Posts Tagged ‘richly scented candles’
White Barn Candles
White Barn candles have an interesting history behind them. Originally opened in the 1990's as the Bath & Body Works home stores, the heavy scented candle sales grew enough to merit their own venue.
Thus, the White Barn Candle Company stores were born. They are currently part of the Limited Brands family of shopping.
What's interesting these days is that there are freestanding White Barn stores and those that have a "store within a store" in Bath and Body Works. Fragrances are naturally coordinated between the two brands.
White Barn Candles and Accessories
Naturally, if you have a Bath & Body Works store near you (or maybe even a White Barn store), that would be the place to go.
If you can manage it (and if the store allows it), bring along a handful of coffee beans (unflavored) when you go shopping. Why? Because you can only smell four or five scents before you go on "aroma overload". Smelling some coffee beans clears your senses.
(Be sure to let the store staff know that you will be doing this, so they don't get concerned.)
No White Barns candles near to you? You can peruse the offerings on one of my favorite online "shopping malls" -- ebay. I know, sounds strange but there are plenty of these wonderful candles available. As always, look at the seller's rating before bidding -- 99.0% and up are usually good signs.
Enjoy shopping for your White Barn candles and accessories!
Tags: Soy Pillar Candles
Soy pillar candles, especially the richly scented variety, have been gaining in popularity. They have the wonderful fragrance soy is known for, yet can also be used very decoratively.
Traditionally, soy candles were most often used as jar candles, due to the low melting point of soy wax. However, soy can be made into pillar candles, with just a little help.
Let's find out more about these intriguing candles!
A Little About Soy Candle Wax
Soy candle wax is made, as you might guess, from soybeans. Soy is one of the group of natural candles, as they are a renewable resource. Natural candles also include vegetable wax (other than soy), bayberry and beeswax.
As mentioned previously, soy wax has most often been used as a container candle. That's because soy naturally has a low melting point and that soy's capacity for a high fragrance load softens the wax even more.
What's a pillar to do? Get a little help from a friend!
Scented Soy Pillar Candles -- Mixes
Candle wax mixes lets the chandler (candle maker) blend two compatible waxes, and find the best "marriage" of the two. In other words, to let the strengths of one wax match to the weaknesses of the other. The result: hopefully a candle wax blend that's better than either separately!
Since soy candle wax has such a low melting point, the obvious blend would be to another wax that is much harder, and has a higher melting point.
Another possibility -- additives that make the candle harder. Additives, however, are generally man-made, and if you're after a totally natural wax candle, they may not be what you're seeking.
Beeswax, however, is a natural wax that's very hard. While it doesn't accept quite the high scent load that soy does, beeswax has its own naturally lovely scent.
The exact proportion of one wax to the other varies with the candle maker. But the blend will allow for scented soy pillar candles, instead of just being confined to a jar!
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 Mulberry Soy Pillar Candle  US $12.99
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 Oh Christmas Tree Soy Pillar Candle US $12.99
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 Orange Peel Cinnamon Soy Pillar Candle US $12.99
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Candle Burning
Yes, there are right ways and wrong to burn candles! If you're looking for maximum scent and maximum burn time, you'll want to follow a few simple precautions.
Keep your scented soy pillar candle wick trimmed to no more than 1/4" long -- preferably closer to 1/8". Trim before lighting.
Don't burn your candle for more than three hours at a stretch. You don't want the candle getting too hot and deform.
Naturally, always have a holder of some kind under your candle. While a well-made candle won't drip, there's always the possibility. Soy wax is fairly easy to clean up, with hot water and soap, but any other waxes in the blend may not be as forgiving.
Check out the candle burning page for more information, and enjoy your soy pillar candle!
Aromatherapy Benefits
What are some aromatherapy benefits? What makes them work to soothe or energize?
How can simply smelling something work to make you feel better?
If these are some of your questions, let's look at the benefits of aromatherapy, from a scented candle point of view.
Aromatherapy -- Called "The Fragrant Pharmacy"
The whole idea of aromatherapy started with the use of essential oils. Typically, they are mixed with a carrier oil (like almond) and massaged onto the body. The scent was a pleasant side-effect.
Then people began to realize that by simply smelling certain oils, they could reap the benefits. For example -- lavender and chamomile are well known for helping to relax for sleep. Lemon is great for clarity of thought. Rose and geranium and both balancing and soothing.
Another example: Smelling ginger can help with motion sickness, especially if you start sniffing before (or just as) the sickness starts.
(Take a look at the sidebar on the right to see some links for studies that have been done regarding aromatherapy.)
Now let's take at look at aromatherapy scents from a candle-eye view.
Aromatherapy Benefits and Candles
Now, richly scented candles rarely use straight essential oils. Rather, they use synthetic fragrances that mimic the smell of essential oils. Some of it is because essential oils don't always smell good when they are actually burning (like in the flame). Part of the reason is that synthetic fragrances are more stable in scent.
So, the question is -- can aromatherapy using scented candles actually have any benefits such as those using essential oils?
The answer is both yes and no. Yes, because think about it -- when you light a lavender or french vanilla scented candle, doesn't it relax you some? Don't you feel a little zippier when you burn a lemon or other citrus candle?
No, because essential oils can have other qualities that can't truly be mimicked. Burning a peppermint candle when you have a headache won't give you the same type of relief as rubbing a drop of peppermint essential oil (in a tiny amount of oil) on your temples.
Still, richly scented candles do offer some of the benefits of aromatherapy. Perhaps they can better be described as providing mood therapy. Wouldn't you agree?