As most will be aware I am seldom without a candle flickering away in the background and I have worked my way through just about every candle brand within the UK. One of the most famous, well loved and easily accessible candle companies here in the UK has to be Yankee so with that in mind I thought I'd share a little guide on what products I think are worth splashing the cash on, what to avoid and a few other tips too.
Of course I won't touch on fragrance choices as that is personal and what I love others may well loathe.
Candles
First of don't waste your money on the samplers (the small votive candles that retail for around £2), the small jars or small tumblers, neither have all that great a scent throw. I completely understand that not everyone has nor wants to splash out on what is essentially a chunk of scented wax but when you do decide to make a candle purchase surely you want some sort of fragrance from it? Neither does much at in terms of scent rather than provide a flickering glow and the slightest scent should you hoover over it - I don't recommend that especially if you have long nose hairs ha! Saying that they are the best option for dinner tables etc as they have no scent power what so ever. If you do purchase a Yankee Candle go for the medium jars/tumblers or the large jars they are far more powerful in terms of fragrance and do last for weeks too. I personally find the larger size to be the best value for money and the one that easily fragrances a room or in my case my small little house not to mention you can use the empty glass containers for storage or as a pretty vase but more on that later.
Wax Tarts
In my opinion this is the best budget option and also the method I would recommend for anyone who is fickle and likes to chop and change their home scent without spending a fortune. I kid you not when I say one quarter of a wax tart is about double the strength of a typical Yankee Candle in terms of scent and they truly do last forever. You can easily get around four nights of sensory indulgence from each 1/4 of a tart meaning one little £1.50 wax tart can last you the best part of two weeks (purely dependant on how many hours you leave it to burn). Unlike the candles you can blend a few wax tarts together to form your own unique blend. I am a huge fan of Yankee Wax Tarts and do recommend the traditional tea light burners (easier to clean and cheaper) over the electrical burners.
Misc
I have tried both the tea lights and scented room sprays and found neither to my taste. The tea lights aren't quite as poorly scented as the sampler votive's but they are not on par with the wax tarts or the larger candles. I think you are meant to burn several at a time but to me that seems both expensive and wasteful. The rooms sprays are highly concentrated and do beautifully scent but I personally prefer room sprays with aromatherapy benefits nothing more, nothing less. I do think they are a great candle alternative for those that can not burn candles for whatever reason (pets, allergies or accommodation rules).
Yankee Simply Home
This is basically Yankee's more budget friendly range i.e they are cheaper and tend to feature more muted colours of wax so they are more fitting with typical home décor. It is worth noting that although cheaper many of the scents are the same but with different names i.e Simply Home Vanilla Frosting is identical to Vanilla Cupcake only a little more wallet friendly.You can spot this range in supermarkets and B&Q and it features both candles of various sizes and wax tarts. A few have asked in the past if they are authentic and yes they are - I deem Simply Home to be a diffusion line and truthfully prefer the style of jars to the regular line up.
Cleaning/Recycling
Wax tarts can be a nuisance to remove from the burners but I have found that if you allow it to cool and harden completely before popping it into the freezer for 20 minutes it makes removal so much easier. To remove (once the wax is frozen) I simply take a blunt knife and wedge it under the frozen wax - it then simply pops out in a solid disk that can be reused should you wish. I find the same method applies to remove the dregs of wax from the glass containers only I recommend removing the wick with the wax is still somewhat warm and soft as the heat melts the glue.
Where I Purchase
I tend to use www.yankeecandle.co.uk for the new launches as they more often or not launch the scents in the UK before anyone else. More often than not I use www.yankeedirect.com as they are much cheaper (hello two for £25 on large jars - link) and deliver the next day for what most brands charge for 5-10 delivery (£3). For more rare or a great deal on wax tarts I rely on eBay I don't use any seller in particular just whoever has what I am looking for at the time. If in town (Glasgow) I will more often than not stop by the Yankee cart outside Boots in St.Enoch Centre (www.scentedscotland.com) as it is reasonably priced and often has US exclusives.
I hope that helps but if you have any questions do let me know below and I'll do my best to answer.
I have never tried the freezer trick for wax tarts. I just light it like normal for literally 5/10 seconds, press my finger on it and it slides right out with no mess :) xxx
ReplyDeleteI find that the samplers are hit and miss - some are amazing, some aren't so x
ReplyDeleteI only use samplers just as that a sample to see wither or not i like a certain sent or not, I have so may yankee candles it's ridiculous lol xx
ReplyDeleteHaha. Funny, I have just been to the store to buy some candles. Left with nothing as I coundn't make up my mind. I like Calvin Klein candles. Fig is my favourite
ReplyDeleteI love the samplers, but now I've read this I'm more inclined to get the bigger ones or the wax tarts now you've mentioned this! I love a good candle :) XO
ReplyDeleteThanks for this I've been trying to decide what to buy, think il go for the tarts!
