Candle of the Week. Timothy Dunn Arabian Fig - and a special mention to Mr Hirons

Four score and twenty years ago - a woman in red married a cute floppy-haired musician in West London. 

OK - 18 years ago. Just setting the scene. I did wear red - we had two boys by then - the jig was well and truly up - and anyway, ivory is not one of my colours. 

My brief to the florist was red, big, fabulous, wild and show stopping. Step forward Mr Timothy Dunn - whose shop (at that time) was across the road. He surpassed himself. It was full of barcarolle roses, red berries and eucalyptus as a nod to the season. He even added red chili* peppers in it as a nod to my musical tastes. It was genius. And I let it dry out and kept it in the kitchen for years afterwards.

So today of all days, the Candle of the Week has to be Timothy Dunn's Arabian Fig.

'A blend of wild fig, basil and clove enhanced by frankincense, cassis, rose and jasmine intertwined with radiant base notes of sandalwood, cedarwood and musk.'

It is the absolute perfect candle for this time of year. Mr Hirons and I will be burning it this evening when we get back from school pickup and doing the big shop. We still lead rock star lives.

Congratulations Tim. I love it when a grafter does well.

And Happy Anniversary Mr Hirons.

Timothy Dunn Arabian Fig is available here and priced £45.00 for 60 hours burning time.

*that's how they spell it - don't judge me

Also - PR sample - thanks TD. Back off bitches - he was mine first.

A little Chili Peppers to brighten your morning. The best song from the best band. We miss you John  Frusciante.

Candle of the Week - Diptyque Vetyver

When looking for this week's candle it did occur to me that I should possibly re-name this 'Diptyque Candle of the Week' such is the ridiculous amount dotted around the house.  

This particular Vetyver also contains Juniper and Cedarwood and is woody and green - and perfect for these crisp, glorious autumnal days.

Diptyque Vetyver is available here.

Candle of the Week - Cire Trudon Spiritus Sancti

There are few things I love more than a candle. Especially a candle that smells of Church. 

A full-on Orthodox-incense-waving-everywhere Church. The turn of the weather for the worst last weekend saw me packing away my Summer candles and digging out my Autumn/Winter candles. 

Yes I have a candle wardrobe. I know I'm not alone.

Cire Trudon are simply beautiful to-die-for candles. I mean premium, top-of-their-league candles.

These candles don't use any paraffin waxes or any ingredients on the Greenpeace OSPAR list. No heavy metals or pesticides and they have pure cotton wicks. For the record - I don't actually kick up a huge fuss about paraffin wax in my candles - I just don't want it in my moisturiser. 

Spiritus Sancti in a nutshell, reminds me of going to Mass with my extremely Roman Catholic Nana (the lady in the banner at the top of this blog and one of my favourite people on Earth). It's a memory candle for me - and I always equate Church with the colder seasons hence this showing its face now. This contains incense vapours, lily of the valley, labdanum and benzoin. 

It's essentially pure incense. It couldn't smell more Church-like if you stole the thurible and popped it on a stand in your fireplace.

It is to me, a signal to the start of the school year, the nights closing in, packing away summer clothes and the return of Downton (Mr Bates!). God I love Autumn.

There follows some totally superfluous-to-needs yet altogether-wonderful pictures of the flagship Cire Trudon boutique in Central London - previously reviewed here.

Cire Trudon fragranced candles retail for around £60.00 - bear in mind they are significantly larger than a standard candle, burn evenly and last for around 80 hours.

More info on Cire Trudon can be found here. Sigh.