A few weeks ago, I received two lovely candles to review from a small family-run business called Candles Crafts Gifts. I love burning candles but it's something I tend to do a lot more in winter than in the summer, partly because you get the sense (probably purely psychological) of warmth and cosiness when you burn a candle and partly because I love the flickering candlelight but you don't get the benefit of it when it's still light in the evenings. Nevertheless, I keep taking the lid off the tin and having a sniff because they smell absolutely divine.
The candles are imperfect, in a good way, as in you can tell that they have been handmade by a small business and not some impersonal mass-production line. You can see what I mean if you look closely at the photo of the tealights but I think this adds to their charm. They explain on their website : "Committed to delivering the very best personal service, our family run UK candle gifts company was born of a much loved candle making hobby that naturally grew into a successful business in response to a demand for distinctive, handmade candle gifts that stood apart from mass market products."
I received a big (10cm diameter, 6cm height) soy wax candle in a tin and a small soy wax tealight candle to review. Now, I didn't know much about soy wax but the website explains : "Soy Wax is environmentally friendly as it comes from a sustainable source, it burns longer than parafin wax and burns with 90% less soot." I had noticed that it burned cleanly but thought this was down to it having less impurities and chemical nasties in it than mass-produced candles.
The candles are available in a wide range of beautiful fragrances, some of which sound very intriguing - Baby Powder, Cucumber & Cantaloupe, Tranquility or the mind-boggling Dragon's Blood ! We received the much homelier-sounding "Beach Walk" in a tin and "Scotch Heather" as a tealight. They both smell absolutely gorgeous, although I must admit to doing a doubletake when I saw the names on the tin because they weren't the fragrances my brain was telling me should go with those names. However, when I tried to find a description I found more apt, I didn't manage because they are gorgeous but indescribable scents. They give a lovely delicate and not overpowering scent in the room when they burn.
The tins have a lovely retro-feel picture of Harleston, Norfolk, where the candles are made so they'd make a lovely souvenir or gift to bring back from holiday. And before you burn them, you can leave the lids off the tins to act as a lovely fragrant air freshener even before you light them.
I found the website a bit hard to navigate around - all of the tins look the same in the pictures so it takes a lot of clicking around to find the fragrance you want - but don't let this put you off. The candles are lovely and it's great to support such a small business.
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £4.99 candle in a tin, £2.50 for 6 tealights
for more information : http://www.candlescraftsgifts.co.uk/shop/scented-candles-directory.html
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thats a really good price, i was expecting more
ReplyDeleteSoy Wax Candle in Tin-Orange- this is something for me, I love orange scent :)
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