Annual Candle Review Part 1: Bath and Body Works and Voluspa

November 18th, 2016

I have to admit, when autumn rolls around I become a bit candle obsessed. Every year around this time, seasonal scents magically appear on retailer’s shelves. Leaves change color, days get colder, and nights get longer. In short, it’s the absolute perfect setting for burning candles. In the spirit of treating yourself, aka the holiday season, I’ve already started my holiday shopping. While I tend to spoil myself around this time (tis the season!), I also love finding the perfect gifts for friends, family, and colleagues. Unsurprisingly, candles are my go-to gift. They’re personal without being intrusive, long-lasting, festive, and memorable. Best of all, there are candles for every budget (including some that are both inexpensive and high quality)! Truly well made, inexpensive candles do exist.

While you can buy candles pretty much anywhere, it can be difficult to shop for candles when you have rows and rows of options. Without knowing what brands and scents to look for, shopping online can feel overwhelming when you’re trying to figure out the difference between scents like jasmine dreams and nighttime jasmine. From experience, I’ve learned that some fragrance combinations smell nothing like you’d expect and the product descriptions online sometimes aren’t very helpful at all!

Recently, I conducted a review of Bath and Body Works, Voluspa, and Diptyque candles, and a few others. I included my favorite scents from the brands and why I love them. As a disclaimer, my favorite fragrances often include notes of jasmine, rose, vanilla, lavender, and amaranth. I also love scents with notes of orange blossom, sandalwood, bergamot, pine, patchouli, plum, and peony. You’ll see these scents reflected in my review below and in the reviews to come in this series.

Without further ado, here’s what I discovered in my review:

$-$$ Bath & Body Works

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Pros:

Made of vegetable wax.
Inexpensive.
Seasonal scents.
One wick and three wick.
Long-lasting, strong scents.
Scents that match their best selling perfume and body lotion fragrances.
Frequent sales, promotions, and coupons.

Cons:

They don’t always burn evenly, but they do burn cleaner than Voluspa.
Like all candles, wicks will need to be trimmed as they are burned.
Lotions and perfumes don’t always smell exactly like the candles.

Shop: Available at bath and body works locations and online at bathandbodyworks.com.

Pro tip: Sign up for their newsletter to be the first to hear about special promotions and receive coupons in your inbox.

I love Bath and Body Works candles because the scents are seriously long-lasting. I can burn one of their candles in my kitchen and the scent will slowly start to fill my entire home! Also, they have locations everywhere and in most major shopping malls, so buying gifts at Bath and Body Works is easy and convenient. What I love most about Bath and Body Works, though, is that they release new scents each season and holiday, so there’s always something new.

Overall, I’m loving their holiday scents this year (check them out here: Bath and Body Works 3-Wick Candles) and I’m really looking forward to their upcoming collections in the new year!

My favorite scents:

1. Bath and Body Works Winter Rose (seasonal) and 2. Bath and Body Works Fresh Balsam (seasonal)

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3. Bath and Body Works Champagne Toast (seasonal and the perfect gift for a hostess!) and 4. Bath and Body Works White Gardenia

bath-and-body-works-champagne-toast-candle bath-and-body-works-white-gardenia-candle