Isle of Light Candles Wax Melts

Isle of Light candles is a brand I have featured on my blog before (here) and when the lovely Keeleigh told me she had a new product for my to try, I was more than excited because the quality is always so good.

Wax melts seem to be all the rage right now with many companies and I love them as much as the next person and I am always looking for next amazing scent to tantalise my scent buds. Isle of Lights offer 12 different scents of wax melts:

• The Coast - Escape to the Coast! This stunning seaside fragrance combines fresh bergamot, bright orange and rich amber with warming notes of exotic coconut, vanilla and almond.
• Strawberry and Rhubarb - A perfectly fruity fragrance. Not too sweet and not too sour, this fragrance combines freshly picked strawberries and pink rhubarb on a surprisingly complex base. 
• Fresh Linen - Imagine freshly washed laundry out to dry on a breezy day. Sensual wafts of light white musk cascade through refreshing notes of sun-ripened oranges and breezy eucalyptus. Heart notes include sea kelp, jasmine petals and delicate mimosa herb.
• Lime Sherbet- A clean, fresh and super strong Lime Fragrance created by one of our customers, sweet and zesty all in one!
• Lily Spring – A great burst of floral scent with top notes of Bergamot, coriander and Peonies. Heart Notes of Lily, Jasmine, Rose and a full bodied base of Musk, patchouli, vanilla.
• Oriental Spice - A Striking blend of sandalwood, ginger, patchouli and green tea. This fragrance has base notes of vanilla, musk and sandalwood, heart notes of jasmine, patchouli and ginger, and top notes of citrus, mint and green tea.
• Botanical Garden- A self assured floral bouquet. Top notes of English rose, field hawthorn and bergamot lead into a prominent heart of violet, geranium and ylang ylang. Base notes include a sultry combination of oak moss, powdery amber, sandal and cedar wood.
• Lemongrass and Ginger - a stimulating and sensual fragrance with top notes of tangy lemongrass, Sicilian lemons and juicy limes lead into a heart of spicy ginger root and grated nutmeg, and a hint of refreshing eucalyptus. Base notes include sensual patchouli, white woods and creamy vanilla.
• The Needles- The clean, fresh and invigorating smell of a crisp winter’s day! This fragrance begins with top notes of Fresh Lime and Menthol, heart notes of Fir and Lavender, and full-bodied base notes of Eucalyptus and Pine.
• Spiced Chocolate - Spices smothered in a warm chocolate sauce make this scent almost good enough to eat! This fragrance gives you a rich chocolate base and decadently collides with sensational notes of fresh cream, smooth butter, velvety milk chocolate and a hint of spicy aromas.

The final scent, which is the one I was very kindly sent - English Pear & Vanilla which is described as being a sophisticated blend of French vanilla and juicy sun ripened English pears.  Now I am not a fan of vanilla scents, I find them too strong for my tastes and I end up with a headache, thankfully, the vanilla in this wax melt is just enough that you can detect it is there but the English Pear is just out of the world, it is as though someone has just diced a fresh pear and it is so fresh smelling, the scent quickly moves from room to room and is just delightful, perfect for a summery day.

The wax melts themselves are exquisitely small but don't let that sway your judgement because it is just perfect.

To use wax melts, all you need to do is to place one in the top part of your burner and light a tea-light below, the heat from the candle works to melt the wax of the wax melt and as it does so, the fragrances are released, similar to burning a candle, just with no wick involved.

These melts would make a perfect gift for yourself as a treat or for someone you adore, they come beautifully packaged and I cannot wait to work my way through the entire listing and at £4.95 for 6 melts, they are just great value for money. 

What scent would you like to see made into a Candle/Wax melt?

Thai Square Spa, Covent Garden

On my birthday (Tuesday) I was lucky enough to go into London's Covent Garden for a massage, not just any massage, but one at the award winning Thai Square Spa, which is one of those hidden gems you feel lucky to find and will never forget. Once through the door, you leave behind the hustle and bustle of a busy London tourist area and instead you find yourself transported to an oasis of calm and beauty.

