My Top Ten Reasons for Choosing Candles By Victoria - Reason #7

Geez, I'm not even halfway to #1 yet! :)

(7) Yes, yes...clean burning fuels can be a great thing for the ozone layer - but it's more important to me to have clean burning wax in my house! Yes, my friends - you know what I'm talking about! Victoria's candles simply burn clean.

I have to admit, I'm a little OCD when it comes to my candles. I love, love to take good care of them - so that they not only smell good when I have guests over, but they look good as well. And no, I'm not talking about the cutie patootie candles that I consider to be Victoria's works of art - they need no help in looking adorable. I'm talking about jar candles that don't have to be babied to look good. No more foil tents, no more jar toppers...Victoria's beauties take care of the work on their own.

Let me share a little comparison with you all. I must warn you though, this first photo is not for the faint of heart. Sadly, it's when I gave up trying so hard to make this other brand name candle look good. Have you shielded the eyes of any small children in the room? Okay, here goes...



Ack! Yep, I'll bet that you do hear the slashing sound effect from the movie Psycho when you look at this photo - I know that I do...

Now, going from the ridiculous to the sublime, my lovely 8 ounce Berry Blackberry Cobbler Jelly Jar Candle, representing Team Victoria.



Ah, much better, isn't it? And I didn't have to use any foil! Or those silly jar topper thinga-majigs. I mean, seriously, it was a great idea to entice people to spend more money, but what a pain in the tush to have to buy those just so your candle will burn the way it was supposed to in the first place!

And one of the fun side benefits from clean burning candles? Not only do they look great, but they continue to work great even after the candle is gone. Check out this nifty little desk topper (which still has a hint of Amish Quilt, even after it was washed out - much to my delight!).



Could I make a nifty little desk topper out of the candle jar in my first photo? I'd given up on keeping it nice looking while it still had wax in it, let alone try to salvage it for another use after! Nah, I'm a CBV gal through and through now...and my desktop is going to be full of these nifty little jars organizing all the little necessities that I normally try to find while rummaging through my desk drawers.

Thanks for reading about my #7 Reason for being a CBV customer today. I hope to see you tomorrow for #6! In the meantime, I hope you can erase my ugly candle photo from your mind...

My Top Ten Reasons for Choosing Candles By Victoria - Reason #8

Yep, I'm back in the saddle again today... Westward ho to #8!

(8) Victoria's candles are just a better value than other candles. And yes, I do feel like I just paraphrased one of the oldest commercial lines there is! But, I've done the math, and weighed what I got for my money, and there really isn't any comparison. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Okay, for my purposes here, I'm only going to take into consideration other candle companies that get some youtube mentions -- not the discount store variety. I don't want to offend anyone, but the discount store candles just can't be considered real candles. I've tried enough of them to know in the past - despite all attempts (even with lovely Paula Deen's face on the labels - and I simply adore me some Paula Deen!) those candles might as well be unscented blocks of wax for the amount of scent they have in them (but that's a reason for another day...hint, hint!). So, they won't be included in the value discussion. You might only pay $5.00 for one of those...erm...beauties...but you won't even get $5.00 worth of candle in return. And that's not taking into consideration the amount of gas that it takes to get to the overcrowded parking lot, and the annoyingly long check-out lines... Okay, enough about that! Back to the discussion at hand!

If you just look at pricing, CBV blows the competition away. Let's say I wanted to purchase a large candle of my favorite fragrance. Comparing the companies, here's what I find:

CBV-24 ounce Mustard Jar-$18.50
B&BW-14.5 ounce 3-Wick Candle-$19.50
YC-22 ounce Large Jar Candle-$25.99

So, I could purchase 9.5 ounces less wax for $1.00 more from "Company B&BW", or 2 ounces less wax for $7.49 more from "Company YC". Yeah, I don't think so. Even with the shipping that Victoria has to charge to send your order to you, the difference in the amount of product for the money more than makes up for the shipping cost. And, I'm totally biting my tongue to not go into how much better quality Victoria's candles are (save it for another day, Beth!)... I just never realized how connected my reasons for shopping with Victoria are until now!

