Burnin' Up #12 | Empties

With warm weather finally gracing Minnesota, my candle burning has slowed quite a bit. It's taken me some time to gather these empties, and now I'm ready to show you what's been making my home smell heavenly and whether or not any of them are worth a repurchase. 

Amber & Bergamot scented candle - This is a target candle I got a year or two ago on clearance at the end of the season. It is described as smelling like bergamot zest, tainted rose, fresh verbena, cardamom seeds, wild geranium, and oakmoss resin. It was earthy and smelled so good in the jar, but once it was lit it didn't smell like anything. Such a shame! 

B&BW Sparkling Icicles candle - I believe this candle was part of Bath & Body Works' winter collection from this past year. The smell is described as a citrus bouquet, bergamot and a touch of holiday moss. To me, it smelled like bergamot and a really fresh men's cologne. I liked it, and I'd get it again if it's released in the future. 

Bella by Illume Mandarin Woods candle - This is another candle that smelled so good in the jar, but had absolutely no throw once it was lit. Characterized by red cedarwood, Italian mandarin and star jasmine, it's the perfect blend of citrus and woods. If only it actually made the house smell nice when it was burning! 

Bahoma London Seduction candle - I got this in a set that came with a reed diffuser in the same smell. The scent is made up of cardamom, amber, patchouli, sweet vanilla, musk and amber. It musky and woodsy (can you tell what kind of scents I like??) and smelled good when it burned. It's definitely more of a fall/winter scent. Aside from burning like crap (see all the wax on the side?!), I liked it! 

Darsee & David's Vintage Luxe fragrance candle - This candle is from Hobby Lobby (I think this is their house brand of candles), and it smelled like pipe tobacco and musky amber. Another fall/winter scent that I really enjoyed.

Better Homes & Gardens Frankinscense  & Myrrh wax melts - You'll either love this smell or hate it, but I quite liked it. The scent is exactly what you'd expect, and if you like that, you'll enjoy these melts because the smell will majorly fill your home. 


What candles are you burning? Let me know!  

Burnin' Up #11 | Empties

It's still really cold in my area of the universe, so that means candles burn pretty much every evening I'm home at a decent time. Who am I kidding?... I burn candles all year long. But doesn't it just feel MORE right when it's cold out? 

Anyway, I thought I'd show you what I've burned up and whether or not you should go out and spend your money on these wax goodies. 

I made my way through a couple Christmas-y candles this season. I'm actually a little disappointed by how few I burned considering how many I have in backstock to use up. On the left, in the gorgeous jar that I'm definitely going to repurpose, is Merry Misletoe from Bath & Body Works. It's described as a blend of cranberries, pears, frosted citrus and a hint of holiday greenery. It definitely has more than a hint of holiday greenery, as that's the number one thing I pick up on. This is a favorite of mine during the holidays and I'll definitely pick it up again if they re-release it next Christmas.

On the right is another Bath & Body Works favorite, 'Tis the Season. This smell really is Christmas in a jar. It's described as red apples, green pine and a touch of cider. It's so festive and it has a great throw. I love burning this at Christmas time and I'll totally buy it again in the future. 

A couple minis worth noting. The blue jar is Bath & Body Works' Winter candle. This candle usually makes an appearance in the B&BW line up each winter. It smells really nice, characterized by pine needles, citrus and white woods. I know a lot of people think these minis are worthless and won't smell up your room, but you just need to put it in a small enough room. I keep minis like this in my bathroom and they always give off plenty of scent throw.

I used up my last Old Factory candle, this one in the scent Hot Cocoa. I did a full review on these candles a while back. This is a soy candle that smelled exactly like a warm mug of hot cocoa. I enjoyed the scent of this and it burned really well, down to the very bottom with almost nothing left. I'd definitely consider getting more candles from this company in the future. 

Just one pack of wax melts this month, and these are ScentSationals' Fresh Air. You can find this brand at Walmart. This does smell fresh and clean, and it's a relatively unoffensive scent. These are jam packed with smell and it'll fill your whole house with just one cube. I really enjoyed these. 


What candles or wax melts have you been burning in your home? I'd love to know what you've been enjoying! 

Burnin' Up #10: Empties

'Tis the season for burning lots of candles and wax tarts! So much so that I devoted a whole post to it! Here's what's been making my home smell cozy and fantastic the last couple months.

• Yankee Candle Cranberry Harvest - This fall, cranberry has been one of my favorite scents. This smelled like the perfect fall cranberry candle, but unfortunately the scent just didn't fill up a room. It was more for ambiance than anything.

