Wax Lyrical Emperor's Red Tea Candle

Wax Lyrical is a candle brand that I haven't tried before. It is a British and privately owned brand making scented candles and reed diffusers in Cumbria. For a new range, Wax Lyrical have teamed with home decorating and design company Fired Earth and have released seven tea inspired scents in glass containers to compliment their popular colour palettes.
After an in-depth smell test to decide which one I liked best (I was at least 15 minutes) I chose Emperor's Red Tea. Wax Lyrical describe this as...

'an intense sensual scent with fresh citrus of bergamot warmed by rose pepper and red tea, 

resting on a base of a precious woods and vanilla".

Sounds quite nice doesn't it, but to be honest I wouldn't be able to pick these notes out by just whiffing it as I'm hopeless at it but vanilla and a wood combo is what I normally go for.

Burn time is 90 hours for the largest two wick size which I purchased. It burns evenly and fills the room with its lovely scent. After I left the room to go to another part of the house I could smell it quite plainly in other areas which was a pleasant surprise. After blowing out and leaving to cool overnight I could actually smell the candle when I walked past it the next morning.

Overall I'm very impressed with this and will definitely splurge in more from other ranges that Wax Lyrical produce. This large candle and the Fired Earth range retails at £35 but I bought it for £22 at my local stockist. Small size candles cost £20 and the reed diffusers from £14 from the Wax Lyrical site.

Rachel xx

Handmade Letter Embroidery Hoops From Etsy

On my last annual leave I decided to have a bit of a clean out of clothes, shoes, make up and nik naks. I was also looking to add a bit of colour to the walls in the house too without having to paint them - yet anyway! I love taking pictures and putting them in frames. I adore vintage finds and anything handmade. This led me to the wonderful world of Etsy...
It was actually only in August that I ventured onto the site to have a proper look. I'd always gravitated towards NotOnTheHighStreet.com but after typing in 'handmade fabric letters' in google I was taken to images of products being sold on Etsy. After a quick search on the site I stumbled across the shop Rachel & George based in Stockton-on-Tees.
The letter embroidery hoops stood out for me as they were something I hadn't seen done before, and rather than one hoop design that the shop made, I thought the three would look great on the wall leading up the stairs.

The only problem was that the seller was offering two initials and an '&'. I wanted the two initials for my name and my husband but wanted to include our daughter more than anything. I contacted the seller via the site and sent a message asking if they could change the & to an M. I had a quick response from Rachel (great name) the same evening saying yes no problem, but the fabric and size would have to stay the same. Brilliant!
They arrived five days later, extremely well packaged with a handwritten card thanking me for my purchase. The hoops are so well made and the fabric really pretty with the colours suiting my decor. They cost £40 and £3.50 shipping. I love how they look with the quirky stitching and have really brightened up the stair wall. There are other designs available from Russian dolls to teapots. Do check out Rachel & George's shop. The feedback that others have left about the products are 5* and I have done the same.

Rachel xx

Yankee Candle ~ Paradise Spice

I realised yesterday that I hadn't done a 'home' post for a while and a perfect home accessory has to be a scented candle. I love candles as they make my home cosy and I feel comforted watching the flame flicker next to a small lamp and fairy lights.
With the winter season S L O W L Y turning into spring, I thought I would burn the last of my winter stash. I bought Paradise Spice by Yankee Candle back in January.
Yankee Candle describe this as:

'An exotic island treasure ... perfectly ripe banana and creamy vanilla, unexpectedly spiced with prized cinnamon and cloves'

When I smelt this prior to burning, I thought, o wow this is right up my street as I love spiced scents like sandalwood and cinnamon. Sadly when lit, there was no aroma at all. The only time I could even get a whiff of a scent was when I actually put my nose up to the candle. Normally with Yankee the aroma fills the room and even out in to the hallway, but not this one.
Bad batch maybe, who knows? But I won't be repurchasing this one again. 
I bought the 2 wick medium tumbler from a local shop for about £12.99 (I think). Click the link here that will take you to a discount site for Yankee Candles.

Have you had this candle and had the same disappointment?

Rachel xx

Valentine's Day Gift Ideas ~ For Her

I have to admit that the gifts I have picked for this Valentine's Day Gift Ideas are secretly what I would love to receive on the day, but I doubt very much that would happen so I thought that I would share them you. I may even treat myself this year (again).
Even though Valentine's Day has become a money making scheme in some shops, it's still nice to show a little appreciation to your loved one with the simple things like flowers and a handwritten note or card with a poem or special message that you can keep forever, rather than a text message that gets deleted after a few days. Here are 7 gift ideas that you can casually show your other half (i.e leave your laptop/tablet/pc in their view so that they take the hint).

1) An obvious choice really; who doesn't love flowers? I know I do. Whenever I do a big supermarket food shop I usually treat myself to a bunch, so it would be nice to have some bought. Next online has a lovely selection here but if you're on a budget Lidl do some beautiful roses for just £2 in a variety of colours.

