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Saturday, February 18, 2012

A Couple Spring Candles...

Feeling very repressed because of my self-imposed and until now unofficial beauty no-buy, I decided I could at least cheer myself up with some new candles, especially after I have significantly diminished our house supply. In all honesty, I'm not a huge candle burner - a small tumbler/jar usually lasts me for about a month, and that's when I'm feeling very into candle burning. But, I've found some good deals and couldn't resist picking up a couple... or more like three couples.

I first went into Bath and Body Works; I really quite like their candles, actually. They look pretty, come in a very wide variety of scents that changes seasonally, have interesting fragrances and burn for a really long time. Their small 4 oz. tumblers are currently on 2 for $10 (they're normally $9.50 each, which is why I wait for specials) so I picked two from the Beautiful Blossoms collection and two from the Tropical range.

Lilac Blossom is a blend of, why yes, lilac blossom, muguet (lilly of the valley), heliotrope and violets. I love the scent of lilac; in Poland, it blossoms in May, and the bushes are planted everywhere: in parks, between apartment buildings, in gardens, backyards, along fences... My parents also have about three plants to the back of their garden, just at the little gate to the forest. The candle is very much true to the actual blossom, fresh, sweet and heady, and I can detect the muguet as well. If you like spring flowers, I think you're going to love this one.

Flower Shop blends lilac, pink freesia, hyacinth and cooling greens - I've been absolutely obsessed with hyacinth lately! Compared to Lilac Blossom, this is much greener, less heavy, more aquatic - for some reason I actually thought about wild roses the first time I sniffed it. I get a lot of freesia from it, but it's not as peppery as the real deal, maybe freshened by the hyacinth? Lovely, and if you're not into florals, I still recommend you sniff this one.

I'd say 90% of the time, I'm not a huge fan of tropical scents; I like my Pina Coladas and Daiquiris as cocktails, not candles, thank you very much. I did however pick up Tiki Beach, a blend of toasted coconut, vanilla musk, purple orchids and sugared berries. This is quite a refreshing scent for something that seems so sweet from the description; it's maybe even a bit masculine...? I do get quite a lot of sharp musk, mellowed by the sweetness of coconut and vanilla. Something for fans of clean (laundry detergent) fragrances.

Lastly, Aloha Vanilla is a blend of mango, vanilla absolute, creamy coconut and lotus flower. This is fun: the sour juiciness of fruit juxtaposed with the fatty richness of vanilla and coconut (what can I say, I really like vanilla and coconut, especially for the summer). This one is less musky than Tiki Beach, more along the lines of lime and coconut reinterpretation. Perfect for fans of sweet fruity scents.

I also grabbed two packs of tealights from Yankee Candle; I've never tried their candles before, but a new store opened in Bellevue Square a couple weeks ago (they actually spelt it Belleview the first time we received a leaflet in the mail... teehee), plus they are on sale now for $5 each (normally $10). Sun and Sand blends sweet orange flower, citrus, lavender and musk - and it's a lemony laundry/soap scent to me, whereas Tahitian Tiare Flowers (gardenias) smells very much like Monoi oil, quite sexy for a room smell, really.

Oh, and in case you're interested, this is my favorite tea light holder - it's from Ikea and a friend painted it for me when we were still in middle school. I've managed not to break or lose it all these years!

I think in general I'm more partial to Bath and Body Works candles rather than Yankee candles; I just think the latter are worse compositions and terribly overpriced for, well, a glass jar full of scented wax. Have you bought any new spring candles lately? What are your favorite brands and fragrances?

10 comments:

  1. I almost bought some spring candles from Anthropologie yesterday but wanted to wait out the inevitable snow that would follow as soon as I attempt to create spring atmosphere!

    And I love hyacinth, too! I've seen the new B&BW candles but haven't yet given them a good sniff. I'm going to check out Flower Shop. :D

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    1. I get the same with removing an umbrella from my hand bag - as soon as I leave the house without it, it rains. But then, it rains here quite a lot :) Flower Shop is Spring in the candle form!

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  2. I'm burning my last Bath and Body Works candle right now called Leaves the ultimate scent fall/winter scent in my books... then I'm going to shop for some spring/summer scents... I adore Liliac... when I was a kid in Poland, May was my favorite month, the scent of this flower is incredible... there is quite a few bushes planted where I live in Toronto, when they start to bloom sometimes I'll go for a walk and just stand in front of them inhaling the gorgeous scent... they don't last long enough for my liking :)

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    1. May was always my favorite too - and it's my name day month too :) I always hated when people would cut lilac branches to take home, they never last in a vase!

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  3. I prefer unscented candles, the scented ones are usually awfully artificial to me. But this lilac candle...
    I love lilac! I go and steal lilac blossoms every May ;)! But I do it only once, then I prefer to admire them on my evening walks.

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  4. Great haul! I love candles but haven't tried Yankee or Salkin and Co. I love the size of tea light candles because I can easily get bored with the same fragrance! The holder looks pretty :)

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  5. Ah I totally agree, buying candles definitely cheers me up! It's a bad habbit though- and a Yankee Candle just opened up next to where I work, yikes!

    xx Missy
    www.myconcretecatwalk.com

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  6. Hmmm, I haven't been to BBW in a while - not generally a fan of their stuff - but these candles looks really cute! I adore the scent of Lilacs, so I will have to investigate that candle. (I left Poland when I was young, so I don't associate their scent with my homeland, but lilacs are prolific here in Montreal, and my very favorite part of spring.)

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    1. I wish more lilacs grew here in the Seattle area! They're one of my favorite spring blossoms for sure :)

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  7. I LOVE BBW candles. I always stock up during the sale periods. My fave spring scent is a caribbean one from last year. I don't remember the exact name right now but it was a bright pink candle that smelled the tropics. I do love the tiare scent so I will have to go smell that one in-store.

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