I could go into a price comparison with each candle size, but you get my point by now I'm sure. I'm no different than anyone else with my purchases, I want the most "bang for my buck", and that's definitely what I get from CBV!



Thanks for reading about Reason #8, and I hope that you pop back in tomorrow for lucky Reason #7! In the meantime, you can think of some things that you can do with all of the money that your saving by purchasing your candles from CBV... Looking outside my window today, I think I'll pay one of the neighborhood kids to shovel my driveway instead of doing it myself! :)

My Top Ten Reasons for Choosing Candles By Victoria - Reason #9

Continuing on from yesterday...

(9) Victoria's candles aren't just pretty faces... I've already mentioned the huge amount of scents to choose from at CBV (and yes, that was getting ahead of myself), but I'd like to talk about Victoria's works of art today. While jar candles make up the majority of my, and I'd venture to say most candle enthusiasts' collections, these "works of art" candles (as I like to call them) are something that we all aspire to purchase. Up until now, I've always wondered what would possess grown men to stand around a garage of a friend to look at some auto parts that he's purchased for - let's say - rebuilding a hot-rod. Now, I get it - because I have no doubt that if we could, CBV fans would immediately transport themselves to a home that just received one of these candle beauties, crack open a few beers (or glasses of wine...) and stand around and stare at these bad mamma jammas.

Which candles am I referring to? Well, the all-star line-up of regularly offered candles such as Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Slice Dream (which looks like the best ice cream sundae a person could dip their spoon into) and S'More Galore (which looks better than anything that you could put together beside a campfire as a jar of delectable ooey gooey goodness).

Oooh, and then there's the Sweet Treats Line featuring Hawaiian Colada (a blue tropical drink, complete with pineapple chunks and a frothy top layer which you would undoubtedly find yourself drinking on the beach) to Pink Cupcake (which seriously just needs a candle on top of the funfetti-like frosting for it to be an instant birthday cake in a jar).

And, last but not least, the Comfort Line of candles which include creations such as Sinful Strawberry Shortcake (complete with realistic wax strawberries and a beautiful red heart sticking out of the most decadent looking cream topping) and Chocolate Peanut Butter Mudslide (Creamy Peanut Butter top layer? It's got it. Adorable looking chocolate kisses and bar chunks? Yep, they are in there too). And, (drum roll please) this is where I get to stick my chest out and brag a little...


Yep, I got this little bad boy for Christmas this past year. I won't be burning him any time soon though - he's just too darn cute. But, here's the best part - this candle smells so good that you can just sit it out, and enjoy the fragrance without having to burn it.

Yes, you read correctly! These candles truly smell as good as they look. And, it's not really that common to find beautifully created candles that smell good at the same time. On the rare occasions that I've found super cute and realistic candle creations in the past - I found that they unfortunately had no more fragrance than a birthday candle when lit. I had come to the conclusion that, you could choose to purchase a candle for looks, but not to expect anything more. Victoria's candles changed that for me. Whether you choose to burn her works of art or not, you'll have a room that is fragrant with it's scent. That's pretty darned impressive if you ask me.

Thanks for reading up on my #9 Reason for my CBV Addiction. I'll be here again tomorrow with #8, and I hope you visit my blog again. In the meantime, amuse yourself by thinking about what other well-known works of art would smell like. I'm thinking the Mona Lisa would definitely smell like bubble gum...

My Top Ten Reasons for Choosing Candles By Victoria - Reason #10

The countdown has begun!

Today begins the ten day countdown to the Van, Texas (a.k.a. Candles By Victoria Headquarters) Meet-Up (according to my travel plans), so I thought it would be fun to list the Top Ten Reasons for my quick dissension into CBV obsession-land (yep, ala David Letterman - although, mine will be completely in earnest rather in jest - okay, maybe I have to throw in a little jest, just for fun). After all, it isn't every company, or product, that inspires the type of devotion that makes one want to travel thousands of miles to meet the company's owner - or catch a glimpse into the place where all the magic happens. Yes, friends and family are wondering about me. How could this extent of product loyalty happen so quickly? I thought it would be fun to ask myself what made me such a fan of CBV - in such a short time (I made my first purchase just four months ago), and put it in writing.

