Retail Candle Reviews

[TallTayl]

Let’s give this a try. The goal is to share your experiences with candles purchased through typical retail outlets. 

 

What moved you to buy this candle?

wha was the retail price? 

Wax type?

what do you love about it?

first impressions of burn?

overall thought?

 

please,  let’s keep this constructive so we can all learn.

[Moonstar]

I bought some BBW 3 wick candles . Marshmallow Fireside 

Sweater Weather  Campfire Coffee 

 

$12.99 each ( sale price ) 

wax type idk ?? 

First impression of burn was pretty good . Well the Sweater weather burned the hottest out of all of them . The more it burned  there was something I wasn't crazy about but Ct was awesome!

i love the 3 wicks and I'm a sucker 

for their labels & the names they choose . Marshmallow Fireside is my favorite!!!!! 

[ScentedPleasurez]

The best candle that I have found retail has got to be colonial candles. 

I loved the oval container. They are 22 oz and are $25 normally. 

I bought it because it was on clearance and the container.

Melon was the one that I picked up and while it didn't carry through the house it did the entire upstairs.

Pretty sure they are paraffin wax. 

They burned great, however halfway down the container was extremely hot, and by the time it was finished it was a decent amount of sooting which I'm sure some came from me tilting to blow out. Lol.

 

I make no weekly trips to Wal-Mart just to see the candle section. I take notes on what's empty on their shelves lol. Picked up a few melts to test since so many have been doing reviews on YouTube with them..

Edited October 19, 2018 by ScentedPleasurez

[Kerven]

By typical retail outlet do you mean places that sell their own brand or any place that sells candles? If the latter...

 

DW Homes Tobacco Noir 4oz

Got it because of the scent.

$2.99

Appears to be a paraffin, burns like a paraffin, but it's surprisingly creamy and off-white in color like a soy. Doesn't look like a "plastic" paraffin at all. I'm certain it's primarily paraffin with a good dose of additives. Although, come to think of it, it does resemble and burn similar to a coconut wax, but AFAIK DW Homes doesn't use coconut wax.

Packaging is nice, but the FO is what sold it. The cold throw is so good I don't bother lighting it anymore, just sit it nearby and let it do its work. Who needs a renuzit when you have one of these.

Not the greatest burn ever. Flame too large and too hot, made the glass very hot. Smoked a little. Extinguishing caused a peculiar sweet, "powdery" soot scent if that makes any sense. Mushroomed horribly, and wick broke when trying to trim.

I need to find a lab that'll take a wax sample and dupe the FO. Don't care about the wax, just want that FO. I like it that much. For the price, it's pretty good, maybe even a steal compared to high end 4oz candles! I tried their Teakwood Myrrh as well and, while not as strong a scent as the Tobacco Noir, it's nice.

[Jcandleattic]

I used to buy candles for comparison purposes only, but I have not bought a retail candle (from a typical retail outlet) in so many years, I can't answer this. I have become so much more confident in my own product, that I don't feel the need to compare my own stuff to anyone one else's especially ones commercially made. 

 

IF/WHEN I buy from a fellow candlemaker, it is solely for scent, and because I may not have that scent, can't make that scent, or want to see what it may smell like. 

[iansmommaya]

Hey y’all! I thought I would stop by a new shop today, thefuturempls.com

 

im not reviewing the whole shop right now, but the have that under 30 Instagram vibes. 

 

Thefuturempls.com/collections/crystals

 

i didn’t nuy any because AFAIK none of them are any of you!

 

here are pics. 

[iansmommaya]

Oh haha! That last one is a salve.

[iansmommaya]

[pughaus]

On 10/18/2018 at 10:15 PM, ScentedPleasurez said:

They burned great, however halfway down the container was extremely hot, and by the time it was finished it was a decent amount of sooting which I'm sure some came from me tilting to blow out. Lol.

 

I'm puzzled about this review because to me an extremely hot container and decent amount of soot  would = a failed test.  Makes me wonder about my priorities...

 

 

Edited October 26, 2018 by pughaus

[TallTayl]

On 10/23/2018 at 1:24 PM, Jcandleattic said:

I used to buy candles for comparison purposes only, but I have not bought a retail candle (from a typical retail outlet) in so many years, I can't answer this. I have become so much more confident in my own product, that I don't feel the need to compare my own stuff to anyone one else's especially ones commercially made. 

