Nose Dive Aromas
This post was sponsored by Nose Dive Aromas. All opinions are my own.
I love a good candle. I love a quippy name. I love a heartfelt backstory. Put those three together and you have Nose Dive Aromas.
I recently did a Faces of Small Biz campaign highlighting small businesses in Greenville in light of COVID-19 shutdowns. Nose Dive Aromas barely missed squeaking into the last post, so we decided to do a collaboration!
From the Owner, Altona’ Lomax - “Launched April 7th of this year! Nose Dive aromas is my first business, and my proudest achievement. I make hand-poured aromatherapy candles, that are infused with pink Himalayan salt and white sage. After the passing of my wife, I started making candles as a hobby, reflecting on my life and journey - from a harrowing childhood to being a troubled youth, kicked out of high school. My business is important to me because it symbolizes not letting your circumstances define you. I’m not the greatest example to follow, but I hope I can encourage and motivate anyone who feels like life is getting the best of them to keep going. you'll find quotes inside the lids of my candles that have helped me and inspired me to get back up when life has hit me like a speeding bullet. Hopefully one of them will mean as much to you as it has to me.”
Nose Dive Aromas represents a symbol of hope. Knowing their story, every time I light a candle I will remember that light illuminates darkness and sparks hope for a resilient future. For daydreams of summer outside (and not holed up in my house), I tried Nose Dive’s Baecation and Yacht Club candles. I took a whiff of both before lighting them and favored Yacht Club’s fresh, crisp scent a little over the warmer smell of Baecation. I lit them both for a further assessment.
I had never seen a candle with a wooden wick before, and I noticed the calming, crackling sound of the wood as soon as it lit. I burned both candles in my home office and while both are lovely, I still preferred Yacht Club juuuuuust a little more than Baecation. I looked up the descriptions of the candles to see if I was getting the right sense of smell, and sure enough Yacht Club is described as “Airy and cool. Featuring notes of wind, sea salt, and cardamom” while Baecation is “Clean and tropical. Featuring notes of sugar, jasmine, and green leaves.”
I think the sugar notes in Baecation gave me the warmer vibe, and although I’m curious what notes of wind are for Yacht Club, I can FEEL it in the smell! I absolutely love the wooden wick, and with 50+ hours of burn time these candles will be lit at my house all day, every day. And even better, they have white sage and pink himalayan salt for enhanced relaxation and purified air.
In addition to Baecation and Yacht Club, there are plenty more fun and motivational candles from Nose Dive Aromas like Red Viking, Rodeo Drive, Successful, and Mansion. Which one is your fave?
Mast General Store
I know, I know, everyone and their mother has been to Mast General Store. When I was first describing my blog to people I said word for word, “It’s going to be about new, unique things, not like, Mast General Store.” Well, here we are.
Photo from Mast General Store website
But, Mast General Store is an icon in it’s own right! If nothing but for the candy barrels, there’s something for everyone, especially if you’re into country/southern things. I don’t brand myself that way, but it’s fun to visit every now and then. I’d name Mast General Store as the #1 tourist spot downtown Greenville other than the Liberty Bridge. It just has cool stuff! They have men’s clothes, women’s clothes, kid’s clothes, pocket knives, jewelry, camping gear, old-fashioned kitchen supplies, old-fashioned games and gadgets, and like I said, the wondrous candy barrels. But if you’ve been there before, there’s not much new to see… or so I thought.
Photo from Mast General Facebook
After a Sticky Fingers lunch date with my mom and niece, we decided to stop in to Mast General. I don’t remember why, but I’m guessing someone wanted candy. I was surprised at the number of cute, colorful sweaters they had displayed in the women’s section. From what I remembered, their women’s clothing was usually on the pricier side, but I gravitated towards a tinsel-y, colorful, striped sweater and saw the 40% off sign above the rack. Hmm, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. I saw the price tag at $29.00 and decided it was worth trying on. I hadn’t had any luck with sweaters lately and figured this one would either be way too baggy or itchy, but at $29.00 and cozy I went for it.
