Review: Clare Makes Miles and Effie Candles and Dorothea Room and Linen Spray

The first day of the week always brings a slew of new and interesting things, and I'm not just talking about my day job, where Mondays can be a real gamble when it comes to the number of patients you end up seeing! Mondays are also a new start to the week, and in honour of fresh beginnings, we are kicking it off with a brand that will certainly bring a breath of fresh air to your home and decor! Clare Makes is a Sydney born and bred brand, and more specifically, Clare Makes is based in the Inner West area of Sydney, which is a varied and really lovely part of the city.

 

It is very aptly named after it's creator, Clare, who makes things, like these home fragrances that come in the form of candles and sprays. I've had the pleasure of experiencing a different scent from her over a year ago, and when I received this lovely package in the mail, it was really great to see that the brand has remained just as gorgeous as I remembered it. I was given the chance to pick three scents, and as I flicked through the choices, I was really happy to see that the main spotlight was focused on Australian botanicals,with a small category for city scents, a limited edition line of candles inspired by Australian 'cities, towns and suburbs that we call home'. I found it hard to whittle it down to three items, but finally made my picks, deciding on Miles and Effie as candles, and Dorothea for the room and linen spray.

 

Miles is the Australian Wild Flowers candle, and it is meant to cature what it might be like to take a deep breath, while standing in a field, surrounded by Australian wild flowers. As such, this has notes of Australian rosella, rhubarb, violet, raspberries and orris. I like to smell it before reading the label to see what scents jump out at me, and I found raspberries to be the most obvious one, sweet and juicy.I then caught notes of something tart and sharp, which I feel could have been the rhubarb. Named after the Australian write and feminist, Miles Franklin, this is a lovely room scent for while I'm working away on my laptop.

 

I found Effie appealing when I was scrolling through the different candles, as this was supposed to give you a sense of what it's like to breathe in the air in the Blue Mountains. It boasts notes of lemon myrtle, bergamot, clary sage, strawberry gum, cactus, patchouli, musk, cedar and vetiver.All in all, a beautiful, fresh crisp scent that just fills the air when you light the candle. It's named after Effie Brunet, who, with her husband, once owned the land that now makes up the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, before she sold it in the 1970s.

 

As much as I was itching to try a third candle, I decided against my instinct to press add to cart, because I was really curious about how the room sprays would perform. I chose Dorothea, as it's supposed to be representative of Southern Florals, and includes wattle, fern, waratah and eucalyptus among the scent notes. This smells pretty, with a touch of eucalyptus, but it certainly isn't as strong as a candle, and I find that the fragrance doesn't linger for as long as I'd like. I do think, however, that it's a good alternative for those who can't use a candle, or as a little refresher for the room and linen throughout the day. The candles come in 50 hour and 60 hour versions, and these retail for $40 and $50 respectively, while the room sprays go for $40 each. For a reintroduction to the brand, it's a great one, and if you're keen on checking them out yourself, head to the blog over here, via this affiliate link, and use the code 'TEMPORARYPRINCESS' to get 10% off selected collections. Which one would you pick?

*These products were provided for editorial consideration