MY LATEST OBSESSION (2): Candles & Home Fragrance

December 12, 2019

I’m oh-so obsessed with Bath and Body Works Home fragrance

I have a problem. It might be an addiction. Okay. It is an addiction.

The white baskets are filled with Wallflower bulbs.

I love Bath and Body Works candles and wallflowers. I have them separated by season—Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter—like any normal, dysfunctional adult. When people come into my house, they always say my house smells good, which I always sort of wonder if they expected it to smell bad, like an author on a deadline or something. The reason why it smells like hope and heaven instead of animal and desperation is strategically placed wallflowers, and maybe, if I’m feeling froggy, a candle burning or melting somewhere (thanks to UPS constantly breaking my damn candles, I have a ton of candle melts now). Nothing sends me into a rage when they change a perfect scent and it sucks. They do this often it seems. Please, think of the baby angels everywhere, and stop doing that.

My favorite scents, per season are:

Spring or immediately after Christmas: Champagne Toast, Black Merlot, Cherry, Frosted Cranberry, Cranberry Woods

Summer: Island Margarita, Peach Bellini, Pumpkin Apple (because it’s more of a candy then fall smell), any coconut, Watermelon Lemonade

Fall: Leaves, Autumn, Apple Crumble, Apple Harvest, A Perfect Autumn

Winter: Tis the Season, Winter, Balsam, Spiced Apple Toddy

Pros

• They smell amazing
• Wallflower scents don’t fade in a few days
• Candle scents don’t fade
• Bath and Body Works seems to have a sale every other week

Cons

• Pretty sure that whatever is in those wallflowers may kill me one day. You spill that shit, it will eat your granite countertop.
• Can’t plug in under cabinets anymore. Whatever is in that oil will warp actual wood. Let’s not think about what it does to your lungs.
• Bath and Body Works discontinues and changes fragrances or relabels the same fragrance a million times. That is freaking annoying
• Can trigger some people with migraines

Price

• $, $$
• It’s not the cheapest and it’s not the most expensive, but they also have a ton of sales.

Notes:

If you have a UPS driver or a husband who sort of just drops packages, you’ll end up with some broken candles if you order them online. Bath and Bodyworks is great about replacing them, BUT you can break them into chunks and melt them. That works!

You can order now (during their candle sale) here.

A cheap dupe for B&BW 3-Wick Candles: GLADE brand! They’re available as low as $5 and can be purchased via Target (and other local grocery stores).

Well, this was a freaking fail: Yankee Candle Tarts

Yankee Candle use to be the candle place to go to, so when I wanted to try some of their candle tarts to melt, I got all kinds of excited and ordered a shit ton of tarts. Half of the scents didn’t match the name or what you’d think they smell like, and I melted several of them, and couldn’t smell them until I got right up on it.

Cons:

• Not a long lasting or powerful smell

Pros

• Not that expensive

Price

• $

Hey, it’s quite possible that I’m now nose snobby and just can’t smell the tarts. They may be great for you.

 You can buy some (at your own risk) here.

STEPH’S CURRENT CANDLE OBSESSION: EVIL QUEEN CANDLES

Image found on Evil Queen’s website

Like Jen, I do love Bath and Body Works candles, butttt there’s an indie brand that I love so much more: Evil Queen.

Only a small part of my stash…

Woman-owned, Evil Queen is the shit. Their candles are sassy (and oftentimes punny), and have a nice even burn and scent profile. Their candle scents are also not overwhelming, which is a huge plus. (Sometimes I get headaches from B&BW candles cause they can be too strong.)

image found on shopevilqueen.com

Here are a couple of my favorite scents (ALL YEAR LONG):

This is the perfect candle when you’re in a cozy mood. (It’s also available in double-wick.)

I mean, the description, though.

This smells like fruit loops cereal and is AMAZING. (This is also a double-wick candle.)

(You can also find some of their previously released candles and descriptions via Evil Queen’s instagram @evilqueen)

I love these candles so much that once I’ve finished a jar, I usually clean it to reuse it, like so:

You can learn how to upcycle/recycle jars here.

My favorite thing about Evil Queen (aside from everything above) has to be their MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION option.

It costs $24 monthly, and you get one special/exclusively curated candle delivered to your doorstep each month.

Image found on shopevilqueen.com

Here are a couple subscription candles that were my faves:

 

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A post shared by Stephanie (nobsbookreviews) (@ideallyinspiredreviews) on Sep 18, 2019 at 5:20pm PDT

 

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A post shared by Stephanie (nobsbookreviews) (@ideallyinspiredreviews) on Aug 25, 2019 at 9:42am PDT

Pros

• They smell amazing
• They burn a long time
• Adorable packaging
• The wax burns evenly (no tunneling) as long as you keep your wick properly trimmed
• They offer a monthly subscription candle for exclusive scents (that help you discover new scent profiles!)
• You can earn points on all of your orders, which can be redeemed for rewards/coups

Cons

• Typically only found online (though there are some small shops/boutiques that carry some!)
• New/exclusive scents sell out quickly (but this isn’t really a bad problem to have for a small biz!)
• You need to stock up on fave seasonal scents (because they’re only available for a limited time once released)

Price

•  $$
• They offer sales a couple times a year, but you can also save 15% off your first order using this referral link: http://i.refs.cc/rVn6wcRA?smile_ref=eyJzbWlsZV9zb3VyY2UiOiJzbWlsZV91aSIsInNtaWxlX21lZGl1bSI6IiIsInNtaWxlX2NhbXBhaWduIjoicmVmZXJyYWxfcHJvZ3JhbSIsInNtaWxlX2N1c3RvbWVyX2lkIjoxNjE3ODI4MjZ9

You can order your own sassy Evil Queen candles via my referral link (saving you 15%!), or at full price (lol) via shopevilqueen.com

Price Guide 

$ – Under $10

$$ – $11-$30

$$$ – $31-$60

$$$$ – $60 – $100

$$$$$ (i.e. what the fuck, how much is this?) – over $100

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