We're currently deep in the butt of winter, and the only things that can console us are watching things and lighting candles. How revolutionary! So if you're ANYTHING like us and spend 99% of your time cuddled up in a therapy blanket surrounded by therapy animals, you probably need some viewing + candle pairing suggestions. Here's what we've watched recently that we deem worthy of your time and candles.
1. The Tinder Swindler on Netflix
If you think elaborate catfishing schemes were a thing of the past, boy do you have another thing coming. This documentary follows several women who were SWINDLED by a guy they matched with on TINDER. He immediately sweeps them off their feet with what appears to be a lavish billionaire lifestyle. But it turns out the guy was more Bernie Madoff than he was Bill Gates.
Candle Pairing: Pair our Willow • Palo Santo candle with a nice protection spell for this watch. You're going to want to put a nice barrier between yourself and anyone like this Tinder Swindler guy.
2. Love Is Blind Season 2 on Netflix
As a proud member of the LGBTQA+ community, this show is straight up anthropological. Watching this show makes me feel like I'm doing my dissertation on Live, Laugh, Love. I've always wondered what motivates the partner picking of the "man cave" and "she shed" crew. And boy did I get answers. If you enjoyed season 1 of Love Is Blind, you will be delighted by season 2, mostly because there's no Jessica.
Candle Pairing: Our Madonna • Pink Pepper & Fig candle pairs perfectly with Love Is Blind Season 2 because she's spicy but sweet. She's zesty, just like these people searching for love. And why not pay homage to the woman whose dating life has been under a microscope her whole career? What an icon!
3. Ali Wong: Don Wong on Netflix
Ali Wong is BACK with a brand new stand up special that I literally ROFLed at. This might be my favorite stand up special of all time. I can't stop thinking about it. There are things she says in this special that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Without spoiling, out of context, "the bottom of a bird cage." Ali Wong brilliantly explores life as a woman, life as a rich and famous woman, life as a married woman and so much more. She articulates ideas so hilariously that you don't even realize what she's saying is kind of taboo (although it shouldn't be). She should win a Nobel Prize for this.
Candle Pairing: Watch while burning Cher • Jasmine & Rosewater simply because of when Cher was asked "Do you think men are important" to which she answered, "Like for what?"
4. KIMI on HBOmax
Zoe Kravitz stars in this new (what I'm calling) AI thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh. I REALLY enjoyed this movie. It gave us Zoe in an iconic blue updated Amélie haircut, and we all know a good hairdo can MAKE a movie (i.e. Run Lola Run). In Kimi, Angela (played by Kravitz) is an agoraphobic tech worker, who became as such due-to-the-fact-that there is a global pandemic that we're actually still dealing with in real life, which was nice to see a movie actually acknowledge that for once–GAWD. People were wearing masks it was crazy. Anyway, Angela's job is to audit errors made by an Alexa style device called Kimi. She hears something very scary while listening, and it all unfolds from there. It's like Rear Window meets Black Mirror (specifically Ashley O.) with a dash of corporate intrigue.
Candle Pairing: Pair this movie with our Poly • Sour Candy candle because the experience of Zoe's blue hair mixed with the scent of sour raspberry lemonade just feels right to me.
5. The Gilded Age on HBOmax
If you're a fan of Downton Abbey and also miss having a little Cynthia Nixon on your screen now that And Just Like That... is over, this show was made just for you. The Gilded Age follows the lives of a few VERY wealthy families in New York City in the late 19th C., when the city started being built into the metropolitan center of the universe it is today. It's so funny watching upper upper class infighting knowing what we know now about rich people, the government and taxes. "No YOU can't come to my BALL because your HUSBAND won't sell his STOCKS!" and "Why, I can't have my own bank account Mr. Raikes."
Candle Pairing: Pair this show with our Tanya! • Aegean Lemon Zest candle because it's very bougie. It contains one of the most expensive fragrance oils we've ever used. Also Christine Baranski!
