September: Lately I've been Loving

Here's what I've been loving in September: 

A smallish dropbox from The Rose & Thistle Wax Patisserie which I started at the beginning of August. Huge love for Gain Island Fresh and Morello Creme so far!

I read The Midwife's Secret by Emily Gunnis* which I kindly received from the publisher via Netgalley. It's an absolutely superb read and one of my favourites this year. It publishes near the end of October so watch out for it.

Trying out the scrumptious new Vanilla & Salted Caramel Wax melts from Olfactory Candles. Seriously mouthwatering. Get 15% off your 1st wax order with SANDRA15.

Looking after my boss's gorgeous wee dog Astro (looking for treats!)

I signed back up to Balneaves monthly wax melts box again! Total fail I only missed a month before I needed my sub back!

Discovering a lovely new homewares shop in Musselburgh called Coast & Wild. Looking forward to popping back. 

Receiving proof copies* of two fantastic looking books!

Lunch at Foresters, our local pub with a pal. What have you been loving in September?

Recent Buys: Balneaves, Lavish Peach, Local Selects, Blended by Mama & Hells Bells Homemade Soy Candles

I know, I know I was meant to be good in January...here's some recent buys:

Having loved Blackcurrant & Licorice soy wax melt from my Balneaves Monthly Subscription Box (£15 on the 1st of the month - 12 small melt pots) I couldn't resist a small order. Night Blooming Jasmine had come back in stock so be rude not to!

Instagram ads really work! I couldn't resist Lavish Peach's stunning hand poured Peppermint Sea Soy Wax candle which is studded with tiny seashells. So pretty.

Just my sort of thing! The Local Selects The Stockholm Box is absolutely stuffed full of tasty treats from Stockholm. The company is a small start up based in Port Glasgow. My eyes of course alighted first on that beautiful bottle of gin! The box contains: 50cl Stockholms Branneri Gin (which is delicious), 2 x bottles Swedish Tonic, 2 x Beerbliotek, 1 x Renjer Jerky variant, 1 x Malmo Chokladfabrick Chocolate variant (I got a delicious white chocolate with passionfruit which was incredible), a local selects magazine & reusable gift box (I paid for my own box although received 10% off - you can get 10% off also with BEAUTYBALMLS10). Can't wait to see what city they visit next! It'd make an excellent Valentines Day gift (get your orders in before the 8th!)

Just after Christmas I placed a little Blended by Mama order for The Mill on the Moor - which is inspired by Bronte country. It's made with beeswax, cocoa, honey and vanilla infused coconut oil and cocoa butter (and looks almost edible) with zesty blood orange, turmeric, black pepper and benzoin (it smells incredible). It'll be available until the Spring Equinox. I so love Siobhan's melts - they're that little bit different (you receive 3 bars which you should slice into 3 to melt).

I'm always happy to support a new wax melt business. Helen from Hells Bells Homemade Soy Candles followed me on Instagram and I realised "I know her". She's a twitter friend who got made redundant earlier in the year. So I just had to support her growing business. Do check it out! All the melts smell great on cold sniff, there's a good choice of scents and postage is very reasonable! Catch my thoughts when I get the chance to try them out on an Instagram post.

What have you been buying lately?

Wax Melts Subscriptions: Balneaves, The Ghost Family Haunts & Little Bo's

Oh how I love my soy wax melts subs! Balneaves's October box has some nods to Halloween but I love how it's not solely for the season. So far I'm loving Red Delicious Apple, Eucalyptus & Cedarwood and Fresh Ginger & Green Tea. The subscription costs a very afforable £14 including p&p. Can't wait to see what November brings!

Little Bo's Halloween Box for October is lots of fun! I love the different themes founder and creator, Becca does each month. The wax is really excellent and the scents are strong! You can dip in and out of this subscription depending on whether that month's theme appeals.

This month my The Ghost Family Haunts - The Ghost Family Flame soy wax melt subscription (£18.60) is in pots! It's normally little wrapped nuggets of joy. The theme this month is The Glory of October and inside are Halloween inspired scents. There's also a print, a sticker and a cute little wooden pumpkin (which I've got pinned up in my kitchen already!)

Do you subscribe to any Soy Wax Melt boxes?

Latest Buys: Inika, Vix Wicks, Bodhi & Birch, Blue Labelle, Witchy Wicks, Balneaves

Here's my latest buys:

I'd tried a sachet sample of Inika's Phytofuse Renew Reservatrol Serum and fell in love (30ml - £59). I bought it using Love Lula's Beauty Box 20% discount code plus some points I'd accumulated making it a bargainous £44.70! (I also earned £4.40 in points for a future purchase). It's truly lush and one of the nicest serums I've used. Expect a review soon!

I couldn't resist a Vix Wicks Halloween Wax Melt Box (mystery). I picked the smallest size which costs a tenner (as it was my first order I got free postage). I'll do a review nearer to Halloween.  It's a well thought through box, excellent value and suitably spooky!

For Bank Holiday recently bodhi & birch were offering a very generous 25% off. So I picked up the lush Lime Blossom Protecting Hand Serum 30ml (normal price £25, Bank hol price £18.75). See my review HERE. It's so nice to have it back in my stash!

