Candles fit for a First Lady

We are all super excited here as David & Samantha Cameron have given the Obama's Miller Harris candles as a gift! It is such an honour to have something that you love so much and put so much care into making being given as a very British gift to the President and First Lady.

The candles that were given were from our core, Classics range. Two each of Fleur Oriental (fresh orange flower, spicy carnation, Turkish rose, musk, amber and vanilla) Citron Citron (all the citrus notes plus mint leaf, basil, marjoram and spices such as cardamom and cedar wood) Terre de Bois (fresh notes of verbena, juniper and clary sage combine with spices, vetiver, moss and patchouli) and Coeur de Fleur ( mimosa, sweet pea and raspberry leaves).

Just amazing!

Flower Harvest

We have these wonderful calenders from our fragrance house in Grasse that show what flowers and materials they are harvesting throughout the year. There is something so wonderful about looking at them and thinking about the people all over the world who are this month collecting and carefully picking the most fragrant flowers for us to use in out fragrances. One of my favourite daydreams!

In France this month, amongst many other flowers they are harvesting lavender. As the fields change to the perfect shade of purple and the bees are gorging themselves, the flowers are picked at their prime. During the distillation process you are left with 'waste' flower water, which can be used on linen or as a facial spritz!

Tuberose is often thought to be from the rose family, but no, it is a highly fragrant white flower that is grown in Grasse, France and in India. This rare flower packs a powerful punch, you can find it in our super popular Noix de Tubereuse fragrance.

On the other side of the world, pickers in India are harvesting one of my favourite flowers, Jasmin Grandiflora and Jasmin Sambac. This heady flower is in my summer evening fragrance of choice, Jasmin Vert. Again, like the tuberose, the size of the flower belies it's power.

Fragrant Olive Oils

Our Olive Oils are proving to be a big hit in our stores and Fortnum & Mason, where they are stocked. Lyn and her sister went out to Spain earlier this year to see the olive harvest for themselves at the farm where our olives come from. They use nets to catch the olives so they don't get bruised.

The Marques de Valdueza family, one of the oldest aristocratic families in Spain, has been producing olive oils for more than 600 years. Their premium cold press extra virgin oil forms the base of Lyn’s blends, to which she has added gentle fragrant accents of citrus, herbs and spices.

There is so much history in the olive harvest, coupled with the beautiful light on the fields, which I'm sure adds something special to the final oils?