Product Review: Paula Deen Scented Candles

I'm not sure whether it was Wal-Mart or Giant Food where I first saw Paula Deen's line of scented candles. I like scented candles and am always interested in comparing them to the quality of Yankee Candles, which so far in my travels have proven to be the best in burning and longest and strongest lasting scents. Paula Deen's candles were pretty reasonable priced compared to Yankee Candles' price points, but the scents I found didn't appeal to me at all!
I don't normally like to purchase food-scent candles as they normally come in baked good scents like cookies, cakes and pies, and burning them tends to leave me craving the item its imitating.

Not too surprisingly Paula Deen's candles were all food scented. Some of them strange combinations if you ask me! Fresh Fruit Pizza, Skillet-Fried Apple Pie, Pear Crisp, banana oatmeal chip cookie, and coconut pound cake to name a few. Again, while I liked the jar designs and the varieties they came in, I was not overly enthusiastic about the scents.

Finally, after the holidays were over, on a shopping trip to the local Giant Food store I happened across a Paula Deen candle in one of the reduced price bins. There was only one candle available in the reduced price bin at my Giant food store, and unfortunately its scent was 'Mystery Pecan Pie,' which was kind of heavy and heady smelling, not foul, but probably one I would not have picked normally had I not been paying half price on a 21oz jar normally selling for $10!

I also like the idea of using less expensive candles to burn along with or in place of my more expensive candles so that I can extend the life of my better quality candles. I like the cheaper ones to use for power outages or for times when I'm not as concerned about the scent as much as I am about having a flame. This made me anxious to try out the new Paula Deen candle the same night I got it home.

The Paula Deen Mystery Pecan Pie jar candle I had was a rather large, somewhat cylindrical, wide mouth jar of smooth caramel-colored wax. The cotton wick was thick and a little difficult to trim with my dull scissors. Once trimmed, the wick lit easily and the candle burned clean and evenly! The fragrance was constant and noticeable, but not a turn-off as I'd anticipated because the smell was subtle and not overbearing. After burning 3 or 4 hours and producing about a half inch of melted wax, I distinguished the flame to let it cool and be trimmed before relighting it again. At this time, with the flame extinguished and the melted wax exposed, I found the waning fragrance much more pleasant and more true to the scent of a baked good.

I also discovered that behind the cardboard label attached to the candle jar was a recipe for Paula Deen's Mystery Pecan Pie! This little treasure, along with the nice burning quality of Paula Deen's candle inspired me to search for other Paula Deen candles in recipes I thought I'd like.

I hadn't seen any more of Paula Deen's candles in the regular candle aisle at Giants so I wondered if they had been a seasonal item or maybe were discontinued for not selling well, but I'd definitely like to try them in other scents. Also, I think it would be kind of cool to see if the dessert made from the recipe included with the candle smells the same!

Online searches showed that I might be able to find more of Paula Deen's candles at: Boscov's, QVC, Wal-Mart, Linen n Things, GivingGallery.com, PaulaDeen.com, and Kohl's. Unfortunately, when I visited those sites I didn't have much luck. Kohl's had a few scents at reduced prices but the best deals in Paula Deen's candles proved to be online at eBay. If you appreciate a quality-burning candle just as much as you do a fragrant candle I recommend heading to eBay and doing a search for Paula Deen's scented candles. Be sure to follow the directions on the jar to get the best and cleanest burning effect from your candle.