What Constitutes a FANTASTIC Throw

[TxGirl]

I like them noticably strong! Not so strong that they give you a headache or burn your nose, but strong enough that I am surrounded by aroma and get the feeling of being in fragrance heaven. I like it when someone comes in and says, "what is that you have baking in the oven?" Or when they come in and say "Oh my that scent is making me crave (fill in the blank)!" The only scents I don't want super strong are florals. Real flowers do not over-power and a floral candle shouldn't either. As far as room size. If they need enough to fill a large room or fill the whole house, then they will probably need to buy more than 1 and place them in opposite areas to fill the larger space.

[ILikeWaxMelts]

To Me a Candle with Nice hot throw you should be able to smell standing anywhere in the room you have it in, yet not be over-powering.

[mystical_angel1219]

I agree that individual perception of fragrance is subjective.

Personally~ I think a candle should enhance a room, give it ambience and create a soothing setting. I am not a fan of scents that will knock you over. They should compliment, not overpower the whole area. I have a candle in my bathroom downstairs that doesn't even have to be ignited, and it smells fantastic. I had a candle from the luxury swap outside on the patio yesterday. Open screened. It is 25'x20', and I could still enjoy the scent. This to me, is what I would strive for in creating the perfect candle.

Good topic, Bizzy.

[Candybee]

I love a strong candle but hate those strong plug in air fresheners. So I can understand how some of you don't like too strong a scent. I don't ever want my candles to be so noxious as some of those plug ins I have smelled.

I test my candles in two rooms. My great room with the drafty fireplace and if it smells good and fragrant and fills the room I know it will be strong enough. People here are always asking for strong candles so thats what I strive for.

I also test in a small bedroom to see how long it takes to fill the room. I know it will be strong enough if it fills the room within a few minutes but is not overbearing.

Working with a soy blend I never worry about a candle being too strong. I suppose it could happen but I have not had that problem. For me its been more of is it strong enough and/or is it a warm and inviting fragrance?

[Pam W]

Since I'm engulfed in fragrances all the time, I'm often not sure how well my candles are throwing. I had sold some to some servers at a restaurant and went in for breakfast yesterday. One of them said "my apartment smells so good" , another said "your candles last sooo long". Made me so proud

[mizbizzyb]

These are great replies

[Trappeur]

Many times, I test on an open front porch. If it scents up the great outdoors, I think it'll do just fine inside.

Are you serious Stella? lol, lol....I'm not laughing but am laughing.....Dang! Well this is quite a big post so I'll read it all...

Trapp

[Trappeur]

lol lol at Sara! The part about the nose hairs and bronchitis! lol

Trappeur

[Trappeur]

Geez, you even had to add the 3" you couldnt just say 11' by 15' ... I guess size DOES matter to some women.

Bruce

OMG!!!!I'm sitting here lauging my ass off at some of these quotes!!! Unbelievable!!!

Trappeur

[Judy, USMC]

Homes on the military base run anywhere from 830 sqft for enlisted personnel to well over 2,000 in officer country.

It seems that if I make the strongest possible candle (OK nose-burning if you want to call it that) jelly jar size works best in all these homes. In the smaller homes they light, burn til the melt pool is all the way across, and then blow it out - the aroma lingers for quite a while. This makes it more affordable - since it lasts longer - for the families on a smaller budget. If it's too overwhelming they'll opt for the votives.

Those living in the larger home have more of a tendency to power burn...and it still fills a large area of the home.

[Stella1952]

Are you serious Stella? lol, lol....I'm not laughing but am laughing.....Dang! Well this is quite a big post so I'll read it all...

Trapp

Dadgummed right I ain't kiddin' - my porch has smelled like Rain for the past week as I have been burning a 3" x 8" palm pillar almost non-stop! It petered out this morning about 7am... *plays Taps*

[ForHisGlory]

A little late on replying. Loved reading all the opinions!

I feel the same way - I want the candle to be subtle, fresh and nice without overpowering the room.

I'm finding that customers want to open the lid and it knocks their socks off. I think they view that as eating at the buffet - I want my money's worth! lol

That's not what I look for in a candle, but I do have customers that appreciate the lighter scents. That makes me happy!

One Gardenia candle I carry is so strong I have to blow it out. Have a truck driver that buys that one. lol

How I judge if my candle is good to go - I light an 8 oz jar in the guest bathroom and I want to smell it in the living room, kitchen and down the hall. I know my 16 oz will reach further, so I'm good with that.

And, if I blow it out I want it to linger for a couple of hours.

[Darbla]

individual perception of fragrance is subjective.

Not only subjective; it's physical too. Some people don't have much of a sense of smell. A guy who sits next to me at work says he can smell hardly anything, and from my experience my nose is more sensitive than most. And there are of course levels all in between. I don't see how one candle recipe can make everybody happy.

Darbla

[TheQueen]

Scent throw for me is subtle. Some people like to SMELL an overwhelming fragrance. I don't. Just a little goes a long way. Maybe people with smelly houses want a stronger scent. (smile).....I don't want to really SMELL it....just know that there is a nice fragrance in the room. Sometimes when I walk by my studio....with all of the fragrances going at the same time it makes me sick to my stomach. It is just a matter of personal preference. I only use one squirt of Channel No.5 and my last bottle is about 2 years old. I don't want to overpower any room with so much scent that it drives you out. Some people like that. I personally like the smell of onions and garlic frying in the pan.....that smells "natural".....I do burn a candle when I know that a nurse is coming over and want to make the house smell like it isn't "old " people living here (smile).....but then I blow it out after they are gone. I think that everyone has a different olfactory thing going on. It is very personal. Trying to find the right balance for customers is tricky. I guess that is why there are so many candle companies. People spend a lot of money on beeswax candles, and no fragrance going on there except beeswax. Some people don't like that. Very subjective subject.

I like beets. They taste good to me and smell great....but one of my sisters won't ever to there. She also hates cinnamon. Weird. But that is her own personal preference. I don't send her cinnamon candles.....Donita

Very well said, Donita. I, too, don't like a "loud" fragrance, just the sense that the room smells nice. I burn my candle(s), which are usually no more than 12 oz., in our master bathroom because the fragrance wafts out to our bedroom. If I can detect that fragrance when I walk into our bedroom, then the candle has done its job, in my opinion.

[ReneeM]

Really neat subject! I'm one of the people that loves a really strong scent, especially in bakery smells. My daughter HATES bakery smells (she's my business partner so this kind of sucks lol) and thinks our candles are too strong. To me, they're just fine! It really does depend on the person I guess.

Anything floral to me is overpowering and instant headache, these are always the scents she picks to burn in her room while working on our website. No matter where I am in our house (2500 sq ft) I can smell it..BLECK! To her it's "subtle".