 

IF/WHEN I buy from a fellow candlemaker, it is solely for scent, and because I may not have that scent, can't make that scent, or want to see what it may smell like. 

I’m an excellent cook, yet still take pleasure eating at restaurants and friends homes...

[ScentedPleasurez]

11 hours ago, pughaus said:

I'm puzzled about this review because to me an extremely hot container and decent amount of soot  would = a failed test.  Makes me wonder about my priorities...

It was only hot at the top maybe the top quarter., and you shouldn't be messing with a container while burning anyway.i don't trim wicks  I do everything when burning one. Sorry you are puzzled. 

They are tall and skinny containers so I would expect them to get hot.

 

Edited October 26, 2018 by ScentedPleasurez

[Jenni Wix]

@ScentedPleasurez and @pughaus 

 

It could be problematic given that an imperfection can cause glass containers to break/explode if the temperature gets too high, causing the melt pool to ignite over whatever surface the candle was on. 

 

 @TallTayl stated the ASTM standard for a glass container to reach during a burn is about 170° F.  

 

It's a balancing act to reach full MP w/o the container getting too hot.  It's challenging.  (Especially when wicks want to curl and throw things off center).  So I've been measuring mine and blow it out if it's reached that point, weather I've got a full MP or not, and sometimes it's back to the drawing board in terms of the wick. 

Edited October 26, 2018 by Jenni Wix
Spelling

[Jenni Wix]

And @pughaus, I hear you on priorities, when seeing  popular retail candles being questionable.  😌  Then I try to remember that my customers (potential future) will want the best and try to muster up some of the confidence of @Jcandleattic, which I suppose comes with time and practice.  

 

@ScentedPleasurez. I love all of those graphics.  Especially geometric deer.

[Clear Black]

4 hours ago, Jenni Wix said:

@ScentedPleasurez and @pughaus 

 

It could be problematic given that an imperfection can cause glass containers to break/explode if the temperature gets too high, causing the melt pool to ignite over whatever surface the candle was on. 

 

 @TallTayl stated the ASTM standard for a glass container to reach during a burn is about 170° F.  

 

It's a balancing act to reach full MP w/o the container getting too hot.  It's challenging.  (Especially when wicks want to curl and throw things off center).  So I've been measuring mine and blow it out if it's reached that point, weather I've got a full MP or not, and sometimes it's back to the drawing board in terms of the wick. 

 

 

I know this is the safety standard in terms of glass temperatures, but I have tested many of YC's "perfect pillar" jars and found them to burn way too hot even at the top of the jar. I am even a constant wick trimmer and they still had a fmp over an inch deep on the first 4 hour burn.  Those are a 3" wide glass jar that stand a bit over 12" high. I did not dare burn it even to the halfway point in the jar for fear of it shattering. 

 

This was about a year ago and maybe they had some bad candles there for a 6 month  stretch, but either way they were not following the 170* rule for glass temps. Not even close so it makes me wonder what standard they do infact follow.

[pughaus]

4 hours ago, Jenni Wix said:

And @pughaus, I hear you on priorities, when seeing  popular retail candles being questionable.  😌  Then I try to remember that my customers (potential future) will want the best and try to muster up some of the confidence of @Jcandleattic, which I suppose comes with time and practice.  

 

@ScentedPleasurez. I love all of those graphics.  Especially geometric deer.

I've been questioning my testing standards lately.  I burn commercial candles daily and virtually all of them, if I made them.. well, I'd still be looking for the right wick.   As a result I'm not making much progress.

 

[Jenni Wix]

@pughaus I'm newer, but that's kind of where I'm at too, especially with added coconut wax.  😌 Currently taking a breather and trying melts.  

 

@Clear Black smh.  Maybe it's because they can afford the expensive lawyers.  Besides blood sweat and many, many tears, it can't hurt us little guys in the end to be proactive with tests and wicking on the safe side, especially with glass. On that note, tins are something I'm considering too.  

