Yankee candles

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Breeze

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Jul 30, 2010
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I've not much experience of the world of scented candles, only had a couple before that were given to me as gifts, not Yankee. But I'm really tempted to try some.
Where's a good place to start? Is it today's TSV or are there better selections on Q? Is it better to start with the smaller ones or the big jars? I have no clue as to the difference between votives, tea lights, melts etc except they look different sizes, do they have different strengths? Are any of the scents particularly nice?

I'd be grateful for any guidance please,I think some of you know quite a lot about them?
I could just watch the presentations, I realise that, but know I'll get much more honest opinions here :nod:
 
Whilst I think you get a better perfume throw from large candles they are often the dearer option. So assuming you are buying from Q I would start with either a selection of six small jars or a selection of votives. To burn the votives you need one of those little holders too. I do not think the TSV is best as it only has three perfumes. I would pick votives/samplers from a bigger selection pack but having said that I just started out with candle TSV and now am now addicted! You could also look at Yankee Doodle or Yankee Direct websites but I find Q just as competitive for pricing when it comes to multi packs. Some shops also sell them in the dreaded high street so you could go in and have a sniff(!!) then buy from Q. Round my way Clinton's sell them, and there is also a Yankee official store.

Personally I prefer the floral and fresh scents but I have been lucky and never come across one I found revolting! Cinnamon stick is a bit of a challenge but that is about it.

Tarts/melts give the best perfume throw by far but you need a tart warmer so that is not the best way to trial YC as you would have to buy one of those too.
 
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I agree with Mazza, samplers are the way to go - and QVC seem to be focusing on the samplers today, so, if you have time watch a couple of the shows for hints on how to get the best from your candles. Check-out their website as there are quite a few lovely sets of mixed samplers, and most of their sets cost less than buying the equivalent number of samplers and holders in a Yankee store, even including the postage charge.
Teeny warning though..... you may get addicted! lol
 
Breeze, if you want to start using scented candles, Yankee is the premium brand, followed by Prices. I have to disagree, somewhat, with the other posts; to get a true experience of the quality of Yankee, you need to burn a jar, not a votive. Many people have problems with the samplers so, if you don't want to lay out a lot of money, go for a small/medium jar then, if happy with the performance, progress to the large jars. I would suggest the tsv is not for you; three boxes of scented t lights will not give any indication of the true quality of Yankee and may, consequently, mislead you as to the brand. As a first time Yankee user, I would stay away from scented t lights. The wax melts are excellent when used with an electric burner, or a plain t light and burner (99p from bargain shop). Remember, Breeze, you can order from the Q under distance selling regulations so, if you burn and decide they are not for you, if you inform them of your intention within 7 days, you can claim your postage back also, and will only have to pay to return them. These are only my opinions and, ultimately, the choice is your's. Good luck.
 
Thank you so much for your helpful replies. I'll give the TSV a miss then, watch a few of the presentations & see what else is on offer. I'm not sure if anywhere in my nearest town stocks them, to go & sniff, & anyway am on crutches & banned from driving at the moment following an op on my foot, so will probably order one of Q's sets to try. :mysmilie_504:
 
Oh poor you. Hope you are better soon.

They may not show all that many sets today as they will focus on the TSV but there are a lot online and do take a look at all the small jar sets cos they will deffo give a better throw than votives/samplers. Votives, if you get a set of 12 or 18, are mainly useful for just letting YOU smell the scent but do not give off a lot into the room. For that you need the large jars IMHO.
 
Remember, Breeze, you can order from the Q under distance selling regulations so, if you burn and decide they are not for you, if you inform them of your intention within 7 days, you can claim your postage back also, and will only have to pay to return them.
I might be wrong but I thought that anything returned under DSR had to be unused. You could return a candle you had started to burn but I think you would have to stand both sets of postage. Something else to bear in mind is that you need to burn a jar candle for long enough for the wax to melt right across, which could be three hours or more for a large jar. If you don't do that you end up with wax around the edge but a tunnel down the middle and you don't get the burning time for the candle. If you want to burn a candle for a full evening it's not a problem but if you only have an hour or two then it would be an issue.
 
I used to buy the large jars but I didn`t like to sooty marks they left. I then bought an electric tart warmer and haven`t looked back. The tarts throw out plenty of scent, they`re cheap to buy, especially from ebay or asda and if you dislike a fragrance you don`t have to put up with it for 40 hours burn time. Before shelling out for an electric tart warmer if I were you I`d just buy one of the cheap ceramic ones from a cheap shop and some cheap t lights to use in it, put a wax tart in the top and see how you go. It will cost you a pound for the burner, a pound for the t lights and around 80p for a tart from asda. So for £2.80 you get to try and then if you like the tarts invest in an electric burner. Tarts are a good way of trying different fragrances, I buy assorted packs of 10 off Ebay. They say the average burn time for a tart is 8 hours but many of them fragrance for much longer and if you just want a quick burst of fragrance then tarts do that, unlike the jars which you have a minimum burn time for or they tunnel.
 
