Especially since I just explained it. (ha) But I promise you that it is simpler than you think. Just burn two or more of your favorite candles at the same time and ta da, you just layered the scents of your candles.
You can choose to burn both candles in two separate rooms where the scents have the chance to intermingle or if the room is large enough you can burn them both at opposite ends of the same room.
Wether with perfumes or candles, when layering fragrances, choose complementary, contrasting or linear scents - whichever you most gravitate towards.
And I am forever going to say this, scents are so subjective and what appeals to me, may not appeal to you. So do not be afraid to experiment. The worst thing that can happen is that the candles don't pair well together and you have to extinguish one and continue enjoying the other and, or enjoy them both at different times. The great thing that can happen, you can surprise yourself and find a new and unique scent, just for you.
Our suggestion for layering would be our Fall All Year and November candles. Both these scents would create a more linear scent. I haven't layered them as yet, but I am going to do it now. I will report my findings in the comments section, so be sure to come back, check it out and let me know what scents you have been experimenting with, even if they aren't Oh D'Luxe Candles.
It was lovely catching up with you.
Until then,
Be the light
xo -O
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The meaning of Juneteenth has transcended time and evolved from a celebration of freedom from slavery to shining a light on the injustices that affect black Americans today.
Texas was the first state to recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday in 1980. In 2020 momentum built in other states for a federal and state Juneteenth holiday. This year on June 20, 2022 Juneteenth is recognized as a new federal holiday, making it the first new federal holiday since Martin King Luther Day in 1983.
As an immigrant born black individual, I did not know much about Juneteenth beyond what I learnt in history class. As a Caribbean native, I was not exposed to racial issues as I have come to understand by living in the United States. In Jamaica we have our issues, but racism was not one of them.
Hence racism was new to me. In all my years living here I have never been racial profiled, however, that does not take away from the struggles faced by so many of our black ancestors and present day individuals.
As the unrest and incidents surrounding black Americans continued to increase, my study on the issues affecting blacks past and present increased. I wanted to know more about the hardships my ancestors faced and wanted to learn how I could help educate not only persons of different races, but also, persons just like me who did not grow up having to worry about racial injustices.
Today, I am happy that the historical and present day struggles of black people are been highlighted and even commemorated with a federal holiday. However, I would be happier to see black history be more than an after thought or something that is used to promote political agendas. So much of our history has been excluded from school curriculums, thereby so many persons that sadly include our black children are operating from a place of ignorance.
On June 19 2022, whether you decide to celebrate or not please consider using the day to educate those around you or even yourself on the history and significance of Juneteenth and what is means to us as black people.
Until next time..Be the light!
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All our wax products inclusive of candles and melts are made from 100 % soy wax, cotton core wicks (where applicable) and phthalate and carcinogen free fragrance oils.
You may ask, with so many different waxes on the market why soy? When conducting our research we wanted to use a Wax that was as natural as possible. Soy wax was the first wax that we tested and it checked all the boxes, natural properties, clean burning, aesthetically pleasing and resulted in amazing smelling candles.
Candle making is such a science; it boils down to the right vessel, fragrance, wick selection and even the temperature of your candle studio and region you live in. Mind blown, I know!
Lets talk Wicks; we use the eco series cotton wicks, which again works perfectly with our vessels and scents that we chose. Our eco wicks are clean burning, resulting in no soot. Make sure you follow the candle care card information included in your package when you receive your candle. If you follow the steps on your candle care card, trim your wick between burn and etc.; you will enjoy a long lasting, clean burning candle every time.
“Lets, skip to the good part! Fragrance Oils, albeit all components of the candle making process is important, I can’t help but love sniffing those yummy fragrance oils.
There are so many different fragrance oil options on the market, but in keeping with our aim to ensure that we make our candles as eco-friendly as a candle can possibly be, we made sure that our fragrance oils did not only smell good, but were also free of harmful chemicals like phthalates and carcinogens. It was of utmost importance to us that our candles be non-toxic and safe to burn in your homes and ours.
We are also very happy to have candle supply companies like Candle Science who are leading the charge and going above and beyond in ensuring that the fragrance oils that they sell and that we use in your products are safe through their candle science clean scents initiative.
And finally, our vessels, both our large candles and our travel tins are purposely made in durable glass jars and tins which we encourage our customers to reuse and or recycle to cut down on the impact on the environment.
We hope that you got a little peek behind the curtain and understand why we do what we do and how we do it.
If you still have questions about our process and the products that we use, please feel free to leave a comment below or send us a message using our chat option here on our website and we will get back to you.
Until then…
Be the light,
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As you write your Holiday Shopping list and you check them twice browse this list, click on the business's names to be transported to their pages and we know you will fall in love with their products just as much as we have.
This holiday season remember to consider shopping small and shopping local.
