Tomslitehouse – Candle Review

by Andrea Haskins

Brand: Tomslitehouse

Type: 12.25oz Status Jar 4oz Clamshells
2oz Soy Shots

Scents:
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pumpkin Crème Brulee
Daffodil
Ginger Peach
Vanilla

Strength: Light to Very Strong

Introduction to my Tomslitehouse review:

Tomslitehouse is a new-to-me company that I was more than willing to try. The wax is 100% soy and there is an emphasis on “going green.” I love companies with a conscience! The website itself has a background pale green color with some beautiful, yet not overwhelming, graphics. I prefer simplicity in a website and that’s just what I found here. No hunt and peck game for the fragrances. The list is readily available with scent descriptions AND color information. Sweet! The fragrances are broken down into scent categories which makes it very easy to find just what you are looking for.

I was sent a plethora of items for review from Tomslitehouse. This review will not allow for review of them all, but I felt it important to mention everything just the same. The packaging was sufficient for the products included. Tart cups were bagged to keep them from getting all loosey goosey in the box. The candles that were included were individually wrapped and sealed in bubble wrap for added protection. Nothing was damaged or the least bit worn. Soy wax by its nature is very soft and I was able to see some indentions in the tart cups but nothing major. Included in my goody box were two clamshells (Ginger Peach and Pumpkin Creme Brulee), three tart cups (Daffodil, Florida Orange Blossom and Vanilla), a box of a dozen tealights and two candles (shower favor size in Country Cottage and a status jar in Pumpkin Cheesecake). It was difficult to choose what to review! In the end I chose both clamshells, two of the tart cups (Daffodil and Vanilla), and the Pumpkin Cheesecake status jar.

What did my products look like?

The status jar was 12.25oz of soft, orange wax with a single cotton wick. I love the clean look of status jars and this was no exception. A high quality jar with a thick lid. There was a clear identification label on the top including the company name and logo. The scent name was affixed to the “side” of the jar with a silver stick-on label which was easily removable if so desired. Tomslitehouse does offer frosted jar candles but this was not a frosted jar. Clear as a bell!

Each clamshell was the typical type of clamshell packaging with a small circular company label affixed to the lid and a separate silver scent name label. The website indicates each clam holds about 4oz of wax and I would say that’s a good estimation. These clamshells were filled to the brim with wax… no skimping there! Both Ginger Peach and Pumpkin Crème Brulee were orange in color.

The soy shots were 2oz each and again, filled to the brim! One cup was so full it was difficult to keep the lid on. A nice problem to have! Each cup had the scent name clearly identified on the outside with a silver stick-on label. These labels can come off but do not easily fall away from the cups. So no worries about losing a scent name in the storage process! My Vanilla (white) soy shot did not have a company label on top
while the Daffodil (yellow) shot did. I’m sure this was a simple oversight as the other shot that I am not reviewing (Florida Orange Blossom) DID have a company name label on the lid. Why is this important to me? Because, folks… in case you didn’t know… I do have a LOT of wax. From a zillion different companies! OK, maybe I exaggerate. A little. But nothing is more annoying than running across a scent I love and then not being able to identify who made that wonderful creation! In any case, the Vanilla soy shot was the only product without a company label so I am fairly sure this was the exception to the rule.

What did my products smell like?

Pumpkin Cheesecake

The jar candle I burned was the larger candle scented in Pumpkin Cheesecake. I am not a huge cheesecake fan ”“ in dessert or wax form ”“ but I was anxious to see what this beautiful candle would do. Here’s what Tomslitehouse had to say about this scent:

“A must have for cheesecake lovers! A scrumptious, mouth-watering blend of creamy pumpkin, subtle spices, vanilla, and cream cheese with a hint of graham cracker crust.”

Now what bakery lover wouldn’t want to indulge in that?? I don’t usually get overpowering cold sniffs with all-soy wax products, so I was not alarmed by a mild cold sniff on this one. I smelled plenty of pumpkin spice, though. Longing to get to the vanilla, cream cheese and graham cracker crust, I decided to light this little beauty up in my “testing” room. Those of you who have been on previous wax-scented journeys with me know that I usually start out candles in the smallest available room in my house: the powder room. This room is still a challenge for many-a-candle because of the very tall ceilings. How did this candle fair with that challenge? I’m sad to say… not as I’d hoped. I waited for about 30 minutes with the door closed before doing my first check. I did get faint whiffs of the pumpkin spices throughout the air but not much more. If I was close to the candle, I did get more of the creamy cheesecake type scent I would expect. I never did meet that graham cracker crust.

