American Harvest, Cinnamon Bun & Oatmeal Cookies – Beanpod Candle Review

by Carolyn O’Conner

Introduction to my Beanpod candle review…

Over the past few years, Beanpod Candles have been popping up everywhere and for some reason I always feel drawn to them.  I think it’s because I tried one of their small jars in their Vanilla Coffee scent a couple years ago. It was SO incredible I never forgot about it.  I figured if one of their scents was that good, the rest must be just as yummy.  I think I’m also drawn to Beanpod because I love to see displays of their soy beads, which is Beanpod’s version of tarts.  They’re so cute!

The last reason I’m drawn to Beanpod is because I personally prefer candles that are made from soy wax versus paraffin. I’m sure most of you have seen the claims on soy candle sites that soy wax is a much healthier alternative to paraffin. Honestly, I have no idea if this is true, but since I like to go as natural as I can with the products I use in my home, I just feel more comfortable burning candles made from soy… obviously a personal preference.  I’m not one to persuade people to switch to soy candles.  We’re all different, we like what we like and that’s just fine with me. Some of you prefer soy, some prefer paraffin, others like Christina could care less.  You get the idea.  Alright, back to Beanpod…

Recently the owners of the web site RockCreekGifts.com, Chad & Kim, sent me an email.  Among other collectibles, they carry the entire collection of Beanpod Candles and Soy Beads and were interested in offering our fans a 5% discount.  I’m never one to turn down a discount on candles so I said OK. Anything that will help me and all of my candle-addicted friends save on our scented-goodies is a great thing. Shipping is also free at Rock Creek Gifts for orders over $59 so that definitely helps as well. Before I go on, here’s how to redeem the discount… just enter CandleFind in the comments text box at checkout. (When checking out, the 5% discount will not be reflected in your total order amount but will be applied when you receive a confirmation email of your order. Also, discount can not be applied to any Beanpod candles that are currently on sale.)

I was pretty happy with the way this all turned out because before Chad & Kim contacted me, I decided I wanted to give some Beanpod Candles a try…to see how they’d stand up to all of the candle competition out there.  couple years ago I tried a small jar in their Vanilla Coffee scent. It was incredibly authentic and yummy. As soon as we set up the discount, I went ahead and used it myself to place an order.  🙂  I ordered 3 jars, which I’ll be reviewing here in the following scents…American Harvest, Oatmeal Cookies and Cinnamon Bun. I was obviously inspired to try American Harvest since it’s Fall.  I decided on the other bakery scents because I’m a bakery fanatic…plain and simple.

What do my Jar candles from Beanpod look like?

My jars are Beanpods 16oz. size.  They’re the usual apothecary style with flat glass lids.Each jar has a black label on the front with a nice picture appropriate for each scent.  The color of my 3 candles vary only slightly…they’re all a natural creamy, beige kinda color.  My jars are single-wicked.

How did my Candles from Beanpod smell? 

American Harvest:

I don’t normally like spicy-type scents.  As most of you know, I’m more of a bakery and fruit fan, but I wanted to review this one since it has a Fall theme.  Here’s the scent description…

“A spicy and aromatic blend that will evoke the memories of an early fall morning when the air is cool and crisp with the scent of fallen leaves.”

Even though that’s a nice description, it doesn’t say what the actual ingredients are to this scent so I emailed Chad & Kim to see if they knew.  They said they didn’t know either but if they had to guess they would say that it has cinnamon with vanilla undertones.  I’m definitely smelling the cinnamon.  It’s just the kind of cinnamon I like…not too hot or too spicy, it’s just right and totally authentic.  I can tell there’s more to this Autumnal blend besides the cinnamon but I’m not totally sure what it is.  I’m thinking Chad & Kim might be right about the vanilla undertones.  Cinnamon is definitely dominant in this scent, but there may be a little vanilla underneath to lend a cozy hand to this fragrance.  I don’t like it when I can’t describe to you exactly what I’m smelling, but I know if you’re into Fall scents you’ll probably like this one.  It really does remind me of a crisp Fall morning and the smell of colorful leaves crunching under my feet.

The scent strength of this jar was just ok. When I had it burning in my living room, it lightly filled the air, but it didn’t have enough umph so I moved it to my powder room.  The scent totally filled the air in my bathroom, giving it a nice fall feeling.

Cinnamon Bun:

Being the bakery nut that I am, I’m always up for a candle that smells like cinnamon buns so when I saw this one on Rock Creek’s site, I immediately put it in my shopping cart.  Here’s the scent description…

“Hot, gooey and buttery cinnamon buns fresh out of the oven.  You can smell the butter, cinnamon and rich frosting on our Cinnamon Bun candle. Delicious!”

