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Mum’s the word! How to treat her like a queen this Mother’s Day.
It’s no secret - our mums are incredible. Whilst we try and remember to show them love and appreciation each and every day of the year, Mother’s Day is all about making the leading ladies in our life feel that *extra* bit special. Look no further, we’ve compiled a list of activities that will truly leave your mum feeling like the queen that she is. Or, if you’re a mum and deserve a little special treatment, then we suggest strategically leaving this page open on your computer… 1. Start the day with lattés, croissants and a little culture: We have no doubt that your mum is a busy bee and definitely deserves a relaxing start to her Sunday. So, we suggest a leisurely late morning brunch to ease into the day. Head to her favourite cafe and follow it up with a stroll through your local gallery’s exhibitions. We’ve got the Rosslynd Piggott exhibition high on our Mother’s Day agenda! As one of Australia’s leading contemporary artists, this dreamy showcase discovers whimsical dream states and the true beauty of the natural world around us. Plus, it’s free! Sound like something you and your mum would love to do together? Click here for more details. If you’re Sydney bound and want to really take the festivities up a level in sophistication, have your mum dining like Marie Antoinette at The Langham’s ‘ Afternoon Tea With Wedgwood ’ in the heart of the hustling and bustling CBD. A beautiful afternoon spent indulging in delicious sweets and French champagne at one of Sydney’s most luxurious hotels is just what she needs. Or, if she favours a bold red and the great outdoors, why not take a Sunday drive to your local winery region. One of our all time favourites is the pristine Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne. At the picturesque Lindenderry Estate in Red Hill , you can enjoy a lavish and exclusive three-course lunch for Mother’s Day. Located amongst 34 stunning acres of gardens and vines, you’ll have your mum feeling like she’s been whisked away to an enchanted forest. 2. Add a touch of glam and invigoration to her space: It’s amazing the effect our environment can have on our minds and our moods. Elements of our home truly do become just ‘part of the furniture’, and it becomes harder to relax and unwind when you’re feeling stifled in your space. So, we’ve outlined some simple ideas so you can gift your mum a refreshed home! Select a statement coffee table book featuring beautiful overseas locations. A perfect addition for Mum to escape to places far away, right from the comfort of her couch. Unbox a beautiful Scented Space White Lily Reed Diffuser and set it up in her bedroom. The delicate aroma of Vietnamese water lily will provide the most exquisite aroma throughout her most private space. Pick up an indoor plant in a gorgeous statement pot to place in an empty corner. Indoor greenery has been known to reduce stress levels, boost your mood and create a sense of calm and clarity. Just what she needs! Select a vibrant patterned pillow or cosy throw for her couch from Fenton and Fenton . A pop of colour can really inject energy and breathe new life into an everyday space. Seeking to create some atmosphere as you cook mum dinner? Gift her our Abode Aroma Royale Ambre candle from our new De La Terre collection. With notes of amber, orchid and water lily, this fragrance will instantly create tranquility and warmth. 3. Indulge her with a pamper session: Massages and spa treatments are something that every woman loves, but rarely carve out the time for. Why not book your mum a day at the spa to relax, unwind and refresh her mind, body and soul. Start with a soothing full body massage, then follow up with a rejuvenating facial. For something you can do together, why not spoil her with a mani or pedi? For a day spa that offers a wide variety of completely blissful treatments, our favourite is Endota Spa . Mum will walk out feeling nothing less than royalty. 4. Treat her with beautiful blooms: Beautiful blooms are always so special, so why not head to Mum’s favourite florist and pick up a gorgeous array of fresh whites and vibrant greens. We also love the array of online flower gift services that deliver beautiful fresh blooms to a loved one, all via the click of a button. Daily Blooms is our go-to, sourcing locally grown flowers from Australian farmers, to create stunning unique arrangements delivered to Melbourne and Sydney front doors. Mother’s Day blooms wouldn’t be complete without their classic partner in love - candles. Our Abode Aroma De la Terre Fleur Blanc is our recommendation to pair with a fresh bouquet. Each candle has been hand poured with the rich spells of gardenia, jasmine and musk, finished off with a beautiful alabaster resin lid. This is a gift that you can judge by its cover. 5. Surprise her with some comedy or a canvas! If your mum is more of a night owl, why not plan a full evening of the sure-fire combination: dinner and a show. The comedy festival is touring throughout Perth and Sydney over Mother’s Day weekend, and will guarantee your mum ends her night in a fit of laughter. Or, if you want to take your mum along to something that may be a little outside her comfort zone, get a little creative and spend a few hours with a paintbrush in hand at Brisbane’s Cork and Chroma class . The class will take you step by step through a popular masterpiece between sips of wine and tunes - perfect for even the most novice of painters! Regardless of how you choose to celebrate this Mother’s Day – going for a walk, seeing a movie, or grabbing a bite to eat – be sure to show your mum just how grateful you are for her today and every day, because that’s what Mother’s Day is truly about.
