I love candles and have tons of holders scattered around my house so I can create the perfect romantic or haunting lighting effects. I particularly like fragranced candles as they create a lovely atmosphere, especially during the evenings when you want to feel all cosy. The Yankee Candle brand seems pretty popular here on Dooyoo and although I was a bit put off by the RRP of the full sized candles, I thought it would be worth trying a few samplers to test out the fragrances and see if Yankee Candles live up to their reputation.

Product description: "The rich, creamy aroma of vanilla cupcakes with hints of lemon and lots of buttery icing."

The RRP for Yankee Candle sampler votives is around £1.75 - £1.80. I received this sampler candle as a gift from a friend, and they can be found at many different high street retailers or online. Each fragrance is available in a variety of different forms: wax tart, sampler votive, tea lights, small jar, medium jar and large jar. The label design for Vanilla Cupcake is simple but cute with a tasty looking cupcake covered in frosting and colourful sprinkles. The candle itself is made of a pale cream coloured wax which fits in with the fragrance and theme of the candle.

Even before I started using this candle the fragrance came across as very strong when it was still inside the packaging. I had it sat on my dresser for a few days before I was ready to start using it, and every time I entered my bedroom and walked past the wrapped candle I would catch a waft of the fragrance and in a way it was acting like an air freshener and giving a hint of the lovely fragrance that would come out when it was burning. I adore food scented products and this candle has a delicious fragrance that suits my sweet tooth! As you would expect from the Vanilla Cupcake candle, the fragrance is primarily a strong vanilla which has a really rich, strong scent. It is very sweet but I couldn't really pick up on any other levels of fragrance as mentioned in the description. I didn't feel like it has a 'freshly baked' sort of aroma and I couldn't detect any lemon at all. The candle gives off a high level of fragrance and I find that after only around 40-60 minutes of being lit it has fully scented a whole room. I then like to move the candle to another room to spread the fragrance. I used it while having a nice candlelit bath and because I only have a teeny tiny bathroom the Vanilla Cupcake smell filled up the entire space and lasted for hours afterwards which was a lovely effect. It is warming, comforting and perfect for creating a relaxed atmosphere when I want to wind down and have a lazy day or evening at home.

I would strongly recommend purchasing a specific votive sized candle holder if you intend on using Yankee Candles' sampler sized candles. I have tried one previously in an ordinary, larger candle holder and the sampler completely lost its shape and puddled away into an un-useable mess. Having a votive holder means that the sampler candle slips in and sits close to the sides which helps it to maintain its structural integrity while burning.

The sampler votives are rather small and measure in at about 2" tall, but despite their size they still claim to give around 15-20 hours of burning time. When using this candle I kept it burning for about 3 hours at a time so that the wax melted evenly and I'm not left with wasted leftover bits that get stuck against the edges of the glass holder and won't melt down. I got around 14-15 hours of use from this candle which puts it at the lower end of the expected burn time, but this still a pretty good performance.

I am very fond of this sweet vanilla fragrance and would happily purchase it again. Perfect for fans of sweet foody scents, this candle has a high quality level of fragrance that lasts really well.