Amazing store alert! Have you been to Oblation Papers & Press in Portland’s Pearl District? They have the cutest finds. Beautiful handmade paper, thoughtful letterpress stationery & journals… and my personal weakness, cool pens! They have also started carrying Lulumière candles. I can’t wait to see them in the wild there!
Help me by being a perfumist! In an ongoing quest to only keep the best of the best candle scents in my current offerings, I will edit formulas now and then. This one is on the block: Lavender & Litsea. While I like it, I don’t loooove it anymore. And based on sales, while there are some of you who are into it, it’s just not getting the love that I’d hoped for.
The base will remain: Lavender essential oil. Classic, slightly camphorous, floral woody, a little bit sweet, smells just like the real thing.
Here are my ideas for pairings. (These would be straight essential oils, so what is listed here smells just like if you rubbed the leaves between your fingers and sniffed!)
Lavender & Thyme. The thyme takes a back seat next to the lavender but the finish is that unmistakable garden herb.
Lavender & Lemon. It will be similar to this Lavender & Litsea but it might be slightly sharper, more of the citrus is pronounced. Lemony for sure.
Lavender & Cedar. This would be more of a woody lumber-like base with the floral lavender finish. NW sensibilities to the tilt.
Lavender & Eucalyptus. We’d be embracing the camphor and going for a super fresh, clean combination.
Lavender & Vanilla. The idea would be to round out the herbaceousness of the lavender with soothing vanilla.
Please vote over on Facebook or here below with your thoughts! Your input is valuable to me! While I normally just run with my personal instincts, I know it’s important to be a good listener too. Here’s your chance to weigh in. Will keep you updated when I make my final reveal! Thank you!!!
I’m so thrilled that my candles will now be sold in Oregon. Welcome, Mapel Boutique! With shops in Bridgeport Village in Tigard & at another boutique in West Linn, it is worth stopping by. Their merchandise is updated frequently, so if you are looking for something fresh for your wardrobe or for a cute gift, you should definitely come on in. They are known for being warm & welcoming. I can’t wait to visit them myself!
Did you know that National Fragrance Day was this week?
Looking back, I think I’ve always recognized fragrance as part of the story. Even as a young girl, I could identify the scent of each grocery store, every friend’s home & even certain people.
At my wedding, well over a decade ago, I had a signature fragrance that I wanted diffused into the air. My intention was to include scent in making this new memory, along with the beautiful sight of flowers, the sounds of promises being made, the warmth of friends & family being together in one place. It was an intentional way for me to tie it all together.
I love the idea of a signature fragrance. Chanel No. 5, no matter who is wearing it, will remind me of my favorite aunt. Certain men’s colognes remind me of boys long gone from my life. And I can’t identify what it is but I would recognize it immediately if I smelled my mother’s nightly face cream. Do certain perfumes bring someone to mind right away for you? What is your fragrance? Do you have a signature scent that you never tire of?
Oh hey there! Let’s talk shop. Sometimes it’s the coolest thing being a one person team. Decision making is efficient, schedule is flexible as can be & no one gives me side eye for wearing the same black shirt & black yoga pants two days in a row. But it can be so, so tough too. Last month was difficult for me on an emotional level so I did very little to move Lulumière forward. Grief was following me around & in my experience, that sucker won’t let up until you stare at it in the face. I saw something on social media which kind of freed me to embrace my emotions, “Grief is just love with nowhere to go.” I probably don’t fully understand that or maybe even believe all of what that means, but seeing grief as a form of love really resonated with me.
Is this what you wanted to hear about candles? Ha! Probably not. But even those are personal for me, the roots of why I pour, how it is my gift & my therapy. So really, it’s all connected.
Anyhow, without a team to work with, it’s been quiet here.
But that’s ok. Giving myself space & freedom to embrace stillness is one of the things I’ll always be working on. Now to do that while working might be the next step for me. If you have thoughts or ideas on that, I’d love to hear from you.
These days, I’m back to pants with real buttons, taking photos and my Etsy shop has finally been updated! It includes the new lovely Rose & Juniper candles but also all of the best sellers from the past few shows.
I’m back, ya’ll!
I’ve been wanting to include a floral into the 100% essential oil line for some time now. Rose had to be it. The challenge came in trying to pair & enhance its sweet, subtle, complex notes. Should I complement it with another flower like ylang ylang or geranium? How would it work with something spicy like cardamom? In the end, I decided to give it a nice woody, musky base.
Welcome, Rose & Juniper. The base is juniper berry, which isn’t at all a berry but more of a conifer like the cypress tree. Its aroma is slightly sweet like balsamic with an overall clean, woody fragrance. The middle notes come from an addition of petitgrain. I’ll save you the googles by describing petitgrain as coming from the leaves & twigs of the bitter orange tree. As a side note, the intoxicating neroli is produced from the orange blossoms of the same tree. Finally, the finish is the lingering classic, true rose.
This candle wants to be lit next to a soaking bathtub or on a nightstand in a bedroom. It’s light & perfectly lovely. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