• Yankee Candle Witches Brew - Witches Brew is my favorite Yankee Candle scent. It's a sweet patchouli fall scent that always reminds me of Halloween. This will not be the last time a Witches Brew candle is burnt in my house - it's a seasonal must!

• Bath & Body Works Raspberry Peach Macaron - This candle is old, from a past spring collection at B&BW. This scent was part of the best B&BW collection I think they've ever released. It's very sweet and has a slight tang of fruit. 

• Yankee Candle Mulling Spices - This tiny Yankee Candle had a better scent throw than the large Cranberry one above! It smelled like fall... cinnamon, nutmeg and all good spicy things.

• Better Homes & Garden Orange Clove Pomander tarts - These were very fragrant wax melts. A perfect blend of spices and orange that made my home smell ready for the holidays. 

• Scentsationals Twilight tarts - This had a fresh, sort of perfumey smell. It's kind of hard to explain exactly what this smelled like. It was a nice scent to have filling the house, it wasn't offensive or overpowering.

• Bath & Body Works Sundrenched Vineyard wallflower - Another perfect fall scent to have filling up my entire house. It smelled like woodsy fruit, and was surprisingly natural - a scent you might expect someone's house to smell like naturally.

What is your favorite scent to have burning in your home? Let me know! 

Burnin' Up #9: Candles by Victoria

If you watch any beauty gurus on YouTube (who, for some reason, all love candles -- apparently beauty + candles go hand in hand), you may have heard of the brand Candles by Victoria. I first heard about this brand from Michele1218 who raved about all of her candles. There are even collabs on the Candles by Victoria site between TiffanyD and other YouTubers -- I am guessing they may have gotten free items to review or paid for their reviews - just a guess. All items were purchased by me with my own money - so you can expect a completely honest review. 

ANYWAY - I picked up a couple things earlier this fall for my mom and I and wanted to share with all of you. There are ENDLESS amounts of scents on the CBV website, so for those of you ready to make a purchase, I hope this can take the guesswork out of your ordering! Here's what I picked up:

• Oh Holy Night: "Frankincense, cedar, sugar spruce, Christmas Tree and sweet cinnamon." This is a really nice, fresh wintry scent. You can definitely smell the cinnamon and frankincense with a hint of sweet. I'd recommend this cozy scent. 

• Sage: "A blend of wild jasmine, white roses, french lavender and bergamot with a light hint of fresh pine needles." To me, this smells like powdery jasmine with a hint of laundry. It's a scent that will make your house smell clean. Not my favorite, but not bad. 
• Pomegranate & Cider: "Juicy Pomegranates combined with the fullness of a sweet rich cider, amazing!" This smells like a cider infused starburst. It's very sweet but has a nice warmth thanks to the cider. It's unlike any wax melt I've used before, definitely a nice scent. 

• Soothe: "A relaxing combination of Eucalyptus, Patchouli, Lemon and Basil." The scent description is spot on. I get a whiff of all the notes mentioned. It's a fresh, clean scent that wouldn't offend anyone. 

• Marshmallow Peppermint: "This is a fun, flirty, fluffy fragrance that embraces lightheartedness and femininity all in one!  A fabulous blend of fresh essential oil of peppermint and huckleberries, hints of violet and white floral, with creamy base notes of vanilla marshmallow." I can absolutely smell the peppermint and floral berries in this scent. It doesn't really have a hint of marshmallow to me, but it is slightly warm like vanilla. Not my favorite, but I think many people would love this scent.

• Let It Snow: "Eucalyptus and Cinnamon flourishes dance on a bed of crisp, chilled peppermint. If you are not caroling after smelling this there may be no hope for you." The scent description is spot on for this scent. I wouldn't imagine eucalpytus and cinnamon making such a great combo, but it's delightful! It smells like ribbon candy to me! 

• Minty Twist: "For our Minty lovers, Spearmint, Peppermint with a touch of Vanilla." This smells mainly of spearmint to me. It smells a lot like spearmint chapstick. I enjoy minty scents in my home, and I imagine this will be nice. 

• Charlie Brown Christmas: "Name that Scent winner. A wonderful holiday fragrance with top notes of Brazilian orange, bergamot, and bread with cinnamon, nutmeg, and lily of the valley on a base of vanilla and raspberry." I can distinctly smell the bread and cinnamon notes in this. I am sure all the other notes are there, but to me I just get that perfect spicy smell that's ideal for fall and winter. A really nice scent if you enjoy spicy home scents. 

