by Julia, added 8/8/10

Brand:
New Orleans Flare

Type:
Palm wax
container candles

Fragrance:
Floral, Citrus & Musk
Mardi Gras
Coconut Lime
Cedar & Saffron

Cost: $17.95 - $41.95

Scent Strength: Light to medium

Introduction to my review of New Orleans Flare:

New Orleans Flare burst onto the candle scene in Louisiana in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This company makes and sells their candles in the heart of New Orleans with a unique Fleur de Lis style and a boundless enthusiasm.

The candles are made from natural palm wax and are offered in a variety of interestingly shaped and styled containers, from Old Fashioned drink glasses to tall flower vases. The containers are chosen to showcase the crystalline look of the palm wax which comes in a wide variety of colors and scents.

The website is not the flashiest site on the web, but it gets the job done. There are categories that make it easy enough to find a particular scent or container style. The candles themselves are the stars of this website’s show, and my favorite part of shopping the New Orleans Flare website was seeing the enlarged product photos. The multi-colored candles in particular were spectacular…a must see for candle fans.

Because of the recent Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and oil spill disaster, New Orleans Flare has produced a limited edition “Save the Gulf Coast” candle, with 100% of this candle’s profits going to the Audubon Institute’s Louisiana Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Program. It’s a great program and quite a unique candle that looks like the beautiful Gulf water with a wax “oil slick” on top. Check it out.

What do my candles from New Orleans look like?

The Floral, Citrus & Musk candle was a pretty periwinkle blue palm wax in a clear 10 ounce double old fashioned glass with two wicks. It was a true beauty with New Orleans Flare signature fleur de lis appliqué on the side.

The Mardi Gras candle was an eye popping tri-colored masterpiece in layers of gold, green and purple… just what I expected the colors of Mardi Gras to be. This tall single wicked candle was contained in a 34 ounce reusable vase.

The Cedar and Saffron frosted jar candle from the Orleans Collection looked entirely elegant all on its own. But New Orleans Flare didn’t stop there. They put this elegant candle inside a pearly organza drawstring bag and nuzzled it down into a silver opalescent box. Pretty enough to give as a gift, the candle and packaging were a treat for the senses. The wax was a natural white color and the tumbler style container (10 oz double old fashioned) had the signature Fleur de Lis found on many of New Orleans Flare candles. This candle was double wicked – the new candle style from New Orleans Flare.

The Coconut Lime scented candle that I tried was in a single wicked angled tumbler with light Summery yellow palm wax. This container style is no longer available, but the Coconut Lime scent is still available in the newer style double wicked glassware.

How did my candles from New Orleans smell?

Floral, Citrus & Musk

New Orleans Flare describes Floral, Citrus & Musk as:

“A very feminine designer scent of light citrus zest and blooming floral accented with just a touch of musk.”

The scent was mostly floral to my nose followed by a pop of tangy citrus. The floral was a bright, summery type, like Freesia or Lemongrass. It smelled fresh and green… dazzling and bold. The musk gave the scent a more upscale smell, elevating the fragrance to something almost wearable.

The comment from my peanut gallery here at home was that this candle smelled like the high end department stores at the mall. It was a funny comparison, but I have to admit, I could totally smell the mall in this scent.

I found Floral, Citrus & Musk to be on the lighter side. It didn’t have enough throw for my larger rooms but did well in my smaller spaces. The scent is a good choice for the fresh/floral fragrance enthusiast.

Mardi Gras

I wanted to try the Mardi Gras candle because of the way it looked, but the scent description would pull most bakery scent fans in:

“Enjoy the smell of fresh baked King Cake without all the calories. Accented with hints of vanilla icing and cinnamon swirl.”

King Cake is a traditional part of Mardi Gras and is a celebrated dessert in New Orleans. Now, what better place to try a King Cake scented Mardi Gras candle than from New Orleans Flare that proudly makes all of their products right there in the heart of the Big Easy?

King Cake is a delicious cinnamon brioche-like twisted dough baked into an oval ring. It is topped with icing and colored sugars of green, purple, and gold. There are many different variations… everyone stakes claim to the best recipe for it… some variations are plain while others have cream cheese or fruit fillings.

The thing is, I’ve tried other King Cake scents from time to time and have never really cared much for them, some sort of cream cheese note aversion or something, so I almost actually passed on this scent. Then I considered where this candle was made and the fact that it looked so cool with its three layers of color, and decided that I would regret not trying a King Cake scent made by people who know what King Cake should smell like.