Location: Middletown, CT
This amazing online store offers handcrafted laser-cut and resin items.
Location: Fairfield County, CT
Gabriella the owner of letter.story.bracelet says, "everyone has a story, why not wear it on your wrist". DM her for fully customizable bracelets.
Location: New Britain, CT
For USDA Organic whole bean, ground coffee and loose tea.
Location: Mystic, CT
For Homemade, Natural, Vegan Soaps.
Location: Hamden, CT
For reed diffusers, soaps, home fragrances, unique candles + much more.
Location: Mystic CT
For Handcrafted wooden gifts.
For customized art pieces.
Location: Connecticut
Specializes in high quality hot cocoa, boozy, coffee and tea bombs for all occasions.
Location: Hamden CT
Owner Jean pairs her artwork with her poetry to create inspirational & delightful greeting cards & other artwork.
Location: Middlefield, CT
Family business that handcrafts premium bath products that support whale conservation.
Location: Connecticut
For Architectural, Industrial and Abandoned Places Photography.
Location: Fairfield, CT
For custom gift boxes, birthstone boxes, bracelet stacks, gemstones & more.
Location: Easton CT
For custom handcrafted sugar cookies and more.
Location: Hartford, CT
For small batch ceramics aka, your new drinking buddies.
Location: Trumbull, CT
For handmade dryer balls made from 100% wool that is an all natural alternative for drying your clothes.
Location: Stratford CT
For handmade jewelry dishes and home decor using handpicked shells.
Location: Fairfield CT
For one of a kind earrings made from repurposed leather and suede.
Location: Stratford, CT
For custom apparel and designs.
If you made it this far, thank you for checking out our Small Business Holiday Gift Guide. I hope you found something that you really like.
Happy Holidays & Happy Shopping.
xo
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The nose knows! Or does it!
We have always been able to depend on our noses to help us decipher scents, right! But what do you do when you are having a problem telling which scent is which or you can’t smell at all? And I’m not talking about loosing your sense of smell because of Covid( God forbid) or the common cold. What I’m talking about is “candle nose”.
]]>We have always been able to depend on our noses to help us decipher scents, right! But what do you do when you are having trouble telling scents a part or you can’t smell at all? And I’m not talking about loosing your sense of smell because of Covid (God forbid) or the common cold. What I’m talking about is “candle nose”.
No, “candle nose”, is not where if you tell a lie, your nose grows long like a tapered candle. And no, it’s not when your nose turns green like a green colored candle.
“Candle nose” happens when you pour so many different candles in various scents that you are either unable to tell the scents a part, can’t smell the scents at all, or if you are like me, you end up hating one your favorite scents.
“Candle nose” is said to be the phenomenon when the olfactory glands in your nose work overtime to recognize smells also known as olfactory fatigue, or “nose blindness”. Eventually, your body will stop alerting you to smells, making you think there’s no fragrance there or in my case turn one of my favorite scents into one of the worse scents that I’ve smelt in a long time.
A little back story, a few weeks ago I was trying to stock up for our upcoming vendor markets, to make sure we have enough products for our online store, and for our stockist (I’ll tell you more about that at the end if you stick around). Everything was going well until I poured out the fragrance oil of one of my best sellers and personal favorite into the measuring container on the scale. I gagged and almost “threw up” with a little stretch of the truth there, “what the heck is that putrid scent”, I thought as I stuffed my nose into the half empty bottle while praying that the scent was coming from somewhere else. I almost cried when the same “disgusting” scent, yes I said disgusting scent, hit me harder in the face this time since my nose was now practically sitting on top of the bottle.
Honestly, I felt like crying. I was tired from making candles all day and now I had to deal with the possibility that there was something wrong with this batch of fragrance oil.
If this were so I would have to go through the long arduous process of sending it back to my supplier and praying that the replacement bottles wouldn’t be from the same “bad” batch. Plus it would set me back and the possibility lies that I wouldn’t have enough of that scent for my upcoming markets.
However, with all that going through my head, it dawned on me that maybe my nose was just confused because I was pouring so many different scents. With that theory in mind, I made one candle in the scent and decided to wait a few days before smelling it. I wish I could tell you that when I smelt it a few days later, that it smelt great again, but it didn’t. Cue tears!
Still feeling discouraged, I decided to ask two friends of mine who are also two of my repeat customers to smell the candle for me. They smelt it and loved it and told me it smelt exactly the same as the scent they had previously purchased from me. I could have hugged them, I was so happy.
It turns out my theory was right, my poor nose was confused, because even batches of the same candle scent that I had from previous stock started smelling like this new batch...gross
But, I’m happy to know it’s just my nose that is confused. I’m also happy that it is only happening with this one scent. I’m optimistic that I’ll be able to enjoy one of my favorite candies again soon.
