Christmas: Arran Aromatics Candles

Christmas is almost here so I have been burning all of my christmas candles (the best kind of candles) and stuffing my face with advent calendar chocolate! I love christmas candles, they are so cosy and inviting however it is nice to have a change sometimes; I was very kindly sent this lovely set from Arran Aromatics and I've been loving it!

I have actually been to the Isle of Arran when I was 17 as part of a college geology trip (I chose all the fun subjects, I know) and I loved it! I received the *Arran Aromatics Light Up The Season Home Set (£28, worth £30) which contains one large 30cl candle and two smaller 5cl candles. The tin the candles come in is just gorgeous, it looks like a traditional festive cookie tin and I will definitely be re-using it!

The larger candle in the set is the Arran Aromatics Perfumer Bergamot and Geranium Candle which smells heavenly. The scent is very floral and sweet but it isn't overpowering or sickly sweet. I think it will be a scent that most will like. The wax melts slowly so I think this candle will last me quite a while; the approximate burn time is up to 35 hours. The scent throw isn't amazing although it is a lovely candle and I've been burning it so often since I received it.

The two smaller candles are travel size but they still come in the same packaging as the larger candles and unlike most gift sets, you can actually buy all three of the candles individually, in the larger size (£20) or the travel candle size (£5) which is fantastic! The Arran Aromatic Perfumer Ultimate Fig Travel Candle has to be my favourite from the set as it is rich, warming and musky but it is still quite sweet and fresh - I will definitely be buying this one in the future. Lastly the Arran Aromatics Perfumer Just Grapefruit Travel Candle which I knew wouldn't be my favourite as I'm not a grapefruit fan but it is sweet, fruity and uplifting. It is pleasant but it isn't something I would've picked however I think a lot of people would like it.

Overall, I adore the tin I think it is so pretty and festive; I also love both the Bergamot & Geranium and Ultimate Fig candles and I know I will get so much use out of them. I think it is nice for a christmas set to have scents that aren't particularly christmasy as some christmas scents can be very heavy and overpowering and these make a lovely and refreshing change. Overall rating: ★★★★★, 5/5.

I now have my eye on quite a few Arran Aromatics products, they have some lovely products and christmas gift sets as well as soap, diffusers, perfume and mens products, all at fantastic prices. Also they have so many travel size products! Here's my mini wish list and gift picks:

Have you tried anything from Arran Aromatics? What do you think of this gift set?

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Manchester Christmas Markets & OOTE

Today we went to the Christmas markets in Manchester - even though it was cold and raining! I wore my hair down and I did get wet, mainly as my sister kept moving the umbrella off me but any way we had a great time and we bought some gorgeous food! 

The markets were gorgeous, as they always are and there were stalls from all over Europe from Austria, Germany, Switzerland to Italy, Holland and from various parts of England too. There were gorgeous gifts, wooden toys, plants, decorations and also lots of food - including chocolate covered strawberries, pancakes, wurst (sausage), gingerbread, sweets, chocolates and also lots of beer and mulled wine!

The markets are spread around the city centre with the best and most well known outside the town hall. Also the town hall had stalls from Afflecks inside too - if you are not familiar with Manchester then you will not know what Afflecks is but it is a massive building with lots of quirky, unique, kitch, gothic/punk independent stores/boutiques in!  The markets also look so gorgeous and christmassy especially with the giant glowing Santa. The markets are usually very, very busy but as it was raining constantly today there were not as many people. 

Here is some of the food goodies that we bought from the markets including pistachio and cream canalonis, Belgian waffles with chocolate on and Nutella inside. I also bought a stick of chocolate covered strawberries (which I am eating right now, drools). I bought some pasta with pesto sauce from the Italian deli at the markets (heaven). 

Lastly, a quick OOTE (outfit of the evening). I wore my black leather jacket from the Promod, my dark green scarf which I bought from the Royal Caribbean store on the 'Mariner of the sea' ship this August. I also wore my Dorothy Perkins petite skinny jeans and my Fitflop mukluks in black. These photographs were taken when we came back so my hair is a bit of a messy as it was raining the whole time we were there - typical England!

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