How To Care For Candles and My Favourites

It’s such a blogging cliché but I do love a good candle. Lighting up a beautiful scent to fill your room with is so relaxing and uplifting. I love having a candle burning at night to ease down or during the day if I am busy to help myself feel a little more calm and relaxed. Having been through my fair share of candles, I have learnt a few things along the way and I thought I would share my candle burning tips! Also, on the topic of candles it would be the perfect time to share some of my favourites too!

THE FIRST BURN 

The first burn of your candle is probably the most important. You want to ensure that you allow it enough burning time so it burns the whole layer on the top round the jar. The reason for this, if it is extinguished sooner when only a small amount of wax is burnt, it will tunnel and not burn evenly. This means you won’t have any wasted wax round the sides which is caused from this.

TRIMMING

It took me a while to learn this one but it is so essential that after each use (after the first burn) you trim your candle wick. You want to trim them so they are quite low, typically 1/8 inch. This prevents soot in the candle and also controls the flame. If you have a shaky flame, you may want to trim it first and then relight. For trimming, I highly recommend investing in a pair of wick trimmers. They don’t need to be expensive or fancy, I am sure you can get decent ones from eBay although I did splurge on this pair from The White Company and I suppose it also works as a nice little decor piece haha! You can use small ordinary scissors but when you get nearer the bottom of the jar you will soon realise the problem with them!

LIGHTING 

This may sound like an obvious point but be careful when lighting your candle and where you place it. Obviously do not have a burning candle near loose fabric like curtains or clothes. Similarly, do not leave a candle unattended and definitely not near young children. Also ensure your candle hasn’t been burning for over four hours as it can overheat so at that point extinguish the flame and leave to cool for a couple of hours.

RECYCLE 

One of my favourite things! Obviously whilst it can be pretty sad to see the end of candle particularly those pricey ones, the jars can be put to good use. After my candle has finished, I like to soak it in warm water and let it sit whilst it absorbs. This usually helps get rid of a lot of leftover wax from the sides of the candle. Then I like to take a cleaning sponge or cloth and wipe the inside to remove any more wax so it is clean. There are other methods that you can use for cleaning them out but I usually do that as it is quick and easy! Then once my jar is clean, I like to reuse it. There are plenty of usages for old candle jars including plant pot holders, makeup brush holders or to place cotton buds in etc.

MY FAVOURITES 

So now you know my tips, what are my favourite home scents? Starting with the classic diptyque, I have tried quite a few from the brand now. Diptyque are really good for fresh and floral kind of scents if that’s your thing. My first ever diptyque candle was the Mimosa scent which is so fresh and great for this time of the year. A new addition that I am truly obsessed with is their limited edition Rosaviola candle which they brought out for Valentines Day with Olympia Le-Tan. Whilst the packaging is absolutely beautiful, the scent is even better with a parma violets kind of sweet violet scent. Love it! Moving on from Diptyque, I also have a new love for The White Company who have such a great range of scents at pretty decent prices. I have currently got my hands on Pomegranate which is the perfect dupe for the Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir scent! Lastly, you can never go wrong with a good old Yankee Candle, being a lover of all things sweet I love the Vanilla Cupcake scent which is beautifully sweet and probably too sickly for many!

What are your favourite candles?

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