Have you noticed lately that candles are being sold just about everywhere? Growing up I always loved the smell of a good candle burning while I was taking a hot bubble bath, but as I have grown older I have become somewhat of a cheap candle connoisseur.
Day or night, romantic event or social event, you can always find candles burning my home. I find they are very soothing which in turn brings a sense of serenity. Since a candle is not a complex object I find the two things that soothe me, the most are the quality of the candles burning capacity as well as the scent it bestows upon the setting.
Almost all candles advertise a great scent, but what happens when you get them home and they don’t smell good or even at all? I have never tried returning them, as I have not seen a candle that comes with any kind of guarantee. This is what led me to my journey in search of the best smelling candle for the buck.
As we dig into the realm of candles we begin to notice the variety of shapes and sizes by a multitude of manufactures. The four sizes I’d like to discuss are votive, small jarred, larger jarred and 3 wick candles. As you will see in my findings more doesn’t always mean better. Below you will find the make of each candle, my opinion, as well as some usages.
Let’s start with the smallest and work our way up the wax so to speak. The votive is typically the cheapest candle you will find ranging from .10 – .80 cents depending upon the type of store you shop. As a comparison shopper, I don’t usually buy votives that if they are more than .50 cents each.
Although some advertisers would like us to believe that their brand of votive gives a scent equal to that of a larger candle made by another company; I have never found that to be true. Surprisingly enough, I have found most dollar store candles are wonderful smelling, have great quality in the life of the wick, and are cheap. During a good sale, I have found that my all-time favorite, Glade, can be cheaper than the dollar stores.
Of all candles I find that votives are the most adverse for locations; they can be placed just about anywhere. In my house, you can find votive all over. My kitchen has two, my living room has one on either side of my entertainment center, one on each of my two end tables, and one at either end of my coffee table.
In my bathroom, I have two on the top of the toilet tank. And two on the vanity sink, with spares under the sink for the days I need a relaxing bubble bath. In our bedroom, I have one on both of our bedside tables, two on the top of our bookcase, two on either side of my dresser, and well as two on my desk. Due to the inexpensiveness of these candles, I have tons of them.
As we move into small jarred candles I’d like to explain why I classify them this way. I have never seen a votive candle in a jar so the smallest jarred candle is what I am referring to. When it comes to these candles I don’t usually spend any more than $2/ candle but when caught on sales I have found them for as little as .80 cents/candle.
Please don’t go in search of these candles expecting them to make a living room smelled strongly of whatever flavor you chose; for they will not live up to this expectation. The two best candles I have found in this category is again my favorite Glade and a company located in Cincinnati called Candlelite.
You will find most candles sold in off-brand department stores are made by Candlelite. Glade candles are by far the best in my mind but Candlelite runs a close second. Since these candles are almost votive size their usages don’t vary all that much.
Usually, I don’t place as many of the small jarred candles around the house, because they are slightly bigger than votives. I live in an apartment so my bathroom is about the size of a normal powder room, I have found that one of these candles is sufficient for a great smelling lavatory.
Our next topic is jarred candles, not to be confused with the previous subject or the following subject. Jarred candles have one wick and usually come with a lid that is great for putting extinguishing. As with the candles in our next category, these are very hard to find in good quality.
These candles can be found cheap, around $3 o $4, but it has been my experience that those cheaper candles are not worth the money we spend on them. The most I have spent on these candles is $10, and I don’t know about you but I think that is outrageous for a candle.
I spend this kind of money on them because I have found a specific maker that is great! Since I have discovered Empire candles I no longer buy any other brand that is how good these are. Keep in mind though, that I also look for these candles on sale and usually buy them when buying a larger quantity gives a cheaper price, which usually means I spend about $5 apiece on them.
I am sure the Empire makes other sized candles but I am quite happy with the manufactures of the previous sizes mentioned. I have only been able to find Empire candles in department stores, hence the pricing of them.
Usage for these candles is all dependent upon how strong of a scent you may want in one area or another. I have one of these candles on my coffee table in my living room, and my whole apartment smells delectable. My favorite flavor is Sugar Cookie, I am sure if you try it you will see why.
Our last category is the shortest in my opinion, probably because I am still searching for a well scented three-wick candle. Three wick candles in my house are used more for decoration than for smell or quality. I have found that none smell all that wonderful and the quality of the wicks vary so much it is hard to tell which is the best.
I did however get a $35 three-wick candle for Christmas and I was not impressed at all. I usually buy the cheapest of these I can find, somewhere around $4 each: for spending a lot of money or little money I am sure you will find will not differ.
Dollar stores and discount stores are usually great for this kind of candle and wonderful on prices. I do have one of these on my coffee table, and I have found that is great for candlelight when you want to relax on the couch watching television.
In conclusion, I hope you have taken my research into serious consideration when shopping for candles. As a candle lover myself I would have loved to have known all this prior to spending countless money on the waste of time candles.
I feel this is a great guide to comparison candle buying at a cheaper price with great quality. If you have a doubt, please go buy a votive discussed in the above paragraph, I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised!
