Talk some sense into me: candles

[MangosteenSoda]

I, until recently, had an (ir)rational hatred of candles. If there was a thread about stuff people like that you hate, for me it would be candles (and massages and musicals.. but I digress. Just the concept of tea lights would make my eye twitch.

I had a few candles in my house gathering dust because they are the kind of thing that people gift. I don’t know what possessed me, but towards the end of last year, I lit one, an it smelled glorious. It looked pretty too. Anyway, I’ve ended up burning my way through the previously discarded candles - my fireplace looks like a shrine at Lourdes. My home smells divine. I have used several boxes of matches. I fear I am addicted.

I just went to replace the first candle (the gateway drug of candles) and I discovered it costs £15. And after a bit of googling, discovered that’s not even considered expensive in the candle-verse.

What advice do you have? Any recommendations for lovely smelling and pocket friendly candles? I can spend 15 quid on one, but at my burn rate that’s going to get pretty costly. Aibu to just crack on and burn, or should I extinguish my new found habit?

I always wondered what her vagina smelled like tbf

The candle warmer lamp looks interesting.

I'd love to get into candles, but read they can release all sorts of nasty chemicals into the air, especially the cheap paraffin ones. Also, not sure any kind of burning is good to have in the home. So I figured it's not worth the risk for me (or my cat), however small that risk might be.

Sainsbury’s and tk maxx. Tk maxx do big ones at various prices so you can drop on at times.

Omg. A tomato candle?! Sounds weird AF, but I love tomatoes and now I love candles so you have probably sealed my fate. Big Candle, take all my money 😁

Do you accept visitors? 😃

@MangosteenSoda just be careful because most of them are not good for your health

I like burning candles in the darker months of winter but tend to get beeswax candles so not as much scent but oh such a beautiful glow.

I’ve had some lovely beeswax candles from The Northumberland Honey Co. and from Gwenyn Gruffydd.

Asda own versions of the Yankee candles are good love the linen one

https://www.thewhitecompany.com/uk/Candles-and-Fragrance/View-All-Candles-and-Fragrance/Home-Fragrances/c/fragrance-oils

Welcome to the expensive club op. I buy oils mainly for an oil burner - most of The White Co scents are nice (the Winter one divine) and they last me ages. I buy the 8 hour burn tea light candles from dunelm and have a burner which can hold quite a bit of water.

Hello I am MangosteenSoda, I am addicted to candles.

Welcome MangosteenSoda

Beeswax candles are much less polluting and non toxic to burn than other candles.

OILS! Bloody hell, I’m only just getting started with burning things and now I want to escalate to oils. I had not even realised this was a possibility.

Thank you 🙏

I got a lovely Molton brown one for Christmas, it says it is davana blossom, not that I would know what a davana even is but it smells devine!

I have expensive ones that only get lit for an hour at a time and then the cheap ones I pick up from the supermarket that is lit for hours.

An absolute recommendation to all those lost in the Candleverse, is definitely a candle warmer lamp. You do not light the candle, it’s gently warmed by the halogen bulb so melts slowly and evenly, releasing the fragrance, and it’s unbelievable how much longer candles last. Total game changer for my candle addiction.

This is exactly how I feel. I’ve never been drawn to gambling, drugs or caffeine, but bloody hell, I’ve taken a spin down the wax crack pipe.

If it's a decent quality candle, you just need to burn it for about 45 minutes to an hour (just long enough for the top layer of wax to melt completely - if you don't let the whole top surface melt, you'll get 'tunnelling') and then blow it out! It doesn't need to be burning for hours at a time for it to 'throw' the scent.

After you've burnt it until the top surface has fully melted, blow it out and the scent should then linger for a good while.

The total burn time for a 200g candle should be at least 30 hours and some will last up to 50 hours, so you should actually be getting 30-50 days of use out of them.

For context, I burned one for about 45 minutes this morning and blew it out around midday. It's now almost 4.30pm and DP has just come in and commented how nice the house smells.

Home Bargains ones are great and £2.99.

This is simply not true.

Have you got a Bath and Bodyworks near you OP? You're in for a treat... the mothership of scented candles.

Ah St Eval Winter Thyme is very fine indeed.
Two places which do reasonably scented very well priced candles are M&S and Muji - both around £5. Have a good sniff - some are a bit sweet but the herbal and citrussy ones are lovely. John Lewis also have a couple of good ones - their lavender and eucalyptus is very good for £7.

Ok. Now I have homework.

The OP is talking about scented candles. A bag of tea lights for a few quid isn't anything like a scented candle. When people buy expensive candles, they're paying for fragrance, not the twinkly glow.

Saying 'candles are a waste of money for something you're just going to burn' is a bit like saying 'perfume is a waste of money for something you're just going to spray until it's gone' or 'chocolates are a waste of money for something you're just going to eat'.

If you don't like fragrance in your house (which obviously lots of people don't) then yes, obviously a scented candle is indeed a waste of money, but for someone who does love a scent wafting around their home, it isn't.

One of my favourite candles is The Jacobite from Purdies of Argyll. They had a shop in Oban selling lots of homeware, organic skincare and these amazing candles. Usually have an offer on of three candles for £30

Don't they last forever?

I used to love the Yankee Candles a few years ago then they started to smell a bit "wax crayon"
Vanilla Lime
Midsummer Night
Sparkling Cinnamon
Pink Sands

When the DC were little I had to be careful safety wise .

I stopped burning them when we had the guinea-pigs indoors in winter ( fine during the summer , they were in their PigShed) as I worried about the effects on their little rodenty lungs .

Complete Stop when the cats arrived ( no guineas now) , only LED because my Female Cat would happily throw them onto the floor and watch "Ah , yes they DO fall" .
LED ones are much safer here . And if you buy decent ones with the flicker effect and real wax , they are a passable substitute