The best thing about winter...

Chicago winters are deadly. This year has been the worst winter I have faced in Chicago and I have been here for a couple of years now. Below is the scene from my living room window, pretty to look at until you have to go outside!

But the best thing about winter for me is coming home after a long day and a dreadfully slippy walk from the bus stop and taking off my coat, putting on some warm slippers, starting the heaters and lighting a fabulously scented candle. I love making me a cup of tea and sitting down and watching the candle wicks flicker, every now and then sighing with contentment that I don't have to venture out for another 12 hours!

Maybe I should have called this post - Winter woes and my ways to cope with it.


I love candles. Every since I was a kid, I have been fascinated with flames (OK, that sounds like I'm some sort of crazy person, but I do love flames). We used to face electricity shortages when I lived in India and so we would have to burn candles out of necessity rather than pleasure but for me, lighting a candle still evokes warm memories of our family sitting together and talking. When you don't have any electricity, there is no choice but to sit still and ponder. It also meant that we sometimes could get away with not doing our homework! Bonus!

So as I was saying, I love candles, I love lighting them, I love the scent and I love the way they make any room feel special. I have never been one to splurge on candles though. Until now.

What you are about to witness is a serious NEOM candle collection. The ones I posses are - Happiness, Inspiration, Tranquility, Complete Bliss and Pamper Yourself.

I must say that I have collected these over the last 2 years and not all at once and I am using them up, so they aren't just sitting somewhere collecting dust. Also, all the candles were bought in sales for about 30% less than retail. NEOM candles are expensive as every NEOM candle is crafted by a strict philosophy using only 100% organic natural wax and pure essential oils. No synthetic scents, no black smoke, no toxins.

Please excuse the match stick in the candle. I am too scared to fish it out!!

The candle that I am burning currently is called 'The Complete Bliss : Happiness'. This candle gives Moroccan Blush Rose center stage, however the scent is far from rosy. The accompanying notes include a dash of black pepper and lime which give it an earthy flowery smell.

The complex yet soothing scent is addictive. It also is meant to act as a powerful holistic therapy as Rose is a traditional mood enhancer and can also help relieve hay fever, headaches and tension.

I love that the wicks are cotton and paper and produce ZERO soot. I adore the thick and substantial glass jar (which I am going to reuse) and the fact that the three wicks are placed strategically to allow the candle to burn evenly and cleanly.

The three wick candles are roughly twice as big as the Diptyque ones and in my opinion are better quality.

Ooo and another thing to mention is that the three wick candles are said to burn for 50 hours and I have found this to be true. I usually burn them for 2 hours at a time and no more as I am trying to get as much out of them as possible. I have been burning this candle every other day for the last 2 months and it's still going strong.

I will be doing similar reviews and descriptions of all the other candles as I use them. I just wanted to share with you my love for these luxurious products. I hope you found this post a helpful and fun read.

Being a candle junkie, please do let me know if you have candle recommendations for me.