FAQ

What is Auro & Co?

Auro & Co is a UK-based, nature-inspired lifestyle brand for thoughtful homes, meaningful gifts and quiet moments of reflection. We curate candles, home fragrance, aromatherapy, crystals and natural gemstones, bath and body, journals and home objects, alongside The Auro Journal, our editorial library on calm living, scent, seasonal living, gifting and crystal symbolism. The name comes from the Latin aurum, meaning gold — the warm quality of light a room has when it feels settled.

Where are you based and where do you ship from?

We are based in the United Kingdom and dispatch orders from the UK. Specific delivery times and costs are set out in our shipping policy, which is the best place to check current details for your region.

Do you ship internationally?

Available destinations and rates are shown at checkout and in our shipping policy. If your country isn't listed there, it isn't currently served — but the list is the live source of truth, so it's worth checking at checkout.

What is your returns and refund policy?

Returns and refunds are handled under our refund policy, which sets out the timeframe and the condition items need to be in. If something arrives damaged or faulty, email us at office@radence.co.uk and we'll help put it right.

How are orders packaged, and can I send a gift directly to someone?

Orders are packed carefully for safe transit, and many gift-ready options are grouped in our Gift Packaging edit. You can have an order delivered straight to a recipient by entering their address at checkout rather than your own.

I'm buying a gift but don't know what they'd like — where do I start?

Begin with the occasion or the person rather than the product. Our curated edits — Gift Ideas, Housewarming Gifts, Self-Care Gifts and Birthday Gifts, plus price-based edits like Gifts Under £25 and Gifts Under £50 — group pieces by moment and budget. For something more personal, the Explore by Meaning collection lets you choose by the quality you'd like a gift to stand for, such as calm, confidence or new beginnings.

Are your products vegan, handmade or made in the UK?

Many are. We group vegan-friendly products in the Vegan collection, handcrafted pieces in Handmade, and UK-made items in Made in the UK, so you can shop by those values directly. Individual product pages note the relevant details where available.

How should I care for my candles?

On the first lighting, let the wax melt fully across the whole surface — this prevents tunnelling and gives a more even burn for the life of the candle. Trim the wick to about 5mm before each use, keep candles away from draughts, and avoid burning for more than around four hours at a time.

What's the difference between soy and paraffin candles?

Soy wax is plant-based, tends to burn more slowly and at a lower temperature, and releases scent gradually — which many people prefer for rooms they spend time in. Paraffin throws scent more strongly and quickly. Our soy candles are grouped separately so you can choose by preference.

How do I choose a crystal?

There's no single right way, but two approaches help. You can choose by the stone itself — its colour, its form, the mineral you're drawn to — or by meaning, using our Explore by Meaning collection, which groups crystals by the qualities they have traditionally been associated with, such as clarity, peace, protection or new beginnings. Many people simply settle on the piece they keep returning to.

What does "traditionally associated with" mean on your site?

It's how we describe the symbolism and folklore that have attached to crystals and gemstones over centuries, without making claims about what they do. When we say a stone is "traditionally associated with calm," we mean that association exists in cultural and historical tradition — not that the stone produces any physical or emotional effect.

Does Auro & Co make healing or medical claims?

No. We present crystals, scents and ritual objects through history, symbolism and tradition, never as treatments. We don't claim that any product cures, heals, or affects health, mood or the body. This is a deliberate principle, and it's why our language stays rooted in meaning and heritage rather than wellness promises.

Are your crystals genuine and natural?

We source natural gemstones and crystals and identify them by mineral type. Natural stones vary in colour, pattern and inclusion from piece to piece — that variation is a mark of a genuine specimen rather than a flaw, so the item you receive won't be an exact match to a photograph.

How do I look after crystals?

Most need little more than occasional dusting or a gentle rinse, but a few have practical quirks worth knowing: selenite and halite are soft and water-soluble, so keep them dry, while amethyst, citrine and rose quartz can fade in prolonged direct sunlight. Beyond that, many people enjoy traditional cleansing customs — rinsing under water, passing a stone through botanical smoke, or resting it out under the moon — as part of long-standing practice rather than for any claimed effect.

What is aromatherapy, and how do I use essential oils at home?

Aromatherapy is the use of aromatic plant oils for their natural scent and the atmosphere they create. At home, a few drops in a diffuser or oil burner is the simplest way to fragrance a room, and oils can also be blended into a carrier oil for massage. Essential oils are concentrated, so they're diluted before any skin contact and kept away from children and pets. We describe oils by their scent and traditional use, not as remedies.

What's the difference between essential oils and fragrance oils?

Essential oils are extracted from plants and carry that plant's natural aroma. Fragrance or aroma oils are blended to create a particular scent and are often used in diffusers and home fragrance. Both have their place — the choice usually comes down to whether you want a single botanical note or a designed blend.

What are Auro Concepts?

Auro Concepts are original frameworks we've created for thinking about home, scent and meaning. They include Scent Biography (the personal map of scents tied to your memories), Atmosphere Anchors (the few sensory elements that make a space feel like yours), Seasonal Reset Mapping (aligning your home to the turning seasons), Gift Memory Theory (the idea that gifts are remembered for emotional resonance, not price), The Quiet Objects Principle, and Ritual Anchoring. They're explored across The Auro Journal.

What is The Auro Journal?

The Auro Journal is our editorial library — long-form writing on calm living, scent and memory, seasonal living, thoughtful gifting and crystal symbolism. It's where the thinking behind the products lives, written to teach or inspire rather than to sell.

What is The Swan Observer Collection?

The Swan Observer Collection is a storytelling and charitable project inspired by wildlife observed at Royal Victoria Dock in London. It sits apart from our standard retail range and belongs to our wider nature-observation work, which also includes the forthcoming Three Nests, One Dock.

Is Auro & Co a spiritual or religious brand?

No. We draw on symbolism, folklore and heritage from many traditions because they're meaningful and beautiful, but we aren't tied to any belief system and our products are for anyone. You're welcome to read as much or as little meaning into them as you like.