Sitota Collection – Luxury Candle Review

Introduction to my review:

I am always on the lookout for new-to-me luxury companies to try, and so it was a pleasant surprise to find out about Yvette Gayle’s Sitota Collection of luxury scented candles. Mrs. Gayle is an accomplished entertainment publicist who has traveled the world over. This has given her a unique perspective and the opportunity to experience some of the finer things in life. She has cultivated that perspective and experience into her own line of luxurious candles, aptly named Sitota, after her daughter.

The candles attempt to capture the essence of some of Mrs. Gayle’s favorite places during her travels, making the candles both exotic and enticing. While there are currently only four scents in the collection, they all sounded dreamy to me and I was swept away just reading the scent descriptions!

One visit to the website and you know you’re in for a luxurious treat. The black and gold set the tone and there are some stunning pictures to help you get in the right frame of mind. As I mentioned, all of the scents sounded fantastic to me, with Blue Nile heading the top of the list. Mrs. Gayle generously scent a gift set of her petit sized candles (which included one of each scent) and the regularly sized Blue Nile candle. I was set!

What did my Sitota Candles look like?

Blue Nile

This was the regularly sized candle from Sitota. It was housed in a black box with the company name/logo prominently displayed on top and the scent name on bottom. The box had a gorgeous pattern all around that gave it a very exotic vibe. This candle would be perfect for gifting right out of the gate – easy peasy.

Once opening the box, I discovered the object of my desire…Blue Nile. The recyclable glass candle vessel was black, sleek, and elegant. It was incredibly heavy in my hand and cool to the touch. I knew I was holding something truly special. The wax was a translucent white and there was a single, well-centered wick. The only thing on the vessel was the Sitota logo (and the candle warning sticker on the bottom). The candle was smaller at the base and flared a bit toward the top.

The Petit Excursion Candle Quartet

This gift set housed all four fragrances in smaller jars (that looked exactly like the larger candle mentioned above except the logo was placed on with a gold sticker). The gift box was black with a similar pattern and look. It was a long rectangular box and once opening, I could see all four candles snugly in their “seats.” This would make a perfect hostess gift.

What did my Sitota Candles smell like?

Blue Nile

This is the one I was feigning for. The name sounded so exotic and the scent description sounded right up my alley.

“BLUE NILE embraces earthy rich bamboo with wild grasses, bergamot, red grapefruit, and jasmine.”

The cold sniff on this candle was slightly sweet and earthy. I knew right away I was going to enjoy this one. At separate times, I burned both the regularly sized candle and the petit candle in my powder room (my usual starting place for testing candles). Once I started burning this candle, I returned a short time later to be met by an energizing scent – the grapefruit had decided to introduce itself and it wove in and out around the sweet bamboo. It was ah-may-zing! There was a hint of a soft floral in the background, but I wouldn’t classify this as a floral scent. This was a natural, clean-type scent with a slightly sweet bite. Nice!

The scent throw on the larger candle was perfect for my powder room. It filled that space without any difficulty. Never overwhelming, just ever-present. I was actually surprised at how well the the smaller candle did…I could smell it as a background note throughout its burn.

Aigyptos

This was a candle in the petit gift set. Here’s the scent description for this one:

“Sultry and seductive base notes of amber, sandalwood, musk and vanilla are smoothed out and balanced by jasmine, lavender and orange. Infused with essential oils including copaiba, balsam, orange and lavandin.”

On cold sniff, I picked up the floral notes easily. Lavender and lavandin primarily – pretty but with a sharpness to it that made it bold. While burning this one in my powder room, my first thoughts were: romantic. This was a very romantic scent. The floral notes combined well with the sexiness of amber and the smoothness of the vanilla. It was incredibly complex and beautiful.

This petit candle had a really good throw and I even moved it out into my kitchen. It didn’t scent up my entire kitchen, but I could smell it when I was over in the area. I thought it threw well for such a small candle.

Havana

The definite masculine one in the group. I could smell a distinct cologne-y scent when cold sniffing this one. Not in a bad way…dark, moody, sexy. All of the above!

“HAVANA is a masculine masterpiece highlighting tobacco, leather, amber and musk. Notes of teakwood, pepper and black tea add boldness. This sophisticated blend is infused with cedarwood, patchouli and pimento berry essential oils.”

This candle was incredible while burning – it was heavier and thicker than the others, yet it was not overbearing. It’s hard to describe…I could smell crushed tobacco leaves with earthy teakwood and hints of pepper tickling my nose. I thought of a man’s well-worn leather jacket at times and then of a smoke pipe at other times. A complex gem that I would love to have in the larger size.

Although a petit candle, this candle had a very good throw in my powder room. I could distinctly smell it when I walked into the room.

Coco Noir

Now I was in familiar territory with Coco Noir…

“COCO NOIR perfectly combines creamy coconut with tantalizing cassis enabling natural exotic blends to effortlessly calm and relax your spirit.”

Did you say coconut? I can’t stand the taste of coconut, but the smell? I adore! That’s perhaps why I adored
this candle. This candle smelled of sweet, creamy coconut with rich, deep cassis. It was such a great combination. Who knew??? This one was quite a bit different from the rest of the line to me, but it smelled wonderful.

The scent throw on this candle was very good and was actually stronger than the others.

How did my Sitota Candles burn?

I experienced a great burn with these candles. A full wax melt pool was obtainable in no time. Yet, these were slow burning candles. I got over 20 hours with each of my petit candles and I was able to burn the larger candle for 60 hours. The candles burned so clean! No black soot that I noted and absolutely no wasted wax on the sides of the jars.

Closing to my Sitota Candle review:

I’m extremely hard on luxury candles because I think there has to be some sort of return on investment – not just eye candy or a conversation piece. That said, I was very pleased with my Sitota Collection candles and I could see these having a permanent place on my candle shelves. What’s more, these would make excellent out-of-the-box gifts…I’m already making my list and checking it twice. These candles not only looked and felt beautiful, they performed well and scented up this humble abode. The candle vessels are keepers, which is an added bonus.

After burning all four scents, I would have to say that Coco Noir turned out to be my favorite, with Havana running a close second. That really surprised me, but I actually enjoyed all four scents. I could see myself choosing each one at different times and for different moods. Coco Noir was the strongest and Blue Nile was the lightest of the group. Aigyptos was a no-doubt floral and Havana was masculine. You can use that info as a guide, but truthfully I didn’t have a bad one in the bunch. They were all fantastic on their own merits. And that’s what I’d call success.

Happy candle burning ~

Andrea

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