So, without further delay, here is the first of my Top Ten Reasons for Choosing Candles By Victoria, starting with number ten, and working down to number one. I'll post each number day by day, so that this doesn't become the world's longest blog post - and also as a way to count the days down until my flight leaves for Van. I'll be curious to see if any of my reasons match your reasons for shopping with Victoria. I have a feeling that we're all on common ground with a lot of these!

(10) Call me crazy, but purchasing a candle by means of placing it in my cart at a discount store - next to my much needed batteries and toilet paper - doesn't thrill me at all. Why would I shop for candles that way, when it can truly be an experience? Ordering from Victoria involves good old fashioned anticipation. Anticipation is really an overlooked pleasure these days - perhaps due to technology (and said discount stores), we have answers and shopping needs taken care of in short order. Most of the time, I have to admit, it's a pretty sweet thing - I mean, nobody would want to wait for toilet paper ;). But with hand-crafted things, the old saying, "worth the wait" really does apply. That's where Candles By Victoria comes in. Your experience begins with your decision of what scents you would like to order from over 730 possibilities. Over 730 possibilities. Take that, Baskin Robbins. Once your order has been placed, your candles are hand-poured especially for you. Especially for you. Seriously, when is the last time that you ordered anything (besides a sandwich) that was made to your specifications? I can think of very few instances for me. Once the wonderful CBV team pours your candles, you get a lovely shipping notice via email. The candles that you ordered - that were made specifically for you, are on their way to you - and you now know what day they will be arriving. On your package arrival day, you try very hard not to sit and wait for this guy with your nose pressed against your window.

Mmm hmm.

Once that brown truck stops in front of your house, you can't help but meet the guy in the brown shorts at the door, and wrench the box (I mean, kindly remove your package from your UPS man's hands...) so that you may run back into your home - jumping over any furnishings in your path - to open your CBV present (I mean, order)!

So, I ask you, how many products do you purchase that have this type of effect on you? For me, not that many at all. I've likened the feeling to being an anxious child on Christmas morning, hardly being able to wait for the time I could tear into my presents. So, basically, Victoria provides me with that childlike feeling every time I place an order now that I'm an adult - when I don't get to feel like a child hardly at all anymore.

So, anticipation... Yep, it's definitely a good thing. :)

Thanks for reading, and check in tomorrow for my #9 Reason for shopping with Candles By Victoria. In the meantime, you can be thinking about your own reasons - I'd love to hear what you come up with!

Yes, Virginia, I did place a Candles by Victoria Sale Order...

Happy 2012 to everyone!!
So, what's the best way to celebrate pretty much anything that happens in life? Why, ordering more wax, of course! I mean, seriously, with Victoria's Wicky Wicky Wax Sale offer of 15% off of all orders placed between 8:00 a.m. January 1st to 8:00 a.m. January 3rd - who could resist? (Well, my husband would have no problem resisting, but I won't dwell on that!) Not this girl, though! :) At 3:00 a.m. on January 3rd, I was gripped with the need to order more scent shots. I'm down to about 60 -- a frighteningly low amount, I know. ;) So, without further ado, here's my whopping list of scent shots from my sale order:

"Apple Cobbler"

"Apple Raspberry Crumble"

"Bath Time With Pooh"

"Best Friends"

"Black Raspberry Vanilla"

"Blackberry Walnut"

"Blackbird Pie"

"Blueberry Cobbler"

"Cappuccino Hazelnut"

"Cinnaberry"

"Country Berry Hotcakes"

"Cranberry Relish"

"Fair Day"

"Fruit Loops"

"Hazelnut Spice"

"Kettle Corn"

"Leaves Type"

"Lemon Blackberry Pie"

"Mango Macadamia Nut"

"Raspberry Peach Cobbler"

"Spiced Apple Pecan"

"Strawberries & Champagne"

"Sugared Corn Pudding"

"Tomahawk Memories"

And, the one lone candle in my order:

"Strawberry Danish" in the Red Polka Dot Designer Bowl

Mmmm, Strawberry Danish...