Bringing traditional Thai treatments to London, everything within the reception area is one that exudes luxury, mystical and authenticity. The Thai Square Spa is the only traditional Thai Spa experience within the UK, something the staff are quite rightly proud to share and explain with their clients. The friendly manner and kindness shown to me upon arrival was nothing short of perfect. There are rules you must follow such as turning off your mobile phone and as I was taken to the changing area, again I was asked to remove my shoes and replace them with flip flops before being shown to the locker room where I was to change into my spa gown. 

Then within my treatment room, I was refreshed with a cool glass of water and then the treatment began with a traditional floral foot soak, my feet were plunged into a terracotta bowl of soothing warm soapy water with rose petals and herbs, by which point I was feeling incredibly relaxed within my surroundings.

My treatment was a Ritual Massage, one of the signature treatments and it is the first treatment to use the Royal Rachawadee massage oil from the spa's brand new lifestyle range iMantara, which is available to purchase at the spa or from the website.  The Ritual Massage encompasses various massage techniques from the East to soften, soothe and balance the senses. Once on the massage table, with my head looking directly down into a bowl of water with floating flower petals, I found my self slowly drifting away. My therapist, who was clearly an expert managed to work out how much pressure to apply to different spots on my body without me wincing or being in any pain, though at sometimes, when a knot was found it was slightly uncomfortable until it was worked out - then it was a feeling of bliss.  Having my back, legs, arms and neck massaged was out of this world and then my feet, something I thought I would have huge issues with, but instead found it absolutely amazing (I hate feet) and incredibly soothing before my head was then massaged.  The entire hour flew by and I could have quite happily stayed there all afternoon, it was so amazing.

Once my treatment was over, I was taken to the relaxation area, handed another glass of cool water and was left to take in my surroundings.  Little things like this made the experience all the more fantastic.  There was no pressure to hurry up and leave, I simply laid back on one of the relaxation chairs until I felt ready to move.

The spa itself has been voted Best Spa in the UK by national newspapers and magazines and you can see why, the experience is the best I have ever had and I left feeling as though I had been there the whole afternoon instead of one hour because I felt so refreshed and relaxed as I left. 

The following morning when my alarm rudely woke me, it was an incredible feeling to not have aching shoulders or lower back pain, I was instead wide awake, alert and ready to tackle rush hour.

I had the Ritual Massage, £75, but the spa offers a range of treatments including couples packages, treatments for men and maternity ones too. All of these packages are detailed here - www.thaisquarespa.com 

Pomelo by Jo Loves

Having spent an evening with the fabulous Jo Malone MBE and having a candle made is a truly amazing experience which I was very lucky and very fortunate to have done. Alongside the Shot Candle (which you can read about here) we were also gifted a Jo Loves fragrance - Pomelo**.

I am perfume obsessed and quite picky about what I will and won't wear. If I like a perfume then it tends to be from the very first spritz, rather than through prolonged use because I am incredibly fussy and perfumes usually mean something to me, Bvlgari Pour Femme for example is the perfume I wore on my wedding day and is very special to me. Jo Malone said that when she created Pomelo:

‘Inspired by memories of summer holidays, fresh linen sheets and sparkling iced water, I surround myself with Pomelo wherever I go. To my joy, it’s the fragrance that makes people stop me in the street to ask what I’m wearing.’

So it is a huge honour to have something that is clearly loved by the person who made it. The Pomelo is a large citrus fruit that looks and tastes similar to a grapefruit and when combined with Vetiver, which is quite earthy it creates an amazing scent.  Put them together and you have this absolutely stunning fragrance which is citrussy sharp as well as being fresh and clean from the moment it leaves the bottle to a good 6-7 hours later when on the skin which is pretty impressive, I only feel the need to re-apply if I am going out in the evening and even then, it is more for my own self-consciousness. Add to that the most amazing packaging with the chunky glass squared bottle, it is everything a luxurious perfume should be.

What I also love about Pomelo is that there is no hint of alcohol when you spray it, whereas some perfumes once settled have an odd after scent to them, this one is as fresh once settled as it is from its first spray and it is absolutely stunning, no wonder Jo Malone is so obsessed with it.

Pomelo is £115 for 100ml and £70 for 50ml and is available from Jo Loves.

Today is my Birthday

There isn't a post from me today because:

image source

I am spending the morning having time with my boys and then this afternoon I will be going for a massage in Covent Garden, so watch out for that review soon!  Then tonight, I will be spending time with my mister going for a meal, whenever I decide what it is I want to eat.