Saturday 4 March 2017

The Little House Of Hygge...


This week the most amazing and hyggelig package ever...landed on my doorstep.



If you don't know what hygge is...well. It's not easy to explain. It's a danish concept and it's kind of a feeling. A feeling of well-being, safety, comfort and love. 
There are ways to make yourself feel 'hyggelig' and so let me give you the perfect example.

Sitting by the fire, sat on a comfy fur blanket, whilst it's raining outside, you are surrounded by candles in a dimly lit room, eating cake and watching your favourite Netflix series. 

That is hygge (pronounced hoo-ga). Although that type of hygge is typically a very wintery set-up.
It's almost spring so lets try one for that.

Sitting on your window sill, watching the world go by, with a coffee, eating a pastry for breakfast and enjoying the fresh smell of the flowers you are sat by.

If you're wondering how I know this, it's because I have been looking into hygge lately after my good pal Seb introduced me to the concept a few years back. I bought The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's highly recommended as it explains it perfectly! Much better than I ever could.





Around the same time I was reading this book I discovered The Little House of Hygge subscription box which is where I got this amazing parcel full to the brim of goodies!

The Little House of Hygge is a hygge lifestyle store and subscription box service. The company is owned by a lady called Sarah who was very lovely indeed throughout this whole collaboration.

Their aim is to simply make us all feel hyggelig by supplying us with products designed to give us that hygge feeling!
They have such a wide variety of products such as
Furniture
Beauty Products
Books
Fragrance
Gifts
Candles

and lots more!

Sarah offered me the March subscription box to try out and I was unbelievably excited. I had being doing a LOT of overtime at work recently and hadn't really had any downtime to myself for about a month so I couldn't wait to just take a day off and dedicate it to trying out all the goodies in this box.
A proper hyggelig day.

The March box was spring themed. I usually prefer the autumn/winter months but I must say I am getting excited for spring/summer this year after seeing all the amazing collections that different brands are bringing out. I typically think of winter when I think of hygge and Christmas in particular, so I was intrigued to see what would be in the box.

When it arrived I was taken aback by the STUNNING packaging. It was beautifully wrapped up and really had a very personal touch to it. It gave such a prestigious feel to all the products.
It came in a nice cardboard box with the logo on and carefully wrapped in a gorgeous ribbon.
Inside was lots of confetti type stuff with lavender in it! and the items were all wrapped separately but equally beautiful.








After speaking to Sarah I believe that she actually packages all of them herself and she really does put her heart and soul into each and every one. She is just so passionate and I love when companies are like that. They just want the best for their customers and the packaging really does show that.

It all looked very fancy and posh!

Inside was a leaflet explaining the contents of the 'Lets Hygge' box.



This box was celebrating forÃ¥r which is danish for Spring. Spring is celebrated a lot in Denmark as people love the fresh flowers, the lighter evenings and the Easter fun after the long bitter cold months!

So let me show you what was in the box. Ill also let you know what my thoughts were.

Christian D Larson Make Up Bag



This was by far my favourite item in the box. All of the items were amazing as you will come to see but as soon as I saw this I was like 'woooooowwwww!' it's super instagrammable but the reason I loved it so much was because it's so relatable.
I am the most negative person and sometimes I struggle to enjoy the little things in life. Not very hygge of me and this is like a little reminder to be positive.

'Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. 
Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. Live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you!

What a truly beautiful quote by Christian D. Larson.

I loved the canvas material of this make up bag and also the shape and size. A lot of make up pouches are wider and shorter but this was a taller one which makes it easier to store bottles and brushes.

Just absolutely perfect!

I'm not sure where you can buy this. I desperately tried to find it online and couldn't find it, sorry guys. If I find out I'll edit this post.

Petit Rituels Wax Melts



These came in the most beautiful little pouch. Most wax melts just come in plastic wrapping but this was a nice cloth bag with a sweet little label. 

I think this box would have been so so perfect if it had a little wax burner in it for people who don't already have one but luckily I have a couple in the living room so I could use mine. 
However I haven't got round to doing that just yet and have instead being using them in my underwear drawer to keep my delicates smelling lovely.

As soon as you open my dressing room door I get the strong scent of the wax melts and it's fabulous. I got two different melts and they were Rose Geranium and French Lavender.

I love rose scents. They are so feminine and luxurious. 

Lavender on the other hand is not my favourite. Not because of the scent though. I LOVE the smell of lavender. It's fresh yet warming and I love it. However my body just doesn't seem to react well and I get very severe intense migraines from Lavender. Which is so bizarre because Lavender is known for it's headache healing powers. I don't know what it is. As a teenager I kept getting headaches and it took a little while for us to figure out that it was the lavender air freshener I had in my room.