After meeting Pascale in the summer at her lovely Blue Labelle Shop and making a small purchase I needed to come back and purchase her Hand & Nail Oil Serum full size after loving re-visiting it in the summer. I also picked up a small award winning (30ml) Divine Blend Multi-Tasking Treatment Oil (think body, hair, massage, bath). She also had a Bank Holiday discount on, which is always welcome!

I've now had a couple of small orders from Witchy Wicks (my friend Sam is an Ambassador for the wax brand, so I'm sharing her link). The sample size wax melts (£1.50) are a great try-before-you-buy as there's enough inside the little pot for a few tries. So far I've loved Poison Apple & Black Rose and am working my way through the others. Looking forward to their Halloween offerings (coming 14th September).

My lovely Balneaves Monthly Subscription Box brings so much joy (£14 a month inc p&p). Lots of lovely scents this month. So far I'm loving Mandarin Infusion, Cypress & Sea Fennel, Black Leather and The Florist (still lots to try).

What have you been buying lately?

Wax Melt Subscriptions: The Ghost Family Haunts, Balneaves & Little Bo's Melts

As you'll know I've gone crazily daft with wax melts lately! I've been trying lots and lots of different vendors - some I go back to again and again (it's nice dipping in and trying new ones too). As you'll know I recently started my love affair with The Ghost Family Haunts. See my initial musings HERE. Feast your eyes on my first Subscription Box... amazing isn't it. Sign up HERE (£18.60 per month). 

As well as wax melts you get lots of other treats including prints, stickers and badges.  It really is the box with the wow factor. So much care and attention to detail it really makes my heart sing! 

A Balneaves Monthly Subscription Box (is excellent value at £14 inc p&p). See my review of their JUNE box HERE. I signed back up again for August after taking a break for my holidays in July! I'm slowly working my way through them and so far I'd buy Coco & Sandalwood, Sandy Shores, Mango & Starfruit and Sapphire Watermint again. 

My final sub box is by Little Bo's Melts (Instagram). This is my second order from Becca. Her melts are lovely and strong and the range is fab. I picked her smaller sub box which costs a fiver plus p&p. August's theme is Oh I do like to be beside the sea side and inside are seaside inspired scents which all smell gorgeous (I love the cute little package of melts I received and the care and attention to detail in the presentation). In no particular order inside the package is mini snap bars of: rock salt & driftwood, marine, beach walk, sea marine, catch a wave and sun & sand. It's the perfect small monthly treat (or it'd make a great gift). Looking forward to seeing what next month brings! (contact Becca via her Facebook group or on Instagram).

Do you have any wax melt subscriptions?

Latest Buys:Balneaves, Melts Make Scents, Olfactory, Lovely Melts, Smelts & Melts, Winter Hill Wax, The Little Mcleans, Olaplex

I've gone a bit cray-crazy buying wax melts from various vendors this month! (wax melts orders mainly incur various postal charges).

I picked up a trio from Balneaves, Vetiver, Cedarwood & Fir (lush) had come back in stock so I had to try it! 

I also picked up a sample box (£5) from Melts Make Scents which gives you a selection of scents to try out. Inside this box I received - pina colada, fizztastic, midnight blooms, pink quartz, lunar eclipse and fairy laundry.

My first order from Campbeltown based Olfactory was 3 MiSi melts which cost 75p each - these are great for try-me before going on to buy full size. I chose Black Orchid (just like the perfume of the same name with a lush rich scent), Freshly Squeezed Oranges which is again another highly scented summery melt which smells exactly like freshly squeezed orange juice. My third pick was Fresh Coffee which has a light coffee aroma (I'd have liked this to have been slightly stronger). Simone very kindly added two extras in the form of Perfectly Chantelle and Hope.

My second order was the fantastic The Laundry Box which is perfect if you love these fresh washing type scents. My favourite from the box is Pink Cashmere closely followed by Luxury Linen. I'd buy this box again for sure!

And of course I had to buy some more MiSi's! 

Simone kindly added a couple free of charge - Perfectly Chantelle again and lush Raspberry Slush. I bought Blue Coral & Sea Salt, Watermelon and Whisky by Fire (I'll let you know my thoughts in empty posts).

I've bought from Lovely Melts before and have enjoyed their wax previously. This time I picked Portofino Bay (like Tom Ford) and Lemon & White Rose (like Jo Loves). It's also nice to receive a free wee sample - this time - Cassis & Black Vanilla.

I spotted this beautiful Festival Vibes burner on Smelts & Melts so picked it up along with their #waxcident - broken pieces of wax or discontinued scents. I was expecting to get a few broken bits so was quite surprised to receive a mini wax bar which is nice enough but not a scent I'd choose - suppose that's the chance you take when you opt for a surprise!

My friend Sam was raving about Winter Hill Wax's Strawberry & Parsley so I picked up a snap bar of it and a Large Ring of Sandalwood Moss & Palo Santo. I've tried Strawberry & Parsley so far, and it's lovely.

I love the branding and packaging of the wax melt bars from The Little Mcleans. I picked up Simplicity & Duvet Day. I love the brown paper packaging and the little branded bag which comes with your order to store your melts in. These are lovely.

And yes, a final beauty item - OLAPLEX's new Hair Repair Trial Kit (I had a 15% off code). I've used No.3 both at home and at the hairdressers before so I was keen to try the others. 

What have you been buying this month?