Basket Case: What to Buy at Flamingo Estate, According to Our Editors

Welcome to Basket Case, wherein your trusty VICE editors scour the proverbial aisles of our favorite online retailers to bring you a smorgasbord of the absolute best things to buy. In this installment, we're exploring the bounty of Flamingo Estate, the luxury lifestyle brand from Los Angeles, California that is hand-crafting heirloom tomato candles, organic pantry goods, and Big Sur sea salt soap.

If the Hanging Gardens of Babylon had started a lifestyle brand, it would’ve looked something like Flamingo Estate. In the short time that the seven-acre estate-turned-lifestyle-brand—yes, it’s a real place—has been in full swing, the Los Angeles oasis has become legendary for hosting Salvador Dalí-inspired dinner parties, cooking up whimsical cookware collaborations, and positioning itself as a lifestyle brand that really, truly gives a damn about crafting wares that don’t just fill your pantry, but embellish your life. As the estate puts it, “We fight for elegance and imagination, with green thumbs and middle fingers.” Since its founding in 2020, the fruits of those busy fingers have yielded orange blossom saffron honey, a body wash that transports you to an Alpine lake, a mid-century modern gingerbread house, and many more sensory treats.

Flamingo Estate’s steward is Richard Christiansen, the founder of a successful creative agency who grew up on a honey farm in Australia, and decided to pour all of his talents into building out a living, breathing lifestyle brand in California. So, in true Hollywood style, he bought a sprawling 1940s LA bungalow from an eccentric local, and turned it into a flamingo-pink estate with a working orchard and some neo-Tony Duquette energy; I imagine that stepping inside Flamingo Estate’s gates must be what movie stars felt like when they visited Beverly Hills’ iconic Dawnridge estate in its heyday, only, Rihanna would be there, bathing in the garden with a mugwort pre-roll.

Urban farm, pleasure palace, apothecary—call it whatever you want, but you can never call Flamingo Estate run-of-the-mill; even the brand’s compost is elegant. There is, however, a lot of goodies to wade through, which is why we’ve made you a cheat sheet to the best the brand has to offer, from organic pantry staples to one-of-a-kind collaborations (wait until you taste LeBron James’ honey).

Slip into a linen robe, and let’s get you a treat worthy of Nebuchadnezzar.

Armchair travel with the estate’s tome

Listen, Martha Stewart wrote the intro to Flamingo Estate’s art book, which is filled with gorgeous shots of the grounds, personal anecdotes from the estate’s founder, and over 150 recipes for everything from lobster dishes to swanky cocktails. Get one for yourself, and one as a housewarming gift for that friend who finally got their own place.

Hate overbearing, artificial scents? Cop a fresh tomato candle

A Flamingo Estate bestseller, the Roma Heirloom Tomato Candle is meant to conjure “memories of late summer dinner parties in Sicily” and has a 4.9-star average rating on the site from reviewers, one of which writes that “the scent feels very fresh without being floral,” while another fan says it “reminds me of of the first time my Grandmother showed me how to plant a garden as a kid.” That’s some Ratatouille rizz.

This body oil has replaced my perfume

I’ll never know what the Oracle of Delphi smelled like, but it was probably this Clarity Body Oil, which really does feel like anointing your skin in the morning dew of an ancient forest. The oil is made with Douglas fir, vetiver, angelica root, sandalwood, and more earthy ingredients that feel great on my skin after a shower, and leave me smelling faintly like an enchanted Miyazaki kingdom for the rest of the day.

Soap that transports you to Big Sur

Are you getting that springtime itch to hit the road and go camping in Big Sur, California? Of course you are, but until that tax return hits, the next best thing is copping Flamingo Estate’s Exfoliating Morning Bar Soap, which is made with poppyseeds, babassu seed oil, French blue claw that purportedly draws out impurities, and sea salt harvested from the coast of Big Sur for exfoliation. Plus, a percentage of every soap sold goes to Farmer’s Footprint, a coalition dedicated to fostering regenerative agricultural practices.

“The best EVOO I’ve ever had”

Speaking of antiquity and oils, did you know that Olympic champions used to get doused in the highest quality of olive oil), only to scrape the excess off their bodies and onto their doting fans? That’s where I imagine this heritage olive oil was born. Described by one reviewer as “the best EVOO I’ve ever had,” Flamingo Estate’s liquid gold has a five-star average rating on the site, and is sourced from a multi-generational family farm in Ojai, California whose olive trees are over 150 years old. As another fan writes about the velvety, rich taste, “I work in the food and beverage industry and have been honored to taste many olive oils over the years [and] this is one of my very favorites I have ever tried. Its freshness sings.”

Savannah and LeBron James’ honey

A big part of Flamingo Estate’s magic is found in its collaborative projects, which includes a range of honeys sourced from the yards of Ai Weiwei, Tiffany Hadish, Will Ferrell, Savannah and LeBron James, and others. All of the luxurious honeys’ proceeds go to the celeb’s charity of choice (in this case, the LeBron James Family Foundation) and pack a unique flavor profile; The James’ honey was ‘seasoned’ by the surrounding Chinese elm and eucalyptus trees to form a rich, complex taste that will pair great on some tangy goat cheese bruschetta. It’s a splurge, but a pretty sweet present for a diehard NBA fan.

Something sweet for Mother’s Day

We can always count on Flamingo Estate to turn out some bangin’ seasonal/holiday drops, including this Mother’s Day Bon Bon Set. The limited edition box includes 16 organic treats from Twenty-Four Blackbirds, a chocolatier just up the coast in Santa Barbara, and will delight Mommie Dearest with a mouth symphony of small-batch chocolates that include flavors pulled from the estate’s pantry, such as its Blackberry Vinegar and Wildflower Honey.

Live in LA? Get the mushroom subscription box

Remember: If it’s local, Flamingo Estate is all about it. The brand has curated everything from weekly bloom bundles to local produce boxes that are available for delivery/subscription if you live in the LA area. Find us getting goblincore by the artisanal mushroom box, which is a symphony of blue oyster, black pearl oyster, Italian oyster (all the bangin’ oysters, really), lion's mane, and king trumpet mushrooms. Truly a garden troll’s wet dream.

The best gift sets

Looking for a classy wedding present? The perfect birthday present for the dad who just discovered Stanley Tucci’s cooking show, and won’t shut-up about EVOO? Flamingo Estate is my go-to for bougie gift sets. The Cook’s Kitchen Gift Set includes some of the brand’s most cult-fave items, such as the olive oil, art book, California wildflower honey, and persimmon vinegar, while its candle gift set unites the heirloom tomato, rosemary, and sage candles for a botanical treat.

May your garden bounty be filled with flamingos this spring.

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.