I steer clear of lavender now and never use any products with lavender in but it has been years since I've used lavender so I was curious to know if maybe I had changed? 

When I smelt these wax melts up close I instantly got the pressure feeling in my sinuses and a dull ache but amazingly it didn't turn into a migraine, not even a headache. 

There were a lot of lavender fragranced items in this box so at first I was a bit worried because I was so excited by the whole thing that I desperately didn't want to find anything negative with it and I'm so glad I agreed to try everything in there because I found out that it's only strong lavender fragrances for a long amount of time that trigger it.

Eating, bathing and light delicate lavender scents don't affect me and so I can actually enjoy the scent of lavender now! I'm so so happy about that!

I don't know if I'll risk the lavender wax melt in my burner but I will for sure try the rose one tonight.

They do a variety of scents which you can browse here.

Love Yawn Lavender Bag.




This was the perfect addition to the box! I desperately needed one of these but never think to pick one up when shopping. For a start not many places sell them.
When Elliot and I moved into our flat it wasn't in the best condition. The previous tenant had left it a bit of a state! Unfortunately he was a smoker and neither Elliot or I are smokers. We weren't very happy with the smell of the flat so we spent days with open windows, reed diffusers in every corner, we spent hours scrubbing the floors with carpet cleaner, we painted the walls and lit candles 24/7 but over a year and a half on and there is still an underlying smell of smoke. I HATE it. No matter what we do it never completely goes. 

The one place that I can't seem to get the smell out of is the wardrobe. I cleaned the wardrobe before putting my clothes in but it's almost like the wood is tarnished with the smell.We can't get new wardrobes as the ones that came with the flat are in our inventory so they have to be there when we vacate.

All my clothes smell of smoke when they are left in the wardrobe so I never like to run out of my Lenor Unstoppables which manage to do the trick and keep me smelling lovely! Seriously can't live without them but I did think ' I should really get some lavender bags' or a similar scent? 
Nobody has ever made a comment about me smelling of smoke and whenever I ask people they can't smell it but I guess I just get paranoid because I smell it at home. 

Lavender bags can be hung anywhere around the home to freshen it up and they work particularly well in underwear drawers. I have hung mine on the pole in my wardrobe and it really is doing the trick. I get a waft of the glorious scent every time I open my wardrobe and my clothes don't smell of smoke.
One rule for our next home is that if the last person was a smoker, we are NOT taking it!

I loveddddd the pattern on the bag. It says 'Yawn' which relates to me very well. We all know I love to nap! 
This would look so sweet on one of those padded pink silk coat hangers with a nice pink silk dressing gown to match, hung up on the back of the door. There's an Instagram post idea.

They can also be used by putting under your pillow for a great nights sleep.

I believe these are out of stock right now but can usually be bought on The Little House of Hygge website.

Meraki DK Soap Ball



I love bath bombs. I ESPECIALLY love bath bombs with petals in. They are my favourites so I got excited by this.
The thought of it being lavender did worry me because I thought the steam from the hot water will open my sinuses and then the scent will be strong and give me a migraine. 
I used it and honestly its not that strong. It's a very delicate and light lavender smell. Not too intense in the slightest so it wasn't an issue at all. 
The scent of my other products (shampoo, conditioner) are quite strong so they overpowered the lavender scent a lot anyway.

The main thing I noticed about this product was the amazing oils in it, olive oil and shea butter. It left my skin feeling so so soft. As they are called soap balls I wondered if it would be any good as a soap. So I pulled a tiny part off to rub between my hands and oh my gosh. They were soooo smooth afterwards. My skin felt like silk. It was nice to be bathing in water full of the oily goodness and I felt so refreshed and clean when I got out. Very moisturised too. I really liked it.

Because they are so picturesque, I think having a collection stocked in a wicker basket on the side would add a nice little touch to any bathroom. I then saw this suggested on the card that came with it and smiled that we had the same idea.

They sell these soap balls in lemongrass and also rose. I bet the Rose one would be amazing.
They are available to order here.


Meraki Scented Candle




This came in the most beautiful tin. Possibly my favourite product packaging wise.
I presumed this would also be lavender but I was pleasantly surprised to see it was Sandalwood and Jasmine. It smelt so good! I had to show Elaine, my mother-in-law. We both love our candles and she also loved it. A very sweet, grown-up, sophisticated scent, perfect for my dressing room.

The candle is made from soya bean oil which means it is a 100% natural product. Other soya candles I have smelt just smell bitter and horrible but this was really beautiful.

Soya candles also give off less soot which is the stuff that turns your candle all black and ugly!

