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Fruits & Passion Cucina Hand Soap Review

November 5, 2020 / HOME & GARDEN / 0 comments

Hello darlings, I’m back from the vortex! I’ve been so busy lately and I have to give time to my other writing activities because I had to make a concept analysis, lol. I will be posting some life updates soon. How’s the election for y’all? How’s life in general? Guess what, I’ve got some amazing hand soaps to review in this post. In fact, I have been using these soaps for more than a year now and I love them so much.

The cucina line of hand soaps from Fruits & Passion are some of the best hand soaps I’ve ever tried. I discovered the brand when I was looking for affordable hand soaps with really good quality. The whole search process was quite a challenge because there aren’t really many high-quality soaps out there that are easy on the price points. Also, I wanted a soap that is not only gentle on the hands, but also has a fabulous scent. These criteria deemed to be difficult to fulfill and my whole search took forever, that is, until, I found these gem at amazon.

The Fruits & Passion cucina hand soaps come in a convenient mini-jug type of packaging and they are definitely affordable. They come in different scents like: Sea Salt and Amalfi Lemon, Lime Zest & Cypress, Coriander and Olive Tree, etc. Each mini jug can last about two months of usage, that is, even with constant handwashing.

Sanguinelli Orange and Fennel – This smells like a blend of fresh oranges and olive oil. It’s an interesting mix and totally unique to me, and probably for you too. I suggest you try this and see for yourself. Personally, this is really really good.

Sea Salt and Amalfi Lemon – This is my most favorite scent of the entire cucina line of hand soaps. I definitely think that this smells like Tom Ford’s ultra-fabulous Mandarino di Amalfi Eau de Parfum, which is a shock for me because I truly love that particular TF scent. I’m so glad to have found this hand soap and I use this everyday. I never got bored of the scent. Ever.

Coriander and Olive Tree – This is my second favorite scent from the line and it really looks just like an olive-oil, texture-wise. The scent of this is also very good. With a mix of coriander, this will transport you to an idyllic Mediterranean island – sipping mimosa while enjoying that crema catalana, lol.

The other scent I love from line is Lime Zest and Cypress, which is quite similar to the Coriander and Olive Tree. I also love the hand creams and hand butters from this brand, and I highly recommend them because they’re so creamy and so moisturizing. Overall, I really like the organic and clean quality of these products. I also love their price tags and the scents are so luxe that you’d wonder if they are being sold at high-end stores. How fabulous!

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Favorite Scented Candles 2019 Edit

August 20, 2019 / HOME & GARDEN / 0 comments

Hey peeps. In this post, I’m sharing with you some of my fave candles this year. I didn’t get a chance to collect a lot this time because I’ve been busy traveling and haven’t had the chance to shop around that much. Besides, I still have some of last year’s candles to burn as well. Speaking of last year, check out my fave scented candles 2018 edit HERE.

This year is still not over and I might still find some interesting scented waxes to obsess with. I will update you soon if there’s any more fragrant candle worth looking into, or you could keep checking my posts here or on my Instagram to see if there’s any new candle featured in the background. But right now, these are my current faves.

Ikea Candles

There are two scented block candles that I love from Ikea, the Lugga and the Blomdroft which are both beautifully crafted candles with very affordable price points. At 5.99 USD, you’d get three very pretty large gradient candles that will surely last a long time. I haven’t burned them all completely and I don’t think I’ll ever will because they’re so pretty and they make for such a nice home decor. Their scents are not the strongest and though they tend to fill the room with their unique fragrance during unboxing, their scents do tend to dissipate easily. However, for their price and size, they’re definitely worth the purchase.

Lugga – has a light powdery scent, love the gradient lavender, white, and pink pastel shades.

Blomdroft – has a nice light floral scent.

I also love the Glasig Candle Dish and Skurar Candle Holder from Ikea, both of which are very inexpensive and very versatile to use.

Tocca Capri – Out of all the Tocca scented candles, this is my most favorite because it has a Mediterranean citrus scent that could fill the room pretty easily. The scent lasts a long time even when not lighted and its size is huge. This puts you in a perfect sunset and vine vibe.

Nest Linen – This candle is the perfect definition of clean. It smells like fresh clean laundry that is not overbearing and definitely not boring as well. I like to keep this candle very close to my clothes just because it’s fresh. I also love to give this to my friends as a gift.

