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Review of Scented Candles from Love And Kindness
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by Avery, added 3/19/12
Company:
Love and Kindness
Testing sizes:
Mini Candle- $3.75
Votive - $4.00
8oz Candle -$11.00
Scents:
Honey Patchouli
Strawberry Spruce
Mojo Mojito
Peppermint Apple
Strength: Light to medium |
 Introduction to my review of scented candles from Love And Kindness:
It was Valentine’s week when I started this review. I checked out their products… and then headed to the Love and Kindness website…and whee! Talk about great timing! The design of their branding fit my holiday mood. What is a symbol of Love and Kindness if it is not a red heart? Their logo is an abstract heart / initial design. It is simple – and clever! The unusual design of the heart keeps it neutral and contemporary, so you don’t feel trapped into using it as only a romantic gift.
Love and Kindness is woman-owned, based in Maryland and it makes both candles and bath & body products. The Artisan, Leiann, has a limited scent list – but the scents are all unique blends, and there were several that I wanted to try! This is not a place to go looking for plain old vanilla – the vanilla you find here will be combined with fig or cherries and almonds.
Love and Kindness makes natural colored candles of 100% soy, and the owners are committed to being ECO friendly. |
How do my candles look?
I have three of the styles that are offered: the 8 oz., the votive and the minis. All three are clear glass. The 8 oz. is a jelly jar style, and it is very attractive – it has the logo on the front and a red ribbon with the L&K silver charm. The ribbon also holds the removable tag with the scent name and burning tips.
The votive is a clear votive (no lid), and it is nice to have the votive “self-contained” – I tend to have votive holders in various stages of needing to be emptied and cleaned out, so having a votive arrive in its own little holder makes this testing stress free!
The minis are the cute itty bitty jars with black metal lids that are fun for decorating, for using as party favors or gifts in stockings. |
How do my candles from Love and Kindness smell?
Honey Patchouli
"The infusion of Patchouli, Jasmine, and Sweet Orange creates this soft and sensuous and luxuriant scent. This fragrance is a sweet honey fragrance with a subtle patchouli accord. The top note is predominantly a lemon citrus note. The body of the fragrance is a soft woody patchouli complex with a sweet jasmine accord and dries down with a sweet vanilla musk background. It is sure to capture the soul and enhance the natural beauty and radiance of those it adorns."
I could not have said it better myself, LOL! I do like patchouli, but I know this scent isn't a universal favorite. However, this is such a soft blend, I think those of you on the fence would appreciate it. My nose found vanilla and musk in the patchouli, and those notes all blended and kept it from smelling like Halloween. Patchouli often seems smokey to me, and while this is woody – it is not fire-woody!
My complaint? It was a mini, so I did not get a full noseful of this lovely scent! The minis are so small that they barely scent my tiny powder rooms, so I cheated a wee bit. After I was able to see how it burned, I dumped the melted wax into a warmer dish. Ahhh! I need a bigger candle of this scent! More!!! (Time out for safety – if you do the same with a mini, please allow it to cool before grabbing it to pour out the wax. This is the voice of experience reminding you.) |
Peppermint Apple
"If you were to combine the sweet smells of summer and cool crisp of winter, you would think of Peppermint Apples. This fragrance is a harmony of Macintosh Apples with pure Peppermint and a hint of fresh cut grass  creates this incredible balance of freshness."
Another mini, so this is mainly a scent teaser! The cold sniff is mainly minty, balanced with the fruit. Roles were reversed when this was set on a melter. First up – the apple, not tart, not sweet, but a well balanced apple scent. No specific grass note stood out – but its presence probably is what keeps the apple from being one of the sugary-sweet ones. The melted candle-now-a-tart has a really great finish – the mint gives your nose a little tingle even though you hardly smell that the peppermint is there. |
Mojo Mohito
"Lemon slices, Sparkling Pomelo, Crushed Mint Leaves, Mandarin Zest and Iced Sugarcane muddled together for your perfect afternoon siesta."
I am trying this scent in a glass votive. The cold sniff is a very sweet, citrusy mint. Since it is still a fairly small candle, the scent throw is mild – small powder room size. As a burning votive, the main scent note is a mint – but wait – there is something else after a bit …the zest is also making an appearance. The combination of the zest and the mint give it a sharper scent, not at all like the cold sniff! As usual, the urge to really smell the scent full blast took over and I emptied the melted wax into a bowl for the warmer when the candle was burned most of the way down. Ha! Yet another scent from this little waxie – this was a citrusy mint that was not as sweet as the cold sniff – and not as orange zesty as when burning. |
Strawberry Spruce
"We love this fragrance, and think you will too. A complimentary blend of  Spruce Pine and Strawberry bring this fragrance home. Ever hike out and cut your own Christmas tree? With our Strawberry Spruce, you'll feel like you did just that. Thanks to the sweetness of Strawberry, the fragrance is more complex than a typical Frasier or Douglas fir. It's got a punchy, bright citrus note that is really pleasing."
The most pronounced note is the evergreen. This reminds me of the scent “sugared spruce” – evergreen that does not have that sharp, piney note – but it is softened with sweetness. I really did not smell straight strawberry, only the sugary scent. This candle was still pretty small – 8 oz.. It scented well in a medium sized powder room. |
 How do my candles burn?
I started with the Mini jars. They burn just fine! They are so tiny that I didn't burn them all the way down so they became melts when they had burned about half way.
The Votive had a wick that was listing to the side a little, but once I gave it a little nudge to the middle, all was well and it burned evenly. There was only a little residue left on the sides of the glass.
The 8 oz. – again a clean burn! I cut the wick a little too short out of the gate, and this candle was best with a wick that was not over-trimmed. |
Final thoughts:
Just like when you watch an action-packed movie trailer, and you get excited and want to see more, the gals at Love and Kindness have me hooked, "wanting" to smell more. The candles I tested were clean- burners and the scents were great – but since the melt pools were pretty small on these candles, I really couldn't give the scents the full sniff test – until I poured them into the warmers. The scents were much stronger with the bigger melt pool so I am thinking the large candles would probably produce a scent throw large enough to scent an average room. (And here is a not-so-subtle request for them to add tarts/melts to their product line up!)
I really love the unique scent combos – and I love the logo! As I mentioned earlier, though fairly neutral, the design would be great for decorating at a wedding shower (perhaps with their signature scent: L.O.V.E) or a “sweet sixteen” type of event – (think Sugared Pears and Plums for this one).
So…are you in the mood to pamper yourself? Spend a little time on this website, with their assortment of candles, bath and body products, and gift baskets, and I am pretty sure you will also find a few items that you may “need” – because as our featured company reminds us:
“Everyone could use a little Love and Kindness throughout their day.”
Happy candle burning!
~ Avery
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