A Guide to Yankee Candles


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.