I let this candle burn for several more hours and my initial impressions remained about the same.

Pumpkin Crème Brulee

Undaunted, I headed to another pumpkin scent in the bunch ”“ Pumpkin Creme Brulee. Can you say yum?? This scent was in clamshell form and did have a bigger punch on cold sniff. Tomslitehouse describes this scent as:

“This scent is so yummy, I can’t seem to get enough sniffs & whiffs from the bottle! You’ll find notes of creamy pumpkin puree, ground cinnamon, cardamom, Vermont maple, rum, french vanilla and caramelized sugar. Oh, so delicious!”

OK, this is right up my alley! I used a clamshell cube in the powder room and it didn’t even take 10 minutes before realizing we had something special here. Mmmmmm, good! This scent didn’t stay contained in the powder room at all! This was a creamy pumpkin scent with a very good blend of sweet and spice. Maple scents can be overpowering but not so in this case. Just the right touch! I imagine the French Vanilla and rum helped smooth things out a bit. This was a complex, delicious pumpkin scent with a strong scent throw. Perfect for Fall!

Ginger Peach

The other clamshell scent I tried was Ginger Peach:

“A succulent peach blended with ginger and black tea.”

I thought that sounded very exotic! I used a different tactic with this scent ”“ I melted it in a large, open area to see how it would fare. I have tried many a peach scents before, only to find they come off very fakish and not desirable at all. Since taking a chance in our main living space, I was hoping that would not be the case here. It wasn’t!! This was such a good, fruity type scent. It was not candy sweet (a mistake that is often made with fruit scents, I believe). This was a juicy peach scent ”“ almost sexy in nature with the background ginger notes. I’m not sure I could pick out the black tea scent, but I’m sure that helped contribute to this being such a grown-up, delicious scent. I loved it!! The throw was moderate, which I thought was perfect for this scent.

Daffodil

I love florals in moderation. Some florals can be way too overpowering and almost perfume-y. So while I do enjoy florals, I have to be very selective. Otherwise, major headache!! On cold sniff, I knew this floral had promise.

This was a very GREEN daffodil scent. I mean, I felt I could literally smell the fresh grass this beautiful flower was growing on! I really wanted to see if this was mentioned in the scent description, but I didn’t find this scent listed on the website. Yet and still, I couldn’t wait to melt this one. I melted this scent in my laundry room because I thought the floral might need a bigger space to work. Boy, was I right!! This was such a good, clean scent. Like being in a field of daffodils. If I ignored all the piles of awaiting laundry and closed my eyes, I could imagine standing right in the middle of a field of daffodils!

This was not too perfume-y at all. It had those “green” elements that helped keep it from smelling like a cheap bottle of perfume. This scent was just pure perfection. And it was really strong! It filled my laundry room and more, easy peasy! This was definitely the strongest of the scents I tried.

Vanilla

While I knew I would be pushing it by reviewing another scent, I just couldn’t resist a vanilla. I LOVE vanilla! And since I was mostly pleased with what I had tried here so far, I felt this would be a fitting end to the testing process. While there were various vanillas listed on the website, I didn’t see pure vanilla listed. Not knowing what quite to expect, I put the entire melt into my powder room warmer and waited.The scent was that of a pure vanilla… no spices or bakery notes. It was not overtly sweet either. I would classify this as a good background scent to have, especially going during the holidays when there may be a multitude of baking scents in the air! The scent throw was moderate, about what I would expect from a vanilla scent.

How did my products perform?

The candle was candle perfection. I did not have to babysit the wick and it formed a full melt pool in no time. There was a nice, steady burn and absolutely no wasted wax. Loved it! The clamshells and the soy shots performed just as expected. They melted fully within a matter of minutes. I used electric and bulb melters for these.

Closing to my Tomslitehouse review:

Overall, I had a great experience with the products from Tomslitehouse. Enough to make me want to return again and again! There is a great scent list there with enough variety to please just about everyone. I would like to try a larger candle in a different type of scent in the future. I had such success with the melt products, I’m positive there’s a jar there for me, too! Would I recommend them? A resounding YES!!

Keep the light on ’til next time!

~ Andrea

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