by Avery Jordan
Company:
DnD Ranch Aromas -”Scent from the Country”
Style: Tins 8 oz $7.99
Single tarts $1.75
Scents:
Chirpin’ Time
Horsin’ Around
Cat Nappin’
A Bit of This and That
Introduction to my review of DnD Ranch Aroma’s:
If you are reading this review, chances are that you are a wax addict! Let me ask you, are you an animal lover, also? If so, this company could end up on your favorite list.When I opened the box of candles and melts sent from DnD Ranch Aromas, my little ol’ heart went pitty pat, pitty pat! The first one I pulled out had a photo of a gold finch on the label, then a horse photo on the next… and… oooh a kitten! So adorable that I would probably buy these little devils for the cute factor. The candles I am reviewing are from their Farm & Ranch line and each one is in a tin with a photo on top of an animal or animal scene to go with the fun name of the scent. I will be doubly excited if they perform
well.
The candle maker, Michelle, really does live at a ranch in Colorado! She has many animals and several of them are rescues. She has a line of candles to match her love for animals, but she also has several other lines to choose from as well. If you head to the website, www.dndrancharomas.com , you will note their country themed site, with the webstore candles on the left side – (scroll to the bottom). Not only are there the standard scalloped style tarts, you can pick from several “designer” styles as well.
The other lines, besides “Farm & Ranch”, also have fun titles, (like this from the “Diva” line – “Shop til you Drop”). The Year Around candle line is named after some of the animals at the ranch, (“Bubba’s Butteree Caramel” for the potbellied pig, for instance. The pig, the scent name – how could anyone NOT order this one?). Seriously, you can spend a long time just clicking on the different candle themes and looking at the photos and reading the descriptions. You can tell that Michelle had a good time putting this website together!
While you are clicking away, checking out the different lines, take some time to click on the candle lines that are “fundraising” and “awareness” candles. DnD Ranch contributes to Mare Stare Cares, an organizations that assists in equine vet expenses. They also will have a candle that is a fundraiser for National Mill Dog Rescue. Another candle line contributes to St. Jude’s Children Hospital for cancer awareness, another admirable cause. (And buying candles that contribute to good causes just makes me want to buy even more candles!).
Shopping is easy and somewhat unique here. There is a “live chat operator” options for business hours questions (or leave a message when the “live” person is not there). When you shop, you pick the style of container you want and Michelle will pour your candle to order. (They are all hand poured at the time of order, and you can pick glass containers or tins, and melts are offered as well.)
How do my candles look? How did they smell?
A Bit O’ This & That:
“Uplifting and refreshing, like an evening trail ride through the woods after a 
rain shower”
This is a small candle, a travel size tin. It is not marked, but I am guessing about 4 ounces. (DnD offers these mini tins for “thank you” and business gifts.) The soft wax is tan. Michelle uses soy/soy vegetable blend waxes. The tin is silver and let me tell you about the labels again…these are FUN!
In synch with the ranch theme, this candle has a photo on top of horse silhouettes against an orangey sunset sky.
The strongest note is the fresh rain scent, and I don’t know for sure, (and I am hoping it is not the power of suggestion), but to my nose there was a bit of woodsiness – almost like cedar. This scent seemed more masculine than just a straight rain scent is, so maybe I am not making things up. The candle, since it quite small, was about powder room strength.
The melts? The tan melt was the scalloped style, individually wrapped and quite hearty. And the throw? Whoa! ( Get it??) This one did a very good job of scenting one medium sized room and then it was headed down the hall to the next room.
Cat Nappin’
“Dream about this cool, refreshing scent of orange peels, zesty lemon, and a hint of coconut swirled together in vanilla ice cream”
The wax is an orangey-tan. It is a silver tin, and I do not see the weight marked, so I am going with about 8 ounces.
