Aromatherapy Spa Candles by Yankee Candle Company: Product Review

I've always been a huge fan of the premium candles sold by Yankee Candle Company. Yankee offers some of the most amazing, true-to-life scents of any candle manufacturer, and their candles burn cleanly and completely unlike cheaper, lower-quality candles. Typically, I've always stuck with the traditional medium and large jar candles sold by Yankee Candle, and I am almost always pleased with the way they burn and the way they smell. During my last trip to Yankee Candle, however, I noticed that a new line of candles were being sold called "Aromatherapy Spa." The Aromatherapy Spa candles come in a variety of fragrances, each one intended to illicit a specific mood when you burn it. For example, there is a fragrance called "Stress Relief" and one called "True Bliss." The True Bliss candle was a wonderful combination of tangerine and vanilla scents that I immediately fell in love with, so I decided to purchase one and take it home with me to try.

The Aromatherapy Spa candles do not come in the traditional Yankee Candle jars, but instead come in a small, tumbler-like container. One of these tumbler candles sells for $14.99, so if you look at the cost per ounce of wax, the Aromatherapy Spa candles are actually more expensive than the regular Yankee jar candles. The Aromatherapy Spa candles are also made from a vegetable-based wax whereas most other Yankee Candles are made from paraffin wax. This special wax blend gives the Aromatherapy Spa line a smooth, solid finish that looks different from other Yankee Candles.

When I first lit up my True Bliss Aromatherapy Spa candle, I was expecting my home to be filled with fragrance in a matter of minutes like it is when I burn a regular Yankee Candle. However, this was not the case. A full hour after I lit the True Bliss candle I could barely smell it unless I was in very close proximity to the candle. I let it burn for several more hours, but still I could only smell the fragrance when I was practically on top of the candle. Also, as the Aromatherapy Spa candle burned, it created a tunnel down the middle of the candle, leaving a lot of excess wax on the sides of the jar. As I continued to burn the candle, it started to turn black from soot, despite the fact that I kept the wick trimmed and the candle out of the way of any drafts or gusts of air.

In the end, I was not very pleased with the Aromatherapy Spa line from Yankee Candle. The candle didn't create nearly as much fragrance as a typical jar candle, and it burned very poorly in my opinion. Plus, when you look at the cost per ounce of wax, the Aromatherapy Spa candles actually cost more than regular Yankee Candles, and given their performance this doesn't make any sense. I still love candles from Yankee Candle Company, but in the future I will stick to the regular candles and forgo the Aromatherapy Spa line. For more information about Yankee Candle, visit their website listed in the resources section of this article.