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The Architecture of Fragrance: Part 3 In The Home
You enter a home, and within an instant, you have this instinctive, subjective ‘feeling’ about it. Home is a notion that transcends tangibility, extending far beyond what you can hold and see. Scent has the propensity to inspire and create, ultimately transforming your house into a haven. Often neglected or considered an afterthought when curating interiors, our sense of smell is most important in crafting long-lasting memories of ‘home’ that are charged with intense emotion. Scent becomes an integral multi-sensory extension of the architectural experience. As each ornamental knick-knack, framed photo and piece of aesthetic memento tells your story, we consider the veil of fragrance as a lasting touch when creating your own home ‘mood’. Today, we’re running you through the geographical and seasonal implications of fragrance ‘In the Home’. DIVERSITY OF FRAGRANCE IN THE HOME Every room in the home should have a different scent, perpetuating a feeling of luxury and depth. Strategically placing different scents in each room throughout your abode will allow you to create specific moods in different living ‘zones’, ensuring you and your guests don’t grow bored of one particular candle or diffuser. This ties back to the notion of nose blindness, when olfactory receptors become desensitised to a fragrance over time, until it is barely detectable to the person. Another disadvantage of carrying one scent throughout the entire home is that guests who aren't fond of it have nowhere to go to escape it. For example, one friend could find vanilla-based scents sickly-sweet and headache-inducing, while another is an ardent lover of all fragrances warm and rich. MATCHING FRAGRANCES TO SPACES For the entrance... First impressions matter. In the hallway, adorn bench tops and wall shelves with fresh, floral scents such as the Abode Aroma Pink Frangipani Reed Diffuser to boast a warm, inviting greeting for guests upon entering your home. Reach for the diffuser in this high-traffic area, so that the scent will be gently carried into all adjacent spaces. For the living room... Moving through to the living room, opt for mood-lifting and crowd-pleasing citrusy or fruity fragrances that brighten a communal space. After throwing your keys and bag down at the end of the day, you’ll be surrendering any stress to revel in a familiar, uplifting and vibrant scent like the Abode Aroma Angelica Citron Bevelled Crystal candle. For the kitchen... Go for spicy, gourmand fragrances giving the illusion that something delicious is perpetually baking in the oven. For a candle that will burn atop your beautiful kitchen bench, look for an aesthetically-driven glass jar design like that encasing the Apsley & Company Kaliningrad Luxury Candle. For the bathroom... Play with the unexpected and the eccentric. As this tends to be the least-frequented area of the home, get creative and pick a hybrid fragrance that smells both invigorating and intriguing. Go for a jovial interplay of sweetness and spice with the Abode Aroma Ginger Pear Reed Diffuser. For the bedroom... Create a serene, calm mood conducive to unwinding, sleeping in your downtime retreat, or strive for citrusy scents to energise and awaken in the morning. For tranquility akin to that of an oriental, zen garden, strike a match on the Abode Aroma Green Tea White Pear Soy Candle. To invigorate your room, we’re prescribing the zesty vigour of an Abode Aroma Lemongrass Soy Candle. SEASONAL IMPLICATIONS OF SCENTS IN YOUR ABODE As seasons change, so does your home. Spanning a rich palette of fragrances, our evocative range of Apsley and Company diffusers and candles can allow you to easily change or layer scents for any occasion, time of year, weather, or mood. IN SPRING When Spring is in full bloom, strive for fresh, clean fragrances that promote an outdoorsy feel within the home. Fresh and evocative, the Abode Aroma Crisp White Linen Bevelled Crystal Diffuser will transport you to laying in clean, white sheets on a lazy springtime Sunday morning. IN SUMMER Summer calls for ocean mist fragrances redolent of a beach-house in the Hamptons, bringing the nostalgic whiff of sea salt under your roof. The Apsley and Company Santorini Luxury Candle is a dreamy burn to effortlessly turn your abode into a Grecian paradise, exuding all things European summer. IN AUTUMN When crisp, crimson leaves start falling, it’s time to sub summer scents with warm, exotic, amber-rich fragrances, mingling syrupy, musky