Cold and dark winter nights call for tea and candles, right? That’s why Manon over at A Bookish Flickering came up with this Winter Nights theme for her December box. Being the candle hoarder that I am, I had to get myself one of those! And it was once again a wonderful box, as I will show you.
Let’s start with the candles!
The first candle I pulled out of the box, was Jack Frost. This one has a gorgeous blue colour and a label that matches this colour really well. Its scent is wintergreen and is very crisp and fresh. I think it has eucalyptus? This scent is pretty similar to the Yulemas candle I got last year, but it’s slightly crispier.
The second candle is also blue, but a lot paler. And it’s inspired by everyone’s favourite winter-y Disney movie: Frozen! Its scent is Christmas cedarwood and it’s obviously a very woodsy scent, but I think there’s something extra as well. I can’t put my finger on it, but it makes this scent a bit more fresh. I think it might be something fruity? Not sure though. Anyway, I love this scent and that’s all that really matters, right?
The first thing I noticed about the final candle is its gorgeous label. It shows a street with Christmas decorations and Santa in a carriage! The candle itself is a beautiful shade of green. And that scent! The label says it’s Christmas cookies and that is precisely what this is. This is absolutely delicious and I am now craving fresh-baked cookies!
However, one thing I noticed with these candles, especially with the Frozen one, is that the jars aren’t filled as much as they used to be a few months ago. This means the wax doesn’t peek out above the edge of the label, so when you put these candles on your shelves, you won’t be able to see their colour. And of course it means the burn time is shorter as well. This is a bit of a bummer, but it’s no doubt just a coincidence.
Anyway, on to the tea!
The first tea is Winter Wonderland. It’s a herbal tea with cacao, cinnamon, ginger, pink, anise, almond, cardamom, safflower and chocolate. That’s quite a long list of ingredients and it’s hard to pick these out. But what does stand out, is the ginger and anise! They give this tea a nice sharp scent and flavour, while the other ingredients add some sweeter touches. I’m drinking a cup of this one as I’m writing this and loving it!
The other tea is Gingerbread House. It’s a black tea with raisins, chocolate, anise, cardamom, orange, vanilla, clove, cinnamon and rose. This is a very rich blend. And while it mixes sharp and sweet like Winter Wonderland, in this case it’s mainly the sweeter flavours that stand out.
What else was in this box?
A Bookish Flickering mainly sells candles and tea, but there’s always something extra in their boxes. This time, there’s a pair of sox! They are perfect for this time of year with the red decorations and reindeer. Also, the yellow thread glitters, which looks amazing! These socks are quite small and I was afraid they wouldn’t fit. Luckily, this was not the case. They do fit, even though they’re on the tiny side for my feet. But I’m sure they’ll stretch a bit and then they’ll be perfect!
The final item of this Winter Nights box, was a metal bookmark. It’s designed by Literary Elfling and it’s so cute! Just look at that illustration, with the stag and the trees! I usually stick to my traditional bookmarks, but this one is so beautiful that I’m definitely going to use it! But only indoors, so it won’t come to any harm.
Extra purchases
That was the Winter Nights box, but I ordered some extra items that were shipped together. A Bookish Flickering recently added soaps to their product range and I just had to try these! I got a discount on these by the way, because I correctly guessed the mysterious product would be soap.
The first one is called Evergarden. It smells like a garden filled with herbs. Specifically, its scent is lavender, anise, basil and sweet orange. It contains some dark spots and on one side, there’s a dark “crust” with dried herbs, which gives this soap bar a gorgeous handcrafted look.
The second soap bar is called Forestborn. This doesn’t have a crust, but it does come with a few dark spots. I just love these handmade looks! Anyway, Forestborn’s scent is pine, eucalyptus and rosemary. Especially the rosemary is strong, while I barely notice the pine notes.
Both these soap bars come in small boxes, with a piece of string tied around the bar. This makes them perfect to give as gifts!
Conclusion
And we have now reached the end of this unboxing! It’s hard to pick a favourite item, but I adore the scent of the Christmas Carol candle and the Winter Wonderland tea! The Winter Nights box is still available on A Bookish Flickering’s Etsy page, as are the soap bars. Go check them out!
