| Product: |
Yankee Candle in General |
| Date: |
04/07/08 (351 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Smell fantastic, a variety of types and fragrances, last a long time
Disadvantages: They can be quite pricey
I adore candles; my home is full of them in all shape, sizes and fragrances. I love the way they make your home feel cosy on a cold dark winter night and I love the way they warm the rooms of my house up and give them a nice warm glow. I particularly love to have scented candles around my hot baths to add to the relaxation atmosphere.
For me there is no better candle than a Yankee candle. I have been a fan of Yankee candles for many years now and although some people view them as being extortionately priced, I believe they are good value for money and wouldn't hesitate to continue buying them. I first became a fan of Yankee Candles just over 5 years ago when I was given one as a gift from a work colleague who didn't like the smell and since then I haven't looked back.
Yankee candles have been around since the Christmas of 1969. The story goes that Mike Kittredge a young American boy had no money to buy something for his mother for Christmas as a gift. So instead he melted some wax crayons to make her a candle. It is then said that a neighbour saw this candle and convinced Mike to sell the candle to her and it is with that money he bought some more wax to make two candles - one for his mother as he had originally planned and the second to sell. This was the birth of Yankee Candle. Yankee Candle is an American brand which is now sold worldwide in over 400 stores.
Yankee Candle has become the most-recognised name in the candle business and is one of the best selling candle brands with over 150 fragrances. These Yankee Candles come in a variety of shapes and sizes and with that so do the price and in some cases accessories. When I bought my first Yankee Candle I did have some difficulty in deciding which fragrance to go for because there are so many, so I opted for something that was a new smell to me and something I knew I would like. To date I have used a variety of candles from Yankee Candles and some of these candles include:
"Wax Tarts" - Wax tarts are offer at least 8 hours of candle and are tealight sized. They are designed to be placed into a wax potpourri burner and once they are lit the fragrance from within is slowly released to fill your home with a wonderful smell. A single wax tart retails for approximately 95p and is available in over 100 scents. My favourite wax tart scent is Clean Cotton because it smells fresh and clean. These wax tarts are designed specifically for burners which you can buy from directly from Yankee Candle stores.
"House warmer Candles" - these are my favourite candles within the Yankee range and they are perhaps the ones which are most recognised within shops. They arrive within a glass jar with a tightly sealed lid and within the Jar you will see that it is full of delicious smelling wax. These candles come in three sizes. The larger size retails at £16.99 for 625g and for your money you get between 110 and 150 hours of burn time. The medium sized jar which retails for £13.99 and for that you get 411g of candle and get between 65 and 90 hours of burn time and finally the smaller version which retails for £7.49 and for that you get a 105g candle and a burn time of 25-40 hours. So as you can see depending on how much you are prepared to spend depends on how long your candle will last. If I am running short on these candles I usually wait for an offer before purchasing anymore. Again these candles come in an array of fragrances and my all time favourite has to be the Lemon Lavender scented candle which is one of the strongest smelling varieties available, it has a very strong lemon and lavender smell and promotes a really relaxing atmosphere. The best thing about these candles is that you only really need to light one or two at anyone time to produce a lot of heat and fragrance.
Whenever you buy candles there is also a list of safely instructions to adhere to and particularly with the House warmer candles which are in glass jars because they are very fragile and break easily. You should also place something underneath the jar to prevent it marking any furniture when hot and ensure it is extinguished properly after using.
"Wrapped Voitive Samplers" - For those of you who have decorative candle holders which you often put your plain boring church candles in to burn away with their vanilla scent, the Yankee samplers are a much better alternative. They retail around the price £1.60 for a 49g Candle and they have a burn time of 15 hours. These candles are great to use as decorative items. I have used some old IKEA Tindra candle jar's to place these candles in to put around the bath, on shelves and window ledges for pure decoration in an array of flavours because they are such good value for money and depending on my mood I can choose a suitable fragrance for it.
Those are just three options of Yankee candles which are currently available and easy to find and buy online or in stores. Recently I have found that my Hallmark Card shop is now selling Yankee candles; so they do only seem to be available in specialist stores, so you might have to Google them to find your nearest outlet selling them. There are other options to choose from when buying Yankee candles but these are the three that I tend to buy for myself and know most about. However in the meantime you can look at:
www.yankeecandle.co.uk
www.cherishgifts.co.u k which is run by our very own Angus and he has a great selection of Yankee items to choose from.
Since 1969 Yankee candles have evolved with the market trends and it is no surprise to learn that candles are not the only item sold by this company. Also on offer are products such as Electric Plug-in fragrances, fabric refresher sprays, Pot pourri and car fresheners to name just a few of their extensive range. I personally have never used any of these latest products and have just stuck to the candles.
The one reason I choose Yankee Candles over any other is based on their fragrances. With hundreds of different ones to choose from and because they are made using essential oils and fragrance extracts from things such as fruit and flowers it means the scent you get from these candles is much longer lasting and much more natural in smell. So because my favourite scent is the Lemon Lavender candle I know that it is made with a tangy lemon citrus essential oil as well as using real fruit extract to create that particular smell. They are also good at masking smells, if you have animals the musky smell which is associated with them is overcome by the fragrance of a Yankee Candle, as it is if you live with a smoker.
I do recommend Yankee Candles to those of you who have never tried them. You can buy them online, through local specialist stores and even through mediums such as QVC and EBay but the prices do differ between them all, so it is a good idea to shop around to find something you think you will like. They are a nicer alternative to your shop bought church and pillar candles and the fragrance that develops within your home lingers for a long while after the candle has stopped burning. I have had my current candle for a little over 3 months now and the jar is still two-thirds full and it is lit at least an hour maybe two hours per day. So as I have said before, you definitely get what you pay for.
Summary: Yankee Candle
|
|
