How Love Milly Began: A Journey of Scent and Memory

Jan 282 min read

"The goal was simple: to create home fragrances that not only smelt incredible but also carried meaning." - Amy

Est. 2019

Just before my 24th birthday, I moved into a new apartment in a new town.

Like anyone settling into a new home, I wanted to make it feel cosy and make it smell nice, so I popped into a local homeware shop and picked up a few candles.

I quickly realised something wasn’t quite right.

The ones that looked great didn’t smell that great, and the ones that smelled amazing were, well, really BORING to look at.

To top it off, after just a few days, the wicks crumbled, the candles tunnelled and I had to throw them away. Such a waste!

A friend of mine suggested trying wax melts instead, saying they lasted longer and had an amazing scent throw - I’d never even heard of them!

I ordered some from a company she recommended and when they arrived, I gave them a go.

I set up the wax melt burner and waited for the scents to fill the room. Picking fragrances online seemed SO weird - I’d never bought something scented without smelling it first! I wasn’t too sure about the fragrances I’d ordered, but one of them stopped me in my tracks. WOW.

It brought back the most vivid memory of my grandparents’ garden in the summer as a kid, with the rose bush in full bloom. I couldn’t stop smelling it and I couldn’t get over how a scent could take me back like that.

Have you ever caught a whiff of something that instantly transported you to another time or place?

Yes!
No!

I WAS HOOKED!

I started researching everything I could about wax melts, candles and fragrances. I spent hours down an online rabbit hole, then decided to take it further. I did some online courses in candle making and perfumery and started experimenting in the kitchen with candle making kits and fragrance oils.

At first, I was just making candles and reed diffusers for fun - gifts for friends and family for birthdays and anniversaries. I even bought a vinyl printer to personalise them. People loved them!

One friend told me, “Amy, that candle you made for my boss was amazing. You could 100% sell these!”

On Friday 1st March 2019, Love Milly was officially born (technically, it started as “With Love, Milly,” but that name only lasted a few days).

Within no time, I’d built a website, launched some social media pages and started planning my products!

Scents have an incredible ability to conjure up emotions, memories and feelings and that’s exactly what inspired me to start Love Milly in 2019.

What started as a little hobby has grown into something I’m so proud of. Love Milly is all about beautiful, personal home fragrance products that bring love, joy and maybe even a little nostalgia to every home.

The goal was simple: to create home fragrances that not only smelt incredible but also carried meaning.