Valentine’s Day Scented Candles – Candle Marketplace

Brand: Candle Marketplace

Cost: $3.95 – $14.95

Scent Strength: Varied

Introduction to my review of scented candles from Candle Marketplace:

What’s red and white and pink all over? Valentine’s Day, of course. Has Cupid got you in his sights this year? If so, I’ve found three scents that will surely bring on the romance. Smooth satin, a glass of wine, and oh yeah, cookies. Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but nothing says “I love you” like homemade cookies. I found just what I was looking for at Candle Marketplace.

Candle Marketplace’s website was a departure from the many Americana and country themed candle shops. I like those shops just fine, but I can also appreciate a modern looking website with clean lines and minimal distractions. I found my way around the website easily enough. There wasn’t a specific page for scent descriptions but each one was described when I clicked on the scent name. Candle scents were divided into several categories and some scents could be found in more than one spot. In order to get a complete list of scents, I went to the melts section and the complete list was available there.

If your sweetheart is clueless as to what will win your affection, don’t be afraid to drop some hints. If a new warmer will warm your heart, the selection at Candle Marketplace is worth a second look. I know lots of companies offer warmers on their sites, but Candle Marketplace has some exceptional warmer styles. They are each uniquely functional in different ways. There is a square warmer to fit the square container candles. There is a warmer plate with LED lights that light up a candle’s wax and there is even one with automatic shut off. Along with these interesting warmer plates, there are two styles of candle lamps, one traditional and one lantern type.

If you’ve got some extra time on your hands, Candle Marketplace also has an interesting and informative candle blog accessible from their website. Learn all about candle wicks and soy wax benefits. Brush up on candle safety or get tips on how to clean up a wax-tastrophy.

What do my candles from Candle Marketplace look like?

Like the Candle Marketplace website, the candles themselves are sleek with clean lines and minimalist labeling. The Status Jars, are medium sized 13 ounce clear glass metro jar styles with sealing glass lids. Each jar was double wicked. The Satin scented candle had cream colored wax. Tuscan Harvest was wine colored, and the Snickerdoodle wax was a caramel color. Each jar had a small round AcScents Aromatics emblem label affixed to the side. Scent information and burn times were listed on another label on the bottom of the jars.

The 3 ounce clamshell style melts, called Memory Melts, each have a label with a photograph depicting the scents. Satin has a picture of an elegant turn of the century lady. Tuscan Harvest has a photo label of an Italian countryside, and Snickerdoodle shows a plate of fresh baked cookies.

How did my candles from Candle Marketplace smell?

Satin

“A floral bouquet on a woody background sweetened by vanilla.”

Queue the Barry White music. It’s time to set the mood for amore’. Cheesy? You bet, but Valentine’s Day was made for the schmooze. This is the day for over-the-top romantic gestures. Heck, our local costume shop even has a Cupid costume for rent. Don’t ask me how I know this… I just do. Let’s leave it at that… I’ve said too much.

Satin was a sexy, feminine fragrance. I could smell a powdery floral top note that lightened the load of a deeper, richer wood note… cedar perhaps. The vanilla didn’t jump out and goose me, but it lended to the overall blend. Despite the bit of vanilla in this fragrance, it was far from foody… unless you’re cooking in the bedroom. This was a sultry, evocative scent that would be a perfect accent to a romantic evening. This was in the realm of a cologne type fragrance, but it was done right and smelled awesome.

I found the candle scent strength to be about the same as the memory melts. The candle lightly scented my medium sized bedroom, which is exactly what I was looking for. Satin never overpowered, but instead teased the nose and set the mood for a night of romance… or The Tonight Show… hey, don’t judge.

Tuscan Harvest

I went all highbrow by choosing this scent, but hey, a little wine is fine on Valentine’s Day. Check it out:

“A heady blending of red wine in its early stages.”

I was pleased as punch with Tuscan Harvest. This scent was fantastic! It was a beautiful, fruity burst of fragrance. It reminded me of a mulberry scent actually. It smelled more of berries than grapes, but it certainly had a wine note too that I could almost taste in the air. I was happy to discover that Tuscan Harvest didn’t smell of grape juice, soda pop, or grape candy. It was much more sophisticated and actually smelled like I had raised a glass of wine to my nose.

Not only did the scent smell divine, it was strong too. The candle filled my room with this luscious scent and kept it coming the whole time I had it lit. Whenever someone asks me to recommend a wine scented candle, Tuscan Harvest from Candle Marketplace is the one that I will brag about.

The melts were equally strong, and smelled exactly like the candle.

Snickerdoodle

Here is the description for Snickerdoodle:

“A blend of French vanilla, cinnamon, and maple pecan cookie batter.”

Now you know why I chose it for this review.

Snickerdoodle cookies are a classic pantry cookie. It’s one of those recipes that uses common everyday ingredients found in most kitchens. Snickerdoodles are the quintessential, boredom busting, go-to cookie recipe. Anybody can make these. There are no exotic spices or fancy flavorings that would require a trip to the store. Anyone could throw all the simple ingredients into a bowl, mix, and bake. Snickerdoodle recipes are very forgiving so whomever bakes them ends up looking like a bona fide pastry chef.

The Snickerdoodle scent from Candle Marketplace smelled like a creamy caramel coated butter cookie. I smelled the vanilla and a tiny smidge of cinnamon, but mostly I smelled a butter cookie… a delicious sugary butter cookie. I was pleased with the authenticity of this Snickerdoodle scent because the notes I could pick out were the exact ingredients of real Snickerdoodle cookies.

With the candle on the desk beside me, I could smell all of the delicious fragrance notes mingled nicely together, but from across the medium sized room, the scent was on the lighter side. It seems like a naturally lighter type of scent. The melts were a bit stronger and complimented the candle well when, after a while, I melted them along with burning the candle.

There are dozens of Snickerdoodle recipes to be found online if you ever get the urge to turn your ordinary pantry items into a delectably sweet treat. The recipe I’ve been using is found here: http://www.food.com/recipe/soft-snickerdoodle-cookies-97496 Then, again, if you’re not inclined to bake, pick up this enticing candle fragrance from Candle Marketplace instead.

How did my candles from Candle Marketplace burn?

The double wicked candles burned well. They each formed a melt pool quickly and the wick flames stayed strong and hot all through the burn. I found that regular wick trimming was necessary with these. The flames grew large fairly quickly and I found that trimming them down low was the way to go once the melt pool was established. Keeping the wicks trimmed avoided any sooting, and my jars stayed clean from beginning to end.

The Memory Melts were standard clamshell style melts. Once the cubes were snapped apart, they were easy to remove from the clamshell and I used two cubes at a time while reviewing these scents.

Closing to my review…

Must I celebrate every single holiday with a candle? In a word…Yes. Holidays are the best times to showcase particular scents in our homes and Valentine’s Day has so many possibilities. Scent can express a particular mood that sets a tone in any surrounding. Sometimes my candle fragrances are like giant mood rings. One needs only to smell my home to determine my frame of mind.

For this time of year, when Cupid fills the air with hearts and flowers, Candle Marketplace had just what I wanted. I enjoyed all three of these candles, each in its own way. I liked that the jars were double wicked and burned clean. Scent strength varied between fragrances, with Tuscan Harvest being the strongest to my nose. I was pleased with my whole experience at Candle Marketplace.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

~ Julia

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