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The Perfect Hostess Gift

'Tis the season for holiday parties, which also means that it's the season to stock up on hostess gifts.  My current favorite is Pacifica's Gold Collection Soy Candle Gift Set.  I love, love, love Pacifica's candles because they come in such unique and interesting scents, plus the fragrances are strong and linger for hours, so you're not spending money on candles that barely even scent a small room.  (I hate when that happens.  It makes me stabby).  If you're looking to give your hostess a unique gift that she'll adore and definitely use, this is it.  Here are the nine different scents you'll find in the set:

• Mediterranean Fig
• Tuscan Blood Orange
• Hawaiian Ruby Guava
• Mexican Cocoa
• Lotus Garden
• Malibu Lemon Blossom
• Tahitian Gardenia
• California Star Jasmine
• French Lilac 

Each one is a 3 ounce soy candle that burns for 25 hours, so you get a ton of burn time for $45.  Plus, it's a great chance for your hostess to try out Pacifica's candles and find the scent she likes the best so she can stock up on her own.  Or it's a good chance for you to try them out because let's face it, a gift this delightful is hard to give up.  Maybe you should just go with the old standby of a bottle of wine and keep this set for yourself.  Don't tell anyone I said that...  

Note:  A sample of this item was sent to me by a PR representative working with Pacifica

Happy Halloween!

As the day of witches, ghosts and goblins is upon us, I wish you to eat an over-abundance of candy corn and chocolate goodies, down that entire package of ghost peeps and burn some delicious pumpkin candles to keep you festive.  I am seriously in love with two delicious pumpkin candles, neither of which is being discontinued after Halloween so you can still run out and purchase them to enjoy through Thanksgiving.  BBW has a Creamy Pumpkin candle and a Pumpkin Caramel Latte Candle - both are spectacular, scent an entire room and will make your guests excidedly wonder what you're burning that smells so delicious.

Gimme S'more

In my last jaunt to BBW (it's shocking how much great stuff they have now), I bought the S'mores candle because, well, I love the treat.  This candle smells incredible (just like if I was making S'mores over a fire pit) and fills the whole house after just a few minutes of lighting it.  I would like to pretend that the delicious smell satisfied my sweet tooth but I actually went ahead to Ralphs and bought stuff to make S'mores... in the microwave... as nature intended.  Hey, it could've been worse!  I could've bought the cake candle and then devoured a whole vanilla cake.  Well justified?!

Fall Flavors

 

Uhm, how amazingly delicious do all the new Slatkin & Co.'s fall candle scents sound? 

• Pumpkin Caramel Latte - A frothy blend of creamy pumpkin, sweet vanilla cream and rich pralines is topped with a spiced caramel swirl
• S'mores - Layers of gooey marshmallow, melted dark chocolate and sweet graham crackers
• Apple Crumble - Baked Granny Smith and McIntosh Apples topped with vanilla crumble, cinnamon and nutmeg
• Oatmeal Raisin Cookie - Fresh baked oatmeal blended with sweet raisins, caramelized brown sugar and vanilla extract

Forget candles, I want to drink a pumpkin caramel latte!  How have I never consumed one of those before?  I am so adding caramel to my pumpkin lattes when they come back to Starbucks in the fall!  (Although oddly enough, it's the only one not showing up on the Bath & Body Works site, so I'm not sure what's going on there).

But yeah, I love the sound of each and every one of these candles.  I pretty much either burn clean-scented candles or food-scented ones, so these will fit in at my place very well.  Especially because I'm trying to be healthier these days and eat a lot of fruit, but I've been oddly craving s'mores lately, so maybe if I burn the candle, that'll quench my cravings?  Yeah, let's go with that...

