What is beeswax?

Beeswax is a renewable, all-natural wax made by honeybees. Because of its non-toxic qualities, it is ideal for use as a bright, clean-burning fuel source in candles. Beeswax candles burn cleanly and produce very little soot when lit properly. To burn properly they need to be kept away from drafts and the wick needs to be trimmed after each burn.

What is paraffin?

A non-renewable wax produced as a by-product of crude oil, coal, or oil shale is called paraffin wax. To make paraffin into a product that can be used, it is chemically processed and finely refined. It is not a fuel source that burns cleanly or brightly.

5 reasons why beeswax candles are better than paraffin 

1. Beeswax candles are natural and non-toxic, while paraffin candles are made from petroleum and release harmful chemicals into the air when burned.

2. Beeswax candles burn longer and cleaner than paraffin candles, as they produce less soot and smoke.

3. Beeswax candles have a natural sweet scent, while paraffin candles often contain synthetic fragrances that can be irritating to some people.

4. Beeswax candles have a beautiful, warm glow that can create a cozy and inviting atmosphere.

5. By choosing beeswax candles, you are supporting beekeeping and the important role that bees play in pollinating our crops and ecosystem.

In summary, burning paraffin candles excessively can release soot and chemicals into the air, which can accumulate on walls and ceilings, causing discoloration and potentially damaging the paint or wallpaper. In addition, the chemicals released can negatively affect indoor air quality and can be harmful to breathe in, especially for those with respiratory conditions. Ultimately, it's best to limit the use of paraffin candles and opt for natural alternative like beeswax or sustainably sourced soy candles.

Millbee’s vision is to produce fair and ethically sourced products that is both healthy for the customer and the environment combined to keep a sustainable world and ecosystem.

For further information on products check out Millbee's beeswax candles.

Halloween night has become a ritual to watch a movie in most households. After a long day of going from house to house with your little one's trick or treating, it's so nice to wind down in the night and relax on the sofa with candles and a roaring fire. Anyway, we would like to share different ways in how to have a Halloween themed movie night, with one of the ways weather permitting!

1. The Location

The first decision we recommend making is deciding WHERE to host your Halloween movie night! You may decide to sit beside the fire and put your feet up, or you may be adventurous! If you decide to go spooky, and watch a movie outdoors, we recommend setting up a projector out the back garden with pumpkins lit up- the ideal Halloween feel!

2. Choice Of Food

As always, you can just never go wrong with chocolate snacks and of course popcorn! Why not place your popcorn inside our Food Wraps? Turn our medium size wrap into a cone by grabbing a corner and folding into cone shape. You can fold down at the top to secure. These cones are handy for many other snacks such as pretzels or crisps! The beeswax wrap cones give a fun snacking experience for kids and they are reusable too!

3. Create The Cozy Atmosphere

There is no need to over-decorate your house at all, but as mentioned above, we do recommend some light-up pumpkins around the house definitely! Our Beeswax Dipped Candles are also the perfect addition to the movie night and will produce a warm glow to keep you cozy!

4. Make it smell like Halloween!

Lighting those pumpkins hours before the movie will enhance that Halloween smell and experience if you like! We recommend lighting the pumpkin in the room two hours before you plan to sit down and watch the movie!!

Whatever you have going on around the Halloween period, I hope you enjoy it. We would love to see photos of your Halloween movie night, please do send them on!

It's coming towards that time of the year again where the temperatures plummet, fevers become more prominent, and gas and heating bills stagger!  As we approach these seasonal changes I thought I'd share some tips on how to stay warm and cozy, in a more sustainable way!

1) Bring the Outside Environment Inside

If you are an outdoorsy person who loves to be surrounded by nature the cooler and darker days can feel gloomy. They don't need to be! You can introduce plenty of nature into your home through botanical prints and plants. Displays of warm-toned seasonal flowers such as dahlias and mum flowers are perfect for introducing some Autumn styling. Also, dried plants such as pampas grass and wheat mixed with flowers are a great long-lasting sustainable option.

2) Baking Your Favourite Treats 

The Autumn and Winter months are an ideal time to wind down and bake! Not only do you get to indulge in your artisan baked goods, it's also quiet therapeutic to bake, especially on a cold or wet afternoon. Imagine the smell of a freshly baked apple tart, a warm pudding dessert or your favourite bread. That's proper comfort food!  And if you want your bread to last longer, our Millbee Reusable Bread Wraps work great.

3) The Treasure of Beeswax Candles

Candles generate a fair amount of warmth, but most importantly add that extra special presence of light to your home! As referenced in the introduction, heating bills are skyrocketing. Candles can help to add a warm ambiance to your home.  Millbee's beeswax candles give the warmest glow.  In fact, beeswax candles emit light that is similar to the light spectrum of sunlight!

