Our favourite candle company, Birch & Brook, have added two new fragrances to their current collection of three, and I'm proud to say all are available on our website as from today. I'm burning 'Festival' as I write this, and loving it - and it's taking me back to summer days and muddy days, a mixture of sweet and sour. It's the most perfect laid back yet energising scent, and I'm wondering how on earth these clever guys manage to capture a mood so brilliantly.. Their second, 'Dressing Room' has all that vintage powdery-ness of a 1930's boudoir. I can picture a Chinese shawl over a carved screen, a dressing table laden with perfumes and creams, it's feminine and pretty but sophisticated. 'Secret Garden' is another lovely one, full of flowers and green grass and summer and you can't really help but smile when you catch its' scent. For something a bit more earthy, I'd choose 'Fireside', which fills a room with the deliciously warm scent of woodsmoke - perfect for the coming season, however, the one that we love to burn the most at FLINT is 'Library', which for me is full of nostaglia - the smell of old books, a fireplace, a leather chair in a secret corner...breathe...
My current obsession is a perfume by a woman inspired by her love of gardens and literature. Anais Biguine took her passion for literature to a new level when she created her company, Jardin D'Ecrivains - literally translated as the garden of writers. Her collection of five fragrances, George, Wilde, Orlando, Gigi and a cologne called La Dame aux Camellias, are as unusual as they are beautiful and having tested all of them, Wilde wins hands down - at the moment... The thing is, each one is so different from the next, and like most perfumes, appeal at different times according to your mood however, the really wonderful thing about these fragrances is the back story, the story behind each blend. That's what makes the decision so difficult. Since I'm interested in Virginia Woolf, Orlando definitely influences my choice but how can I not been drawn in by this complex perfume of such contrasts? I feel this clever composition mirrors the adrogynous character in the novel perfectly. The top notes are fresh and spicy at first, but the citrus top notes dry down to a totally different warm, incense base. It's completely unusual and very intruiging...
If you're after something a bit more floral, Gigi with its blend of neroli, tuberose, jasmine and blackcurrant is feminine yet strong, just like Colette's mischievous young heroine.
La Dame aux Camelias is perhaps the most sophisticated of all five fragrances not least because of its fabulous vintage inspired bottle. This beautiful cologne is designed to be worn at night and is a seductive blend of fresh, crisp top notes, with a floral and musky base. It perfectly captures the image of this elegant lady Marie, allegedly the most elegant woman in Paris at the time, leaving a cloud of this fragrance behind her wherever she went...
Alongside these perfumes are a range of beautiful candles. My favourite of these is Le Jardin de Blixen, whose house and garden is in Nairobi, Kenya. Visitors can wander round the grounds and savour the exotic plants and flowers she planted there. This fragrance takes me right back to the heat and the dust, mingled with the scent of the luscious green lawn and flower borders! Click here to visit the website...
Two sublime bath products are also available, based on the New York society novelist, Edith Wharton. The bath milk is a dream to use - spoon some into a warm bath for super soft skin. The scent is just incredible and completely addictive.
Jardin D'Ecrivains speaks to us of literary giants throughout history who still have the power to capture our imagination. Anais Biguine has sought out every last detail so that she too, can tell a beautiful story, through scent.
Call in to experience the range in person or check out our range online here...
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