One Yankee I Don't Mind Sniffing! (Indoor and Outdoor Candles)

Member Name: bonsibabe

Product:	Indoor and Outdoor Candles
Date:	19/03/07 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Actually work, smell really nice (the one I have does ! )

Disadvantages: Availability of stockists, price

Before I get into the main part of the review - here is a little background on the wonder that is Yankee Candles.

The Yankee Candle Company had been in existence since 1969, and in the USA they are the main retailer of scented candles (they also design and make these candles themselves). They like to make sure that the scents of their candles are as authentic and real as possible, and they make their own oils that are used in the manufacturing process.

This review is about their Housewarmer 22 ounce jar candle with the fragrance of Buttercream, which retails on their website (www.yankeecandleshop.co.uk) for £16.49 but I get these for around £10 from our NAAFI (tax free prices - one of the few bonuses of being married to a soldier and living overseas!).

**Appearance**

We have a jar that is reminiscent of the old sweetie jars from when I was a child and is just slightly shorter that the average DVD case (strange comparison I know but I don't have my ruler to hand!).

On the label, it simply says Yankee Candle, Buttercream, housewarmer candle and "our strongest scented candle". The picture on the front is of cakes covered in buttercream, which essentially gives you the idea of what is to come when you prise the lid off the jar.

**Safety**

On the bottom of the candle is a label which holds the safety information. Don't try to read this when the candle is lit - read it before you light the candle or you may have a hot foot from burning wax or worse.

This label tells you:

"To prevent fire * Burn candle within sight * Out of reach of children and pets * Never on or near anything that can catch fire".

**Opening the Jar**

On opening the jar, and unceremoniously sticking my nose in as far as it will go (not a pretty sight but all in the name of a good quality review), I am presented with an aroma that is a mixture of unsalted butter and vanilla. I would suspect that vanilla is one of the more prominent ingredients in this candle but as they do not list their ingredients and their oils are a closely guarded company secret, we will never know. It reminds me of the smells associated with my grandmother baking cakes and using buttercream frosting on the cakes. I was always allowed to lick the bowl and thankfully resist the urge to do the same to the candle - methinks it may taste yucky!

**Does this candle work?**

I have a large solid pine sideboard in my living room and my Yankee Candle has pride of place here. Yes I do have 2 young children aged 4 and 2 and so do not light this until they are in bed and I am fully able to keep an eye on the candle.

I also own a long handled lighter, which I use to light these candles, especially when they have been burnt half-way down the jar - not so easy to get my pudgy little fingers in to light the candle with matches or a conventional lighter.

My recommendation for lighting these is a long handled lighter or if you cannot get one of these, then cooks matches will suffice as they are longer than conventional matches.

It states on the website and on the lable on the bottom of the jar that this candle (22 oz) has approximately 100-150 hours of burning time. This is something that I can certainly agree with. I usually burn my candle for about an hour every couple of days. I have yet to reach the end of my current candle (which I have had for about 3 months now). I suppose that if I burnt this candle every day for a couple of hours then it would only last me about 6 weeks, but as i only burn it every 2 days for an hour or so, it lasts me around 4 months.

I do smoke, but only in the utility room, the smell will waft around the downstairs of my house and I find that this amount of burning is sufficient to get rid of the smell of smoke, cooking, smelly socks, stinking army boots and a farting husband! (Apologies for the last mention there but my hubby - much as I love him - could trump for Britain and win medals!).

When not in use I do tend to leave the lid off the jar as the smell will linger in the room from the candle itself. In fact I have gone as far as buying another candle which I do not burn and just keep it on the window sill in my bedroom and it really frangrances my room without being burnt.

**Further Information**

These candles come in a variety of fragrances such as blackberry, chai tea, granny smith and ocean wind (to name a few - there really are too many fragrances to mention).

There are also many different candles on the market. The housewarmer candles (small, medium and large jars), tealight candles, tapers, pillars and candle tins. They also do car fragrancers and a wide variety of accessories for the candle enthusiast.

Their UK website is www.yankeecandleshop.co.uk.

Their US website is www.yankeecandle.com.

Should you wish to contact them by snail mail the address is:

The Yankee Candle Company Inc
S Deerfield, MA
USA

**Value for Money**

Do I think that the price of these candles is value for money? Whilst it cannot be argued that they are cheap - £16.49 is a lot of money to pay for something that you are going to burn away.

But for this candle, and the amount of burning time, I think it is good value for money. Given that mine lasts for anything between 6 weeks and 4 months, I am very happy with this product and somewhat loyal to the brand now.

Whilst other scented candles smell nice on purchase, the frangrance does not tend to linger as much for my liking. But with these candles, a little really does go a long way, and at an approximate burning cost of £0.11 per hour (based on a cost of £16.49 burnt over 150 hours), this to me is great value for money, as I have had other candles (cheaper ones) but to get the fragrance I desire I have had to buy 2 or three candles and only get less than half the burning time.

If you like candles, then these are a definite recommendation from me for 5 star value and quality.

As far as I am concerned, these are the number one candles on the market and I look forward to trying out more of their fragrances in the future.

Thank you for reading.

Di xx

Summary: A bit pricey but still good value for money (and sweet smelling)