The Harrogate Candle Company

Living in Yorkshire, I'm a big lover of Harrogate, I immediately think of afternoon tea at Betty's and a relaxing session in the Turkish baths - and that's exactly what happened on my hen do, which I had in Harrogate (*disclaimer, there was a lot of alcohol involved too, tee hee!)

I love supporting local business, so I was delighted when Deborah & Fiona sent me their " Mood Collection" Gift set which contains one of each of their 10cl mood candles (18 hours burn time per candle)

The set comes presented and packaged in a very sleek and sophisticated black box with a card to detail all the different "moods" and fragrances and it even shows which ones are aimed to be used from daytime through to nighttime (if you want to, I tend to burn to suit my mood at the time regardless of day or night)

The Mood Collection has 5 candles;

"Happy" - Lime & Black Pepper - Refreshing and vibrant for an early morning energy boost
"Inspire" - Geranium, Eucalyptus & Orange - for some mid morning inspiration
"Lovely" - Rock Rose & Pink Pepper - Soothing & comforting for early afternoon relaxation
"Divine" - Dark Amber & Sandalwood - Rich & sensual for an afternoon de-stress
"Dream" - Vanilla Musk & Lavender - Calming & relaxing for some post work wind down

For those of you that follow me on Instagram, you'll know when it comes to fragrances and perfumes, I'm a Tom Ford gal, I like strong, deep, spicy, woody, quite masculine scents, so it was not much of a surprise that "Divine" is my favourite scent from the collection.

The candles give off a really good scent (lit, or un-lit!) certainly enough to fill the room, which is what you want from a luxury candle, and I was even more surprised at how evenly they burn - I'm halfway through some of mine and they look as neat as they did brand new, with no burn marks to the glass either - bonus!

The Mood Collection is priced at £48.00 and would make such a lovely gift. Other products including Reed Diffusers, Diffuser Refills, Mood Mists and other gift sets are all available on the website, here. The products are also stocked in John Lewis (Leeds) and a number of Harrogate stockists too, including the Turkish Baths.

All in all, I genuinely only have positive things to say about the candles and I'm eyeing up the 3 wick Divine candle for Christmas!

Do you have a favourite candle ?

Lauren x

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Anyone for a coffee......scrub?

Ask me years ago if I thought I'd be taking coffee into the shower with me and using it to scrub my body (ok, not quite literally) I'd have looked slightly perplexed! But using a coffee scrub has slowly become one of my favourite ways to exfoliate. Plus the extra hidden benefits of using a coffee scrub (goodbye cellulite!) make it a no brainer!

As it goes, I'm not a coffee drinker, but I don't dislike the smell and and actually enjoy turning my bathroom into my local Starbucks once a week.

Pure Purpose, a family owned company in Kent, were kind enough to send me two of their coffee scrubs to try - Seaweed & Eucalyptus and Tumeric & Orange. Forumlated with completely natural ingredients and cruelty free, their products have been inspired by travelling the world and seeing how different countries use natural beauty in their cultures.

If you aren't sold already, the scrubs themselves are fantastic. They smell incredible - my favourite is the Seaweed & Eucalyptus one - Eucalyptus is one of my favourite scents anyway, I find it very spa-esque and extremely refreshing and invigorating.

If you are thinking that because it's a coffee scrub it will be coarse and harsh on your skin, think again. These scrubs are fine (not too fine) and leave the skin feeling really smooth and not stripped, meaning you can use them quite regularly - I tend to save this step in my routine for a Sunday evening and go all out with a pamper session, or I will use them ad-hoc in the shower if I'm going to apply some fake tan.

You only need a small amount and because they don’t break or melt down, you can use really sparingly and really spread and move it across your body.

The only downside I feel needs addressing is the cleanup, it does get all over the shower/bath and takes a bit of cleaning up afterwards, but in my opinion, it's worth it. It's worth noting that unlike another brand I have tried, the packaging of the Pure Purpose scrubs is shower/ water friendly, yay! And it can be sealed back up after each use to prevent any accidental spills.

The scrubs are affordable and are available in cute travel sizes too - great if you want to take them away or get one to try! Available here.

I also just want to mention their Instagram page, which isn't just about the products, they share some lovely thought provoking quotes too which I really enjoy.

Have you tried coffee scrubs? What do you think?

Lauren x

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5 Favourite Nude Lipsticks

My favourite shade of lipstick to wear is nude, the deeper nude the better, so I thought I’d pull together 5 favourites to share with you.

Nyx Liquid Suede, “Sandstorm”

I find this formula very pigmented, lasts well and the colour is a very true nude, definitely sitting on the brown side of nude, rather than pink, which I like. I think this shade is flattering on many skin tones too.
For the price, I think the NYX Liquid Suede lipsticks are really worth the money and there's so many colours to choose from!


Mac Cosmetics "Velvet Teddy"

Macs most iconic shade, that was sold out for months on end after Kylie Jenner said she wore it. A matte formula but very comfortable to wear.
Described as a deep tone beige, it's your classic 90's lip shade. I find it very wearable and it's the perfect balance between cool and warm. It's also one of those shades that can look different on everyone - but I like that about it.

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips "Best Actress"

A very recent addition to my collection, but has earned it's spot in this post after 1 wear, yes, I know!
The shade is the most perfect nude for me, a nude brown that's not too cool, neither too warm, just perfect.
The formula - creamy, lasts all day, when I say all, I mean ALL. I ate lunch, talked lots, drank lots of glasses of water - it was still there after a full day at work. Yes, it had started to fade, but I had to get up super close to notice. Ah-mazing - and I will certainly be returning to swatch some more shades.


Kat Von D "Bow And Arrow"

Super matte without drying your lips, it's very similar to NYX "Sandstorm" but it packs more punch. It's highly pigmented and lasting power is seriously good. It's the perfect warm, medium toned, brown shades and one you can slap on with any makeup look and it just works. Love!

Tom Ford "Sable Smoke"

A beautiful, creamy, caramel, nude shade. It applies like a matte formula, but has a slight sheen to it that doesn't make it look matte on the lips. It's super comfortable to wear. It's high end, super luxurious and worth every.single.penny.

I'd love to hear what your favourite nude lipstick is?

Lauren x

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