and fruity notes. The rich, intoxicating throw of an Aplsey & Company Amber Mahogany Bevelled Crystal Diffuser is just the thing to ease you into those cooler months. IN WINTER Come winter, you’ll want to cocoon yourself and your guests with woody, smoky fragrances, conjuring the feeling of snuggling up beside a crackling fireplace. Radiating warmth and cosiness, the Scented Space Black Amber Candle is a hypnotic fusion of black amber, patchouli and musk that will imbue your home with an intense sense of comfort. After uncovering all of the endless opportunities that fragrances allow in the home, we hope this final instalment of ‘The Architecture of Fragrance’ series has illustrated exactly how Apsley & Company’s signature scents can play diverse roles within your space.
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5 glorious ways to enjoy the Easter long weekend.
Easter: the long weekend that validates gorging on beautifully-foiled, chocolate orbs and spending treasured time with your nearest and dearest. It’s the break you’ve been longing for after feeling the first few months of the year slip through your fingers at high speed, and it would be rude not to take blissful advantage of it. Luckily, we’ve compiled a list of ways to celebrate the occasion, because we want you to do just that! 1. Schedule brunch at one of Sydney’s many freshly minted cafés It’s no secret - there’s always a new café swinging its doors open in Sydney. Consider this the perfect opportunity to assemble your friends and family for some scrumptious eats and potent caffeine. If you’re looking for an inner-city café, our recommendation has to be Portal. This not-for-profit has just set up shop in Martin Place, serving your lattes with a dash of altruism so you can help them help others this Easter. One hundred per cent of all profits are donated to a collection of local causes and the menu boasts incredibly nutrient-rich foods, perfect for balancing out all of those cheeky chocolate eggs! And if you’re after freshly housemade bread and an almond milk cap, Good One in Bondi will offer up some reprieve from all those hot cross buns you’ve been downing. 2. Get cosy with a new read by candlelight It’s often hard to find the time amongst the madness of busy work and life schedules to start devouring that book you’ve been dying to sit down with and simply unwind. Currently warming our bedside is Sally Rooney’s widely-acclaimed Normal People and Dolly Alderton’s gloriously witty memoir, Everything I Know About Love. We prescribe cracking open one of these beautifully-written tomes and embracing a warm, exotic, amber candle with a hot green tea, or a glass of pinot noir and indulging in some dark chocolate. The rich throw of our Amber Mahogany Bevelled Crystal Candle is just the thing to ease you into those cooler months. We’re secretly a little excited. 3. A tour of the Krystyna Campbell-Pretty Fashion Gift at the National Gallery of Victoria For art aficionados and sartorial mavens, that extra bit of free time over the Easter weekend should be allotted for a trip to the National Gallery of Victoria. One of our favourite spots in Melbourne, the NGV has just cut the red ribbon on its latest highly anticipated exhibition, with a slew of masterpiece garbs landing as part of the Krystyna Campbell-Pretty Fashion Gift. Upon entering this veritable Dream Wardrobe, you can indulge in heritage garments plotted along a carefully-crafted maze in a whimsical ode to haute couture. If you weren’t already convinced, the Gift even includes Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel’s iconic ‘little black dress’. This one’s unmissable, so start assembling your fashion-fledged friends or escape for the day and explore the exhibition solo. 4. Reinvigorate your space for autumn With autumn in full swing, this weekend is the down time you’ve been longing for to pull a mini interiors overhaul of your abode. The seasonal trend forecast sees a focus on form and texture, easily incorporated into the home through tweaking the accessories and fleeting furnishings in your living space. We love anything comforting, quilted or awash with emerald green from Kip & Co. And for an ambient lasting touch? The jovial interplay of sweetness and spice expelled from the Abode Aroma Ginger Pear Reed Diffuser is just the thing to awaken your space. 5. Embark on a winery hopping day in the Hunter Valley Australia’s oldest wine region has enough cellar doors to keep you occupied for 100 long weekends. A lush day of winery hopping, vineyard exploring and sipping on the Hunter Valley’s signature Semillon is the most delicious way to take in stunning vistas, beautiful wines and country hospitality. Take your pick from a host of big-name wineries and boutique gems. Krinklewood Vineyard is coming in as our provincial favourite. And after you polish off your boozy lunch, take a wander through the lush Hunter Valley Gardens. So whether you’re gallivanting through grapevines or indulging in a new book, we hope this carefully curated selection of glorious activities has you inspired and excited for the Easter long weekend ahead. What’s made the top of your to-do list?
