The Scents of the Season + GIVEAWAY
This post is sponsored by Amber Vale Home.
The smells of Christmas trees standing tall, hot cocoa freshly made, candy canes being devoured by the littles, snow gently falling – oh the sights and sounds of the season!
I love having a “fresh” smelling home. Unfortunately, living in a 100 year old home, that smell is sometimes hard to obtain. I am cheap and don’t always like to spend money on candles, so I’m often a windows-open-as-long-as-I-can type girl. Though considering November here in Michigan it has already hit the teens, that idea went out the window (pun intended).
So when I was invited to review a candle set from Amber Vale Home, I jumped at the opportunity, knowing this winter the candles will be needed and put to good use!
If I’m honest, I do not know much about candles. The more I read about Amber Vale candles, the more I realized I had a lot to learn! These hand-poured candles are made with soy/coconut wax that are phthalate-free, which basically means they do not put off any nasty chemicals. So when you sniff one of them, you don’t have to worry about what you are breathing in. Their candles have essential oils in them, which help give them their natural-smelling scent. Also, each candle has a wooden wick, which was a new idea to me! I read that a wooden wick gives off a very natural sound (like a teeny-tiny fireplace), but also learned there is a little science behind burning them.
I was so eager to light the candles that I immediately grabbed the matches, and quickly learned it’s a little bit of a process. Upon receiving the candles, it’s always best to read the directions first – in everything, right? With wick candles, it’s best to allow them to burn 2-4 hours to prevent tunneling. A wick candle needs to be short enough to go down the wick, so you may have to trim it if the wick gets too tall (which was my problem). But the wax has to make contact with wick and light, to stay lit, so that was my second problem.
After learning the proper way to light a wooden-wicked candle, they stayed lit! As for the smells, the Holiday Sampler (contains 3 – 4oz. candles) includes: Tennessee Christmas (evergreen + deciduous), Gathering (orange + clove) and With Extra Whip (peppermint + hot chocolate). My favorite is Gathering! Tennessee Christmas is VERY natural smelling, like you’re walking on a trail of pine trees. And the With Extra Whip candle, because I’m not a huge fan of the peppermint and hot chocolate combo, wasn’t my favorite, but it definitely has that sweet smelling, sit by the fireplace with a hot drink, type smell.
Overall, because Amber Vale Home is all about the natural scents, that is definitely accomplished in these candles! I realize I am sometimes more of a fan of the “unnatural” smells, but I will definitely be burning these in our home this winter! Plus, I don’t have to worry about any chemicals filling our home while burning them.
AND…
One of my readers can WIN A FREE AMBER VALE HOME HOLIDAY CANDLE SAMPLER that includes 3 (4oz.) candles, valued at $20.00! Here’s how to enter:
