Yankee Candles || Some Oldies But Goodies

There's nothing more exciting than purchasing a new candle, I really get the belly full of butterflies when I head into our local store, when I hit the Yankee websites or when I find a great bargain or rare scent on Ebay. Because I consider my candles as being treats I tend to purchase samplers or tarts purely so I can smell and judge more in one sitting - consider it the same as buying 10 penny sweets rather than 1 Chomp (who remembers the days when penny sweets were a penny? Or Chomps and Fudge's were 10p?).

The last few months have really been about variety, trying scents that I'd never normally go for and even hunting down scents that are no longer sold, are rare or are USA fragrances. Jar's wise I purchased the 3 for £10 offer that was on the Yankee website and picked myself up a Witches Brew, Candy Corn and Trick or Treat - I live for the Halloween scents but stupidly didn't photograph them as I was over on the old blog at the time and it wasn't beauty *sigh*

Witches Brew | Bewitching patchouli.
Candy Corn | The familiar, sweet scent of candy corn with a creamy vanilla taste.
Trick or Treat | The sweet aroma of candy corn.

I buy Witches Brew every year and next year plan to stock up to the high heavens, this is one of those scents that's dark, magical, earthy and raw sex appeal - it's a unisex scent that's for sure and it's ability to travel around your home even when not lit far exceeds many of the other scents in the Yankee scent catalogue. If you love dark scents, earthy, incense and hippy types of scents you-will-adore-this.

If you prefer something a bit more feminine, a bit sugary sweet and foody then Candy Corn and Trick or Treat are great options. I love foody scents but felt there wasn't a huge difference in the two scents, if I was being picky I'd say Candy Corn is that bit more sugary sweet but only just.

I had a little bit of trouble with the jars this year though as they suffered horribly with uneven burning, black soot covered sides and mushrooming of the wick, even after snipping the candles and following candle care protocol - I eventually had to cut out the surplus wax that hadn't melted and burn it in my burner.

These were hauled from all over the net. Many are not sold now and some are old labels - I had to opt for tarts which is fine but I prefer samplers these days if I can get my hands on them.

Pictured above is the Man Town, Green Grass tart, Witches Brew Tart, Treehouse Memories tart, Icicles Tart, Yuletide tart and Silver Birch tart. In Sampler size there is Patchouli, Patchouli old label, Eucalyptus, Silver Bells, Cozy Sweater, Harvest Welcome and Holiday Bayberry.

Here's a closer snapshot.

So were they any good? Keeping in mind these were selectively chosen because I felt I could possibly fall in love with them based on descriptions.

Tarts

Witches Brew / Seasonal | The mini version of the candle above, this is all patchouli but with a mix of sex and dirt and raw magic. It is positioned in the top three overall Yankee scents for me personally.

Green Grass / Retired | Nothing says summer like the familiar, heady scent of a freshly cut lawn - I had high hopes for this tart because who doesn't love the fresh scent of cut grass? At first sniff this smelled exactly like green grass, once lit it dissipated and went no-where. Overall it's a nice scent but such a let down.

Treehouse Memories / US Retired | earthy woods wrapped in sweet, familiar spices evoke memories of crisp autumn days spent amongst the changing leaves. This scent had the longest lasting power and I actually had to blow out the tealight because it was so strong so quick. That being said, it's definitely more of a masculine scent and was really nice - not as nice as my Witches Brew but definitely still in the same earthy category. If you like Man Town you'll love this.

Silver Birch / Current | Autumn is in the air, the slight crispness of an early fall breeze mingles with the spicy dryness of just-turning leaves. Amazing. It's. Just. So. Amazing. This also falls into my top three scents and I surprisingly fell in love with it at first sniff. It's a fresh scent with a hint of sexyness and a mix of comfort - think Cozy Sweater mixed with Soft Blanket but with an ability to travel throughout the home.

Yuletide / Retired | Wrap yourself in the spirit of the season with this festive mix of nutmeg, ginger root, clove and rich amber. This wasn't good and it wasn't bad - it just smelled as though it needed some work. Like a typical Christmas scent but watered down.