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How to host the ultimate summer soirée
As we welcome summer with a warm, swimsuit-clad embrace and a chilled glass of rosé in hand, the prospect of balmy evenings spent with excellent food, good vibes and great company feels palpable. But with myriad festivities ahead, the thought of home entertaining may get a little daunting. Welcoming loved ones into your home can be fraught with last minute stress, the pressure to get everything ‘right’, and the woes of disorganisation. Deep breaths. When throwing your next fabulous summer fete, here’s a few helpful (and oh-so simple) tips to hone those host(ess) skills and stay calm. Set the mood with Abode Aroma Who can forget those sacred pillars of entertaining? Ambiance and atmosphere. Homely summer gatherings aren’t complete without a divine fragrance for your guests to revel in. If French is the language of love, fragrance is the language of memory. A home that exudes personality through a captivating scent will spark a truly memorable fiesta for your nearest and dearest. For conjuring a dreamy atmosphere, turn to the simple touch of candlelight with one of Abode Aroma’s soy candles. For a touch of glow and a low-lit backdrop to the good times, strike a match as the sun begins to set and enjoy the gentle flicker of a candle . If it’s ambiance you’re longing to achieve, reach for a potent Abode Aroma reed diffuser. Perhaps you’re drawn to wafts of Fresh Fig, bursting with ripe, fruity aromas, or your home pairs perfectly with a Lemongrass fragrance, exuding a crisp fusion of Eastern wildflowers, cedar and fresh basil. Finding a scent that feels bespoke to your haven will enthral your guests as they enter peripheral areas such as the bathroom. The Power of a Glorious Grazing Plate Magnificent cheese platters are a classic hallmark of all summery get-togethers. Think rustic, wooden boards swathed in salami and fresh market gems such as soft cheeses, colourful dips, juicy fruits and crunchy grissini sticks. A share-style grazing plate or table serves as a failsafe, striking antidote to entertaining woes. Don't forget the music Music is a must. While feasting and catching up over a clamour of conversations, set the tempo low to avoid any major distractions. But, when the dinner party transcends into a dance floor, press play on a favourite Spotify playlist (think ‘All Out 80s’), old CD or your own tailor-made lineup of tunes. Keep your portable speakers charged up, and prepare before the party ensemble arrive. May your drinks be ever-flowing Make sure to prepare potent party juice, tempered with plenty of water and mocktails for a fruity alternative to the real stuff. When it comes to catering beverages at summer’s hot peak, more is always more. With a bar cart fully locked and loaded, invite guests to DIY their drinks, or create a delectable punch bowl for visitors to ladle on arrival. Think Pimms replete with citrus fruits and hoards of ice, fresh mojitos in glass tumblers topped with mint leaves, or an Aperol Spritz station adorned with orange segments. Keep the menu seasonal, tonal & vibrant As much as every budding entertainer would love to morph into Nigella Lawson for the night, it’s important to resist feeling the pressure. If cooking is your forte, excellent. If you feel slightly off- kilter in the kitchen, especially when entertaining, stick to your guns and serve up what you know best. A menu rife with kaleidoscopic colours, fresh produce, any relevant dietary tweaks and crowd-pleasing dishes will go down a treat. If all else fails, strive for a rainbow of salads and brilliantly BBQ’d meats, followed by a juicy fruit platter and ice cream for dessert. On the next sweltering summer evening, approach your get-together with an air of ‘cool’. From finishing touches of intoxicating scents, to icy cascades of drinks for guests on arrival, we know you’re now set to helm nights steeped in laughter, ambiance and fun.
