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Review of Three Wickless Scented Candles from Just Right Candle Co.
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by Lisa Carter, added 8/25/08 Brand: Just Right Candle Co
Type: Two 8 oz and one 3 oz wickless jars; 1 oz mini-melts Fragrances: Bedford Falls, Cinnamon Pumpkin Raisin Bread, Lavender Cost: $10.00 for 8 oz jars; $5.00 for 3 oz jars; mini-melts $1.00 each Burn time: Approx. 80-100 hours for 8 oz jars, 60 hours for 3 oz jar, and 10-15 hours for melts Scent Strength: Medium to Strong
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 Introduction to my Just Right Candle Co. Review:
For this review I tried something new - an assortment of wickless jars from Just Right Candle Company, a small indie vendor based in Tucson, AZ. This was a fun review to do because although I'm an experienced tart melter, I'd never tried wickless jars before. I definitely enjoyed my experience!
Just Right Candles was born after owner (and fellow scent-lover) Amanda Kennerly searched for a flame-free alternative to burning candles, since her apartment lease did not permit regular candles. Just Right offers wickless jar candles and melts in a variety of  sizes, and as the website states, they are perfect for any environment where flames are inappropriate - offices, homes with small children and/or active pets, apartments with strict landlords, etc. An added bonus to wickless is that you don't have to babysit your candle or worry about soot, tunneling or wick trimming hassles.
Just Right's website is very straightforward and easy to use. Although I would have liked to see a little more information about the company policies (such as shipping) as well as more detailed contact information, I had no problems poking around the site to make my selections. There are about 40 scents to choose from. In addition to the wickless jars and melts, Just Right also offers air fresheners, warmers and replacement bowls, and custom gift baskets. The company has a candle of the month program and clearance items, and best of all, a monthly drawing for a $25 gift certificate for newsletter subscribers.
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What do my Wickless Candles from Just Right look like?
 The wickless jar candles arrived in standard clear round apothecary jars with domed glass lids, and were colored according to their scent: a dark pewter blue for Bedford Falls, light orange for Cinnamon Pumpkin Raisin Bread, and a delicate light lilac color for Lavender. The jars had clear labels - easily removable if that's your thing - that had an elegant, simple logo design. The 1 ounce mini melts were packaged in clear plastic tart cups with a white label on the lid. I'm not precisely sure what type of wax Just Right uses, but based on the texture I'd guess that it's paraffin.
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How did my Wickless Candles from Just Right Smell?
For my review this time I picked a hodgepodge of three very different scents - clean/earthy, bakery and an herbal/floral. Here are my impressions of each:
Bedford Falls
This is the one I picked to melt first. It's not a common scent, and it's gotten some raves on the Candlefind forum, so when I saw it on Just Right's list I immediately put it down to try. Bedford Falls is described as a:
 "combination of woods, greens and earthy notes to conjure up a small town feeling."
To me, the name Bedford Falls reminds me of Christmas, since Bedford Falls is the name of the town in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life." This scent would be a great one to melt around the holidays, but I also thought this one would be great year round, too. I melted it on a hot, humid July day and it didn't seem out of place at all. For all you pine haters out there, take note - Bedford Falls is not the usual Christmas tree type of scent. It does have woodsy notes, but it's really more of a clean, refreshing aroma - it reminded me of men's cologne, but was not at all perfumey. It had an incredible throw - the 8 oz wickless and the tart, melted at the same time - scented my entire house. I loved Bedford Falls and would definitely recommend this scent.
Cinnamon Pumpkin Raisin Bread
I'm always on the lookout for good fall and bakery scents, so I thought this one would fit the bill perfectly. It's listed as:
"warm cinnamon pumpkin raisin bread with a hint of ginger, nutmeg & vanilla." 
Even though I don't like to actually eat raisin or pumpkin bread, this fragrance does not disappoint, and would be a nice addition to any bakery arsenal.
In both jar and melt form this scent has a more modest throw to it than Bedford Falls - it fills a couple of rooms rather than the whole house. However, I could clearly detect the cinnamon, spice and pumpkin notes in it, and it's such a warm, comfy scent! It's a great aroma for the cool fall weather and a lovely breakfast fragrance too - throw this one on the warmer on Thanksgiving morning when you get up to start the turkey and it'll complement the day perfectly.
 Lavender
As its Just Right description implies, this scent is a duplicate of the Johnson's Baby Wash fragrance rather than straight lavender. Perhaps that's why this was the only one of the three scents I tried that I really didn't care for.
I was a bit surprised to find that this scent smelled quite a bit different in jar form than in the melt. When I sniffed the warmed jar, I really didn't get any lavender notes at all, just a soapy aroma with a moderate to strong throw. The soap odor was actually quite pleasant and clean-smelling, but I was looking for a bit of lavender in this jar too, and unfortunately it just wasn't there. (And it wasn't just my nose, either - I asked my family what the jar smelled like, hot and cold, and they immediately said "soap.")
The melt had a much more distinct lavender punch to it, and of the two versions I definitely preferred the melt. Unfortunately, though, the melt stopped smelling of anything at all after only two hours. |
 How did my wickless candles perform?
All of the candles and melts had a medium to strong throw, particularly in relation to their size, and with the one exception of the lavender tart were quite long-lasting. To see how long the wickless jars would last, I warmed my Cinnamon Pumpkin Raisin Bread candle continuously for more than 70 hours. Although the throw was a tad diminished toward the end, the scent was still going strong when I finally shut if off. I used 24-watt combo plate electric melters for all of my Just Right candles and melts, and it took about an hour for the wax in the 8 oz jars to liquefy completely. It took about 15-20 minutes to melt the 3 oz Lavender jar.
One thing that should be noted is that all of the candles and melts smelled different hot than when they were cold - each only truly blossomed once they were melted (which is definitely not a bad thing!) The difference wasn't enormous, but it certainly was discernable. This is one of those "don't judge a book by its cover" (or a candle by its cold sniff) circumstances. |
Closing to my review of my wickless candles from Just Right Candle Co.:
To sum everything up, I would certainly recommend giving Just Right Candles a try. Aside from my experience with the lavender - a lot of which can be chalked up to personal scent preference - I liked the scents I picked, I liked the way the wax performed, and I liked the vendor. Even though the scent list is not enormous, there is something there for everyone. The owner Amanda is very sweet, friendly and easy to work with - I get the sense that she really cares about her customers and her business. Just Right Candle Company is a neat vendor and a great source for flame-free candles and melts!
Happy Candle Smelling!
~ Lisa
Shop for wickless candles and melts at Just Right Candle Co.
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