ReplyDeleteLiza | Glambeautys | YouTube
Love Yankee Candles! Although I tend to stick to the ones I know and like :)
ReplyDeleteHmm maybe...
Such a helpful post! I'm going to check out the wax tarts as they seem like the best option for me :) Thanks lovely! Raspberrykiss xo
ReplyDeleteI love yankee candles, I always treat my mum to some at Christmas!
ReplyDeletehttp://laurenslittleblogs.blogspot.co.uk/
xx
I never even heard of them before seeing them everywhere in blogger/youtube and the tarte thing is so cute o.o if I can find them I'll try for sure, thanks for sharing these tips :)
ReplyDeleteI've been getting really into candles recently so I think my next purchase will be some wax tarts once I'm done with the ones I have. Great post :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.blogthiswithhannah.blogspot.co.uk
Haven't seen them before- but they look great as gifts.
ReplyDeletexx
http://handfulofglitterintheair.blogspot.com.au/
I'm gonna share this post with a close friend she collects candles... she even has a shelving unit FULL of candles that she brought just because she liked the smell... not to burn! ha ha :) Great post. Sparkles Clare Elise www.clareelisesparkles.com
ReplyDeleteGreat post, have been trying a couple of samplers and had been disappointed at the lack of fragrance, will try some wax tarts. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI love Yankee Candle products. I have the cherry room diffuser. It last for ages, fills the whole room with and smells devine. I love candles but you can't leave them on all day as your house may burn down! The diffuser keeps going for months. My friends always comment how nice my house smells :)
ReplyDeleteThe Thrifty Magpies Nest
sounds good is that the black cherry
DeleteAh great post. I just bought a Yankee Candle wax tart burner to use as a normal oil burner as it was the nicest and cheapest oil burner I could find on Amazon (only like 7!) ... but now I might actually buy some wax tarts, before I was using The Body Shop's pomegranate and raspberry oil.
ReplyDeleteI was delighted when I seen the garden sweet pea candle in tesco from the simply home range. It smells the exact same as the original. I have at least 10 empty Yankee candle jars in my room that I'm using or storage, so it will be nice to have a different jar for once :)
ReplyDeleteI've never tried the freezer trick to remove my wax tarts from the burner! That's such a good idea, I'll definitely be trying it :) xx
ReplyDeleteI love candles, struggle to justify the amount you pay though. The wax tarts seem like a great idea though.
ReplyDeletehttp://scrbillingpages.blogspot.co.uk/
I absolutely LOVE yankee candles! Slowly collecting them all:) x
ReplyDeleteMy Blog> http://lollieloofficial.blogspot.co.uk/
I have a burner that expressly advises against putting in a freezer on the label so have just tried to remove my first wax tart using Amy's( see first post) method of slightly warming for ten seconds. It worked fine - and safely.
ReplyDeleteI have been collecting Yankee candles for a few months. My husband hated the fact that there was a burning candle and the thought of me being hap hazard and stumbling. I bought an electric melting light for the wax tarts.
ReplyDeleteI could figure out how to change the tart, so I bought more glass trays to use different types of scented tarts.
Knowing I can remove them so easily has helped tremendously.
Thanks for the tip.
😃😃
Ive just bought the electric melt item for yankee candles and a few of the melts to use with it. Can i leave it one for several hours or should i turn it off after a couple and how long does each melt last - fragrance wise (approx.). Thanks
ReplyDeleteI got my pillar candles at White Paris Luxury. It was the cheapest place I could find. They were £15.95/candle.
ReplyDeleteYankee Simply Home i find these alot stronger smelling right as from now the tarts it is i have only brought 2 large ones and was disapointed
ReplyDeleteI have used the large jars in the past but find they tend to burn down the middle and leave lots of the candle all round the edges but when the wick gets to the bottom and won't light any more it seems a waste ? Anyone else had this ? Xx
ReplyDeleteThis is the reason I only buy large Yankee Pillar Candles, last longer than large jars and burns evenly all the way down. Check out temptation gift.com they are £15.99 instead of £19.99 and free delivery if you spend £50
DeleteI've just had this! I had one that had about an inch or so left in and I lit it and it went out within 10 minutes then I tried to relight it and it wouldn't light at all when I held the lighter over it and just sort of sparked in the glass and gave off gas/candle fumes
ReplyDelete= cough/headache and a binned candle!