Someone at Flamingo Estate has clearly been practicing their spells.
In celebration of Practical Magic 2, the Los Angeles estate has created Impractical Magic, a deliciously witchy edition of its Seasonal Harvest Box filled with potions, oracle cards, mugwort, drinking chocolate and enough mystical accoutrements to make the Owens sisters proud.
Flamingo Estate enlisted a wonderfully eclectic coven of healers, herbalists, perfumers, farmers, artists, astrologers, cooks and makers, including Carla Schwiderski, Annee de Mamiel, Donna Bayliss, Goth Shakira, Spellbound Sky and Blanca Carreño. Together they created ten objects, each with its own ritual, around the very useful pursuits of protection, rest, desire, intuition, courage, clearing and change. You know, everyday household necessities.
First, Light Something
Any respectable witchy evening needs candlelight, and Flamingo Estate wisely starts there. The Mandrake Candle is an ode to the Owens sisters with cedarwood, smoke, warm clove and spiced resin, a combination described as rising “like a spell taking flight.” We imagine it also pairs beautifully with an emotionally questionable decision made after 11 p.m.
For the bedroom, there’s Midnight Woods Pillow Mist, blending Donna Bayliss’s farm-grown lavender with ylang ylang, clove and cedarwood for what the brand calls a nocturnal spell for pillows, sheets and sleep. Then there’s Feelixir, Annee de Mamiel’s blend of rosewood, jasmine, mandarin, grapefruit, pink pepper and neroli, which is infused in singing bowls and powdered crystal. Regular perfume suddenly feels a little underachieving.
For Protection, Clearing + General Energetic Housekeeping
Because apparently setting boundaries can be considerably more glamorous than muting someone, healer Carla Schwiderski created the Field Protection Flower Essence using ten solarized Brazilian flower essences to clear and strengthen the energetic field. Flamingo Estate calls it “a boundary in a bottle,” which frankly feels like something that should be sold by the case.
Schwiderski also created the Luxor Copper Symbol from sacred Egyptian geometry, intended to protect entrances, steady sleep and clear a room. And for moments when things require a little more smoke and ceremony, the Mugwort Ritual Clearing Wands are made with sustainably sourced Oregon mugwort by Mark Phillips and Martin Anguiano of Spellbound Sky. Burn to clear what no longer belongs: bad energy, stale habits, suspiciously recurring exes. Interpret freely.
Even bathing gets a little spell work. Blanca Carreño makes the Fennel, Vanilla, Liquorice & Shiso Soap in the Flamingo Estate apothecary with oils and clay. The instructions are simple: wash slowly, change quickly. Suddenly taking a shower sounds less like hygiene and more like character development.
When in Doubt, Consult the Cards
Of course there are Oracle Cards. Artist and astrologer Goth Shakira created a 22-card deck pairing ancient herbs with sacred asteroids, designed to reveal what you already know. Which is really all we ask of divination: please validate the decision we have already made.
And no séance should be attempted on an empty stomach. The Love Bomb Oaxacan Drinking Chocolates come from Blanca Carreño’s family ancestral preparation, combining cacao with spices, chile and vanilla and milled by Chef Fátima Juárez at Komal. Is it technically a love potion? No. Are we drinking it by candlelight while pulling oracle cards anyway? Absolutely.
Finishing the box are oversized Fire Matches made for candles, altars, baths, dinner tables and, according to Flamingo Estate, bad moods on their way out the door. Every spell needs a spark, after all.
A Little Magic Never Hurt Anyone
What makes the whole thing work is that Flamingo Estate never veers into novelty witch territory. The magic here comes from mugwort, lavender, jasmine, cacao, cedarwood, clove, vanilla, flower essences, smoke and fire, taking ingredients that have been associated with ritual for generations and turning them into objects you might actually use. It’s mystical without becoming costume-y, playful without feeling like a Halloween aisle, and just woo-woo enough to make us wonder whether our energetic field has been the problem all along.
The Flamingo Estate Seasonal Harvest Box is available now, while Practical Magic 2 arrives in theaters September 10. Until then, we’ll be lighting the Mandrake candle, pulling a card and waiting for someone else to make the midnight margaritas.