Who knew that candle collecting would be so problematic to losing weight?!? :) As soon as I warmed my scent shot of "Strawberry Danish", I knew that it would be a candle order in my next purchase. Rich strawberries (much like a sweet strawberry jam) mixed with a buttery, and slightly salty, pastry dough smell. This scent is such a wonderful blend of all the notes - it's just delicious!

I'm excited to continue to try all of Victoria's cobbler scents (yumm-o!), as well as try some of the board members' favorite scents. And, this is the first time that I've tried a Polka Dot Designer Bowl, so I'm anxious to see that as well! They look super adorable.

It's so funny that the stickers that the CBV gang affix to your package says "Relax With Wax," when that is the opposite feeling that I have both when I place my order, and when it arrives on my front porch. I behave more like a hyperactive cheerleader who's had about ten cups of coffee! :D

I'm curious to find out if you ordered during Victoria's Wicky Wicky Wax sale, so please feel free to vote in the poll to let me know. Also, feel free to leave a message telling me what you ordered, and/or what you are most excited about getting in your sale order package. In the meantime, please join me in trying to relax while waiting for that wax (it's a lot easier than it seems, isn't it?) :)

Walking in a CBV Wonderland...

As we're all preparing for New Year's Eve, I thought that I would write a first impression review of my CBV Christmas gifts, ordered by my wonderful son. Considering he's 14, I was thankfully given instructions to provide him with a detailed list to choose from - to lessen the chance that I'd receive a giant cube candle of "Bacon" or something equally amusing! ;) So, without further delay, here's what was in my CBV package:


"Berry Blackberry Cobbler" in a Halo Bright Pink 'n Grape Glitter 22 ounce tureen candle.

Okay, so I didn't give them much of a choice with this one - it was number one on my list, and I provided step-by-step instructions on how to order this baby, lol! The scent has become an all-time favorite of mine - rich blackberries mixed with a buttery crust scent that only Victoria could do. And, this glitter combination is so pretty - I believe Miss Kayla, from the message board, ordered it right before Victoria made the decision to offer ready made glitter combinations, and the CBV gang thought it was so pretty they decided to add it to the list. So, thanks very much Kayla - it truly is a keeper! :)



"Pumpkin Gingerbread Splash" Comfort Candle

I gave a choice of either this, or the "Momma's Peach Cobbler" Comfort Candle on my list - and I'm really happy to have received this little guy (it looks like someone gave him a "cinnamon sandwich" before he came to me, as he has cinnamon all over his face!). So far, I smell cinnamon - but not overbearing at all, along with smooth and rich pumpkin. They blend really well together on this one. Of course, he's so cute I don't know when I'll be able to burn it - but when I do, I'll give a "warmed" review as well.



"Godfather" Top Shelf Black Label Candle

I've been dying to try one of Victoria's Black Label Candles, so I suggested either "Godfather" or "Salty Dog" on my list. I remember Brooke (from her "sayanythingBr00ke" youtube channel's review of the Top Shelf line) saying, "If you get any of these candles, get Godfather!", so I must say I'm happy to have received it. Brooke was right, this one is a spicy delight. I mainly smell the slight combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove - and the vanilla which does soften the mix very nicely. I have a feeling that, when warmed, this one will produce a lovely bouquet of all the notes. But, more on that later. :)


Seriously, can anyone have too many Scent Shots? :)

After looking over my list of 30 possible choices (yep, 30!) these are the ones that my son chose:

"Divine Paradise" - On cold throw, this one smells like a delicious and tropical fruit punch to me - more fruity than bakery. I've read that the cake note comes out more when warmed, so I'll follow up.

"Holiday Wassail" - The main fragrance that I can detect on cold throw is a spicy apple cider, with maybe a hint of citrus to differentiate this scent from just straight up apple cider. Warmed though, I'll bet more notes come out.

"Log Cabin" - This one is very close to the description on cold throw, to my nose. It smells like a warm stack of pancakes with butter and maple syrup. I can't wait to melt this one, because if it's this accurate when cold - I can only imagine what it will be like when warmed.

"Million Dollar Baby" - I mainly get a strong pineapple and vanilla smell on cold throw with this one. I'll be curious to see what other notes come out when it's warmed.