I slipped it on in the fitting room and finally, FINALLY, a sweater was working for me! I loved it, but wanted to double check and have some fun with my niece. Kids don’t lie, so I told her she was the only one I trusted and I needed her to be perfectly honest. I asked if she liked it, and she said, “Yeah, and you could wear it like... at your house.” Uh oh, that’s not convincing. I said, “So, I can’t wear it out in public?” And she replied, “Oh, you can, but you’ll be like ‘look at my cool sweater’ all the time.” Nailed itー but that was enough to assure me the sweater was a win.
I paired it with these East Hill Boutique earrings and found a much cuter part of my neighborhood to pose in.
East Hill Boutique
Once upon a time during hectic lunchtime traffic, I parked far down McBee Street on my way to Tropical Grille. On the way, I passed a little shop called East Hill Boutique. On my “end of year staycation” I made it a point to visit them.
With their “This must be The Place” sign out front, shoppers are sure to know they’ve arrived. Considering the day was particularly warm for December and I had dressed for sweater weather, I was practically sweating and in need of air conditioning, stat. Upon entering, a young woman beaming of stylist warmly greeted me and I fell in love with East Hill immediately.
While some boutiques can fall culprit to smushing all their clothing into a couple rows for lack of space, I found East Hill comfortably shoppable. Pieces were spread out in a mindful way and easy to lift off the racks. This type of ease makes for an organic shopping experience over digging through overstuffed racks. I went straight for the corner of quippy t-shirts with sayings like “brunch” and “babes support babes” on the front. I grabbed a “good vibes” shirt and prayed it fit just so I could get out of my sheep sweater. I tried on several sweaters with stars on them, but the stars didn’t align to a perfect fit. (See what I did there? Yes, I’m proud of that.) In hindsight there was a bit of overkill of star sweaters in one place, but stars are so trendy right now I can’t blame them. I tried on a couple jumpsuits that didn’t work either, but the “good vibes” shirt fit great and fit the bill for what I needed. I practically marched out of the fitting room and said “I would like to buy this and I don’t want to take it off.” The stylist (who turns out co-owns the place with her mom) agreed, rang me up and cut the tag for me.
I took another look around and was gravitating toward their gift-y items like this “hustle” mug and “feminine agenda” journals but since I didn’t have a particular use for these in mind I moseyed over to the jewelry table. Earrings are my weakness, and I chose a pair of wooden spiral-y things that somewhat matched the monochrome of the shirt. These were my second purchase, and I switched them for the earrings I was already wearing. With these earrings, my lobes really channeled my inner Lady Liberty.
Technically, the shirt and earrings didn’t match the gray leggings and navy Nikes I was wearing that day, but weather called for it and I was much more comfortable. I plan to wear these earrings with something more dressy in the future, but I kind of like the whimsy of them with the shirt. You can never go wrong with good vibes, so say hello to my every-Saturday-for-the-rest-of-my-life t-shirt.
East Hill Good Vibes t-shirt - $30.00
East Hill earrings - $22.00
Pants and boots are my own
Liked: Trendy items, girly and girl power inspiration
Just okay: A lot of star sweaters, but again, I get it
Would pass: N/A
Would I go again? Yes, especially when summer comes around
RockerBelles
On my way to Carol’s Ice Cream (blogged about here), I passed a boutique called RockerBelles and a leopard print cardigan caught my eye through the window. I made a mental note to go back and am here to tell you about it.
Before going back, I looked up RockerBelles online to get an idea of their price range and style, and read the inspiration behind the name. Asheton, the Owner and Founder, described her style as a combination of “a southern belle with a rocker soul,” thus the perfect name “RockerBelles.” When I made my trip to the store, I met Asheton right off the bat - perfectly embodying the brand, and sweet as can be. I found the leopard cardigan right where I saw it through the window, but ugh it was a size too big and the last one. While I looked for something else, Asheton and I quickly got to talking about the area, how Greenville has changed, and of course, she asked what brought me in that day. I explained that other than the cardigan, I missed having a unique place to shop and that I’m too old to shop at Hot Topic like I used to for edgy accessories (remember studded belts?). We smirked at how now it’s all cheap Disney t-shirts and we have no need of that as grown women.
