Of Toys and Co: Trina Turk Scented Candles

Here's something both hubby and I love that I discovered by accident: these Trina Turk 3-Wick Scented Candles. I bought Birchwood first as a cart-filler, then came right back and nabbed Harvest Moon because Birchwood was a hit. Then I went totally crazy and grabbed another, like, half a dozen other scents from Amazon because Harvest Moon was even better than Birchwood. Holy moly, these candles are hands down the best scented candles hubby and I have ever owned!

Hubby and I have used up quite a few scented candles over the years. Yes, I've only posted about a handful on this blog, but not posting more doesn't mean I haven't used a lot. I do use a lot. Lots and lots and lots. So over the years, and by years I mean about 2+ decades, I've observed a few things about these candles and developed some of my own preferences.

My biggest pet peeve with candles is the wick. Sometimes, they trimmed the wick too short, and the result is a sluggish flame that's eventually drowned in the liquid wax, especially towards the end. Other times, the wick is too thin, and the result is a scrawny flame that burns a small hole through the candle instead of burning the candle. What a waste of the rest of the wax! On the other hand, there are rare times when the wick is too thick, and the result is a giant flame that leaves the inside of the jar (and the wall near the candle) black with soot! I'm happy to report these Trina Turk candles have none of those problems. All three wicks are trimmed at the right length and are just the right thickness to burn the candle down evenly, all the way to the very end. Impressive. Yes, impressive. Because it seems someone has given thought to all of these things and made the wicks to these candles just right, and I very much appreciate that. Because when it comes to wicks, there's no picking and choosing. I only learned about the crappy wick(s) when I'd already bought the darn candle and lit it.

The second thing I'm picky about is, of course, the fragrance. By far, the vast majority of scented candles hubby and I have burned were over-scented. They were so strongly fragranced that burning just one in one room would scent the whole entire house, up and down the stairs! This wouldn't be a problem if we both like the scent, but the problem is that the scent isn't always great. Sometimes, the candle smelled nice in the jar, until we lit it. Other times, and admittedly rarely so, a candle would be so mildly scented that when lit, it just smelled like, well, wax. On this front, again I'm happy to report that these Trina Turk candles are scented just so, not too strong, but not too weak either, just right. So yeah, I went crazy and collected quite a few more different scents.

Finally, these candles are poured in simple, white frosted glass jars that are apparently super sturdy, and the jars are housed in thick cardboard boxes. Case in point: I found and bought a particular scent on E(vil)bay, and the seller sent the candle to me as-is, wrapped in gift-wrapping paper. Yep, no outer packaging other than the box as you see below, in a layer of thin gift-wrapping paper. Amazingly, that candle arrived with the glass jar intact. Meanwhile, the actual candle inside the jar didn't fare too well--it completely crumbled from the impact of the transit. But I was so amazed that the glass jar survived the trip I didn't even care about the crumbled candle ^.^ The glass had zero padding other than its box! If that's not impressive then I don't know what is.

- Birchwood: a warm and woodsy scent, with hints of vanilla.