Gosh, I have never seen any bargains like that but if you can find them, then I agree the tarts are a very good way to go. I always burn them along with the candles and they last loads longer than eight hours. I often find they do a few hours every night for a week cos, as someone said on here, you still get the base notes. I have only ever bought YC warmers so did not think that was good way to start out as they can be a bit pricey for a try-out.
 
I used to buy the large jars but I didn`t like to sooty marks they left. I then bought an electric tart warmer and haven`t looked back. The tarts throw out plenty of scent, they`re cheap to buy, especially from ebay or asda and if you dislike a fragrance you don`t have to put up with it for 40 hours burn time. Before shelling out for an electric tart warmer if I were you I`d just buy one of the cheap ceramic ones from a cheap shop and some cheap t lights to use in it, put a wax tart in the top and see how you go. It will cost you a pound for the burner, a pound for the t lights and around 80p for a tart from asda. So for £2.80 you get to try and then if you like the tarts invest in an electric burner. Tarts are a good way of trying different fragrances, I buy assorted packs of 10 off Ebay. They say the average burn time for a tart is 8 hours but many of them fragrance for much longer and if you just want a quick burst of fragrance then tarts do that, unlike the jars which you have a minimum burn time for or they tunnel.

Can you get burners for a quid then? There is no Asda near me but I will seek one out if I can find a burner there that cheap! Or do you know of other supermarkets/shops that sell cheap ceramic burners, anyone? The cheapest I have seen were £6.95/£7.95 (I think Yankee Candle) but they sold out last week.
 
That's really interesting!
I didn't really understand the tarts, couldn't fathom what you did with them having no wick. I have an old pottery oil burner, you put a tea light in the bottom & there's a dish like top where you pour scented oil, so I suppose that would serve to try some tarts would it?
 
Can someone tell me what the difference is between Yankee unscented t-lights which are not cheap, to the ones we can get in supermarkets which are cheap.
I have only ever used the cheaper ones so don't know why there is such a big difference in price when they look the same.
 
I think Yankee Doodle and Yankee Direct start off around the £5/6 mark. This is about tart warmers not t lights.
 
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Can someone tell me what the difference is between Yankee unscented t-lights which are not cheap, to the ones we can get in supermarkets which are cheap.
I have only ever used the cheaper ones so don't know why there is such a big difference in price when they look the same.

Nothing that I can see, they sell them as lasting longer etc etc blah blah but I've never been about the tell the difference. I buy the mahoosive bags from ikea and they last yonks.

I'd totally agree with what's been said about the tarts - I don't use jars anymore because a, I got sick of the soot marks and b, you have to burn them for blimp in ages before you can whiff them, and less than three or four hours and they tunnel.

I've bought ceramic tart warmers (non qvc/Yankee) from all sorts of places, pound shops, B&M, home bargains etc etc, they're only ever a quid or so. I've also got a few of the Yankee electic ones and they're ok but I do prefer the ones with a separate dish in the top, the ones where they're all one piece are a pain to clean the wax out of.
 
For me the best way of using Yankee candles to get a true idea of a fragrance is using the Tarts, then if there's a particular fragrance I like , I then buy the large jar. Asda have the simply home range from YC and some of the scents are lovely , there a £1 each for the tarts and samplers, they have some lovely fragrances , my favourites are Morning blossom and cherry vanilla .

Ive also read elsewhere that Marks and Spencers have sets of 15 wax tarts on offer for £1 atm , I haven't tried them yet , but I certainly think there worth a go , can only see two fragrances on the website atm but they have more choice in store.

https://www.marksandspencer.com/s?field-keywords=wax+melts&node=42966030&x=24&y=16
 
Can someone tell me what the difference is between Yankee unscented t-lights which are not cheap, to the ones we can get in supermarkets which are cheap.
I have only ever used the cheaper ones so don't know why there is such a big difference in price when they look the same.

Well they say it has a lower, controlled burn for better melting which I think could well be a load of old tosh. They also say that they burn for longer and I would agree with that. Someone got me some prices unscented t lights and they also lasted a good five to six hours whereas the cheapo ones I buy can go out after three hours, or may last four, there is no way of telling! One went out after an hour last night. So I would say they are probably more reliable and last longer but possibly not worth the extra dosh if you use a lot. For next Christmas I have decided to buy better ones for the t light holder decorations in my sight line at night and use cheap ones for the rest.
 
My local pound shop sells cheap ceramic oil burners, just plain cheap ones, you put a t light inside them and the tart in the top where the oil would usually go. They also sell packs of plain t lights for a pound too. Asda sell tarts for a pound but recently they had some in the sale for 80p. Browse the pound shops for the basics.
 
That's really interesting!
I didn't really understand the tarts, couldn't fathom what you did with them having no wick. I have an old pottery oil burner, you put a tea light in the bottom & there's a dish like top where you pour scented oil, so I suppose that would serve to try some tarts would it?

That should be OK so long as the dish is big enough to allow for when the wax melts. My oil burner is very small and the top is tiny so would be no good at all. Of course the good thing with tarts is you can break them up so the wax pool would be smaller. Just do it on a plate the first time!!!!!!
 
What's the difference between Samplers & Votives? They both seem to be 49g.
 

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