Overose Candles

This is my first time trying Overose candles and I have been so curious about them for a long time now. They’ve been popping all over Instagram and I was really intrigued by their unique names and pretty packaging. I mean, who wouldn’t love a pink scented wax inside a sleek matte-pink glass? I know I do. 🙂 I find these candles to be very long-lasting and definitely worth the money. They fill my room with scents even if I don’t light them.

Nympholia – what an interesting name for a fruity scented candle. It smells like an orange blossom with a hint of honey and something more. It’s sweet, calming, different, nostalgic (like those sweets you so desire to eat during your childhood), and definitely interesting.

Anamorphine – this is the scent that I probably had a hard time discerning at first. It’s as complicated and mysterious as its enigmatic name. I know I love it because it’s just so unique. I definitely think it’s somewhat floral with a hint of something earthy and woodsy, perhaps blended with lavender as well because of its relaxing notes. There is also a bit of freshness to it and something very very mysterious. This is the type of scent that definitely defines me. 🙂

Diptyque Tubereuse – As a Diptyque fan, I still can’t get over the scent of Baies, which will forever be one of my most favorite scented candles of all time. But for this coming Fall, I have my eyes set on this Tubereuse/Tuberose Diptyque candle to burn completely. I love its strong tuberose scent that fills my home. It’s somewhat strong but not heady. It’s got a calming effect on me and its scent lingers everywhere around the house.

As with most candles, the first time you light it, don’t forget to let the candle burn long enough to melt the entire surface on top of the candle for two to three hours. Also, regularly trim the wick to 5-6 cm long to avoid smoke and get a longer burn. Never ever leave a burning candle unattended, and keep it out of children’s reach.

These comprise my favorite scented candles this year (so far). I hope to discover more scented candles somewhere during one of my rambles.

Have you had any of these candles before? What candles have you been loving lately?

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How to Grow New Plants from Cuttings

June 20, 2019 / HOME & GARDEN / 0 comments

Hello everyone! Summer is just around the corner and I’ve been busy working on my garden. I have a few plants that have grown a lot and they needed to be trimmed or split into two so that I could transfer the other half into the patchy areas of my yard. One of these plants is my ever-growing vintage peony. I like it a lot and it leaves a nice fragrance around my yard. I’m not sure if I could find this plant again nowadays. It’s really the old-world type, and I suspected that this plant was planted probably by the first owners of my house, back in the 19forgottens. Since I like it a lot, I decided to grow more of this plant by using a rooting hormone.

I use rooting hormones quite often especially when I want to multiply my Roses. The process is fast, easy, and it works with a lot of plants, especially Peonies. The growing process might be slow which does require a bit of patience, but it’s a rewarding one.

So, for this review, I’ll show you how I grow new plants from cuttings using the Miracle-Gro FastRoot Dry Powder Rooting Hormone ($5.99).

See the steps below.

Materials:

*seedling pots are from Lowes, but are also available via Amazon. Make sure it’s filled with gardening soil or potting mix. I like this ONE.

*gloves are from Digz, similar style HERE. I’ve been using it for a long time and it’s still holding up pretty well.

*rooting hormone powder, I like the ones from Miracle-Gro.

*cutting/s from the new growth of a plant, choose the one with a branch. You may or may not cut the leaves.

Step 1. Cut a small part of a plant’s new growth (Cutting). Make sure that it has a tiny branch/branches.

Step 2. Prepare biodegradable seedling pots by filling it up with gardening soil or potting mix.

Step 3. Pour a bit of dry powder rooting hormone into a piece of paper (which I formed into a box/container).

Step 4. Dip the bottom of the cutting into the rooting powder and tap off excess.

Step 5. Stick the bottom of the cutting into the seedling pot filled with soil, and carefully press the soil around it, to make it more stable.

Step 6. Spray the cutting inside the pot with water. This waters the cutting softly and prevents it from moving around the soil, as opposed to normal watering using a hose.

Step 7. Place the pot in a sunny area and keep it moist.

The cutting will develop new growth in approximately 3-4 weeks. Take a look at this peony cutting I did 3.5 weeks ago. Once the cutting has grown, you may transfer it into a larger pot.

I tend to have a high success rate by using the Miracle-Gro FastRoot Rooting Hormone, but just to be on the sure side, it’s better to have a few cuttings to grow rather than one when doing this plant-cloning technique.

Happy gardening everybody!

The Miracle-Gro FastRoot Dry Powder Rooting Hormone is currently available at Amazon or at any gardening and home improvement stores.