A Dream Within A Dream: Product Review from GONE READING

For those of you who haven't come across the fantastic site for bookish gifts, GONE READING, you definitely need to head over there and check things out. It's full of fun and useful gifts for people who love to read (or for yourself!) - including journals, book lights, t-shirts, and book holders - just to name a few products. There's tons of cool stuff available - they even have special collections for fans of Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Shakespeare, and (my favorite, of course) Edgar Allan Poe.

I was fortunate enough to receive some items from the site for review and I'm so excited to share them with you all! As you can imagine, I may have hinted that I'm a huge Poe fan - if the name of my blog isn't enough - and they sent me some items from their exclusive Poe collection. Needless to say, I was ecstatic! Here's my review of the items I received:

One of the things I received was this awesome air freshener. I adore everything about it! The smell is a bit heavy, which may take some people a little while to get used to, but I loved it right away. The picture of Poe with the purple background and border - along with his signature - is fantastic. It's already hanging in my car from the rearview mirror and I plan on keeping him there long after the scent is gone. And because I'm a huge dork, I want to point out a great pun that was on the packaging: it was labeled as Poe-pourri Scent. It made me giggle a bit. :)

Next up is this cute little candle. It's has two wicks and is in a small tin box. The scent is called "Library" - and I LOVE it. I'm not sure if it's the same smell as the air freshener, but I immediately fell in love after smelling it. The description of the scent says it contains cardamom, absynth, and sandalwood. It's a dark, heavy scent - most likely due to the sandalwood, but as I mentioned earlier, I am a big fan of those types of aromas. The little label on the top of the tin has the name of the scent (Library) and what ingredients are used in it. The label also has "ex libris" followed by Poe's signature. I looked this phrase up and it translates to something like "from the library of." So in this case, it states that it's from the library of Edgar Allan Poe. Again, my obsession went into overdrive and I'm going to find a place to showcase the tin because I find it incredibly cool.

Last, but certainly not least, they sent me a reed fragrance diffuser. I've never used one of these before, but I'm definitely going to start with this one. The scent is Library again - and I can't get enough of it! I can't wait to set this up and have my house smelling so good! Everything about this product - from the box the diffuser comes in, to the labels on the bottle - are incredibly detailed. Probably so those with a Poe obsession (me!) get a thrill. The label on the outside of the box (seen in the picture) is basically a larger version of the one found on the candle tin. It has the "ex libris" with Poe's signature and then the name of the scent and the ingredients - along with some other information like how many ounces it contains. The reeds inside are basically self explanatory. I honestly don't know how I could detail them any further. Same goes with the fragrance. It's for function - not fashion - so it doesn't have any cute details. The last thing in the kit is the diffuser base/bottle. It's heavy and made of glass with an opaque brown color to it. It's definitely sturdy, but I wouldn't recommend dropping it on the floor or anything. Then there's the label on the bottle. It's pretty much the same style as the other labels, only with one difference. There's a quote from a poem on the label - I don't know if there are various labels with different quotes on them or if this is the only one - and it's followed by Poe's signature once again. The quote that came on my bottle literally took my breath away when I first saw it. I kinda got chills and misty-eyed. I know - a bit much. I have good reason though! The quote on the label was this: "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." If you're still clueless as to why I'm freaking over this, please check the name of my blog again. To see the name of my blog, which is obviously from this poem, on the label of the bottle blew my mind. For some reason it seemed so personal - like they did it just for me. (I'm sure they didn't, but you know - I can dream.) That was the last straw for me. I'm done for. This diffuser is most definitely going in a special spot so I can showcase the label with my favorite quote of Poe's.

Now that I'm done fangirling over all of this Poe stuff, I'm going to tell you once more that you should definitely check out this site. There's tons of stuff for everyone - kids, adults, teachers, special collections for super fans, and lots more. It's a perfect place to get gifts for the bookish people in your life - or for getting yourself a little something. They get new items in all the time, so be sure to go back frequently to keep up on all the cool stuff available.

I want to sincerely thank the people from GONE READING for providing me these items for an honest review. I am now a huge fan and will definitely be doing some shopping there in the near future!