Hmmm... can I smell candles?

I'm a candle hoarder. At the moment, I've got cupcake shaped designs, love hearts, gorgeous scented floating ones, wax filled rocks and glass tumblers.

My bedroom is filled with vanilla scented night lights...(vanilla and coconut are my two favourite whiffs but I haven't yet found the perfect coconut candle.)

I used to use floating candles in the bath until I realised I preferred splashing around with a rubber duck to laying flat to stop them from  toppling over, so now I've got chunky candles that I can place on the window sill inside glass fishbowls. The giant blue candle has a tale; I once desperately needed tiny shells for a craft project and hunted high, low and inbetween but couldn't find them anywhere so I had to buy this candle and chip the tiny shells out!

In my office/craft room, I've got night light jars lined along the the window frame, samples crafted at various workshops, which can be handily moved between rooms .....there's no garden to hang them in though : (

And these are my newest candles that I received in the post last week. Scented 'Indian Spice' candles by Kenneth Turner. With a name like that, they had a lot to live up to. So question is, were they warm and spicy enough?

I confess that I had never heard of Kenneth Turner before but it it turns out he is the candle supplier to the stars, with a Royal seal of approval and was the first fragrance company to receive the Royal Warrant (so now you know who is responsible for the smells inside Buckingham Palace!) He's also delivered candles to Giorgio Armani, Donatella Versace, Sting and Cher and most recently Fearne Cotton who's letter of appreciation appears on their blog. And now it was my turn to road test them. For someone who normally gets her candles from Poundland, these were quite a treat, as they cost £26 for three candles. I could smell the difference immediately. We're not talking synthetic air freshener here, but a complete mood enhancer that creates a calming atmosphere whatever time of day they are lit. On day one, I lit them in my bedroom while I was getting ready for bed, I didn't notice anything until I blew them out and then the room was filled with a gentle aromatic air that helped me happily nod off. The candle has top notes of Black Pepper (which doesn't sound appealing but when I recently tried a perfume blending class black pepper was one of my favourite scents...it smells nothing like the stuff you crush over pasta!), and Clove (making it the perfect Autumnal scent), and middle notes of Floral Cherry Blossom, Woody Amber and Sandlewood. The more I light them, the better they become. The scent builds up and lingers. You know when you step into someone's house for the first time and every one's has a certain smell? I'm pleased to say this is what my flat currently smells like....and will do for the 50 hours the candles will last. After that, I may need to buy some more!
There are seven scented candles in this range, others are Blue Tangerine (odd sounding!), Citrus Bergamia, Nature Nurture, White Flowers, Ocean and Original. Kenneth Turner also do lots of other lovely room fragrances including diffusers and sprays.  
The candles aren't as spicy as I expected, Indian Spice to me would have a stronger smell, but they are warming, calming and relaxing and worth it for a treat. I particularly recommend locking yourself away and lighting one while you indulge in your favourite 'me time' activity whether that's lying in the bath, doing a spot of sewing, or indeed blogging (all three are equally pleasurable in my world!)

Check out the candles for yourself (sadly without computer smelly vision) at www.kennethturner.com