I am so glad I chose this scent. From my first sniff of Mardi Gras scent, I knew I had found the best scent match for this unique candle company. I can’t even imagine reviewing this company without including their Mardi Gras scent.

This candle smelled so good! Vanilla, cake and cinnamon. Who could ask for more than that? As soon as I unwrapped this beauty, the smell went KAPOW!.. and made a beeline straight to my brain’s deliciousness detector. It’s got a good baked aroma, and the cinnamon is not overpowering. The vanilla is smooth and there is a certain clarity to it… no undertones of butter or added fruit notes. This is the traditional King Cake in all of its colorful glory, and it captures the spirit of Mardi Gras completely. Bon Temps!

Coconut Lime

This is the kind of description I can relate to. New Orleans Flare had me with this one:

“The ultimate Summer refresher will take you away to a hammock on the beach. Zesty lime and creamy coconut make this classic scent irresistible.”

Jimmy Buffet has a song called Boat Drinks, where he sings about wanting to go where its warm. Steel drums on tropical islands. This candle was like that dream of a tropical getaway. A beach somewhere where icy cold drinks with umbrellas are delivered right to your cabana.

This scent just screams Summer. It is so fruity I would have sworn there was some pineapple in it. Coconut Lime had oodles of sweet coconut cream, like a pina colada drink. The lime gave it a tart fruitiness that made the scent smell citrusy and tropical.

I sampled this scent in a single wicked angled tumbler jar. The candle burned well leaving a lining of palm wax around the edges for the flame to flicker through. The throw was strong up close, one of the strongest scents I tried. The smaller jar size was good in a medium sized bedroom. New Orleans Flare has since discontinued this container style but has the Coconut Lime scent available in their brand new two wicked double old fashioned glass style.

Cedar and Saffron

Here is an unusual blend:

“Escape the ordinary. as the sweet woodsy scent of white cedar takes on an exotic spicy tone when infused with exotic saffron from the Far East. It's complicated and refreshing, exotic and seductive.”

Cedar and Saffron comes from New Orleans Flare specialty Orleans collection of scent blends. This is one of their newer fragrances, and I was excited about giving it a try. The scent was complex and very masculine. It brought to mind a dreamy evening stroll through the Vieux Carre’ (French Quarter) with a handsome, debonair date. The scent was sexy and mysterious like an expensive cologne.

I smelled the white cedar most prominently with a spicy undercurrent. I couldn’t pick out the saffron as being the exact spice I smelled, because I’m not entirely familiar with that individual scent note. The candle did have a spicy, unusual edge that my nose definitely liked. I had always thought of saffron as a kitchen spice but this candle fragrance had no business in the galley. This Cedar and Saffron scent was right at home in the bedroom or living room. It threw well in both spaces, filling the smaller room and lightly scenting the larger room.

How did my candles from New Orleans Flare burn?

The more experience I get with palm wax, the more I can appreciate its unique burning style. I am finding that having palm wax melt all the way to the edges is not necessarily the ultimate goal. What happens as the candle flame burns down into the jar is that the flame flickers through the colored, patterned wax around the edge. It is essentially intentional tunneling. The beauty of these palm wax candles is enhanced by glow from the flame within. I found the tunneling occurred with the single wick burning. With the double wicked burning style, I had the option of burning just one wick and keeping the wax on the side for flame flickering, or I could light both wicks and get the melt pool going from edge to edge. I chose to light both wicks because glow or no glow, I still prefer a full melt pool with no tunneling, so I welcomed the new double wick tumbler containers.

I had some trouble with the wick of the Mardi Gras vase candle. The flame was perfectly sized but the wick didn’t reach all the way to the bottom of the container, something I’ve never experienced before. I asked New Orleans Flare about this problem and was assured that the wicking method has since been changed to prevent this from occurring.

Closing to my review…

I had a great time reviewing these candles from New Orleans Flare. The Coconut Lime was a fruity treasure and Mardi Gras was a cinnamon sweet treat. Cedar and Saffron and Floral, Citrus & Musk were indulgent and luxurious. I enjoyed the wax colors and the new double wicked glass style burned well. New Orleans Flare is relatively new on the block but I see an enthusiasm with this company that makes me believe they will continue to grow and excel at candle making.

Laissez les bons temps rouler! (Let the good times roll!)

~ Julia

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