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?

The glade ones are decent.
two of my faves are
Honey and chocolate
frosted berries

they are about £2.50 and do lots of other scents including Christmas ones etc

Lovely places in Caterham & Carshalton Beeches , Surrey, that have gorgeous smelling wax melts, not overly expensive but much better than the generic stuff in supermarkets. You can pick your own

Oh no, just take them to your local charity shop so those of us who inhabit the candleverse can enjoy them!

Rituals and valentte are the two that really throw for me

I burn beeswax candles. I like the warm golden glow and the mild honey fragrance. I have a lot of battery operated candles around the room and only light one beeswax at a time, it works.

Home sense is excellent. The wood wicks ones smell lovely

Home sense is excellent. The wood wicks ones smell lovely

If you have a load of scented candle left but the wick has burnt through you don't need to waste them.
You can buy packs of the foil tea light holders & wicks to go in them. Place to container holding the left over wax in a pan of boiling water.
When the wax has melted pour into your tea light cases & you have a whole new set of candles.

Please try these Glade candles. They smell glorious and smell lasts. You can buy in supermarket for a couple of quid. You can take off the plastic wrap to leave plain candle in glass jar. Different scents. This honey and chocolate one smells like the perfume Angel.

www.asda.com/groceries/product/9271816?cmpid=ppc--pmax_google----google---_-dskwid-_dm&s_kwcid=AL!11432!3!!!!x!!&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=4&gad_campaignid=23268739086&gbraid=0AAAAADuzMyidZJKz93dIeDjCzhVLpMS2v&gclid=Cj0KCQiAg63LBhDtARIsAJygHZ4Sk4xVV9NNSYJ2sO_zHOh_jsYRjr9GKLIqGOpch2wy1vsAxgFUG70aApoSEALw_wcB

I have a candle warmer lamp. It seems like my candles last forever now because the wax level goes down soooo slowly. And no soot in the air!

Therapy to help me get over disliking massages, or preemptive therapy to protect my bank balance against the candle effect?

My sister was cured of this when she realised they were ruining her paintwork - check your walls and ceiling.

I bought a double pack of bay and rosemary from Amazon for £22. It was actually my inaugural candle purchase when I realised that Winter Thyme is sold out. It doesn’t seem to hit the same, possibly because it’s more subtle or maybe because I’m more used to candle scents in the house. I do still like it though.

I think finding your scent is a bit like finding the Farrow and Ball shade of white that suits you best 😁

And your window frames, candles make them filthy.

Many years ago I bought some soy wax candles , cannot for the life of me remember the name . Originally bought from QVC then direct from their website .
My favourite was a Creme Brulee , it was heaven but the smallest one in the collection. There was a lemon curd one but the shape of the jar was a 'mare to trim the wick even with those proper candle trimmers .
No soot , beautiful clean burn.

I have been in TMaxx but because the candles are all crammed together it is difficult to define each scent . And some smell like socks .

I calmly replace them as we have a Cats=No Candles House .

Asda sell some lovely smelling candles and so does Home bargains. Asda also sells big Yankee candles for not too expensive. I also recommend getting a wax burner and getting some wax melts as they smell lovely! x

They're really not very good for you OP unless you get very expensive ones with essential oils. Why not buy essential oils (proper ones - some on Amazon pretend to be) and use a burner or one of those vaporiser things? Then just use unfragranced candles.

Sorry to be boring.

😂 love your post!
I had the same experience. Couldn't understand candles yet kept getting them as presents (I'm a teacher). Finally lit one (after about a decade of accumulating them) and have now been hooked for several years. I don't feel relaxed until there's one on the go!
It really is a case of buy well, buy once. The expensive ones last ages and are so fragrant. If you need a quick fix, though, I grab some linen-scented ones in tesco. They get me through periods when the presents aren't as abundant.

I find the Sainsburys ones don't last too long, I think the more I've spent the longer they've lasted.
I don't know if they've got better, but I used to buy Ikea ones, but DP & I found that we started getting black soot inside our nostrils when they were lit, so we stopped buying them

Nothing is good for you now
I just have a window open a lot, and burn the best quality ones I can. A couple of hours a day

Stock up at TK Maxx! Much cheaper!
Wax melts are ok but they're no substitute for a beautiful candle (imho)

https://www.johnlewis.com/stoneglow-elements-wax-melts-pack-of-8/p111934248?tmad=c&tmcampid=7&s_share=jlappios_Y29tLmFwcGxlLlVJS2l0LmFjdGl2aXR5Lk1haWw=

These look lovely! I’ve never tried wax melts before. And they’re natural wax.

Candles should never ever be made with essential oils. They perform poorly and many are toxic when burned and fatal to animals. Fragrance oils made for candle use are free of anything toxic and tested for burning. Look for phthalate free candles (most if not all will be but cheaper ones may not be). Certainly all fragrance oils I use are free of VOCs, phthalates and parabens.

Again if your candle ‘soots’ is because the wick is wrong and therefore it’s a poorly made cheap candle. OR you haven’t kept the wick trimmed. A good quality well made candle should never soot.
I spent 2 years meticulously testing my candles before I sold them and sorting is basic stuff so it’s depressing when people buy cheap badly made candles and dismiss them as ‘toxic’ or bad.

Can you please recommend brands? Plus your own?