Like a moth to a flame, I was drawn into Living Lights. It's a beautiful candle store with a…read moregorgeous assortment of different colours and designs. There are a few things I LOVE about Living Lights. Firstly it's all Kiwi owned and manufactured. There are no 'made in china' stickers to be seen. All the candles are designed and created in Golden Bay. Secondly, the smell! It really is divine. When I mentioned this to the lady in the store she told me that their 'Soy' candle held onto aroma more than usual wax, hence the glorious scents. These candles are big and bright. The bulb shape ones are my favourite and would make a funky centre piece for the table or mantel. For around $40 they also make an excellent gift. Living Lights is really a gorgeous store and I think has given a whole new life to the humble candle.

I adore 101 Howick, and perhaps my one regret in life is that I left it too late to snap up one of…read morethe incredibly stylish and New-York-loft-esque stools that were basically one huge thread with a seat on top, and you could hand-screw to adjust in height. Okay maybe that's not the best description... Point being, they have tasteful, unusual, and beautiful homeware and gifts. There's a little bit of everything really, and if you like Redcurrent, you'll love 101 Howick. It's like Redcurrent with more cushions, and fewer candles. With more stylish pieces of occasional furniture, and fewer Olga Berg bags (not that I'm knocking them). Visit for a present you'd never have dreamed of, or a decent spoil for yourself.

I would just like to preface by stating that I ordered online via the Best Blooms website from…read moreacross the globe for someone very dear to me for Valentine's Day, and it was the best experience i've ever had with a florist, truly. The customer service was communicative, responsive, timely and more than anything genuine. The florists were extremely receptive to my requests, and the arrangement that was delivered was IMMACULATE! The blooms of the orchids were of utmost quality, and I could not have dreamed for a better bouquet to be in the hands of someone so dear to me. Thank you so much Best Blooms for your unparalleled service, quality and efficiency. I will certainly be using your services again, and will recommend you very highly to others! All the best from Miami Beach, Florida!

This florist is amazing! I ordered flowers off their website from Florida, and they were…read moredelivered, fresh and beautiful, literally 2 hours later. I highly recommend!

Retreat is a fantastic little store located within the Rialto mall that is wall to wall candles,…read moreincense and oils. Retreat also have their own brand of soy candles that smell amazing, there are 15 scents of which you can buy in jars, tins, votives and tealights. I love the caramel, vanilla and coconut, French pear and fig and melon the most, there is nothing better than having spaces in your house that smell like dessert. One a service note, you are able to get your candle jars refilled by Retreat. They don't even have to be their jars either. The equivalent of a large Ecoya metro jar is $30 to buy and if you want a refill it is only $15, so any jar of yours around that size would be the same which is fantastic. They also have a candle personalisation service which are popular for weddings and dinner parties, they make nice guest gifts. The service here is always friendly too.

Mmmm this place smells sooooo good. I always like to stop in here and have a wee browse even if I'm…read morewell stocked with candles at home. I went there recently to buy some candles and walked away with the Coconut Lime soy candles (this was their fragrance of the week and it was a special price) and their French Pear candles. Both just make our place smell divine. The Coconut Lime one reminds me of a pina colada and the French Pear smells almost like a freshly baked apple pie. I bought their pack of 6 tea light candles and the cool thing about them is instead of the holder being metal like normal tea light candles, it's made out of a special polystyrene that doesn't melt under heat. This is very cool because when the soy wax melts the candle becomes transparent and in the dark the whole candle lights up, not just the flame at the top. I love this place, go there, give it a go!

Arazzo is Mum & I's go to for gifts. They stock a beautiful range of candles, gorgeous body…read morelotions, silk scarves, jewellery, cookbooks and more. But the best thing about this small shop is that they turn over their stock at lightning speed, which means for a regular like me there's always something new to fawn over. It's obviously as popular with the other Milford locs as it is with our family. The other fabulous thing about Arazzo is that, compared to many other independent home decor stores, it's affordable. I love candles and so they have become somewhat of a price indicator for me and at $40 (they have quite a range), Arazzo's are an absolute steal! Try their beautiful handmade ones from Devonport. I forget the brand name but they come in a stylish black and white box and are stunning. They also currently have some fabulous christmas decorations, which the owner tell me are flying out the door. Cute wee reindeer and fairy lights galore - it certainly put me in a festive mood!

