I never knew myself to be a candle person until about two couple years ago, when I made my first luxury candle purchase. Before that I used to scent my house with those inexpensive little wallflower plugins from Bath & Body Works, which made the space smell amazing when placed strategically. However, after burning my very first luxury candle, I came to truly appreciate how special this experience can be. While my husband likes to joke about my newfound obsession with “burning money”, my precious candles were the first thing he asked me to use when we had guests over during the Christmas week.
Our apartment is quite large for two people [and one cat ;)] – we live in a 1100 sq. ft. space with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a spacious living room, dining room area, a full kitchen with an aisle, and even our own laundry room, which is rare for rentals in our area. However, when guests come over, we lock both bedrooms and the master bathroom, so there is a lot less space that needs to be scented. Normally I have four wallflowers running at any given time, but for the parties two candles were enough. I actually had more than two burning, but the others were just regular tealights, more for the ambiance than anything else.
Anyhow…
The point I’m trying to make is that I know luxury candles can be quite a splurge, but they are also so much more efficient at making large spaces smell divine. I bought large budget candles before [from well-known national brands, and private label store brands], and unfortunately even the best of them had a throw of 3-4 feet or less after burning for hours, so they are pretty to look at but don’t offer much in terms of utility. If you ask me, that’s way more in line with “burning money” thing than my luxury buys 🙂
The latest addition to my candle collection comes from an unlikely source – a skincare brand! Elemental Herbology Earth Candle was inspired by Earth Balance Bath and Shower Oil from the Five Element Aromatherapy Collection. The fragrance bouquet includes notes of Cedarwood, Mandarin, Frankincense, and Geranium; basically, everything I love in perfume, but for my home.
This soy candle is absolutely heavenly! Within 30 minutes it fills the room with warm and inviting fragrance that just makes the space feel cozy and welcoming. It provides roughly 45 hours of burn time, and the hefty high-quality glass container can later be reused to hold your favorite makeup brushes, cotton rounds, hair ties, lip glosses, and any other small trinkets. Besides, the packaging is quite chic, so anybody, who loves decorating their home with Instagram/Pinterest-worthy aesthetic in mind, will appreciate the design that goes into these. They are easy to incorporate into any interior, from trendy marble and brass to traditional wood and leather.
Elemental Herbology is a brand that I am definitely interested in exploring further this year. Right now I am testing one of their serums, and I will tell you in advance that it’s every bit as fantastic as the candle. More on that in a future post…
Do you burn candles in the winter? What home fragrances are your favorite? Have you tried Elemental Herbology products before? Let me know in the comments!
Disclosure: This post features products received for editorial consideration and may contain affiliate or referral links. For more details about my product review policy, copyright, and information about affiliate links, please refer to Disclosures & Content Use page.
I was also doing those wall flowers, but I switched to wax melting. We have very curious cats, so candles haven’t been something we want to risk. 🙂 I do miss candles though, I used to use them all the time in college. Our scent choices for the wax melt change by season. We just put away the mistletoe & pine as well as the candy cane. 🙂
Wax melts are awesome! The throw is really good, even better than most candles. I think I prefer candles simply because of the burning flame aspect, it’s just so soothing. We have a cat, but she somehow knows that fire is dangerous and always avoids going near lit candles (she won’t be anywhere close to that area of the room). Smart girl!
I love candles. I burn them all year long. Spy candles are great because they don’t have the soot. I do love BBW candles but I never used the wallflowers.
I usually only burn them when it’s cold outside, there’s something about that open flame that just warms your soul 🙂 I’m a fan of soy candles as well, I think the majority of the ones I have at home are soy. We have white walls so soot would be a problem
Yeeeeeeeeeees, I love candles and scented candles, especially this time of year! Never had a candle by this brand though.
I didn’t know this brand made candles either until I got an email around Christmas time. I hope they expand the range!
I am a candle junkie!!!! I’ve never heard of this brand but sounds like I need to try them out!
Elemental Herbology is actually skincare brand, so I was very surprised to find out they make luxurious candles. I’m in love with this one, hopefully they expand the range with more scents!
Oh, that sounds so delightful! The only candles I have are a couple of cheap store brand ones and you can only smell them when you sit right next to them :-/
That is the reason why I stopped buying them alltogether 🙁 Although budget candles are meant to be affordable, in the end none of the ones I tried scented my home very well.
I love soy candles and I know I would adore the scent mix that you describe. A brand I will remember when I use up my stash
Since EH is a skincare brand, I don’t think they make candles regularly, but this one was limited edition for the Holidays and it turned out to be pretty popular. I hope they make more candles with other scents!
I love candles so much. A Bed Bath & Beyond near me closed and had a crazy sale on candles, and I haven’t looked back. I like warm scents like vanilla around the house, and Boyfriend likes tropical scents.
Oh wow, I would have gone to town on that sale! Vanilla is a wonderful fragrance, I have a couple vanilla candles that I burn to make my house smell like bakery.
I love lighting candles at work because they help to relax my clients. I wonder if this brand makes a sage fragranced one.
Candles are indeed very relaxing, just looking at the flickering fire is the best feeling ever 🙂
I’ve barely used candles because I never liked the smell of B&BW or Yankee but I recently received one from LaVanila that has changed my mind. I didn’t really know about throw before so I’ve learned something new from your great article.
I know the feeling, Marcia, most inexpensive candles smell too plastic-y and fake to me, but nicer ones with real essential oil blends and waxes are a step up.
Love this. You really do get wat you pay for, even with candles.
Obviously, that’s not the case with every single candle, as there are plenty of inexpensive high quality candles on Etsy, but most candles from popular places like BBW and Yankee either smell fake, or not strong enough to really scent a room. At least that’s been my experience so far 🙂
I burn candles year round because I love them so much. You are absolutely correct, luxury candles do scent a larger area much better. FarmHouse Fresh are great too! I also love Thyme candles.
I absolutely agree! Inexpensive candles still look very pretty and make the place feel cozy, but they don’t smell nearly as good 🙂
I barely light candles but I enjoy (and hoard) reed diffusers. I agree, splurging in high quality stuff is better than buying bits and pieces of cheap but sub-par products
Funny, it’s the other way around for me 🙂 I have reed diffusers in each bathroom, but for the rest of the apartment I use either room spray or candles. I definitely prefer the latter for some major hygge vibes 🙂
I just love candles! I’m obsessed with buying them and just leaving the lid off or taking them out of the box and setting them out. The expensive ones are much more fragrant without even burning them!
Candles are magical, aren’t they? Lighting them instantly makes the room feel cozier. And I totally agree, even when my Diptyques aren’t lit I always smell them when I walk by the shelves they’re on.
I love candles too, and have a hard time finding scents I like.
That would be my problem too, but that’s because what I like changes all the time. One day I am loving florals, and another day I want something woody.
I love burning candles, when I’m not pregnant, lol. I largely buy Bath & Body Works and Yankee Candle…but now you make me want to try one of these! 😀
I think this is the only one they make right now, and it’s limited edition for the holidays 🙂