• Crackling Birch: "Outdoors on a winter day...Simply amazing if we may say so ourselves! Crackling Birch fragrance begins with top notes of bergamot, orange, and lemon; with middle notes of geranium, lily, and rose; and base notes of patchouli, vetiver, and tonka beans. This fragrance is one of the most well-rounded fragrances we have ever smelled." This smells like a fancy men's cologne. I can smell the vetiver and bergamot - overall, I really like this scent. 

• Christmas By the Fire: "A subtle seasonal cinnamon spice -- a very unique combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, cedar wood, sage tempered with frankincense and myrrh for warmth and comfort, snuggle up with your favorite book and enjoy!" Cinnamon and sage are the two scents I smell the most. This is a unique Christmas scent, and I really like it. 

• Country Bumpkin: "A wonderful complex blend of apples, candied yams, marshmallows, sweet cream butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, crushed cinnamon bark and fresh cloves. Bring the country home to you." Mmm... this is cinnamon and sugar goodness. If you're a fan of spicy fall scents, I guarantee you'll love this one. 

• Why I Autumn: "An Autumn blend of lemon and apple; followed with middle notes of anise, cinnamon, and ginger; sitting on well-rounded base notes of woods, musk, and vanilla." I adore this scent - it's one of my most favorites. It smells like an autumnal lemon cupcake and it made my house smell so good. I would definitely get this scent again in a future order.

• Snowdrift Berries: "Uniquely different and absolutely incredible holiday scent that has become a year round favorite! Top notes of semi-sweet berries mixed with undertones of balsam pine." This smells like a piney starburst, and while that sounds disgusting, I can promise you this smells quite nice! 

• Christmas in Who-Ville: "Pink Sugar and Sweet Snow." This reminds me of something you'd pick up at Bath & Body Works. It smells minty and perfumed all in one. It's nice, but not something I'd pick up again. 

• White Chocolate Caramel Crunch: "White Chocolate, Caramel and Carmel Corn. Yum!!!" I think this was a freebie in my order, as I don't remember ordering it. It's not typically a scent I'd go for. It's a very sweet chocolate scent. I don't tend to like chocolate scents burning in my house, but if you do - you'll like this.

So there ya have it - I ordered quite a few scents! I've put a few of these to the test already and I'm happy to report they burn very nicely. Even in my open high-ceilinged house, the smells fill up the whole space. The wax is very creamy and soft, so my only gripe is that it's a big tougher than normal to get the dried wax out of my burners. (pro tip: freeze your burners and the wax should pop right out -- these take a little more coercing). Because the wax is so creamy and soft, it's easy to cut -- and I'd recommend cutting each of these wax melts in to four pieces so you get your money's worth!

Overall, I'm really glad I placed an order with Candles by Victoria. It certainly won't be my last. I'd recommend trying the company out if you are looking for some fun new scents to try! 

Burnin' Up #8: Empties

With the change to fall weather, any time I'm home for an extended period of time, you can bet there are candles burning. It makes me feel cozy and comfortable, and well - my empties will prove to you that all of the above are true. Here's what I used up recently...

You can see my descent in to fall scents if you look from right to left. Sun Tan is a super old scent from Bath & Body Works that has somehow managed to linger in my stash for ages. You can still buy Sun Tan (with different packaging) during the summer at B&BW, but I've heard that the scent has been reformulated and isn't the same any more. 

Mint Basil is a candle from Target, another one that's been lingering in my stash for quite some time. I love the packaging, but you can see it didn't burn all that well. It did smell nice, very fresh and summery, and I like that it's a soy candle so it burns cleanly. 

Lastly, and most recently, I burned up Citron & Cedarwood from B&BW. I bought this last fall, but it's still available with different packaging. This smells slightly like a manly cologne, which typically isn't my favorite, but I didn't find it to be overwhelming. This had great scent throw, and it was a perfect candle to burn in early fall. 

Other smelly goodies that are used up include two wax melts from Walmart. Lemongrass Verbena was a lemony summer scent that filled up the whole house. It was nice while it lasted, but I wouldn't buy it again. Hot Wassail is a purely autumn scent, smelling like apples and spice. I never used to love scents like this, but this fall I want all the apple spicey scents like this. (Side note: Walmart wax melts are my favorite -- they are jam packed with fragrance and they're super cheap. I highly recommend checking them out if you like to burn wax melts!)

Remember when I said I was going to stop using Wallflowers from B&BW because they're full of nasty chemicals? Yeah... I didn't stop. I'm kind of addicted to how nice they make my house smell. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of the orange ginger scent. Something about it made me think public bathroom -- yuck, no thank you, I will not repurchase. 


What are your favorite home scents? Let me know!