The first time I took the lid off this jar I thought I died and went to bakery heaven. Seriously.  The description is totally accurate.  Without a doubt, this is THE BEST cinnamon bun scent I have ever smelled.  Every time I burned this candle, I found myself craving those warm, gooey, too-die-for cinnamon buns from Cinnabon. I mean come on, can life get any better than those little sweet sticky buns from heaven or what?!?  I don’t think so!  The thing that sets this cinnamon bun scent apart from the others I’ve tried in the past is the awesome, authentic buttery smell.  Mmm…a buttery-doughy goodness mixed with a mouthwatering gooey-sweet frosting is what stood out the most to me. Can you say YUMMMM?  The cinnamon is definitely there too…very authentic and just the right amount that you’d find in a delicious cinnamon bun.

Everything in this candle smelled incredibly real.  I was so tempted to take a big old bite out of it, but I know by now we candle-lovers can’t do that. 🙁 There’s just something about that buttery, doughy, frosting smell that totally speaks to me.  (ok, I really need to find a Cinnabon right now!)  When I had this candle burning, you’d swear I was baking the most scrumptious cinnamon buns all day long.  There’s nothing better to a serious candle-lover than when you find a scent that smells this realistic.  It’s like we’ve hit gold or something!  Ha!

I was pretty pleased with the strength of this candle.  I burned this one in my living room.  The candle definitely gave off enough scent to enjoy it completely, but it wasn’t overkill… just right.  On a couple rare occasions I thought I could’t smell it as much, but then the next time I lit it the scent filled the room.  I don’t know why that happened. It may have just been my nose.  Maybe I was getting so used to the scent I was almost getting immune to it or something…I don’t know.  Regardless, this is an awesome, strong candle that I HIGHLY recommend.  If you love the smell of warm buttery cinnamon buns drizzled with sweet frosting, you’ve got to give this one a try.

Oatmeal Cookies:

I’m a MAJOR fan of oatmeal cookies.  They were always something I’d shy away from as a kid, but I guess my taste has changed because BOY do I love them now!  I’ve been trying to resist all of those goodies lately for the sake of my health and waste line but thank goodness there are companies out there who make some awesome bakery scents.  At least I can still indulge in the smell of something yummy without the guilt or consequences.  When I saw on Rock Creek’s site that Beanpod offered an Oatmeal Cookie scent, I couldn’t resist ordering it.  Here’s the official description from Beanpod…

“Our Oatmeal Cookies candle captures the essence of warm oatmeal cookies out of the oven.  Your senses will be filled with the fragrance of brown sugar, cinnamon, and rolled oats.”

This scent did not disappoint at all!  Far from it.  It smells EXACTLY like warm oatmeal cookies fresh from the oven.  To quote Christina, yum-yum-yum-YUM!!! What stands out the most to me is an authentic, mouthwatering combination of rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and maybe a bit of clove.  Mmm…  Next to Beanpod’s Cinnamon Bun candle, this one is my new favorite when it comes to incredible bakery scent-finds.  If you’re a bakery lover like me, you have to try this one.

The strength of this candle was pretty good.  It managed to fill my living room with it’s incredible scent every time I had it burning.  It didn’t have an in-your-face feel to it like some of the more power-packed candles do, but for my taste, the strength was just right.  Enough to enjoy the scent, but not so much where I needed to take a break from it or open a window.

How did my jar candles from Beanpod burn?

I had no trouble at all with my jars.  They burned very clean… not a speck of soot on my jars.  As usual, I trimmed my wicks in between burning sessions.

Overall opinion of my jar candles from Beanpod?

I feel like I’m off to a good start with Beanpod.  To be able to say all 3 of the scents I tried were very authentic and true is a good sign.  To be able to say I literally fell in love with two out of 3 scents is a GREAT sign.  I can’t wait to try more!  I already have my eye on some of their other scents like Whipped Cream, Sugar Cookie and Winter Mint. I hope they’re as good as they sound.

When I was first talking to Chad & Kim from Rock Creek Gifts, they mentioned if I was after a really strong throw I should go with Beanpod’s soy beads.  After hearing that, I figured my jars wouldn’t give that great of a throw but I was pleasantly surprised.  Even though my Fall Harvest candle was light in my living room, I was still able to smell it and enjoy it to a degree, which is something you can’t say for all candles that have ight throw.

To sum up, if you’re looking to try a new candle company I say give Beanpod a try.  I’m pretty impressed so far.  After smelling how incredible their Oatmeal Cookies, Cinnamon Bun scent and not to forget my Vanilla Coffee from before, I have a good feeling I’m gonna strike gold again with this company.

Happy Shopping!

~ Carolyn

Shop for Beanpod Candles