What a stink

BC (Before Children) I used to love incense burners and joss sticks littered around the house along with random trinkets and baubles yet inevitably as we started breeding things got packed away in the loft to rest in peace or at least until The Spawn are older and we're bored enough to root through the boxes to find them.  I'm not huge on scents however and thankfully neither is The Husband.  There's nothing worse then sat on a bus minding your own business when someone walks past who has obviously marinaded themselves in l'eu de stink, they sit six rows behind you and yet it's like they've crawled into your throat and died.  You shouldn't have to taste strangers, especially when you're not at all inebriated.  Sure I have perfume that I wear...rarely....and sparsely.  Less is more people.  Seriously.  Making the population gag in your wake is definitely not a good thing, it's nearly neck and neck with BO. A subtle tantalising breath of fragrance, when you're up close and personal barely seeping through the warm tangible smell of lust is enticing.  Just don't bathe in the stuff.  Time and place people, time and place.

I'm picky with smells, I despise sandlewood, musks, cinnamon, aniseed, spice, coffee, clove yet adore vanilla, bubblegum and sweets, think Snow Fairy from Lush. Yet even then, everything in moderation.  I genuinely don't understand those people who have air fresheners in every room, I mean really, think about the message you're sending out to visitors, basically you're telling them you're covering something up and essentially you and your house whiff.  Due to our naughty cat, we once experimented with those plug in doo-dahs, you know the ones, they squirt into the air at set intervals and/or when you walk past them (may as well have a pong imp perched there whispering 'cor, you pong!' down your ear) yet within days we all had headaches and nausea from the onslaught of synthetic odour constantly permeating our home assaulting our olfactory senses.  We like the smell of, well, nothing.  Sure I like nice smelling soap/deodorant/shampoo/laundry detergent but i like my air to smell and thus taste of good old fashioned nothing.  I don't like to have to chew on fragrance just to breath.  I use air freshener if there's a specific smell that needs eliminating (bloody cat) in conjunction with bicarbonate soda and lemons.  If the room needs freshening up we do that old fashioned thing called opening the windows  (especially after The Toddler greets me in the morning with an epic shit fest on the potty).  If a room smells, I like it to be for a reason i.e of nommy cake I've baked and am about to scoff or to set a mood the exception rather then then a constant so to speak.

 Pre-kids I used to combine two of my loves, candles and vanilla in the form of vanilla scented candles.  Now those I could cope with, they were subtle, temporary and there's something terribly relaxing about candle light yet candles and The Spawn really would mix.  One day, if The Toddler ever deigns to sleep through and I get a modicum of me time or god forbid 'us' time with The Husband in the evening I may try and erase the days woes with some more candles, try and transform the front from from hurricane spawn to chill out.  I know you can get electronic candles these days but really, you can't beat a real flame they're just so hypnotic i'm not quite sure I could suspend my sense of belief enough to humour what is essentially a fake candle.  The Brother has recently be raving about these Yankee Candles?  (Is it just me who has an image of  Americans on fire?) so a little bit of Google-Fu turned up what could possibly be my perfect candle....it's in a jar so no mess, it has a real actual flame to zone out staring at and it smells of vanilla and cake! That is of course unless I start to feel violently nauseous or worse ravenously hungry.  I suppose The Husband would be hoping for the latter in case i'd eat him.  Best start off with a little jar, eh? err on caution and all that jazz.  So before I part with severely limited funds, has anyone tried them? yay or nay? ....I'm terribly tight when it comes to parting with cash.