4. Warm & cozy fabrics

Covering yourself with a quality throw will help regulate your body temperature, keeping you warm and cosy during the Autumn and Winter. Check out Mc Nutt of Donegal, they sell a beautiful range of soft soft merino lambswool throws with lots of warm tones.  Wearing Slippers and wool socks are another way to add coziness or hygge in your home! Check out these sustainable wool slippers from Reuzi

5. Introduce warm and comforting scents 

When it comes to Autumn, earthy, citrus and spicy scents come to mind. You can introduce warm scents through a diffuser or scented candles. We're currently working on new scented candles for the upcoming season and we are really excited to showcase these products to you! If you would like to be the first to know when we launch these new scent additions subscribe to our newsletter below.

Millbee's scented candles will be launched this Autumn. We are using a blend of natural waxes and essential oils (not fragrance)! Can't wait to share!

Looking for inspiration to decorate your table this Spring?

We are delighted to team up with talented designer and stylist Sarah from Retwiggd to bring you our Spring table setting. Sarah created the most beautifully styled table using Millbee's beeswax candles, organic napkins, Spring blossoms from her garden, old bottles, and vintage pots.

The warm Spring colours and botanical prints add a beautiful freshness to the table. 

Yellow with Pink

Two of the colors I most associate with Spring are pink and yellow. We are surrounded by yellow daffodils and pink blossoms which are welcome after the muted and dark winter tones. In colour psychology, pink and yellow are signs of hope. They are positive colours that inspire warm and comforting feelings, a sense that all will be well. Pink is also associated with love so I say yes to bringing more of this into the home! Have fun and mix more vibrant hues with darker ones. 

Botanical Prints

If you want to create the feeling of an abundance of flowers you can use botanical prints along with fresh blossoms. Don't be afraid to layer prints as Sarah did using Millbee's napkins and pink Burleigh print plate. 

Millbee's organic cotton and hemp napkins

All about the Bees

Many people associate Springtime with bees. We love to see them buzzing around fresh blossoms after a long Winter indoors. You can also introduce these amazing creatures into your home through decorations. Botanical prints, bees and butterflies have featured for hundreds of years in our home decorations and are timeless. 

If you would like to get started on creating a seasonal display or gift to your favorite food lover we have 5% OFF Millbee's Food Lovers Giftset - Use the code TABLE5

Looking for inspiration to decorate your table this Autumn?

We are delighted to team up with talented designer and stylist Sarah from Retwiggd to bring you an Autumn table setting. Sarah created the most beautifully styled table using Millbee's beeswax candles, organic napkins, flowers from her garden, old bottles, and vintage pots.

The warm Autumn colours add a lovely cozy ambiance to the table. 

Sarah's Masterclass 

Shortly after Sarah styled her table using Millbee's products I watched her give a masterclass for Inside Out Homeshow - an online home, garden and lifestyle event supporting charity FRIENDS OF THE COOMBE.

So here's what I learned:

1. Mix & Match. For me this is both practical and looks beautiful. You can create an eclectic look with vintage jars, crockery and basically just use what you have. Sarah moved around pieces then stood back to see if they looked right. It's good to take a bit of time to set the table. Perhaps treat it as a ritual!

2. Create Symmetry. When you place everything on the table observe them against each other.  Do some pieces look too big or tall? Using smaller vases is a good idea if you don't want to obstruct people's view sitting across from each other.

3. Color. It's good to have a color scheme in mind. Flowers, candles or squashes are ideal for creating a beautiful warm  Autumnal color scheme. 

4. Texture. When it comes to design and styling I always try to consider texture especially because we're all about nature here in Millbee. I loved to see Sarah break away from the traditional tablecloth and leave the wooden table exposed. You can add layers and texture using table-mats, a table runner or napkins.  She also shared some creative techniques on how to fold napkins. 

Millbee's organic cotton and hemp napkins

If you would like to get started on creating a seasonal display or gift to your favorite food lover we have 5% OFF Millbee's Food Lovers Giftset - Use the code TABLE5

For a lot of that time the only company I had was nature. I watched the birds come in and out into the feeders in early Spring and on into Summer. There was a hive of bees and wasps coming and going and I used to take such pleasure in watching them bounce from flower to flower. It made me really want to invest back into nature.

While I was going through that really difficult time, nature was there to pick me up, keep me company and it soothed me many days.

I decided to make new choices to rebuild my life. Change can't happen unless I make change happen. I decided that I needed to take care of myself, and in taking care of myself, my home was going to be an extension of that. Further out from that, my take on the environment.

So in the Autumn/Winter of 2019, I made my first purchase with Millbee in hopes to reduce single use plastics at home.

