My Story

Let me tell you a little about myself. My name is Barbara Browning, and yes, I am a real person, living on a real farm and this is a real business. I've been to those websites that are made up to seem real and this is not one of them. I'm married, and have raised four children to adulthood. So now my husband and I have the house all to ourselves.

I'm originally from the Philadelphia area, but always wanted to live on a farm. When my husband inherited the family farm, we jumped at the chance to move to central Kentucky. The farm is situated among rolling hills. We have our own pond and a stream. Neither one of us knows how to grow or raise a thing but we both like the quieter location and the slower pace of life. With the children living on their own and me only working part time, I've looked for ways to fill my time and earn extra income.

After several failed attempts, I was researching to find yet another opportunity, and stumbled upon the Mia Bella's Gourmet Candles website. I started reading and like what I saw. I started clicking on links to more information and was intrigued. So I contacted them for more information. I was contacted by e-mail (so I didn't have to listen to any heavy-handed sales pitch) by the person who became my sponsor. For several days she sent me e-mails describing her experiences and links for more in-depth information. She also sent me a flyer and scent samples. After smelling those samples I went straight to the computer and signed up. Just as advertised, those samples were the best smelling candle I ever smelled.

When the boxes arrived, the first thing I noticed was that I could smell the candles right through the box. When I opened the box, there were a dozen closed jars and the scent was even stronger. My husband and I sat on the floor together and opened and sniffed each jar. Each was better than the last. Even the dog wanted in on the action (she tried to lick the Hot Apple Pie). They all smell exactly like the scent on the label.

On to box two. We sniffed the Car Air Fresheners. Wow! We have an old farm truck that smells like its been sitting out in the rain, open, for years. One Fresh Apple Car Air Freshener cured that! Next we tried the Sweet Orange & Chili Pepper Hand Wash. I had cut onions for dinner and I can never get that smell off my hands. Sometimes, it's still there 2 days later. One use of the Hand Wash eliminated the onion smell for good. Around here, onions are in big use. I expect to sell a lot of Hand Wash.

The next day, I tried the Grapefruit & Lavender Body Bar. It has a soft floral scent with a hint of tartness. I was literally squeaky clean, but also softer. I have winter eczema that leaves very unpleasant rough patches on my arms and legs. After one week my arms were clear and only one small patch was left on my legs. I've tried for years to deal with these patches and the Body Bar is the only thing that has really worked.

After 5 days, I finally choose a candle to burn, French Vanilla. I let the candle burn for a while and noticed that it had a completely melted top surface. No dimple around the wick like regular wax candles. The 2 wick design and the soy wax formula create a slow even burn. And the scent is wonderful!!! After burning the candle off and on for several days, the candle had burned down less than 1/4 inch. All this convinced me I would never be happy with any other candles. I went from room to room collecting my old candles, emptied my candle storage bin, and threw them all away.

My few experiences with the Gourmet Candles and Gourmet Body Products has given me more talking point when showing my products to customers. But the "smell and sell" technique works all by itself. I'm also wary of sales pitches, but these products really do sell themselves.