Review of an Apple Pie Scented Candle from Finkleberry Candles

by Deirdre Bloom, added 4/23/12 Company: Finkleberry Type: 8oz glass candle Scent: Apple Pie Strength: Light to medium

Introduction to my review of Finkleberry Candles: A few months back (okay, about 6 months back…I’m rather slow), I was asked to do a candle review for a company called, Finkleberry.  Of course I immediately hopped online to see who and what Finkleberry was all about (I’m nosy like that). Finkleberry is owned by a husband and wife team, Brian and Maria Finkle. What started out as a small hobby has been launched into a full time candle producing venture.  Specializing in fourteen various scents, and two candle sizes (8 oz glass or 6 oz tins), Finkleberry helps keep your decision making process simple. On that note, I have to say: I think I’m a victim of extreme marketing exposure. I like color. I like pictures. I need frill and fluff. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed by Finkleberry’s website (although the cute sock monkey logo did score some “fun” points with me).  The website is very plain, no frills, no fuss. While I understand the concept of saving money by simplicity, this site is way too simple. There is only one actual picture of a candle, and product pictures, in my opinion, are essential in marketing your products and staying on top of your game.  I know it’s cliché, but “A picture is worth a thousand words”. This marketing seduced fiend wanted more photos. I did, however, like that all the scent names were listed on the left side bar. I giggled at the category called, “Man Candles”. Guess what I clicked on first (my inquiring mind wanted to know what constituted a man candle). For the record, Man Candles come in the 6 oz. travel tins scented with fragrances such as “Beer”, “Bacon”, and “Leather Jacket”.  Can you find a better Father’s Day gift? I think not!  Nothing says love like beer and bacon candles!

What did my candle look like? For this review, I am reviewing one of Finkleberry’s 8 oz. glass container candles. It was a light brown wax in a nice glass container. Nice container…. BUT….. the labeling was all on the lid. I am notorious for losing candle lids or putting them on other candles. I’ve even been known to use them as make shift coasters (you can laugh, but hey, they work fabulous).  If the bottom of the candle doesn’t have the company name, chances are, I won’t re-order; my lax organizing skills will undoubtedly result in lost lids.  Likewise, if there is no fragrance label on the bottom or side of the candle, I won’t know which scent to re-order. I do like the pure simplicity of the 8 oz. wide mouth glass jar. There is something implicitly elegant about a clean glass jar. Slap the scent and company name on the bottom warning label and I’d be happy.

How did my Apple Pie candle smell? “A down home favorite with slices of juicy apples, covered with brown sugar and cinnamon and embraced in a warm baked crust.” I have a friend, who while pregnant, was a hormonal wreck. Her husband used to joke that he played, “Hormone roulette…you never knew what you were going to get with her.”  (Stick with me, there’s a point to this little story.) Candles are a bit like hormonal mood swings, you could have the exact same fragrance from completely different companies and never know which way your candle is going to go. Is it going to be crazy strong, or is it going to be more of a mellowed out version.  Hot Apple Pie is one of those moody fragrances. I’ve burned some that blew me away, and others that made me cry (okay, so I didn’t actually cry, just go with it, it fits my mood swing analogy). So how was my Finkleberry candle? Finkleberry’s Hot Apple Pie was more along the mellowed out spectrum.  Their Hot Apple Pie was not uber strong, but not too light. To quote the oh-so-quotable Baby Bear in the famous story of “The Three Little Bears”, “It was juuuuust right.”  My first sniff picked up a nice sassy cinnamon (my inner spice loving goddess did a happy little jig).  I was a bit bummed there wasn’t more apple, but as soon as I lit this bad boy, the apple peeked its head out to make a belated, but much appreciated, appearance.  I was pleasantly surprised to pick up a few flaky crust notes intermingled in with the reluctant little apple. The brown sugar promised in the description was buried under the cinnamon notes and didn’t seem to come through.  To be honest, I tend to like my apple pie a bit stronger and a bit more “appley” (I think that should be a real adjective).  Finkleberry’s was, however, a very comforting fragrance that kept my mood on the up and up (and a happy candle burning chick is always good!).

How did my candle burn? I did mention cinnamon, right? Any fragrance heavy in cinnamon is guaranteed to be a tricky wicker (say that ten times fast!).  Finding the perfect wick size (and yes, size does matter), is every chandler’s challenge.  Unfortunately, my Finkleberry candle was slightly underwicked, resulting in a candle that never quite had a full melt pool.  The candle never quite melted all the way to the edges, resulting in the dreaded wall of wax on the sides of the jar. With just about a half an inch of wax on the sides, I simply placed it on my candle warmer once the wick burned down to low and melted off the side wax.

Final thoughts: There are hundreds of candle companies with hundreds of Hot Apple Pie variations. For me, this one just wasn’t the best of the best. That being said, it also wasn’t the worst. It had a very consistent mellow fragrance, nice eye-pleasing container, and the sock monkey logo added a fun touch of whimsy. If you need a little pick me up to banish that ol’ hormone roulette syndrome, light up a little hot apple pie, sit back and viola…. instant mood booster. Happy candle burning! ~ Deirdre Visit Finkleberry.com BONUS!! Finkleberry is offering 50% off to Candlefind visitors, use code "candlefind" at checkout!!