When we lit it I went and had a bath because I find that if you light a candle whilst you are sat in the room sometimes you can't really smell it and get the full benefit but if you walk into a room where a candle has been burning away, the scent is stronger.

However I must admit when I returned from my bath I couldn't smell much. This is a very light delicate fragrance and I think it's more of a decorative candle or to be used in a smaller space. Our living room is very big so even the strongest biggest candles struggle to scent the entire room.

The fact it is a votive size would automatically alter the power of it anyway so I wasn't expecting a super strong fragrance and sometimes candles can be too powerful anyway and trigger one of my headaches so it hasn't put me off.

They also do a larger size which I imagine would give off a stronger scent if that is what you prefer.

I actually think it's good because in The Little Book of Hygge there is a whole chapter dedicated to candles and the danish actually prefer unscented candles as it's the light that they love them for. A dimly lit room with little candle caves is very hyggelig and filling a room with a scent isn't always hyggelig. So having a light delicate fragrance is actually more danish. 

So this is perfect for a nice movie night in the front room with just the candles lit and fairy lights on.
As it's a very pretty candle and reminds me of the very instagrammable Diptyque candles. I would feel a bit sad if I used this a made it look messy, so I'm going to be using it for background set-ups on my Instagram posts, expect to see a lot of it on my feed :) 

Get yours here.


Birdhouse Balancing Wellbeing Tea



We have quite the collection of flavoured teas in this household, it's something I'm quite proud of so I quite like getting new additions and this was something I didn't already have.

I imagined from the title it would be maybe be a chamomile tea with lavender (which I do have) but it was not! It was a concoction of Cinnamon, Cardamom, Liquorice, Coriander, Fennel, Ginger and Rose.
I am a huge fan of cinnamon teas so I waited until a nice relaxing evening to try this after a nice hot bath.

It really wasn't what I expected. That is not a bad thing. It was beautiful.

I guess because the hygge box was spring themed I imagined it would be very floral and fruity.

I definitely got a floral taste from it but surprisingly it really reminded me of cold winter nights over the Christmas period. One of my favourite things about Christmas is the hot drinks. I love a chai latte! 
I think it's the cinnamon. Cinnamon to me just screams Christmas but Christmas is my favourite time of year.
As soon as spring and summer comes I do miss it so I was really happy to find this in the box. It's like an nice little throwback and lets be honest, the weather in between winter and spring is unpredictable. It can still be bitterly cold outside and this drink is perfect for that. I really loved it. In fact, I might make one now.

Try it for yourself here.

Maison Des Macarons





Well this didn't last long.
Beautifully packaged. I almost didn't want to open it!

I devoured it and it was beautiful. It was different to other macarons. It had a nice meringue chew to it and the taste was amazing, like a floral perfume taste. I couldn't see anything to say what the flavour was? Maybe lavender or rose? But either way. It was amazing! I was sad when it had gone.

Maison Des Macarons are a small family run business from Market Harborough. Everything is homemade with the best ingredients.

I'm not sure what else to say other than it was so so pretty and tasted divine. If ever I fancy a treat. I may have to get myself a pack.
Christmas present idea maybe ay Elliot? Hint, hint.

You can contact them for cakes, gifts and wedding favours (Ooh I'm planning a wedding...that might be a good idea) here.



I just want to say a HUGE thank you to Sarah and anyone else involved with The Little House of Hygge.
This was such a lovely introduction to the company and now when I think of hygge, I will think of you. 
I really loved all the products. there wasn't anything I disliked and I look forward to plenty more hyggelig evenings using the products I received.

This is such a lovely idea for a subscription box and different to so many of the others.

I can't thank you enough! 

And thanks to everyone for reading. I hope this has inspired you to have a hygge evening yourself. I think everyone needs one every now and again to bring them back down to planet earth after a stressful period.

Also I quickly want to mention that these boxes would make an amazing Mothers Day gift!! They actually have a Mothers Day themed one.

If you would like to subscribe to The Little House of Hygge subscription box  for just £29.99 a month, which is a fantastic price for the products you get, click here.
You can also buy one off boxes if you don't want to commit straight away.

All the hyggelig love, 





Disclaimer: I was sent this subscription box free of charge in exchange for a review. All words, pictures and opinions in this blogpost are my own and my 100% honest opinion.
I am not making any money from this collaboration. 

To keep up to date follow me using the blue button at the bottom of this page that says 'join this site'.
To read any of my other blog posts click on blog archive.

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1 comment

  1. I love the idea of this it's so cute, I need that book!! (and now I finally know how to pronounce hygge)xx

    ReplyDelete

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