2) Paper Plane Make Up Bag (£15.50) -  I've had this make up bag on my wish list for quite some time and eventually I will buy it. It's from the brand Paper Plane and you can buy it here along with other lovely items in the range.

3) Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb (30ml rrp £50) - A fruity and floral fragrance with notes of tea, bergamot, samba jasmine, rose and orchid. This scent would suit both day and night. Other sizes available here.  

4) Urban Decay Naked Lip Glosses (£14) - The newest launch from the UD Naked range these are a luxe gloss that hydrates due to the rich balm combo, vitamin E and avocado oil. There are 7 shades available here.
5) Zara Home Humming Bird Duvet Cover (from £69.99) - Create a nice romantic atmosphere with new bedding...you know what I mean? ;) See the Zara Home range here.
6) Gift voucher from Boux Avenue - From delicate lingerie to nightwear, it's hard to choose so why not buy a gift voucher just incase your choice is different from what your partner would choose to wear. View the Boux Avenue site here.
7) Personalised silk and silver bangle by Hurley Burley (£34) - By far my favourite idea. I would choose to have my daughter's name engraved but you could have your partner's name or even a special date that has a personal meaning for you. Not On The Highstreet have a lovely selection here.

I wish all of you a Happy Valentine's Day and I hope you all have something nice whether it be from your partner or even a friend. For those of you that are single, treat yourself to something...at least you'll get something you like!

Rachel xx

Vintage Teacup Shopping

I have a confession to make...I LOVE TEACUPS...but I don't drink tea! As much as I would like to, I don't like the taste and it makes me feel quite queasy. That hasn't stopped me though from having a love affair with teacups, especially vintage ones.

Today I had a day off work and decided to pop into the village to have a quick look around the antique shops in the hunt for some treasures. I recently bought two pieces of solid oak furniture so I was on a ban from buying any big pieces. Even though my home is a new build I have grown up to appreciate old and collectable items and my home is nicely filling up with various pieces.

My crockery collection is something that I want to slowly build as I'm quite fussy with what I like and it can be quite costly. Gosh I sound old!

After looking at what felt like hundreds, I finally decided on two matching designs that came with side plates.

I paid £5 for each trio which I thought was an absolute bargain. These were the only matching ones that I fancied, which is good really, as I could have spent quite a lot more!

I know this is different from my usual posts but this is another part of my life that I want to feature on my blog every now and then. If this type of thing floats your boat then check out this site here for more vintage loveliness.

Have you any other loves other than make up and beauty that you like collecting? Do share...

Rachel xx

My Bath & Body Works Wishlist

If I lived in America I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I would constantly be shopping in Bath and Body Works. I've looked on the website many times and I've emailed them asking if they ship to the UK, but unfortunately they do not...(sad face)

Below is a few of the products that take my fancy...

I have been lucky though to find some sellers on eBay that regularly have BBW products shipped here! You just have to justify the extra added cost that is charged for the exchange rate and shipping fees.
Do you live in the States? Is BBW as good as I imagine it to be?

Rachel xx

Yankee Candles

Hello!

Well this is officially my first blog post, and if you are reading this then I thank you.

Right, here goes...

I have been a tad undecided about what to blog about first, whether it be make up, clothing, home accessories or just general day to day life.

I went shopping a few days ago in my local town so I have decided to show you what I bought...

I have a little obsession with scented candles (ok a big obsession) and I ended up buying 5 Medium Tumbler Yankee Candles. A little excessive I know, but the ones I bought were actually on sale and I just couldn't leave them behind...

My first stop was my local garden centre which I frequently pop into for inspiration for a spring garden, (which I haven't done anything about yet...)and I headed over to their Yankee Candle display. As I was having a whiff of the many scents they had available I noticed one of the workers with his price gun.

I wondered off for a few moments and came back to find that he had reduced most of the Autumn/Winter Collection and about two of the spring range by about £6.

I decided on two for now from the garden centre which I'm really happy with.

Blissful Autumn is just that and I can smell wood, fruit and musk.

Wild Passion Fruit reminds me of a fruit salad with notes of mandarin and passion fruit, a very springlike scent.

I then headed to TK Maxx for a good noise around and headed straight to the homeware section for an oven tray (exciting I know) and out of the corner of my eye I spotted more Yankee Candle Tumblers. These were priced at £6.99 each from £15.50

So I bought 3 from TK Maxx and yes another Blissful Autumn, but I will probably give this as a gift.

Cinnamon Stick is a very Christmasy scent which I will burn later in the year, and smells just like its name.

Vanilla Satin is just beautiful with notes of vanilla and sandalwood.

I had a quick search online for Yankee Candle stockists and came across this site here where there is a huge range of scents at discounted prices!

Thanks for stopping by and I will post again soon.

Rachel xx