The problem with empties...

 … for me, to be precise. For whatever reason, empties is a subject that I find overwhelming. On one hand I tell myself it's not that bad – I don't actually use that many things, so letting them accumulate a bit isn't the end of the world. And yet, without fail, bags of empties have and continue to accumulate over multiple years. And I've even got a backlog of empties' photos from years ago piled up virtually, because something is stopping me from actually putting my thoughts into a few sentences and posting that content. 

Oh yes, hello – it's me, I'm back 😊

But back to the empties. Now, that last thought is flawed – I know that part of the issue is that I usually have quite a bit to say, not just one sentence, and when enough items accumulate, it becomes overwhelming. Add to that the issue of time – I might not even remember what I thought about x or y, or even if I do – the items may be discontinued and irrelevant. 

There are certainly easier topics – a little purchase here or there, a little face of the day/beauty musing... But see, the way I try to discipline myself is that I don't allow myself to write about the easy things before I tackle the more complicated ones. And that's how you lose momentum and pretty soon everything comes to a screeching halt. Like this blog. 

As writing is something that I enjoy, and I've been a fashion, beauty and skin care nerd for all of my adult life, I'd like to challenge myself to an exercise in consistency. To try and tame my perfectionist tendencies and just get on with it – make a dent in that backlog of material, one imperfect, out of date post at a time. 

And what better way to start, than to get some of the thoughts about these used up products off my chest. Let's make this a (mostly) home fragrance edition.

Besides Joik, the first home fragrance brand I ever tried was Rituals. I specifically remember when it entered the marked and I was very much into their aesthetic. I wanted to try it all – both the spa/personal care products and the candles and room diffusers. I remember really enjoying pretty much everything – especially the body scrubs, candles and diffusers. The other body care products were too heavily scented and drying for me, but overall, I was a fan of the brand. 

I remember when a single little candle in the white set would last me for months and could fill a massive room with its scent, as could their smallest diffuser! But then things changed. When these original purchases were used up, I remember getting a full size candle and barely being able to smell anything unless I was all up in its business, staring directly at the flame. Similar story with the diffusers – now the biggest size could barely fill a tiny bathroom! The collection has gone through multiple re-designs as well – new packaging, new names, although the scents actually stayed the same. I kept buying their things hoping I got a bad batch, but it never got better.

I've pretty much stopped buying from Rituals – although occasionally the packaging still gets to me. It definitely started out as a love affair, but I can't ignore the hits to misses ratio anymore.

I used to have a Body Shop body butter and/or scrub constantly in my shower. I never really found a scent that didn't get on my nerves over time, and as rich as the formula appears to be, it felt kind of drying, paradoxically. 

It's really interesting to look at what I was using at that time and what's changed. The major shift is that I'm much more into pharmacy cosmetics these days and I prefer the boring, fragrance-free body moisturizer that doesn't cause irritation, in favour of cute packaging and a variety of scents and flavours. 

The Tree Hut scrubs were all over YouTube forever ago, and when I went to the US, I HAD to try them. They were just ok in my opinion. Recently, I saw them in a local supermarket. I didn't have even one percent of the excitement of several years ago, when I first found them in a Walmart, and had to restrain myself from getting as many as I could carry! Exfoliating (the body) isn't really a regular part of my routine these days – I like the salt saunas at spas, where you can do some steamy exfoliation, and occasionally I use a natural loofah, but overall – it's a pass from me on this category of product as a whole.

Last but not least – some Estonian candles. Joik is the OG. I remember when a candle of theirs was around 5€ and I felt very fancy buying one for Christmas. Now they're about 12€! Ok, inflation. I get it. But not really (and yes, I'm aware that Diptique, Jo Malone etc exist). When they cost around 7-8€ per candle, I thought it was fair. I like the scents and presentation, but I've always had an issue with how dirty their candles burned and how much is left at the bottom (pictured). 

Since then, a lot of new brands have appeared and Joik has some serious competition in the (Estonian) home fragrance space. One such brand is Valhalla Living. Their candles were considerably more expensive than Joik the first time I noticed them, but the scents were also far more unique and nuanced. It took me a while to wrap my head around paying that much for a candle. Eventually I did, and was really blown away! The scents were like a mythical forest, as if a morning dew freshness was captured in them. The candles burned beautifully too. The first two candles impressed me, so I got more. And then things went downhill. The following two were disappointing – barely any scent throw at all, and the third and fourth purchases were the same. So I stopped. Oh well. 

And that's it! A bit of a downer in terms of reviews – probably another contributing factor to why it's taken me so long to post this (and so, so many others), but I'm glad to have gotten the ball rolling. Hope you enjoyed reading this and will be back for more!

OR