"Patch Work Quilt" - I really like this one, which makes it the first bright yellow scent that I've tried that I really liked! On cold throw, this one smells very similar to "Amish Quilt" which I adore, but with more of a nice yeasty bread note. Both the "Quilt" scents are spicy with cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove, but with hints of other spices to make them just different enough from other spicy combinations. I just love them.

"Snickerdoodle" - Love this one. Cinnamon and yeasty bread smell - and a hint of what I would compare to a golden brown edge of a cookie smell. Very, very realistic in my opinion. Can't wait to melt this one.

"Simply Delicious" - This one has improved with curing, even in the short time that I've had it since Christmas. I can detect most of the notes listed in the description - slightly tart pear and a warm combination of butter, cream, and brown sugar. When melted, I'll bet it's even better.

"Sweet Comfort" - This one I will have to reserve judgement on. On cold throw, I get a very slight perfume smell (kind of like what an older woman would wear) - and on the bottom, I get a strong, cough-syrup like cherry smell. Truly bizarre, as neither are listed in the scent description, I know. I'm guessing that this might be one of those scents that smells totally different when it's warmed. I'll write about that later.

Free Scent Shot, "Blue Raspberries" - The blue color of this one is just striking, and the smell is nice - although I don't see it being a favorite of mine. To me, this is the fragrance of any blue raspberry candy that I've smelled - tart and sugary. There is a slight green smell to me, hinting of a real berry smell - but the candy smell takes care of it in short order.

So, that's my CBV Christmas! I appreciated being able to try so many scents, and really liked most of them a lot. I'm wondering what CBV everyone else got, so please feel free to vote in the new poll, or make a comment! I'll start warming, and provide more feedback soon - and I'd love to hear yours!

In the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve celebration with all those you hold dear to your heart!

I'll admit it, I'm a Candles By Victoria Seasonal Burner...

From the very start of my interest in Candles By Victoria, I joined the CBV message board entitled "The Pouring Pot". Little did I know how much I would come to love the members there, or how much more enjoyable sniffing my way through over 700 scents would become when that endeavor is shared among friends. One of the wonderful members there recently commented that she didn't feel that she was a "seasonal burner" ~ or, in other words, she didn't base her choice of fragrances upon the season. That's when it hit me - I'm a seasonal burner through and through. It's this kind of realization that makes me love the message board - you find out these things about yourself while enjoying some chit-chat and laughter. So, I now know why I felt almost obsessed with finding the right yuletide scents to burn throughout this holiday season. I ordered almost every Christmas scent shot that Victoria offered, and sniffed through those little hunks of wax like crazy. Here are some of my early choices:

"Christmas Kitchen" in the Lime Green & Red Glitter 22 ounce Tureen Candle

"Christmas Kitchen" is described as the combination of Cinnamon, Orange, and Pumpkin notes ~ and I believe the noticeable Orange scent is what attracted me to this fragrance. It has a slightly spicy element to it, which is another reason that I'm a fan. The Cinnamon and Pumpkin are blended very well, so those notes don't seem as distinguishable to my nose - but that blend really works nicely with this scent.


"Christmas Memories" in three 8 ounce Jelly Jar Candles

I loved displaying Candles By Victoria candles on my mantle this year. The scent "Christmas Memories" was another early favorite of mine. Considering it's description as a Candles By Victoria house blend of Sugared Spruce, Cranberry and Spiced Oranges, I immediately thought that the Orange scent was the common ingredient that seemed to attract my nose. I find that this scent is a "light thrower", so to have three 8 ounce Jelly Jar Candles of it in my family room fills it with just the right amount of scent. Much like "Christmas Kitchen", this fragrance is well-blended, and slightly spicy, making it another great choice for this time of year.

Those were my initial candle purchases from the sea of scent shots that I quickly plowed through, so I'm not sure if they will continue to be favorites in years to come, or if I may revisit some that deserve more attention. Keeping in mind though - knowing Victoria, we won't be at a loss for new scents to try for the holiday season of 2012!

So, what about you? Are you a seasonal burner, or are you burning "Mango Tango" as we speak? What would you consider to be your favorite holiday scents? Please feel free to leave a comment for me, vote in the poll, or both!

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you back for the next post. In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday season!