And I'd say after a couple of months, I wasn't picking up the cling wrap as much as I usually would be. I started with the lunch pack and getting the kids off to school with their lunches wrapped up in Millbee's Beeswax Wraps. It did wonders for me also because I felt like I was doing something good for them. Teaching them to take care of things and showing them that it's little steps we do that's going to make a difference.

I choose doing more for the environment as part of my self care regime.

I learned so much from it that I wanted to give back, and I wanted to protect what was there. As time has gone on I've expanded my Millbee collection to their candles which I find fantastic for a few quiet moments to myself. If I want any time to journal or time to relax before bed, the glow of Millbee's beeswax candle really does it for me! And I just love the way they're constructed and rolled. I really admire the workmanship that's gone into the candles!

I use all the wrap sizes - the bread wrap and the variety wrap sizes. I have a couple of the lunch wraps and they go on pretty much everything. My sourdough starter is now under one, and it's the happiest it's ever been!

So, that's why I choose Millbee as part of my journey going forward. I like the ethos. I like working with nature and bees.

I like reusable products you use in the home that are more eco-friendly. It leaves less of a footprint. 

What I was doing in my home gave me a boost. I was implementing some good habits with my children. I was giving them some good knowledge on how to take care of things, themselves and the earth combined, and all of nature. I felt like I was given something back. So that's my journey with Millbee! That's why I've incorporated this so much into my life and I really don't see it ending there! Keep moving forward with it and coming up with new ideas for us. That's it guys! Thank you.

~ Dee Mulroe 

You can follow Dee's Instagram page "Kitchen on the Mountain" for lots of delicious and nourishing home cooked recipes and self-care tips. Dee is also an advocate for mental health awareness. She is such an inspiration and we are so grateful to Dee for being our very first ambassador. 

As a special introductory price, Millbee is offering 10% off our 4 Pack Multisize Wraps for new customers today! 

Plus, if you aren't totally happy with your Millbee Beeswax Food Wraps, you can return them within 90 days for a full refund.

Valentine's Day is fast approaching, and it is the best time of year to celebrate with the ones you love. Valentines is my favorite holiday, I love the idea of indulging in as much chocolate as you like with no judgement, and it is the only holiday it is socially acceptable to express your love through terrible puns!
Although it is essential to care for the ones we love and give them a special treat on this holiday, it is just as important to care for our environment and make sure it feels the love on this special holiday. There are so many ways to celebrate with your loved ones without creating waste. To help you celebrate, I am sharing 3 Of The Best Valentines Day Eco-Friendly Gift Ideas.

Something Home-baked

Why not try baking up a storm for your loved ones. I find there is nothing better than something homemade with love.
How about trying some homemade soda bread , some yummy Jammy Dodger Biscuits, or your loved ones favorite cake.  To top these homemade goods off, wrap them up in our Millbee Beeswax Wraps to give them that extra touch.

Homemade soda bread wrapped in Millbee bread wrap

Jammie dodgers 

Dinner By Candlelight

Love is in the air, and what better way to celebrate than with a romantic dinner by candlelight. Cooking a delicious meal for your loved one makes Valentines Day so unique, but why not set the mood with a lovely yellow glow. Millbee Beeswax hand-rolled dinner candles have a beautiful warm glow and would be perfect for your Valentines evening.

Beeswax dinner candles 

Self-Care Valentines Day

Seeing as Valentine's falls on a Sunday this year, you have no excuse but to pamper yourself and create the perfect Valentine's Self-Care Sunday. Get the bath on, light some candles, add a few drops of lavender essential oil and take some time for yourself. For an extra luxurious bath add some flower petels and citrus fruit.

Citrus bath

Cover half cut citrus fruit with beeswax wraps

I love to end a self-care day with Millbee Beeswax Balm. The Multi-Purpose Soothing Balm is ideal for giving dry Hands, Feet & Elbows a lovely treatment. It is 100% natural, with organic ingredients that are kind to skin.

I hope your Valentine's Day is filled with love from your friends, family, and that special someone, but, most importantly, make time to appreciate yourself too.

Our new beeswax pillar candles are now available on millbee.com! These candles are handmade at Millbee Studio using 100% beeswax and cotton wicks so they are completely natural. Beeswax Candles have a subtle natural scent which makes them a popular choice with people who have allergies or sensitivities to strong scents.  They have a beautiful warm flame and the honeycomb texture glows at the top of the candle when lit. It really is very calming to look at!

Now, to create some Mindful Moments while you light your beeswax candle!

With all that is going on in the world due to the Coronavirus, I thought I'd share some calming tips to go along with lighting your beeswax candle. It's good to stay informed but constant scrolling for updates is not good for the mind! Take some time out to switch off. 

You could also try some relaxing activities such as baking bread, reading a good book or knitting or crochet.

More details on our beeswax candles here!