Product Type: 8 oz candle jar ($8.50)
16 oz candle jar ($15)
Clamshell wax melts ($4.50)
Fragrances:
Caribbean Teakwood
Clean Cotton
Egyptian Amber
Strawberry
Caribbean Guava & Fig
Scent Strength: Light to moderate
Introduction to my review:
While I love shopping big box stores, I have a special interest in small businesses. Those indie shops that put their heart and soul into a dream ”“ creating unique and fabulous handmade products that you’d be hard pressed to find elsewhere. It seems like I am learning about a different candle company just about every day of the week, and I’m always eager to begin exploring scent lists and products. Such was the case with Scents by Francesca… a small soy candle company located in Atlanta, Georgia. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to try these products!
I found the website easy to navigate and loved the pictures of the products available. It is easy to see exactly what you will be getting when ordering from this website. I love how you can shop based on product size, scent or type of product. A well organized site gets two thumbs up from me! In addition to a regular website, Scents by Francesca has an Etsy store if you prefer to shop there.
I was sent an 8oz candle in Caribbean Guava & Fig, a 16oz candle in Egyptian Amber, and wax melts in Egyptian Amber, Caribbean Teakwood, Clean Cotton and Strawberry.
What did my candles look like?
Caribbean Guava & Fig
This was an 8oz clear glass mason jar with a gold screw-top lid. The label on it reflected the same color scheme that can be found on the website (blue/yellow) with the company name and scent name clearly displayed. The label could be removed with a little elbow grease if you wanted to burn a jar free of labels. That was of no interest to me, though, so I left the label intact. The wax coloring was a pinkish red hue that was really pretty. The candle had that typical “soy” candle look that is quite distinctive. This candle had a single, well-centered wick.
Egyptian Amber
I had both a candle jar and wax melts in this scent. The candle was a 16oz size and was an apothecary style jar. It had a flat, clear lid that fit snugly on the jar. The labeling was consistent on all the products. This wax was a brown color and this candle was single-wicked. 
The wax melts were clamshell melts (there are also scallop tarts available). The wax was also brown in color for the clamshell.
Strawberry
This was a clamshell melt with the label on the lid. The wax was light red, almost pinkish in color.
Caribbean Teakwood
This was another clamshell wax melt. The wax was light brown on this one.
Clean Cotton
This was a clamshell wax melt with off-white wax.
What did my candles smell like?
Caribbean Guava & Fig
This candle had a really nice cold sniff ”“ it was pretty sweet and definitely tropical. I loved it! Here is
the scent description from the website:
“A combination of citrus and tropical fruits with hints of fig and guava.”
Mmmm ”“ nice! I started this candle out in my powder room since it is the smallest room in my house. I left this candle to burn for about 30 minutes before going back to check on it. When I opened the door, I was immediately taken away to a tropical oasis…ahhhh! I thought I could detect sweet pineapple, some mango and dare I say honeydew? I’m not sure of the individual fruits, but it made for a good combination. It was sweet but the honey-type fig kept the scent from getting candy-like sweet. It was delicious! The scent throw on this one was moderately strong ”“ I could detect it in my powder room and was thrilled with the yummiliciousness. When I moved the candle to a larger space, it did get lost. I loved this scent and would purchase a larger sized candle to use in my open floor plan home.
Egyptian Amber
I had this scent in both a 16oz candle and in a clamshell wax melt. The scent description from the website is as follows:
“A rich base of vanilla, musk and sandalwood well balanced by top notes of jasmine, lavender and orange.”
The cold sniff on this one was very similar for both products ”“ sultry and warm, very sensual. The 
musk and the sandalwood were the most prominent notes. The cold sniff was a bit stronger with the wax melts vs. the candle.
I started this candle in my powder room (my usual testing room) and left it for about an hour. Since it was a larger candle, I wanted to give it plenty of time to get a good wax melt pool going. When I returned to the room, this sexy scent permeated the air. I could definitely smell the sandalwood and musk as with the cold sniff, but burning the candle also brought out the other notes. The vanilla was creamy and I was able to detect it at intervals throughout the burn. The floral notes swirled in the air but they were very muted compared to the sandalwood. Florals can give me a headache, but this was not a floral scent. The floral notes here just added to the complexity of the scent and it made for a very complex, lovely scent. I don’t think I ever actually smelled any orange notes. The scent throw on this one was stronger than Caribbean Guava & Fig and this candle did actually scent a medium sized room well. Of note, this was a larger sized candle and I’m sure that made a difference.