This candle has an orange tabby kitten sleeping in a basket on it – soooo cute it makes you want to send one to every pet owner you know. And lucky 
me, it is in a scent I often buy! (OH! I get it! A orange and white sleeping kitty… scented in “dreamsickle-type” scent… clever!) Since my candle is a larger 
travel tin size, it best fragrances a small to medium sized room. I used it in a 9 x 10 room and it worked fine. The sweet orangey smell is the strongest, but it is softened with the vanilla. My nose also picks up something else – I think it may the peels, and this keeps this scent from being too overwhelmingly sweet.
The melts, once again, were strong. And boy, oh boy, what a mouthwatering smell. If you like the Dreamsickle/Dixie cup type of fragrance, this scent is bound to make you happy. It lasted about 1 tealight and the scent at the end seemed to have caramel notes!
“A powerful blend of basil with hints of other green herbs and a cool citrus blend makes this one definitely something to chirp about.”
This is also one of the keepsake tins, about 8 ounces. The wax is bright yellow.
First, I am totally smitten with the label. A photo of a goldfinch (I think!?) on a branch, beak open and singing his heart out. Who ever thought a bird could look so happy?
The scent description is a good one, on the mark for what I was smelling! I first noted the herby/green/spa type of scent when I opened the door. The lemon came through as sort of an afterthought. You can actually smell the basil note – I got out the spice jar to be sure, and that was the same note I had going in the testing room. This made the blend unique, not a typical fresh lemon/cleaning product smell. Again, I used the 9 x 10 room for this size and it scented the air nicely.
The notes in the melt came through the same – a very pleasant, herby lemon. Once again the melt had a strong enough throw to cover the testing room and head down the hall. I would get little whiffs of it now and then when I was a couple of rooms away!
Horsin’ Around
“A fabulous blend of berries and pine mixed with subtle hints of spice and wood tones. There’s no 
horsin’ around with this one”.
I am again checking out the tins (8oz?) and the scalloped melts. The wax here is a light green, and again the melts are single wrapped. The picture here is true to the name: a horse rolling around on its back in the grass! It looks like the sun is out, and our pal is having a swell time.
The cold sniff on this is a piney-pomander smell like bayberry. When it was burning I smelled the pine scent the strongest, but this candle had the lightest throw of the group.
The melt was also the mildest and one thing I noted (that I did not get from the others at all), was a soy under-smell after it had burned/melted for about an hour.
How did my candles from DnD Ranch Aroma’s burn and melt?
The candles were easy – no maintenance involved. They made a full melt pool with no soot and no wick trimming. Brainless! I love it!
The melts were again, easy – melted with no trouble, lasted for over 1 tealight and popped out with ice cubes chilling the cooled off wax. (I worry that the constant “in the freezer, out of the freezer” will hurt the structure of my ceramic dishes and make them break. If the wax seems like it is a firm blend, when it cools off I set 2-3 ice cubes on top of the hardened wax to make it shrink. So, when it gets cold (usually 5-10 minutes), the wax disk slides out easily from the melter dish. Soft soy wax does not come out cleanly if you do this!)
Round up of candles and melts from DnD Ranch Aromas:
This is another fun find! If you love animals as much as Michelle and I do, you will feel good feeding both your wax addiction and Michelle’s rescue programs when you purchase her products. The candles,
though they are cute, clever and even a bit humorous do not kid around when it comes to scenting. Since my candles were smallish, the throw was best for smaller rooms, but I would expect the larger ones with a bigger scent pool would do a good job filling your scenting needs. The tarts are great – strong enough to give you multiple room scenting, but not the eye-watering, open-the-window-fast way… the scenting is more like a pleasant background scent.
I am lovin’ this site for party favors and…(do I dare say this in September?)… stocking stuffers! So, gallop on over to the store in Colorado Springs, or take a peek at Michelle’s full line of scented products on-line. Chat with Michelle and she will tell you that her candles “are made by a candle lover for candle lovers”!
Happy candle hunting!
~ Avery