The Best Candle Ever

I realize the title of this piece may sound like I'm exaggerating, but I promise I'm not.  I'd seen the Salty Caramel Scented Candle at Bath and Body Works a few times, but somehow passed it up.  Then this weekend I needed to buy something else to use a coupon, so I threw one in my bag and forgot about it until I got home.  I lit the candle for the first time on Saturday and it was like hearing angels sing.  (At least, I assume so.  I've never actually heard an angel sing, but I assume it's life changing).  It's described as "sweet cream and caramel sprinkled with glazed pecans" and if your mouth is watering at that, it should be.  The candle smells amazing.  Amazing!  It instantly filled my living room with the Salty Caramel fragrance and while normally I only let a candle burn for about four hours at a time, I left this one on all day just because I couldn't bear to blow it out.  I'm seriously obsessed and plan to go back and buy a few more of them as soon as I can run over to the mall again.  (And lots of other people feel the same way I do, if the reviews on Bath and Body Works' website are any indiction.  The largest size of the candle is actually out of stock at the moment, which I've never seen happen before).  If you like sweet or dessert-scented candles, get yourself to a Bath and Body Works ASAP and check this one out.  You'll thank me later.

Odin New York

I'm very candle obsessed lately (probably because I have a ton and if I have to cart them all when I move, I'm going to be hating my life).  I get bored with the same old scents though - I mean, I love Clean Cotton more than anything, but I burn it so often, even my neighbors are probably like, girl, switch it up a little!  So when I got the chance to try the new candles from Odin New York, I jumped at the chance.  

The four unisex scents are all really unique and interesting.  Here's what you'll find in the line:

• 01 Sunda - Creamy oriental notes of juniper berries and cedar leaves with spicy black pepper
• 02 Owari - Rare mandarins and freshly crushed grapefruit leaves mixed with vibrant cube pepper and Tonkin musk
• 03 Century - Silver birch, Cypress, and forest mint combined with liquid myrrh, vetiver, patchouli and moss
• 04 Petrana - Blooming Black Iris built on a foundation of wild orris root and green violet leaf absolute, with herbaceous coriander, spicy pink pepper, and deep purple cassis

Aren't those descriptions intriguing?  (And don't feel bad if you don't recognize some of the notes - I'd never even heard of about three of them!)  Out of the four scents, my favorite is definitely 02 Owari.  It's really fresh and awakening, a candle I'd burn to get myself energized when I'm trying to get some work done.  03 Century is really interesting too - it's sort of smoky and musky, without being too heavy.  It's kind of a nighttime candle perfect for a candlelit dinner (or, uhm, after dinner...)  01 Sunda and 04 Petrana are harder for me to describe (as you can probably tell from their notes), but I'd definitely burn both of them again as well.  They're all just really different from the candles I'm used to burning, which is a good thing for all of you who are in a candle rut like I was.  They would make great gifts too because the packaging is so sleek and modern - black glass with slate colored wax.  At $65, they're kind of pricy, but you do get 60 hours of burn time, which is a lot, so it sort of evens out.  Clean Cotton, you've been replaced (at least for the moment!)

You can find the candles at Odin New York and Pas de Deux in New York, as well as select stores in the US and abroad.

Note:  Samples of this product were sent to me by a PR representative working with Odin New York

Seriously Sexy Candle

I adore candles - seriously, my home is probably ten degrees warmer than most because of all the fire I have lit in each room.  That said, I thought I had tried every brand and had already settled on my go-to ones, until now.  I just had the honor of burning an Infusion Organique soy blend candle and it puts all others to shame.  I have been smelling the delightful Acai Rain for a few hours now and I am in deep, passionate, waxy love.  To start, the candle is gorgeous - square glass with elegant floral design hugging a few of the sides and it comes in an equally elegant white box which makes it look even more luxurious.  Then as soon as you light the candle, you wonder how you ever lived without it.  Acai Rain is a beautiful, fresh and fruity scent combining raspberry, current, white peach and vanilla.  I also smell a hint of bamboo which makes this a very unique, and intoxicating experience.  The candle burns extremely evenly which makes me happy, no soot because of the wax blend, and smells up my entire home after only burning for a few minutes.   Absolute candle bliss, my friends.  It's pricey at $38.00 but oh-so-worth the splurge.  With candles you get what you pay for and this is truly my new fave (and definitely a gift I will be giving on Mother's Day).  Infusion Organique has four unique scents, each burning 65 hours.  They also have a host of other goodies, which I need to check out because I can only imagine how much I will love them all.  Who knew a candle could excite me so much?!