For a special occasion why not choose a personalized candle. This specialized business can create…read moreyour individualized candle whether it's for a baptism, naming ceremony, wedding, Diwali, Christmas, or any occasion. A Kiwi owned and operated company, the quality and attention to detail is absolutely stunning, we have ordered a few special occasion candles from here and they always exceed our expectation. They can even take a photograph or replicate a crest and embellish the candle with this. You'll deal with Brigitte personally and she'll take care of every little detail for you and ensure it is just perfect.

Amaze is Ponsonby's one stop gift shop. You can literally walk in there and walk out five minutes…read morelater with a funny and funky gift, complete with quirky card and gift wrapping. Amaze is that good. With numerous stands housing a seemingly infinite number of gift cards, regardless of whether you're after one for your best friend, mother, uncle, grandmother, for a friend's wedding, an anniversary, bereavement or baby shower - there are dozens of cards for every occasion to pick from. And they're all quirky and perfect in their own ways. I love just perusing the cards, let alone the rest of the store! Though, that's not to say the rest of Amaze isn't equally as AMAZING... It's the perfect place to find funny hens night-type products with candy G-strings, penis straws, and naughty dice stocked by the dozen. Amaze also stocks an array of journals and diaries, and as a real stationary lover I find I could spend hours just ogling over these products, let alone the choices of wrapping paper they also possess! Talk about overwhelming! It's like a dream come true in this store, sad as that may sound!

'Amaze' is just that. A shop that offers every type of card you would ever need - plus quirky gift…read moreideas. There are a few card stands outside to tempt you or you can go in-store and be spoilt for choice. I have purchased many birthday cards from 'Amaze', unique wrapping paper and gift fillers. Service is friendly & always sincere. Nothing can ever replace a fantastic card, from $5-$8 to say it with words! I love cards - writing in them, gifting them & especially receiving one too! Yelp, yelp, yelp!

You always feel good about buying stuff from here. You know that by doing so you help support…read morevillages of people in third world countries whose standard of living is improved by you being a Trade Aid customer. The prices are very reasonable too. They sell a wide range of items from woven baskets and kids toys to bedding and food, the dried mango and papaya is seriously good! The soaps which come from India are really good, many scents and one of the few places to find neem soap which is really good for your skin which is what I come here for all the time. The staff here are very friendly too.

Love love love Trade Aid stores. It is a business / organisation that helps those which provide the…read moregoods. It is an ideal shopping scenario, not only can you purchase amazing and non-expensive items, but a massive chunk of the proceeds go to the people who helped make them, and others. Trade Aid deals with several products, from candles, chocolates and teas, to blankets, jewellery and pillows. You can also purchase stationary and musical instruments, it really is an all out there kind of store. And everything is absolutely authentic, which is wonderful. This particular Trade Aid store is quite on the smaller side of things, but they still offer a lot of great things for purchase, I particularly like their collection of candles and scarves here. The staff are also very friendly here, and are always up for a chat, especially when you ask them about the organisations they help, and the places they've traveled to, to find the goods, it makes for a very interesting story.

One of the most useful and chaotic stores I've ever been in, Look Sharp Store does what other…read moredollar stores try (and fail) to do. It's clean, well laid out and easy to find whatever you're in the market for - from costumes to dress socks, candles to key rings, Look Sharp has it all... and it's cheap! Many times I've rushed to this store for that last minute item that will make a costume or decorated room really pop - I can't even count the number of times I've flipped on the hazard lights, parked in a place that really annoys the taxi drivers and run in to grab streamers, beer-drinking hats, striped armbands or paint. Seriously, anything silly and frivolous you could ever want is under this roof.

Look Sharp is the kind of shop that makes me want to cry. It's stuffed with impulse-buys and…read moreplastic, plastic, plastic junk as far as the eye can see. I can understand why people get excited about it though- there's so much cheap stuff and it does all have a purpose...it's just that the purpose is usually one day of being a St Paddy's day costume or a party decoration, and then being chucked. I get even more moralistic when I think of the wages the people are paid who make this stuff that. But don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I never buy anything plastic or made in a developing country. I just don't want to see a whole shop full of the stuff. It brings me down.