My Favourite Candles (And How I Care For Them)

I am well and truly a candle fanatic. Enter my room and you probably can't even count the candles on your fingers - and they are just the ones I use on a day to day basis. All my friends and family know how much I love candles so I am regularly gifted them on birthdays and at Christmas. At the moment some of my main favourites include the Yankee Candles in Red Apple Wreath (Christmas Limited Edition), Soft Cotton (SMELLS SO SO GOOD!!), Pink Grapefruit, and Midnight Jasmine. I've also been enjoying the Strawberry and Cream, and Apricot Blossom scented candles from Next. Getting on to the main reason you clicked a link or decided to read this post as you may be thinking huh? How do you take care of a candle? Well, if you had said this to me a couple of years ago then I would have been thinking the exact same thing. Turns out it's not as easy as just lighting them and letting them fill the room with their sweet aroma. Oh no. They take a little more looking after than one might think. Here are a few tips to get the most of your candles:

Trim the wick to a short length with every single use, don't go too short, though otherwise you will struggle to light it next time. Whenever you buy a candle, there is usually a sticker on the bottom that tells you to keep the wick length at around 0.5cm. This is so there are no dangerously large flames that become a bit of a fire hazard if left un-noticed. When trimming the wick, make sure you do it whilst it's still warm otherwise it may crack and split. And you don't want that as you won't get the most out of your candle otherwise.

Allow to burn till the top layer of wax has completely melted. Granted this can often take for ever, but who doesn't like to spend the entire evening basking in the dim glow of candlelight? It can take a good couple of hours for candles to burn level, but just note that there are some cheaper candles that never seem to burn evenly - however long you burn them. 

Don't burn for short amounts of time, this will cause the candle to only burn down the centre and tunnel. Not only does this mean that they give off less light, it can also make them difficult to light when they have burnt down a little. 

Recenter the wick so it doesn't leave a black mark all around the edge when burning. It looks ugly and can sometimes be quite hard to rub off (depending on the type of candle holder). Plus it also helps the candle burn more evenly!

Always put the candle on something that can handle the heat so you don't damage any surfaces. Why not buy some fancy coasters, a special candle tray to give your candles a home. If you really can't afford to buy something, just use an old hardback book. 

What is your favourite candle?

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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