Note:  A sample of this product was sent to me by a PR representative working with Infusion Organique 

Summer Berries

 

Oh my God, this candle is SO great, you guys.  I had to quickly run into Bath & Body Works tonight to get a thank you gift for someone and this candle practically threw itself into my bag.  (When buying a thank you gift, I try to stick to the "One for you, one for me" rule.  It makes the process way more fun).  There was a whole display of the new Summer Vanilla scents (Berry, Lemon and Coconut) and I loved them all.  I totally need to go back and buy some of the Shower Gels and Cooling Mists because they're buy three, get two free right now and that's a deal I just can't pass up.  I didn't have time to figure out exactly what I wanted this time, but there was no way I was leaving empty-handed, so I decided to get a candle.  I was really torn because I pretty much love all three scents equally, but since the store had only a few Berry candles left, I figured I should grab that one before someone else bought the last one.  I've been burning it all night and it is so, so pretty.  I can smell the berry, but I can also smell the sweetness of the vanilla, which makes it different from a lot of the fruit-scented candles I already own.  It's really light and perfect for the summer and the three-wick candles last a really long time.  They're $19.50, but right now, there's also a buy one, get one 50% off on candles, so you can get two for $30.  Time to stock up!

Buy Red

Diptyque and (RED) join forces to help provide life-saving medication for those living with HIV in Africa.

As the international symbol for hope, a candle’s light can now be a coveted item with a positive, humane, and impactful initiative.  In partnership with (RED), diptyque has created an exceptional limited-edition candle that helps those living with HIV in Africa obtain the medicine they need to stay alive.
 
Red like the African soil, the (diptyque) RED Special Edition candle combines several traditional elements of this ancient land.  Wax print – the colorful, graphic African fabric which exemplifies a unique expertise – is the most natural choice for this candle’s packaging.  Wax prints weave a link between tradition and modernity, and set the scene for this wonderful limited edition candle, perfectly dressing up the packaging. The glass container, however, dons a more sober look, sheathed in a matte crimson to celebrate the (RED) partnership.

Taking its commitment a step further, the candle’s soothing, spicy scents are derived from certified fair trade vanilla.  At the heart of this spicy aura, diptyque chooses to feature both Indian and Madagascar vanilla along with South African rooibos.  The Indian vanilla comes from Karnataka, Kerala and Tamidu through a fair trade alliance between Firmenich and the EARF (Eco Agri Research Foundation). This spice, coveted by all those who inhale it, is even more precious to those for whom it ensures hope, the promise of a future and the ability to meet the needs of their children.

The special edition diptyque (RED) candle will debut January 2010 and will retail for $68.00 at the diptyque boutiques in New York and San Francisco as well as retailers nationwide. (It can also be purchased online here).  Diptyque will contribute 10% for each candle sold to help The Global Fund provide life-saving medication to those living with HIV in Africa.

Wild Garden

I so want to try these new candles from Space NK.  The new collection of exclusive signature scents were inspired by the fragrant aromas of a wild garden.  Each one is hand poured and blended with essential oils and high quality wax, so I'm sure they'll smell as pretty as they look.  They're available in the following scents:

• Blue Hyacinth
• Citrus Mint
• Charcoal Rose
• Neroli Spice
• Tarragon Flower
• Tobacco Leaf
• Wild Iris
• Smoldering Embers

They're kind of expensive at $60, but the names are so exotic, they kind of make the money seem totally justifiable.  I think Citrus Mint would smell delicious in my kitchen or bedroom and I'm dying to burn Smoldering Embers in my living room while I'm curled up on the couch reading magazines.  (Yes, it's a very specific fantasy.  I don't know why).  You can find them at Space NK stores and spacenk.com.