0 im feeling

I'm feeling this outfit, part 'I've just popped out for something while painting my house' part 'but I really need fab accessories to make it acceptable'. I could live in baseball tees and ripped jeans, if I could wear this to work I would. I am not very fancy when it comes to clothes, the more casual the better, hence the slip on Vans. I have asked my very kind cousin to send this Zara bad boy over (1/3 of the price in the UK) and am in the market for a new pair of sunnies, these Tom Ford Bardot's are a classic. And where would I be without a candle? This one is limited edition Yazbukey for Cire Trudon available from Net-a-porter, they describe it as a violet and leather medley - delicious

Holla

4 tom dixon

candles

so as well as creating my favourite shades (the etch pendants of course) tom dixon now brings us a new collection called eclectic - everyday home accessories, giftware and design objects. those candles? who knows what they smell like, just get me that container!

jacks

hex bowl

get them all at dedece in sydney

xxx c

2 unlikely

skull candles via rad collector

after looking at kate's skull candle for the past week and wondering where she got it i actually turned it over (duh) and found out. it's made by insight, yup, the surf/skate label. they have a collectibles collection based on favoured curiosities which you can get (apparently, but when i called the girl on the phone was less than knowledgeable) here, or here.

gun candle via rad collector

you can purch this selection from surf dive n ski here

the only problem is then you have to burn them and POOF! gone...

xxx c

0 lucky me!

after i did that post on the delectable maison balzac candles i was lucky enough to be sent one from the very kind elise of maison balzac to try out for myself and boy, did this one impress! i have not been to the south of france but i imagine this is exactly what it would smell like, now every time i light it that's where i'm transported. elise was kind enough to answer some questions for me.

Tell me a bit about Maison Balzac, who is involved and how did it begin? the idea of Maison Balzac started a couple of years ago, when after 6 years in Australia I began to seriously miss home (the south of France). I could have gone back but instead I decided to bring home to Sydney (as I am also seriously in love with Australia). I recreated every important perfume of the South of France based on my memories and captured them in wax. I did considerable research on the best & latest waxes too. It took years of testing, trying, perfecting, until the label started in June this year. Now I miss France a little less!

how do you develop the scents? what is the inspiration behind them? I was lucky enough to find a great boutique perfumer based in Sydney who sat down with me to discuss each fragrance. She created each of them based on my stories so the collection is a very personal affair.

the packaging is beautiful, can you tell me a bit about it? It was created in collaboration with Jim Parry from Mine Design. We wanted something minimal, French, efficient and timeless. What matters is inside the box!

are you planning on keeping the range small or expanding? Maison means house in French; I have chosen this word because I wanted to be able to add eclectic ideas & products under the Balzac brand. Watch this space!

any exciting new scents coming up? Yes I am working on 5 new scents all related to the Mediterranean gardens and nature.

where are they manufactured? They are hand made in Sydney by an artisan who has been making candles for 15 years. They are in good hands.

how many do you have burning in your house at any one time? I have such a ridiculous amount of candles in my house (including samples and testers of all sorts) that I don't need to turn on lamps at night.

any candle care tips? Burn them! Too many people keep them unlit... Once on, make sure you burn it for a couple of hours to get an even pool of wax on top. Then trim the wick before you use it again. Oh and use a match not a lighter, it's  just terribly more elegant!

thank you thank you thank you elise, you have made my month with this one!

your now MB devotee,

xxx c

4 maison balzac

can we just take a moment to talk about something major? i am a little bit of a candle snob, okay, a lot of a candle snob, usually it's only cire trudon and diptyque that whet my appetite but something has been tugging at my senses lately, each time i see these beautifully packaged maison balzac candles i feel a little longing (and also a little guilt, do i dare turn my back on my true loves?) i think i want to try these bad boys, is it cheating? would my fellow candle snobs (ahem, alice) be ashamed of me? something tells me no. and at $45 i think my bank will like it too - buy them here

xxx c

11 snippets at home

i have been struggling with how to style this sideboard since i bought it so i have decided to stress less about it and start making some shapes to see how things go...

and a few looks on my desk right now...

hall table vignette

also, i can't wait to do something new with my desk and when i do you will be the first to know! 

xxx c

0 curio noir

pic: curio noir

great, just what i need, another candle to obsess over. i first saw these in incu and and let me tell you, they smell exquisite, plus the packaging is beautiful. you can buy them online here or pop into incu if you're in sydney. and check out their styling, a little skull and dome action to suck me right in...

pic: curio noir

xxx c

9 jelly?

these bad boys just arrived from ebay for le wedding. how am i going to resist burning them? well this one will certainly tide me over, plus i got a new tocca stella from serin cini that's burning NOW. and i just finished this one...

a little candle obsessed you think?

xxx c

0 cire trudon

this is my first ever cire trudon candle from my future mother in law for my birthday. these bad boys were created by claude trudon in the 17th century and quickly became the royal wax manufacturer serving the queen and most of the large churches in france. trudon were the favourite candle of marie antoinette (there is one named after her) so much so, that sofia coppola used them in her 2006 movie 'marie antoinette' to add authenticity. in 1811 napoleon gave his son only one present - a cire trudon candle, are you getting the picture about how amazing they are? cire trudon is now the oldest, most prestigious wax manufacturer in the world and can only be purchased at a few places in sydney: serin cini, becker minty, the country trader and robert burton (and more recently online at net-a-porter). to make them even more special, each candle has it's own story and artwork as depicted in the booklet that comes with the candle (below)

click here to read more about these amazing candles and when you have a spare $99 go out and buy one - you will not regret it. they also have a blog that is worth a look and, before i finish raving on, just a bit of trivia for you, mary-kate has huge bunches of the skinny trudon candles in vases in place of flowers - how chic!

xxx c