Floral Street – Rose Provence Candle

Whether to purchase a candle, perfume or stationary, my love of Floral Street is multi-faceted. In store, their scent specialists create a fun and informative shopping experience. Everything is beautiful, from the bottles to the packaging. Everything combines to create a feast for the senses.

 

I first visited the flagship store with my mother as part of my mission to find the perfect perfume for my English civil wedding. Whilst eventually choosing Bal D’Afrique by Byredo (click here to access my Bal D’Afrique blog post), having had such an enjoyable time in store, I decided to attended one of Floral Street’s Scent School evenings to find out more about the brand.

I attended the scent school on my own. As you know, I enjoy going solo to events as I love getting lost in my very own scent world. The format of the event was perfect for those attending solo. Much of the evening was spent in groups smelling the fragrances. There were a number of presentations detailing how the brand came to be and the transformation of the founder’s vision from a dream to reality.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself and will definitely attend more Floral Street events in the future.

The Woman Behind the Brand

The founder, Michelle Feeny, is an established expert in the cosmetic industry and a female. I try to buy products and services from people and organisations that have the same values as me, especially those aimed at equality. I say this in regards to race, gender, religion…….. everything.

Michelle started her career in New York working for Estée Lauder. Her career highlights include being part of the team that launched Crème de la Mer and being the 6th employee of MAC. After a stint working on the brand identity of St Tropez, Michelle took a year out. It was during that year that she decided to create her own brand. Recognising her strengths and that she needed to work with people with complimentary skill sets, she decided to approach Product Developer Bernadette Jackson. This was the birth of Floral Street.

Michelle’s inspiration for the brand came from a number of experiences but there were two main triggers. The first, her daughter’s love of Lush and the realisation that there was a gap in the market between more affordable and expensive perfumes. The second, women in London. Namely, the fact that whether it be coffee or make-up, women in London have created a connoisseurship; an appreciation or discernment. Michelle wanted to create the same kind of movement for her perfume.

Her aim, modern scents that exude diversity and creativity. Also, fragrances which mirror different locations in London in the same way that different types of people are attracted to different areas of the city. Key to this, the desire to bring the essence of Britain to the brand.

The Beginning

After much reflection Michelle developed six women/personas which represented modern British women. These 6 personas became the brief for the assisting perfumers.  The outcome, 23 fragrances. Wanting to stay close to her vision, Michelle settled on eight fragrances to represent those six women. The rest is history.

Take a look at my previous blog post ‘Floral Street But On King Street’ which describes the eight fragrances in detail.  Floral Street recently launched additional fragrances, a further reason for me to take another visit to the store.

Another aim of Michelle’s, to create complex layered fragrances at reasonable price points. She hoped that the purchaser would choose two or three fragrances out of the collection and create a scent wardrobe. Different scents for different occasions. The aspiration, to help women express themselves through their scent. Michelle wanted to inspire individuals to be the person they wanted to be.

Location, Location, Location

This perfume house was named after Floral Street in Covent Garden. The process of finding the name was very simple. Michelle was walking through Covent Garden dreaming of owning her having perfume stores around the world. She glanced up at the road sign, happened to be on Floral Street and thought it the perfect name.

Unfortunately, with no shop space available on Floral Street, the first store needed to be located elsewhere. Luckily, Michelle was able to secure a location on King Street, just around the corner from Floral Street and nestled firmly in the centre of Covent Garden.

Whether on Floral Street or King Street, the most important point, the flagship store is stunning. I challenge you to visit the store without smiling from ear to ear. It’s impossible, it is such a happy place to be.

Rose Provence Candle

Now to the inspiration behind this post, Floral Street’s Rose Provence Candle.

I purchased this candle having smelt it at the scent school evening. For me, whilst named Provence, this candle reminds me of the garden at my childhood home. It was full of sweet smelling pink roses. A scent, which for me, was most present in the evening just before dusk.

Whilst reminding me of roses in the first instance, the candle is multidimensional. It is packed full of ingredients including patchouli and raspberries. The notes are ever present whether the candle is lit or not.

This candle was made to compliment their neon rose perfume. In my mind, the perfume is the ‘neon’ and the candle the ‘rose’. If you have smelt both the candle and perfume, you will know exactly what I mean. If you are yet to smell them I suggest you take a socially distanced trip down to Covent Garden. That being said, Floral Street is now available from stores like John Lewis and Selfridges. Click here to be taken their discovery set of 8 of fragrances. Why not have their perfumes delivered to your door, the discovery set is currently discounted to less than half price on the Floral Street website.

The candles are made from a paraffin and soy wax blend. The reason for the blend, soy alone does not burn cleanly and tends to tunnel. The blend helps to eliminate this problem.

Location, Location, Location

There are a number of factors that I take into consideration when I purchase a candle. One of the most important, which room do I need to scent? I favour lemon, orange, bergamot and other citrus candles in the kitchen or bathroom. Woody, oudy scents in the bedroom. Florals for the living room or entrance hall. That being said, rose is one of those scents that lends itself to any room and this candle is no exception. Noteworthy, whilst pink in colour, this candle is a home amongst different interiors throughout my apartment.

On the point of the style of the glass, I love the thickness of the bottom. I usually place candles on a small dish as I fear that they might damage my surfaces. No such problem with this candle.

It is for all of the above that this is now one of my go to candles both as a treat for myself and a gift. It is completely inoffensive and a scent that I believe everyone can relate to.  This candle also reminds me of comments that I have made in other blog posts. Sometimes I smell a perfume and whilst I would not want to wear it on my body, I would love for it to scent my home. This candle is an example of this.

Click here for the next scent school event. Alternatively, Covid-19 permitting, why not drop in to the store or one of their concessions in other department stores and speak to one of their scent specialists.

Bargain Alert

The normal price of a Floral Street candle is £28 but there is a promotion on at the moment. You can buy two candles for £40, £20 per candle. Or six candles for £100, £16.66 per candle. Click here for details. These discounts give you an excuse to buy all seven of their candles!