In the mean time, I’m falling in love with these new Fall & Winter scents we have coming up. Our home already smells like “the most wonderful time of the year” & I’m not mad at it. We can’t wait to share these scents with you.
Before I go, if you have been following us on social media & if not, you absolutely should...but I digress, you can now find Oh D’Luxe Candles in stores....ekkkkkkkkk!!! If you are in or around these towns, check out our candles at Local Soul in Wilton CT, Lizzies Corner in Seymour CT & Pious Bird in Black Rock CT.
If you are in Westbrook CT on Saturday July 10 from 10am-3pm come by our booth and say hi. We would love to meet you.
Until then..
Be the light.
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It’s market season! Yaaaaay! If you are a small business owner, vendor markets is one of your best friends. They are the ideal channel to help get the “word” out about your products & it’s also a fun way to meet new people. An obvious win/win.
We have done two vendor markets so far. We are resident vendors at the Westbrook Markets every 2nd Saturday of every month in Westbrook CT. In addition, we have markets in other towns scattered across the state through the rest of 2021. We will post our market dates and towns the closer they get & would love to see you if we are ever in your town, please come by & say hi.
We have so much exciting stuff happening & I’m itching to tell you all, but y’all will have to wait and see. Be sure to follow us on social media as that’s where we dish all the tea first.
If you have noticed we were a bit quiet on social media. The hubby & I just celebrated our anniversary and we went away for a well deserved break & R & R. We are back & ready to put our backs to the wheel again & we are so happy to have you all along for the ride.
Falling asleep as I write, so this is so long for now.
Until next time..
Be the light
xo
-O
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Have you ever wondered how candle companies decide on the scents they attach to their brands?
If your answer is yes, today you are in luck as we take you on a scenic drive behind the scenes on how we decide which scents to carry here at Oh D'Luxe Candle + Co.
As most of you may know (🎶or if you don’t know, you better ask somebody🎶) I’m sorry I just had to do that) lol, ok, where was I? Yes, Oh D’Luxe candle Co was started at the end of September 2020, which was essentially the first week of Fall. Hence, it goes without saying that our introduction scents would have been Fall themed.
After testing a bunch of scents, such as, apple, cinnamon, spices, bakery, pumpkin, lots & lots of pumpkin scents we finally decided on carrying fall foliage (which is an intoxicating blend of cedar leaves, pine , lemon & fruit), the other three with scents as their names suggest ( hopefully you didn’t notice that we were too lazy to rename the following 3 scents) pear spice, banana bread & of course there had to be a pumpkin scented candle, pumpkin soufflé.
As you may notice have noticed retail stores usually start putting out their Christmas decorations way before Thanksgiving. Like, what’s the rush?
But not looking to be out done we launched our Winter themed candles at the ending of November. And if you were keeping up with the discourse above you would be able to surmise that we chose those more or less Christmas/holiday themed scents for this collection. The scents we chose were holiday party which is an intricate blend of evergreen & champagne accord, Winter Cabin getaway with scents of pine & smoke, Santa’s cookies with scents of cream & sweet vanilla & Peppermint bark which is mint mixed with white chocolate..yum.
I’m positive that you have caught on by know, but just in case you haven’t,I’ll point out that seasons have a lot to do with how we went about choosing the scents that we carried since our launch.
This, however is not something unique to Oh D’Luxe Candles, as many of my fellow Chandlers ascribe to the same (idea) & also many of the industry giants.
However, we do have our year round candles that as the name suggest we plan to carry all year round. This for us is where the fun part comes in as we get to flex our “blending muscles”, if you haven’t read our blog post on fragrance blending, stop here, go read it & pick up where you left off.
As we have gotten to the part in our candle business where we are getting ready to release our “All Season” scents our studio is buzzing with excitement & oozing with a mixture of delicious scents.
Most of our current scent selections were considered because of market trends, our personal scent preferences and also feedback from our valued customers.
Albeit we may not be able to initially carry all the scents you all suggested, we plan to be here for a very long time & plan to incorporate more of your suggested scents as time goes by. So please don’t be dishearten if your suggestions didn’t make the cut this time around.
With that been said, we have so many amazing scents in the line up for you all & can’t wait to share them with you.
Thanks so much for trusting us to bring beautiful scents into your homes.
Until then...
Be the light..
xoxo
-O
But when you get home & smell your wrist again you wonder just what the “heck” (yes heck, my blog is pg 13, lol) you were thinking buying that scent?
Shopping online for fragrances is an even bigger challenge since you have no clue what it even smells like.
]]>If you have come here to find the cure for any one of the many diseases plaguing our land in this season, you are in the wrong place & I am sorry to have misled you.
But since you are here, why not stick around and read to the end.
If not “theeeee cure” what then?
]]>Even though we know we have created great products, we want you to get the most enjoyment out of your candles, so heres some size advice...candle size that is!
What do you think we were referring to? No, this is not that type of blog...
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