SCENTED CANDLES

Most girls I know own at least one scented candle. Why? You may ask. Because not only do scented candles make your room smell amazing but they also look pretty too and can make your room look so girly (not that they are just for girls of course!) especially with the wide range of colours that are now available.

With the wide range available, which candle/s do I choose? Some people see candles as decoration and will never light them - they are chosen on colour and looks and used only for decorative purposes. Some people (like me) choose the candles based on scent (currently I own a green, pink, red and lilac candle - not colours that particularly go well together but because I live in a student house, I can't paint the walls whatever colour I want - they are a boring shade of white! So if I want to introduce colour into my room I have to do it in other ways, one way is through candles). I'm not overly fussed on what colour the candle is - if I still lived at home then colour may be more important as I have a colour scheme in my bedroom back home whereas I don't at University. Some people use a combination of both scent and colour which is what I would probably do if I still lived at home or when I own my own house once I finish University.

I didn't really understand the fuss of scented candles until I actually owned one which finally happened in December where my lovely boyfriend bought me a Yankee Candle for Christmas. I had of course heard about scented candles but then Yankee Candles were brought to my attention from following many fashion bloggers on Instagram who constantly posted pictures of them during the autumn months. The main thing that caught my eye about Yankee Candles was the diverse range of colours and scents as well as jars that the candles can be found in. I just had to see what all the hype was about and after talking a lot about them to my boyfriend he bought me one and boy he did good. 

Large Vanilla Lime Yankee Candle from John Lewis - £17.95

The Vanilla Lime Yankee Candle was given to me which just smells so good. I love the scents and taste of both vanilla and lime separately and the scent of the combination of these ingredients didn't disappoint. The scent isn't too overpowering which is advantageous as I think this would give me headaches whenever I lit it and it doesn't remind me of a bathroom smell which some candle scents I have smelled do. Whenever my boyfriend is round and we're watching a film or something, this is the candle we light. Not only does it provide a weak light which I love when watching films but also a nice smell and it gives the room a romantic feel. This is the green candle I own and it's a big one! This cost my boyfriend £17.95 from John Lewis but this is for a large candle. You can get smaller and medium candles from John Lewis for £9.95 and £14.99 respectively. They are available at a huge range of retailers ranging from Boots to Asda to card shops with the card shops probably having the widest range of choice. 

I currently own 3 other candles which are a lot smaller than my Yankee Candle. I bought these from Primark at an amazing 80p each! That's right 80p (even cheaper than a Sambuca shot!) which is perfect if you love candles but are on a student budget like me and don't want to be paying through the nose for them - after all, Yankee Candles only cost more because you are paying for the name as well as the contents. They obviously won't burn as long but in the long run but I can see them being a lot cheaper than forking out a small fortune at once for a Yankee Candle. Primark also had a range of candles - different sizes, colours and holders which would look amazing in a modernly-decorated house. I opted for the simple glass holders where you can see the colour of the wax whereas some had ceramic holders - more for decoration use I would say and I chose scents that wouldn't be too overpowering.

Pineapple & Ginger candle from Primark - 80p

Sweet Berry and Patchouli candle from Primark - 80p

Red Berry and Jasmine candle from Primark - 80p

I chose Pineapple and Ginger which is a lilac colour (but Primark classes it as grey). I would say you can smell more pineapple than ginger which will be perfect for the summer! I chose a red candle which is Sweet Berry and Patchouli. I had no idea what patchouli was at the time, all I knew was that it smelt good but after looking it up, patchouli is a bushy herb which is part of the mint family and there is a slight mint scent to the candle. I would say this candle smells more of sweet berries which funnily enough smells quite sweet. The third candle I bought was Red Berry and Jasmine which is of a baby pink colour. I would say the main smell is jasmine which I love - this would be the perfect scent for the spring.

There was a huge range of scents - me and my coursemate spent half an hour in between lectures smelling and deciding which candles to buy - I think I found it tougher than her as I was constantly torn. As soon as I have finished using these candles I plan to buy three more with the main aim being to determine what my favourite scents are and at £2.40 for three candles, I can't really say no! I'm also intrigued on how long these candles will burn for. Primark says 10 hours but I've used all of mine for around  2 hours each and not much wax has melted at all so I'm guessing they will last longer which is even better! I will do further posts on what I like or dislike about the different candles when I buy them and which are my particular favourites so keep your eyes peeled!

There are lots of other brands of candles throughout the highstreet and online, you've just got to find the right one for you.

Do you like scented candles? Do you own or would like a scented candle? Do you think less is more?