Home fragrance essentials

Home fragrance has always been important to me. Our sense of smell is both powerful and fascinating and can do anything from lift your mood, evoke a memory and make your house feel like your home. Filling your home with fragrance adds both style and ambiance and in this blog post I will be sharing with you, some fantastic home fragrance options and brands. I set about creating this blog post looking for an alternative to the rut of spending obscene amounts of money on big brand home fragrance products and made it my mission to source some affordable, fantastic quality and unique products from some smaller brands. I have found some exceptional options and I can’t wait to share them with you.

Candles

MABEL & ALMA

I will kick this section off with an absolute find! Local to myself, New Forest based Mabel & Alma sent me this gorgeous calming candle recently and I must say the smell is Divine. I love that this company is local and the owners and siblings Rachel and Carly named the brand after their grandmothers Mabel and Alma, such a lovely personal touch. You can tell these candles are made with love, hand poured soy wax, dreamy scents and simple yet timeless branding that looks great anywhere. They have an extremely varied range of scents so there is guaranteed to be one to suit you, from sweet scents like chocolate to more earthy scents like sandalwood and vanilla. I am absolutely loving this Lavender, Chamomile and Vanilla candle, it smells like a very luxurious spa candle, it gives off a really powerful fragrance and priced at just £12.50 these really are a bargain. The candle burns really well and I have been pleasantly surprised at the punch this candle can pack. You can check out their wide range on the website. As well as online you can also find this delightful brand popping up at shows and fairs, so to any of my local readers, Mabel & Alma will be at Romsey show on 14th September 2019 and I strongly suggest going and checking them out. Follow their Instagram for updates on this and for news on any new products and great offers in the future.

THE FIND STORE

I was kindly sent this Raine and Humble candle from the find store. This candle is a great size and has an impressive 50 hours burn time. I am loving the packaging of this candle. The packaging is not only stylish but it is also made from recycled packaging in a unique pot style. The candle itself smells great, the ceramic pearlescent jar really has a luxury feel and teamed with the wooden and air sealed lid gives this product a real earthy and trendy feel- very Soho Farmhouse. I strongly suggest heading the the find stores fantastic website for some seriously gorgeous and stylish home interior products. The find store offer a huge range of beautiful interior finds from around the globe, they have the most gorgeous and unique selection of interior products. So if you are looking for something a unique,beautiful and stylish or a gift for a loved one head on over to the website and follow them on Instagram to fulfill all of your interior dreams!

PALMCOVE LONDON

Palmcove London sent me this sleek and on trend candle recently and I have been really impressed. The concrete style jars are contemporary and classy and they offer them in a great range of shades to suit any room in your home. Inspiration for these was taken from a visit to none other than Australia’s Palm Cove, its laid back vibe and beautiful cobbled streets were the inspiration for them and I think this really shows in the products minimalistic yet effortlessly stylish appearance. Each jar is hand crafted so no two are the exact same, giving these candles a really unique and bespoke feel. I was kindly sent the light grey candle in a Magnolia scent and I must say it smells beautiful, a light, clean and fragrant candle that really does fill the room with relaxing essence of magnolia. The Packaging on Palmcove London products is really well thought out. The white ribbon adds a touch of luxury. Really good value for money, I recommend checking out the Palmcove website and following their Instagram page as there are often great offers to be had.

Incense

UME INCENSE

I have recently re kindled my love for using incense. I used it a lot in my teens after staying with my Aunt who meditated and it was from then I became a bit obsessed with it. For an unknown reason burning incense fell off my radar for a few years and it wasn’t until a trip to London early this year that myself and my husband picked some up. I was using this regularly until I read an article about the suspected implications of burning incense with chemical containing ingredients, I was buying on mass and cheaply. This lead me to researching a natural and organic product, this I can tell you does not return all that many results, so when the lovely Emma at Ume sent me these natural, handmade incense sticks I was delighted and excited to experience a product I love, in the most pure and natural form possible. Each stick is hand rolled using ground herbs, seeds, saps and barks, so totally natural materials. The texture of the sticks as they burn is a lot finer than any incense I have used before, this makes it easy to clean up after, they also burn really slowly and release the most beautiful earthy aromas. Having 3 young children means I lead a pretty hectic life and I am finding using Ume incense truly does give me a sense of calm. I have been lighting one as soon as I have put the children to bed and spend a few moments concentrating on some breathing exercises while enjoying the therapeutic and anxiety soothing benefits of these wonder products. I was kindly sent over a beautiful brass burner, this feels fantastic quality and is compact in size so it can be taken out with you, should you wish to find a moment of zen out and about or while away from home. The packaging of these products is elegant in design and I love the slide out box, making it easy to pick out the stick. In comparison to sticks I was previously using Ume incense sticks are marginally more expensive however they burn for far longer and the fact that they are made from only natural ingredients means that I will be buying these on repeat moving forward. I just love them! If you are reading this and have not used incense before I strongly recommend following Ume incense on Instagram or visiting the website. There is a wealth of detailed information, selection guides and background about the benefits of incense burning on the website. Emma has a true and honest passion for offering premium quality, natural, plant based products, Should you have any further questions I would not hesitate to get in touch with her. Whether you consider using Ume products for relaxation, meditation or simply a new way to fragrance your home my advice would be do not delay!

Diffusers

brownstone – LONDON –

One of the most loved home fragrance methods is the reed diffuser, this is no wonder. Reed diffusers offer a long lasting, fuss free and aesthetically pleasing way to fill your home with fragrance. However as I am sure we have all experienced, not all diffusers stand up to the test of time. Recently I was kindly sent one of brownstone’s best selling Grapefruit and Basil diffusers for a bathroom fragrance blog post and immediately noticed that brownstone diffusers come with two sets of reeds. Reading more into this on the diffuser care guide helped me to understand the importance of using two sets of reeds to prolong and intensify the fragrance of a diffuser for as long as possible. I absolutely love this classic and stylish product, the apothecary style bottle and effortlessly chic branding mean that you could pop one of these diffusers anywhere in your home and it will release fresh, long lasting fragrance in your home for up to four months. The Grapefruit and basil gives a refreshing aroma that just keeps giving with its peppery undertones. Head over to the website and Instagram to check out the full range of these brilliant products. I have linked my previous blog post here for anyone interested in finding out more about brownstone.

Conclusion

Admittedly I have been a home fragrance brand snob in the past. Like many I have been blind sighted into thinking that big brand means great quality and this unfortunately is rarely the case. This blog post has given me the opportunity to experience some incredible products from some smaller companies and has taught me that there is absolutely no need to buy big brand home fragrance products. The care, love and attention to detail in all of the above products is clearly outstanding and I urge all of my readers to take a look at these websites and shop small.