While my style isn’t quite as edgy as everything in RockerBelles, I found quite a few pieces to try on that were more novel than I’d find elsewhere. I tried on an oversized ‘bird’ sweater, camo tank top, jeans, a red sweater splattered in what looked like fruity pebbles, a bodysuit in green and mocha colors, and the leopard cardigan just in case. Yeah, the cardigan didn’t fit. The camo tank top fit as well as the bodysuits, but it would be awhile before tank top season, so I passed. Both bodysuits looked great, and funny enough Asheton was wearing the green one already. I guess it’s true that what you wear, sells! I decided on the mocha bodysuit and went to purchase. Then I saw my favorite thing - EARRINGS! She pointed out there were more to my right and I was giddy looking at all the options. I chose long gray tassel fringe on gold hoops and completed my purchase. Asheton and I reciprocated goodbyes and I left valiantly with my new wardrobe additions.
RockerBelles earrings - $14.99
Top, jeans, and boots are my own
For a casual day and movie night, I paired the bodysuit with black leggings and boots for a simple and comfortable weekend outfit. This can easily be styled with a scarf or cardigan for a more conservative look, which is likely how I’ll wear it on the daily.
RockerBelles bodysuit - $34.99
Scarf, leggings, and boots are my own
The best thing about this place? RockerBelles believes that “self-expression should be celebrated, and your clothing is a way to show the world exactly who you are.” I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for spicing up the south, RockerBelles!
Liked: Unique options and friendly, genuine customer service
Just okay: I couldn’t get my fave thing, but that’s no one’s fault! I’ve worked retail before, it just happens
Would pass: N/A
Would I go again? Oh yeah, and soon
Traveling Chic Boutique
Traveling Chic Boutique has been in Greenville for about 7 years, yet I have only visited them a couple times. My mom and I had stopped in to browse a while back and I saw a shimmery leopard sweater on their front table. Since we were mainly window shopping, I looked around but kept the leopard sweater in mind. When I made my next shopping trip downtown, I also had a leopard cardigan in mind from RockerBelles (what’s my thing with leopard print right now?) and after that didn’t work out, I came to see if the sweater was still in stock at Traveling Chic Boutique.
I arrived at TCB during their 12 Days of Christmas sale and to my delight found cookies at the front table. I’ll help myself, thank you! The leopard sweater had been replaced by a white sweater with colorful zig zags that I agreed was cute, too. The staff asked if I was looking for anything and I mentioned the previous front table leopard sweater. They pulled it from a rack, in my size, and asked if I wanted a mimosa. Wait, what? Cookies AND mimosas?! I literally said “well this is the best day ever” as they started me a fitting room and started mixing my drink. I grabbed a few other items and went to try on. I tried the leopard sweater, white and colorful zig zag sweater, leather jacket*, forest green suede jacket, long black sweater, two pairs of jeans*, and I’m sure a few other things I don’t remember. As things didn’t work out (including the leopard sweater, ugh), I kept making rounds around the store looking for more things to try on. I may have also made my way past the cookies a couple more times, but we’ll still call it shopping. The three staff members were all attentive as I popped in and out of the fitting room offering me more mimosas, different sizes, and recommendations.
In the end, the long black sweater proved to be the best fit and most practical item I knew I’d get a lot of use out of. They set the sweater behind the counter for me and I made my last round to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I came across these wool mittens and knew I’d need them whenever Greenville decides to actually go full winter. I purchased the sweater and mittens and made my way home.
For this post, I’ve paired the sweater with checkered pants, a v-neck top and patent leather pumps. This sweater can go with just about anything and in full disclosure I don’t love heels, so I wouldn’t wear this exact outfit often. Soon after this picture was taken I changed into joggers and sandals to run to the grocery store. Weather has still been in the 60’s, so I will show off the mittens at another date, but I’m glad to have them in stock.
Traveling Chic Boutique sweater - $50.00
Traveling Chic Boutique mittens - $18.00
Shirt, pants and heels are my own
While I’m happy I got some cute things, I can’t stress enough how the wonderful experience was a result of unmatched customer service at Traveling Chic Boutique. Their commitment to the customer is exactly what sets boutiques apart from most brick and mortar stores, and their can-do attitude combined with seamless teamwork shows me that they love what they do, and are truly gifted at it.
Liked: The service! Mimosas! Cookies! And of course, my purchases
Just okay: That I don’t think they have cookies and mimosas all year round
Would pass: N/A
Would I go again? I certainly would - and I have an inkling it would feel just like home
*no photo available