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Apsley Reed Diffusers Independently proven to last between 30% to 300% longer then International Competitors
Our Abode Aroma, Apsley & Company, and Scented Space diffusers have recently been tested by Eurofins Environment Testing Australia Pty Ltd. Independently pitted against top international selling brands, the results have revealed that they last between an impressive 30% and 300% longer than international competitors. Cue the round of applause! Ranking no.1, we rose to the occasion when tested against some of the Diffuser World's biggest names, including True Grace, Archipelago, Marks & Spencer, The Aromatherapy Co, Glasshouse and more. While we’re all accustomed to choosing our home fragrances based on those vital first impressions of aesthetic and smell, there’s actually many variables that can affect the performance of your product. Our signature room fragrance diffusers are made using a proprietary, uber high-quality formulation of 90% fragrance oil and 10% food-grade ethanol derived from the cassava plant. We’ve donned the lab coats and science goggles to divulge what goes into making the crème de la crème of diffusers. It’s a lot more complex than you may think... The actual diffuser formulation plays a major role in the longevity of your signature scent. If it includes water and high levels of alcohol, it’ll disappear pretty quickly. This tends to be why the cheap and cheerful diffusers in the discount shops are so inexpensive: you’re basically buying water and very cheap alcohol in a glass bottle. Not ideal, right? Climatic conditions of the room where your dream diffuser is placed is oh-so important. Hot, dry areas in direct sunlight equate to speedy evaporation. Heeding caution to open doors and windows will keep the diffuser at its best, and ensure it keeps on giving! When it comes to the number and length of the diffuser wicks or reeds, less is more. More wicks means more surface area for the fragrance to diffuse from, and this will reduce longevity. Again, the longer the wick, the more surface area for the fragrance to diffuse from, shortening your diffuser lifespan. The type of reed or wick used can majorly influence the fragrance throw. Natural reeds from rattan (plants) require turning more frequently as they dry out rather quickly. Wicks, however, tend to require less flipping as the raw material of the wick holds more diffuser liquid than a reed will. The frequency with which the reeds or wicks are flipped. Now, this is a delicate balancing act. The more you flip, the quicker the evaporation, but the less you flip, the less potent your beautiful fragrance will waft around the house. That’s why we recommend a ‘flipping’ ritual of roughly once a week. Let’s talk about the type of fragrance. Not all fragrances are created as one, and the style of fragrance can impact longevity. (Think about what differentiates your favourite perfume from a transient body mist). Citrusy fragrances have a molecular structure that means the ‘bubbles’ are big, so they’ll evaporate really quickly when compared to those deliciously smoky, vanilla and amber type of scents which have a tightly concentrated structure. The opening at the top of the diffuser bottle determines evaporation rates. The more open, the greater the evaporation, and just like your no.1 wine, the liquid will also oxidise (causing a change in colour). Luckily, this doesn’t affect the scent in the same way it does with that chardonnay! We’re extremely pleased to share that when scientifically tested, our reed diffusers are unrivalled in both fragrance and longevity, so you can revel in your favourite scent for as long as possible. As it turns out, victory smells a lot like delicious notes of gardenia, fresh fig and crisp linen!
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