by Avery Jordan
Company: By the Bay Botanicals
Type:
12 oz candle $10
27 oz candle $18
Scents:
Napa Valley Merlot
Ocean City Boardwalk Memories
Tahiti Tropical Waterfall
Scent strength: Varied
Introduction to my review:
By the Bay Botanicals is more than a company that makes candles! Using flowering plants grown on their own 1.2 acre Maryland homestead along with other eco-friendly ingredients, candles are just one of their handcrafted botanical products. The owner, Michelle, also makes Lavender Teas and incense – and I am intrigued by both of these as well! Anything that combines lavender and tea together is a must have in my book!
The candle line is cleverly named “Destination Scentsations”, and it is named for various destinations in the world – so you “can have a vacation without leaving the room”.
The website gives you a peek at their “destinations” – and as I started this review, the website had a little slide show of several attractive 
photos used as the labels for some of their candles, asking, “where will your nose take you today”? As I finish up, the website is being updated and I don’t see this clever tag line currently, but isn’t this what scented candle burning is all about? We love the little mental journeys we take when we sniff a favorite scent, whether it is the smell of cinnamon rolls in our favorite bakery or the piney smell of a Christmas tree lot. I dare say, being able to capture those scents so that you can smell your favorite “smell” any time of the year is a big part of what candle addiction is all about..
By the Bay Botanicals uses palm wax when making their candles. I love the look of palm wax – it has a frosty appearance that makes beautiful wintery candlescapes! A grouping of these icy white pillars with silver and blue ornaments has made a home on my fireplace hearth for many Christmases. But my attraction has ended there…
Previously I had burned palm wax in pillars, I had melted it in tarts. The pillars had minimal scent, and the tarts, while they had reasonable throw, often had an under scent that I did not care for. I had not burned a palm container-style candle before, so I was curious if I could become a fan.
How did my candles smell?
Napa Valley Merlot
“The aroma is of juicy grapes is strong however complimented by subtle oak notes creating a well rounded candle in a gorgeous maroon/purple color”
Michelle is not kidding! This candle really is a gorgeous color! The frosty look really shows up in the dark wax. As far a scenting? This one was my favorite! I was a little surprised that I liked it that much – I did not pull out an oak note, but the grape scent had depth to it, almost like cherry notes and it was not the usual “cold medicine” grape scent.
Even though this is the smaller 12 oz candle, (called the weekender size), it scented a 16 x 16 room very nicely!
Ocean City Boardwalk Memories
“It smells just like creamy coconut, but 10 times better than what you could ever imagine.”
I separate coconut into three types: tropical, buttery/bakery and toasted. This one falls in the buttery category, mildly reminiscent of a coconut butter sunscreen, suited to bring up memories of the shore – Boardwalk Memories!
This candle, off white in color, was also the 12 oz size. The scenting was not as strong as the Napa Valley fragrance, but still scented the powder room with medium scent.
Tahiti Tropical Waterfall
“There isn’t a more beautiful place than a secluded waterfall full of lush green leaves and the sound of rushing water over rock formations. This candle captures all of these elements and is truly a fresh, green, and watery in aroma.”
Another pretty candle in a soft green, this candle is the large container, 27 oz. (This size is called the Vacation Getaway size). It is a soft scent, notes I detected were greens, a mild floral and it is a fresh scent – which suit’s the lush waterfall theme just fine! This is the lightest scent of the three – a little too light for my scenting preferences, but for those of you that like just a whisper of scent now and then, this one is well suited for you.
How did my candles burn?
Palm wax seems to be a clean burning wax – it is rare that I have seen soot – and these are no different! It is important to keep the wicks trimmed as is usually recommended – when my wicks were longer than ¼ inch, the flame was impressive!(More good news, the large candle has double wicks!)
A plus for me, one of my candles stopped burning when it got down to about ½ of wax left in bottom, and would not relight. From a safety standpoint, this is great – in the past I have gotten busy and forgotten about candles burning until I heard the “crack” of the container when the wax was too low! I was not that lucky with the other two, but what a great deal it would be if that magic could always happen!
Not one to waste scented wax, I set the one candle with the remaining wax on my candle warmer – a great solution to use up every drop of scent! The throw was great, too!
Final thoughts on By the Bay Botanicals
I am glad I discovered palm wax candles in containers! It has changed my opinion about this type of wax. While I loved the look of these candles in the past, their only function for me has been for decorating. With the clean burn, attractive appearance, and the better scenting I experienced with the glass containers, these candles will show up on my “reorder” list!
Let me end with a little “bonus”: Have you ever wanted to learn how to make a candle? Michelle is giving away her secrets – watch the You Tube video of how she creates these palm wax beauties.
Happy candle shopping!
~ Avery
