The experience was great!! The conversational games that we played was great. It opened up a lot of…read morethought. I would definitely be returning for other services and I highly recommend them as a good black owned business.

You instantly feel at home when you enter the space. The decor is beautiful. Ambiance is amazing…read more The selection of fragrances are endless. The staff were very helpful and thorough in guiding us in every step. The music selection was great! We even played a trivia game while we waited for our candle to harden. I will be back to make more candles.

I absolutely LOVE these candles. The scents last a long time while burning unlike those found in…read moremajor retail chain stores.

Verve candles is by far the best candles on the market right now!…read more Seriously. Not only do these candles burn slowly because they're made of the best stuff on earth soy, their heavenly, intoxicating fragrances illuminate every room of my house. Each room's aroma can uplift the mind and the senses. My favorite candles and diffusers are Frangipani, Spicy Orange and Belizian Breeze. They make great gifts too!

I wife here Sunday for part of her special day and we had a great time making candles from scratch…read more Alex was very knowledgeable and pleasant. She made our experience memorable. Thanks Alex!!!

I received Mermaid Cove as a gift and can't even bring myself to burn it because of how beautiful…read moreit is. I went back today and purchased Biloxi Rain which smells subtle yet lovely. Their candles are soy based and have a wooden wick so it's not toxic for you compared to other candle brands. There is a smell for everyone; they have floral smells, sweet smells, fresh scents, and they even had Halloween scents. I would recommend this store to all my candle lovers and you can find a great gift for others as well. The sales rep was friendly and informative! It's a great addition to old town Manassas. FYI: the candles with glitter... the glitter remains and does not evaporate so your candles will remain shimmery!

Pam's is a great place to shop for cards every year I have the same problem trying to find a aunt…read moreand uncle cards. They do have a lot of new pop up cards for all type of occasions and other good gift ideas.

Beware! The sales associates provide incorrect information to the customers! I bought a ton of…read morestuff (over $100) the day after Christmas from this Hallmark location. I've never had issues with this place until now, and I will certainly not be purchasing anything else from them in the future after this incident. The lady who rung me up at the counter informed me that I could return an item if it's defective or if I changed my mind. This is not the case. I brought in something to be returned that was incredibly overpriced and wasn't working properly. The store manager had such an attitude with me and said she couldn't take it back because it's seasonal. She pointed to the fine print on the receipt. I let her know that her employee told me different, and she said that she couldn't return it even if she wanted to because the system would not recognize the item. I realize that businesses are hurting, but this is not how you treat a loyal customer! My Mom and I have been shopping at this location for over twenty years and have dropped some serious change! Needless to say, I will be taking my business elsewhere. Hallmark stores are a dime a dozen!

I had the pleasure of meeting Nikki in her grand opening retail store front Zen in a Jar. I…read morecould immediately tell that she had quite the online presence because these ladies knew what they were cooking for and waisted no time grabbing them up and heading to the register. For the new consumer like me have no fear they have sample to smell the different options even though I was told what I saw was just a sampling and they have over 200 combinations to choose from. They will also allow you to come in Tuesday-Thursday and meet with a specialist that can help you choose the perfect blend for yourself or for others. I will definitely be back. For now I settled for Opulence body butter and oil and & Rich Auntie. Parris my specialist was very helpful and knowledgeable about my likes and naming them with choices she thought I would like.

I've been a ZIJ customer for years now, so I was excited to finally shop in person at the Zen…read moreStudio. The place is gorgeous and so thoughtfully decorated. There's a table at the front with various scent samples and a wheel with different fragrance notes to help you decide what scents you might like. The space is so relaxing, and there's a coffee station and bar cart, so you can sip while you shop. The highlight for me was the bathroom! The walls are filled with photos of beautiful black women, and the shelves are stocked with black woman owned products like Black Girl Sunscreen, Black Girl Vitamins, and perfumes like Ce Noir and Brown Girl Jane. It was honestly so inspiring to see all the beautiful and amazing products. I purchased a hair and body mist in Honeymoon, which is a blend of coconut and oud. It smells DIVINE!!

When in Old Town...stop by The Old Town Shop. Lots of fun souvenirs, cherry blossom-themed items,…read moreVA items, and plenty of patriotic doodads (psst - America's 250th birthday coming up). The staff was very friendly and welcoming to all.

This shop is so cute and surprisingly affordable! We recently stayed at Hotel Indigo, a block or…read moretwo down Union from the shop. The hotel partners with the shop, offering guests 10% off purchases, so we stopped in here every single day--even twice one day--to stock up on souvenirs and gifts. The selection of items was great! We found several things for everyone back home. Prices were SO reasonable, especially with the extra 10% off. Staff was nice and remembered us each time we came in, joking on the last day that we were their favorite customers since we had been there so many times LOL! Overall, this shop is great. Will absolutely be back next time I'm in Alexandria!

This place is a hidden gem for unique fragrances in the area. I've only been twice because the…read moreHareem Al Sultan perfume oil (10/10) I grabbed last year has over a 4th of the bottle left but I was looking for Lattafa Yara Candy to smell test. Unfortunately they didn't have it in stock but I'm roughly 45mins away from this shop so I was leaving with something. As always I was greeted when I came in, got my smells on and decided on riqqa. This smell is so warm and rich without being overpowering. It also lasts ALL day as I'm writing this from my bed and can still smell it on my skin. Perfect for the winter and ideal for layering with my EOS strawberry dream or vanilla cashmere lotion. I'm tammat edible, ok ! When I got to the front the cashier offered 10% off if you were willing to sign up for text alerts and in this economy I'm did just that. My bottler was $30 but came down to $29 and change after taxes and such. For a bottle that size with the staying power it has I would say it's worth it. I'll definitely be back, with friends.

A Fragrance Lover's Playground... If You Can Navigate It!…read more I drove TWO HOURS to visit this place, so trust me when I say I was ready to smell all the things! And there was definitely PLENTY to smell. The store has a huge selection of Arabian perfumes, body oils, cosmetics, bakhoor and other fragrance goodies. If you love Arabian fragrances, there is a LOT here to explore. I especially loved the customized bakhoor experience. That was such a nice touch and probably one of my favorite parts of the visit. My biggest issue was the organization, or lack thereof. There were SO many perfumes, but it wasn't easy to figure out where anything was or how the fragrances were arranged. With such a massive selection, having the perfumes organized by brand, fragrance family, scent profile or even some type of clear system would make the experience so much better. Instead, I found myself feeling pretty overwhelmed trying to navigate everything. That said, the selection is impressive! They had plenty of body oils and Arabian fragrances that caught my attention, and fragrance lovers could absolutely find some gems here. I just wish the shopping experience made it easier to discover them. Would I return? Yes, especially for the bakhoor and the selection, but next time I'm coming prepared with a list of what I'm looking for because wandering around trying to take in ALL those fragrances at once is not for the weak! From my nose to yours, MeMe