I am one of those people who love to have a candle burning in their home. I find it incredibly relaxing and when at the end of a long day to relax on the sofa with a burning candle nearby I find this soothing. I also find it relaxing to have a candle in the bathroom when I can find at least half an hour to have a long soak in the bath, a little luxurious yes but I find it an essential aid in de-stressing after a long day at work. My Yankee collection has grown considerably since my latest Yankee Doodle order most of which I ordered from recommendations on Dooyoo.

My latest candle to help relax me in the bathroom was Yankee Garden Sweet Pea in the sampler size. I like a lot of people like to try samplers first before spending a larger amount on a jar or tumbler as at less than £2.00 you won't have emptied your bank account on a not so nice candle should it not be to your taste. Garden Sweet Pea seemed to have a lot of high rating reviews so I was eager to add it to my order that an the smell of sweet pea flowers are absolutely beautiful.

Yankee Garden Sweet Pea Sampler comes individually wrapped in clear plastic wrapping which easily shows off it's blue colour which has hues of purples and lilacs which does make the candle appear different colours in different lights. The front label is typical of Yankee having the Yankee logo over the gorgeous image of multi-coloured sweet pea flowers together with the product name. As with all samplers you don't get any other information on the packaging other than the front label.

Even before removing the clear plastic wrapping I can easily smell the floral perfume that this candle contains which is absolutely beautiful. Once the wrapping is off this floral aroma is more intense but with sweet notes to it. According to Yankee not only does the candle have the essence of "delicate blooms" as well as "hints of pear, peach, freesia and rosewood" which is obviously where I am picking up the sweet notes. I really did have high hopes from this candle before even lit considering its fragrance is actually quite strong.

The Yankee Garden Sweet Pea has been my candle of choice for my bathroom for the past week and it has been lit every day for at least an hour and I still have quite a lot of candle left but then with a burn time of up to 15 hours I would expect so. I do find that it does take quite a while to almost warm up and to release its fragrance so after the first timing lighting it I was a little disappointed but determined not to put it aside in the "never buy again pile" I used it again the second night but lit it about 30 minutes before actually being in the bathroom to see if the fragrance simply needed to develop into something more fragrant.

Fortunately this candle managed to fill my entire bathroom with its gorgeous florally sweet fragrance which rather than being quite sickly it was incredibly light and fragrant and definitely had more of a floral edge to it than anything else which was for me incredibly relaxing. Despite not being a warming fragrance so probably more suited to a spring day rather than a wet October evening it gave me the relaxing scent I wanted without being made to feel tired and slightly drowsy which is sometimes what I find with rich, warming scents when in the bath!

I don't think this sampler candle would have managed to have filled my living room as it is quite a large open space but for the bathroom and bedroom it manages well being smaller spaces which for me isn't a major problem but no doubt if I bought the candle as a large jar it would be absolutely fine in a larger room. However, the fragrance it produces once it warms up is delicate and light without being too intense or potent which for me is a lovely balance.

Overall, I am very pleased I opted to try the Yankee Garden Sweet Pea sampler/votive as it really does have a great fragrance and by the looks of things it will last a bit longer than the 15 hours burn time which is another plus. A floral scent that is relaxing and fragrant which I just cannot fault. Definitely a recommendation if you haven't tried it already. 5 stars from me.

~ Useful Information ~

Brand: Yankee
Price: £1.75 - Sampler/Votice
Availability: Yankee stockist