Icicles / Current | The crisp, winter forest scent of ice covered pine branches with tingly notes of spicy cinnamon. If you love pine you'll love this, it's definitely more of a frosty pine in my opinion than a winter scent.

Samplers

Silver Bells / Retired | This festive fragrance blends notes of fresh cypress, spruce, apple, wild berries, cloves and white cedar to embody the spirit of Christmas joy. I lit this after Silver Birch thinking it would be equally as marvelous - I was wrong. Don't get me wrong I adore Christmas scents, festive fragrances are my thing but it wasn't festive enough for me and was a huge let down. The scent is strong and you definitely smell the cypress and spruce with the white cedar, that's the thing it's too green tree and pine like and not enough cloves and berry in my opinion.

Cozy Sweater / US Retired & UK Rare | This fragrance is fresh but warm with touches of musk, patchouli and soft florals. I didn't expect to like this but wowzers this was absolutely incredible, if you love Soft Blanket for it's warm but fresh scent you're going to adore this 100 times more - I promise. Although it's a fresh scent it travels extremely well and has large amounts of lasting power.

Christmas Bayberry / Retired | Woody notes of pine, fir and laurel with a soft, warm fusion of bayberry, frankincense and myrrh. It was the frankincense and myrrh that sold me on this and it was one of the scents I had major hopes for having had excellent memories of the F&C scents in my childhood but.... it was so wrong! The scent was so eclectic and mish-mashed and it was an olfactory obtrusion. You're hit instantly with the pine then the frankincense and laurel, then comes the bayberry and stuffs it all up. It's strong at first sniff but didn't travel too well and once it got into a good burn it actually started smelling soapy? No idea why though.

Harvest Welcome / US Retired | Welcome home! Cozy up with this inviting combination of farm-fresh pumpkins spiced with just the right amount of brisk autumn air. Super strong and very autumnal, I was so surprised at the strength of this and how spicy it actually was. Would I purchase it again? probably not but only because it didn't make a huge impact on me.

Patchouli / Old Label | The spicy sweet aroma of exotic patchouli creates a perfectly mellow mood. It's patchouli, I adore patchouli and feel this works extremely well as a stand-alone fragrance. If I had to choose between Witches Brew and this I would choose Witches Brew only because I feel it travels further and for longer.

Patchouli / Retired US Exclusive | The spicy sweet aroma of exotic patchouli creates a perfectly mellow mood. This smelled exactly the same as the old label above.

Eucalyptus / Retired | A clean and bracing scent to awaken the senses. I expected fresh, green and breathtakingly invigorating - I got a hint of eucalyptus that travelled no-where once lit.

I also picked up my first ever Kringle candle having heard amazing things about the Yankee sister brand. Most Yankee fans had even gone so far as to say the scent was stronger and the scents smelled even better - it was these statements that had me sold. My local store didn't have a huge selection and I found many of the scents were pretty basic, I tend to prefer unusual scents rather than the standard rose, clean cottons, lemon, lavenders etc. However, I chose the Warm Cotton hoping it would match up to my favourite clean Yankee scent - Soft Blanket.

Kringle Warm Cotton / Current | Light citrus/fresh notes, gentle florals and traces of musk unite to create the ultimate warm cocooning fragrance.This smelled fresh of course but the scent failed to travel - once lit you could smell this if you stood at the unit but as soon as you reached the couch or the door in my living room you'd be forgiven for thinking there was no candle lit. I will try another scent as I'm no quitter but I was hugely disappointed with this daylight candle.

Soft Blanket Sampler / Current | Wrapped in sweet dreams; a lullaby of clean citrus,
luxurious vanilla and warm amber. Ah I love it so much, it's fresh and warm and comforting. It reminds me of a just washed fluffy blanket and evokes so many wonderful childhood memories, the amber note really gives this scent great depth and lasting power; although it's a fresh scent it travels extremely well.

I have more candles en-route, of course most are in tart and sampler form but at least it allows you to hear about the scents and which are awesome and which really do not fit the descriptions. Are there any scents you adore or hate?

Kringle lasts 12 hours and cost around £2.50 whereas YC Samplers cost £1.80 and last 15 hours - Yankee Candle have a huge array of fragrances and I feel have more of a true scent - I know which I'd choose time and time again.