The wax melts were used in a medium sized room with a 24W electric melter. It only took two cubes to fill that room with the same sultry scent. The scent lasted for several hours before starting to fade. I was hesitant about this scent but it actually was my favorite of the bunch!
Strawberry
I have a hard time with strawberry scents. I find many of them either too artificial smelling to me or too “green.” The cold sniff on this particular scent, though, did not turn me off. It was more of a candy-like strawberry and I loved it! Here’s what the website has to say:
“A fruity delight of fresh strawberries sprinkled with sugar.”
I used two cubes of this melt in a 24W melter in my office at work. It was only moments before I noticed the scent starting to fill this relatively large room. Mmmmm ”“ yummy! This was a sweet, candy-like strawberry that was perfect for me. Not too green and not artificial at all. It reminded me somewhat of Jolly Ranchers. Maybe not quite that sweet, but very good indeed. This is a perfect fun-time summer scent and remained light and airy. I would start and stop melting this mel
t for just a few hours daily and it lasted for several days that way.
Carribbean Teakwood
This scent sounded the most complex to me. According to the website…
“A top note of leather, tobacco, amber and musk. The middle is a spicy mixture of black tea and pepper. The base note is aged teakwood with tones of patchouli and sandalwood.”
I love complex scent, so I was anxious to try this wax melt. I noticed mostly teakwood on cold sniff ”“ a sweet wood type of scent. I used 2 cubes in a medium-sized room in a 24W melter. Caribbean Teakwood then really began to blossom… the sweet woody aroma was the prominent note, but the sexiness of sandalwood and musk blended into the mix. Heavy leather and hints of tobacco remained steady throughout. There was something that tickled my nose and I’m going to go with that being the black pepper scent. This scent mix was fabulous! I didn’t get the ‘Caribbean’ part of the scent name as I didn’t consider this scent to be tropical at all. But it was very good nonetheless. The scent strength was moderately strong and long-lasting.
Clean Cotton
I love laundry scents. For one thing, they jumpstart my cleaning mood! And I just love my home to 
have that crisp, fresh scent ”“ especially in the laundry room (minus the actual laundry!) This scent is described as:
“Fresh laundry hanging out to dry in a light summer breeze. Perfect!”
I used this wax melt in my laundry room ”“ two cubes in a 24W melter. This room is medium-sized and could handle this wax melt just fine. The scent was detergent-y but very crisp and clean (as opposed to soapy). It had a slight perfumey note, but it went well with the scent…it was not overdone or offensive. I would have loved this scent to be a bit stronger. It did scent the laundry room nicely, but I followed it up by using 3 cubes the next time and enjoyed it much better. The scent lingered for a long time.
How did my candles perform?
The candles provided very clean, slow burns. I didn’t have any black soot on my jars or walls from burning these. The wicks were easy to maintain and were very tame. I obtained a full wax melt pool without difficulty with the smaller, 8oz jar. The larger jar had difficulty melting the wax all the wax to the sides of the jar. This left a pretty good rim of wax that I wasn’t too pleased with. I tried a number of different tricks and ultimately decided that I would just place the remainder of the jar on a warmer once it had burned down. Problem solved!
The wax melts were easy to melt in 24W electric burners. I had to put the dish in the freezer for a bit to pop the hardened wax out as this wax was pretty soft. I was testing that aspect of the wax and report it for those who like to change out wax once it has hardened. I pour my wax out hot in order to change scents, so that’s what I did for the majority of these melts.
Closing to my review:
Scents by Francesca is one of those fun, interesting companies that I could spend a lot of time getting to know. I was pleased with the performance of the majority of these products. The scents were interesting and ranged from simple to complex, so it would be easy to find something you might like. I would have preferred the scent strengths a bit stronger, but they were all good and pleasant.
My favorite of the bunch was Egyptian Amber, but I enjoyed them all. The only performance problem I had was the wax left in the 16 oz jar. Since this jar was more squat than tall, I would have personally like to see this candle with two wicks as opposed to one. But that being said, I enjoyed these products and think you might find something you would enjoy, too. Hop on over and give Scents by Francesca a try today!
Happy candle burning!
~ Andrea
