If the word "excessive" could be applied to any company, it has to be Yankee Candle! Not just happy with providing one or two types of cinnamon scented candle under the name of "Cinnamon Stick, " (that previously replaced "Cinnamon,") or "Home Sweet Home," to the best of my knowledge, Yankee Candle have dabbled in just about every field when it comes to this spice. I think I've tried them all, because I just love cinnamon - the taste, the smell and the whole promise of its purposes. I add it to my coffee in powder form; I'd even have cinnamon soap if I could, whilst any sweets on offer around Christmas aren't that far away from being dusted with Cinnamon sugar! Whilst there are these latter classic "all year round" available scents, Yankee Candle in recent years have also released:


"Festival of Lights," a dark green candle that had cinnamon as a strong tone.
"Holiday Home Sweet Home," a dark blue limited edition Christmas candle that has a stronger, less sweet smell than the standard pink HSH candle.
"Stars and Stripes," a patriotic dark blue candle that has cinnamon as its top note.
"Cinnamon and Sugar," a light brown candle that is laced with nutmeg and vanilla, with cinnamon of course being at the top of priorities.
"Stress Relief," warming oils product that has cinnamon and frankincense.
"Sparking Cinnamon," a deep red cinnamon and clove toned candle.


Whilst I love the original spice, I fear for my own life in the next couple of months what the magicians at Yankee Candle will bring out next! I adore "Home Sweet Home," at times and other times, the fullness of thick and heavy "Cinnamon Stick." So, it was to no surprise that I just had to buy two candle products a couple of weeks ago in the form of a gift box containing two medium house warmer jar candles especially made for Christmas containing "Sparking Cinnamon," and a pine like scented "Sparking Snow." The gift box is priced around £9-99 but seems to have been an early 2010 UK release that has proved to be very popular because of the price and the quantity on offer. I also purchased a few wax tarts to see what this new scent brings to me.


"Sparkling Cinnamon," is a strange candle. If you sample any of the glass house warmer jar styles by simply lifting off the lid, you'll be greeted with a candle that has a distinctive smell of cinnamon that is close to the bitterness of the original "Cinnamon Stick," and less of the sweetness associated with "Home Sweet Home." This is not a bad aspect though - how many sweet cinnamon candles do you need? Try asking the boffins at Yankee Candle! The candle has a deep red look, very similar to a lot of the Christmas candles that Yankee Candle have already produced at the moment in their seasonal range, and unless you're in a hurry it is easy to mistake this candle (I nearly ended up with "Be Thankful," again) because the secondary scent is that of cloves and if you are susceptible to coughing fits with this wheezy spice that is often apparent in Anglican church services when they swing the frankincense to show what the Prophets had to put up with, then you'll know exactly to steer clear!! This is a pity though, because whilst "Sparkling Cinnamon," has a tasty but unusual name that conjured up a bar cocktail drink in my mind, the clove aspect isn't as strong when in actual use.


Infact, Sparkling Cinnamon has a very short shelf life compared to other Yankee Candles I've tried. This is a slightly disappointing aspect, even if the base tone has cinnamon added, the middle tone has cloves whilst the top tone has a strange hint of cherries, lending a sweet nature to the otherwise "salty bitterness" of the spices. Clearly, Yankee Candle has walked the marketing Christmas hoof as much as they can when it came to justifying this candle with the quaint picture label featuring a couple of icing sugar dusted cinnamon sticks bunched up with a tiny red bow on the label. Quaint it may be, but the scent when left burning for a couple of hours isn't strong enough to pervade a whole home of all three additives. This may be good news for some, but for me when it has the promise of cinnamon made by Yankee Candle, it isn't hard to feel personally disappointed when most of their other ranges of spicy candles are so much stronger by comparison. If there is one good aspect I find with Sparkling Cinnamon though - it doesn't annoy anyone who has since witnessed the candle when lit. Coughing or sneezing induced by known burning of cloves isn't apparent with this candle, which is a good aspect!


Challenging by name, the scent isn't strong enough to last anything over a week's period when used in tax wart form, either. After 36 hours for example, my tart's scent suddenly died, leaving that slightly pallid smell of stale scented candle in the dish and nothing to pervade the house with until I use a different scent on offer. Whilst it is strong when it first burns for 24 hours, the supposed "hint" of fruit that Yankee Candle claim this candle has, isn't easy to smell. It seems to be taken over by the cinnamon too quickly rather than the known strength of cloves (which can be a good thing, admittedly) but then the cinnamon seems to take over everything else this candle has to offer.


As with all Yankee Candle product formats, this scent seems to be available in many different varieties. However! Being a newly released fragrance to the UK, the formats are limited and have only just started to come onto the market despite the glass jars, votives and wax tarts that are on sale:


Medium housewarmer jar candle (14.05oz 60-75 hours duration, £13-99)
Large housewarmer jar candle (22 oz 100-150 hours duration, £17-99)
Car tab housewarmer jar cardboard freshener (6-8 weeks duration, £1-99)
Medium 2 wick tumbler (12.5 oz 45-50 hours duration, £12-99)
Large 2 wick tumbler (22.7 oz 70-90 hours duration, £16-99)
Car air vent gel pack (4-6 weeks duration £2-85, 3 pack additional at £5-98)
Car Pump 'n' Go clip on air vent freshener (4-6 weeks, £7-20)
Tea light scented candles (240 grams, 4-6 hours per candle, 12 in a box £5-99)
Plug In Scent (£5-99 4-6 weeks duration, 2 capsules per box, also fits old Air Wick plugs.)
Plug In Plug and "free" scent starter (£14-99, 4-6 weeks duration, also fits old Air Wick plugs.)
Reed Diffuser (limited edition) (£11-99/£13-99 8fl. oz, 12 reeds 4-6 weeks duration.)
Pressured aerosol room spray (£4-95, small 43g size, 4-6 weeks duration.)


If you love cinnamon scented candles then "Sparkling Cinnamon," is probably justified for its addition to an already bursting cinnamon tainted range. Some have already stated that this candle is too strong and whilst it is strong on the cinnamon content, the cherry fruity promise is only clear when all the spice has diminished and little scent is left over. Where value for money in my mind is concerned, and regardless of the formats available, I don't hold much hope for my gift to myself when it comes to Christmas day in the form of the boxed candle set! Granted, it is an interesting title by name, but when it comes to actual use, it sits too far away from the known reputation of Yankee Candle's premium quality when other Yankee Candle three-scented oiled candle products pervade my home with a good long lasting ability and reliable balance. It is abundantly clear that in this instance, the marketing department is out to sell rather than stand by the company's reputation, and that can be quite a bad aspect to portray! Thanks for reading. ©Nar2 2010


www.scentedcandleshop.com

www.yankeecandle.co.uk