Candles
 

Does anyone know of a place to get good candles? The kind I'm looking for are the kind that burn down, they don't just go down around the wick, but the wax goes down as you burn them. I hope that makes sense. I got a few candles from IKEA so of course they are junk, but nicer ones I've gotten from Pier 1 do the same thing. Any suggestions?

I think the Bath and Body Works/White Barn Candle burns pretty even.

Pottery Barn candles smell great, but the wider pillar candles (not tapers) are designed to burn down the middle in a 1-2" column. But they burn evenly and for a really long time! I bought a couple of Claret pillars for Christmas time and they smell amazing.

I like the ones from Yankee Candle. I think they burn down really well.

Re: Candles
 

I'm not exactly sure what you are describing, but I am a big fan of my jar candles from Yankee Candle. I *love* them. And they don't just burn down around the wick - because they're in a jar :)

(I also love the "car jar" air fresheners, and those melty things that go in the pots with the tea lights, whatever they're called ...)

For other Yankee Candle fans - what are some of your favorite scents? I like Mandarin Cranberry, Coconut Bay, Macintosh ... ooh, and Christmas Cookie for the holidays :D

That's the first thing I thought of when I read her question.


I love Yankee candle Macintosh (I have the votives, the hand soap, and the sanitzer wipes) and I liked (as in, I would smell it when I went into the story, but I wouldn't ever buy one for my hom) Fireside, but I think it's discontinued.

I do love the partylite candles that I have... but they're sorta expensive. I've gotten some good deals on clearance yankee candles. But there's a big difference. Most of the scents I think are stronger and better in the partylite (with some exceptions- like I don't think partylite's macintosh had much of a scent when burned). Partylite do burn a lot cleaner and very even.

Thorn Apple, by D. L. & Co., is most assuredly the top tier candle. Anything else is a poor substitute, and thererfore, bottom tier.

I love Yankee Candles' Lavender.

How do you find the ones on clearance? Isn't that just discontinued scents?

Definitely Partylite. I love them so much, I'm a part-time consultant.

i make my own candles, so i don't buy them from others anymore (except my other friends who make them). they don't leave much wax around and smell so much better. :) it's an expensive hobby, but oh so much fun!

Love Partylite... only buy them a few times a year because they are expensive. But they are worth it.

The candles in Jars are great...hey even some of the ones from Target burn really well and are very fragrant….you may also want to look into Soy Candles, I have a few of those as well and burn better in some cases.

I think the answer to your question about burning evenly is that you need to let the candles burn for about 4+ hours when your first burn them. Someone at Yankee Candle told me to make the candle burn evenly, it must be burned for several hours the first time in order to make it burn evenly all the way down. I tried it and this person was right! I don't think it matters what kind of candle you have, it is just how you burn it the first that dictates how the rest of the candle will burn. Hope that helps!

I heard that, too.

My personal favorite is Carribean Fruits from Yankee. I can only find it at Bed Bath & Beyond. It's not on their website, yet I still find it at the store every time I go. One of these days I'm going to stock up like it's my job in case they do discontinue it. I burn that scent daily at work all day long.

www.sensationalsoycandles.com

I bought the Amaretto one - liked it so much that I gave some as Christmas presents. My family loved them, too.

I also like Yankee Candle.

I just get annoyed when I try to light a candle and its super hard because the wick is too deep. I usually can't find a long candle lighter so I just use a normal one. Thanks for the suggestions!

I like the Lighthouse candles...they're sort of a regional thing, so I'm not sure if you can get them outside of this area, though. They smell delicious!

if you don't have a long match around (i have a grill lighter type thing that i got at walmart that I use for my hard to light candles), light a piece of spaghetti or some other long pasta and use that

I like Yankee, I also have a bunch of Gold Canyon candles that I like a lot.

Have you tried the AWESOME Bic lighter that moves? You can put the tip at 3 different angles. It's made specially for jar candles so you don't have to tip them to light them. I have those lying around all over the house.

The rule with lighting a candle for the first time - burn it an hour for every inch from the wick to the outside (the radius.)

So, you wouldn't have to burn a tealite for hours :) but the bigger the candle, the longer you should burn it the 1st time.

Oh my gosh that is exactly what I was going to say. I am obsessed with Lighthouse Candles. It is a little place in Salt Lick. These candles are the best I have ever seen. They do not just burn down the middle. They burn all the way around. The directions that you can get even say that you need to burn them for long periods of time. They smell really good too. They are like 14 for a big one and i think 6 for the smaller ones. I used to like Yankee Candles until I found this place but I don't go there anymore.

Candle snuffers are your friend, they keep your wicks centered and eliminate that "wax blown out all over the place" problem. Also, make sure you are trimming your wicks to about 1/4" on all candles but tealights and 3-wicks (or bigger multi-wicks). From trial and error I've learned that if a jar candle measures over 3" across to leave the wick a bit longer for better burning.