 

I think good instructions, re trimming, burn time, etc, can do a lot to help and at the same time there's always that one person who doesn't trim, doesn't pay attention.  That one time.  It's so much more personal with small business.  

 

[Clear Black]

14 hours ago, Jenni Wix said:

@pughaus I'm newer, but that's kind of where I'm at too, especially with added coconut wax.  😌 Currently taking a breather and trying melts.  

 

@Clear Black smh.  Maybe it's because they can afford the expensive lawyers.  Besides blood sweat and many, many tears, it can't hurt us little guys in the end to be proactive with tests and wicking on the safe side, especially with glass. On that note, tins are something I'm considering too.  

 

I think good instructions, re trimming, burn time, etc, can do a lot to help and at the same time there's always that one person who doesn't trim, doesn't pay attention.  That one time.  It's so much more personal with small business.  

 

 

 

SMH for sure. I ended up melting the wax down on the stove and just wicking one of my normal tins and repouring the wax in that instead of it going to waste.

[somaye1957]

On 10/19/2018 at 8:45 AM, ScentedPleasurez said:

The best candle that I have found retail has got to be colonial candles. 

I loved the oval container. They are 22 oz and are $25 normally. 

I bought it because it was on clearance and the container.

Melon was the one that I picked up and while it didn't carry through the house it did the entire upstairs.

Pretty sure they are paraffin wax. 

They burned great, however halfway down the container was extremely hot, and by the time it was finished it was a decent amount of sooting which I'm sure some came from me tilting to blow out. Lol.

 

I make no weekly trips to Wal-Mart just to see the candle section. I take notes on what's empty on their shelves lol. Picked up a few melts to test since so many have been doing reviews on YouTube with them..

Hi dear. About colonial candle I have a question. I never use it. When you use the candle in the container after burning the candle what happens for parrafin? I mean beacause it can't after melting get out of the container what happens?

[Ruru]

The best candle i tired from retail is Voluspa. I usually dont care about jars as much as the smell but Voluspa is on point with everything. There jars are beautiful, the CT and HT is so amazing and they also use coconut wax so that is a plus for me. The price is $28.

[Lana]

On 10/25/2018 at 8:13 PM, iansmommaya said:

Oh haha! That last one is a salve.

How was the House of Intuiion candle? I've seen them on Instagram since they launched their candle line and the videos I've seen show a lot of sooting. I wonder if that's just been user issues (drafts and such). I was also turned off by their marketing on the magic candles. (What's on their website if different than your candle pictured - the images on the website say to leave the candle burning for 5-7 days - yikes). 

Edited January 25, 2019 by Lana

[iansmommaya]

15 hours ago, Lana said:

How was the House of Intuiion candle? I've seen them on Instagram since they launched their candle line and the videos I've seen show a lot of sooting. I wonder if that's just been user issues (drafts and such). I was also turned off by their marketing on the magic candles. (What's on their website if different than your candle pictured - the images on the website say to leave the candle burning for 5-7 days - yikes). 

 

I didn't buy it, I don't know them and I know many candle makers in person and online, so I tend to buy from people I know, ya know?

 

knowknowknowknowknowknow. lol

[NightLight]

Ikea candle 3.99. Great glass, perfect adhesion. Pretty severely off center. Under-wicked. This is a three hour burn.

Keeping the glass but tossing the wax.

[TallTayl]

Does it smell decent? If so I’d be tempted to rewick for funsies. I was really happily surprised by a $4 Aldi candle when I rewicked.

[Karen M]

@Ruruthat jar!!!!! I think it is lovely!!

[xxxAlpha71xxx]

"Our Own Candle Company"  $5.95

 

Hi guys.  I've been away for awhile but still been plugging away.  I got frustrated with tins so moved away from them a awhile.  This weekend I went and purchased a couple of commercial 8 oz tins so I could see what a successful burn would actually look like .  I'm assuming this ain't it.  I'm wondering if the sides will melt down eventually but even if they do (and I don't have a lot of faith that they will with the burn time that's probably left and how much hang up there is on the side).  If the sides do melt down before the candle burns out would you consider this a successful burn?  Should this be what I expect to see or am I, in my inexperience, looking for something that's not going to happen with a tin?

Edited January 22, 2020 by xxxAlpha71xxx