More tips to make any candle happier (sure it's a bit of a shameless plug, but still good tips for candles in general!)
http://www.partylite.us/detail/lang_...candlecare.htm

burning one hour per inch is usually the best way to go, although if it is a 4in candle and is about to spill over after 2 hours, go ahead and blow it out. The wick is too big. this creates a "memory" melt pool for the wax and it is less likely to tunnel down the middle. also, once you blow it out, gently round the edges in with your hands. this is called "candle hugging." It helps keep the sides strong (you've probably seen the little slits that can all of a sudden become big slits and spill everywhere).

Just b/c you do this does not guarantee a good burn. I've seen candles from Pier 1 and other places with little bitty wicks that look like floss for a 3 or 4inch diameter candle. There is no way that candle was designed to burn right.

Most people who make their own candles or who started out making their own and then grew bigger will try very hard to make sure the right wick is in the right size candle. A LOT of factors go into picking the right wick for each candle size, fragrance and type of wax.

My general rules for picking a good candle: 1 - Make sure the wick is as close to center as possible. You can't really change that once the candle is made, so don't think you can fit is as it burns. 2 - The wick thickness should make sense - like above, if it's a piece of floss for anything larger than 2in, run far away. :eek:

3. If you are buying from some who makes their own (like me), go ahead and ask what kind of wax (parrafin, soy, etc) is used and what sort of testing is done. Just don't ask how you can do it yourself. I've spent years making and perfecting mine, so don't think i'm going to tell you all my secrets. :) If a chandler cannot tell you these basic things, they probably don't know what they are doing and don't care much about the quality of the candle.

and always remember to never leave a burning candle unattended (including while someone is sleeping) or with in 8-12 inches of something flammable (and that is a minimum).

happy burning!

Tyler candle co. makes great smelling candles. they sell them at gift shops around here. the lime light one smells the best and they are very strong. i gave a bunch out for christmas and everyone loved them. they also burn pretty evenly.

Believe it or not, the candles from Wal*Mart are GREAT. I have a Hazelnut Coffee one that fills up the room better then my Yankee Candles plus they are cheaper too! The bad thing is, my school sells Yankee Candles as a fund-raiser. I support my school which is good, but I spend waaay to much an candles (it is so hard not to!!):)

Has anyone used the jar warmers (they're like hot plates for candles)? I've never used one myself, but I would think they would make for the most even burn. But, like I said, I wouldn't know from experience.

Yeah :) Every company calls them something different, but mine is a Yankee Candle "tart warmer" (my mom, my fiance's mom, and my roommate are also big fans of these). It works with a tealight to heat up the wax, and it's great - the scent fills up the room better than anything else I have, and it's pretty!

My personal favorites are from the Old Virginia Candle Company. They are more aromatic than any other candle I've ever had.
http://www.oldvirginiacandle.com/

I bought a candle warmer a few weeks ago at Hobby Lobby because my sister had been going on and on about hers. She bought hers because it stopped my nephew from trying to blow the candles out all the time. Mine doesn't have a tealight though, I just plug it in and set the candle on it.

I use candle warmers at home for my glass jar candles--they're great. I also got one for each daughter at college since they can't have open flames in their dorms, although I had to make sure and warn one of them not to use hers with a non-glassed in candle. :rolleyes:

I love yankee andles and Gold Canyon. I also like the jar candles that Home interior carry.

I use one all the time. I have some second candles with bad wicks I got from a local candle company, and that is the perfect solution for them. They get heated up and the wax gets melted, but you don't have to burn them.

OPhiARen, you're talking about tarts which are completely different. A jar warmer is (as SydneyK said) like a hot plate. You put the jar on it and plug it in. It's quite fabulous and you don't have to go through a million tea lights.

Hey, that factory is right down the road from me :) They have nice things and twice a year they have a huge tent sale. You can't find parking within a mile when they have that. I love going there and getting the candles that have slight color defects. They work just as well and are a heck of a lot cheaper. They also have the fun candles you can give away as gifts that have money in them, from $2-$50. I loved those when I was younger.

Hm ... I've never seen anything like that. Interesting. So you just put any kind of jar candle on it?

Re: Candles
 

Please give this company a try: Sweet Scents Candles The quality of the candles are wonderful; especially the three wick ones. They have an incredible selection of awesome, unusual scents and the prices are extremely reasonable ($16 for a three wick tin).

I truly believe you'll love them and, no, I don't work for the company! :)

Another vote for PartyLite... they cost too much money than I am personally comfortable paying for candles, but then I just remind myself of how long they last and how lovely they smell.

I just bought a really nice pineapple candle from Wal-Mart. It's one of their "Think Spring" things. Evan Scent candles are popular around this area, and one of my chapter alums makes them :)