Artistscent Candle Review

I'm obsessed with candles and I have two shelves full of them in my linen closet, so I'm always on the lookout for new scents to try. Artistscent works with various artists to create candles inspired by their artwork and I was very excited to see what they were all about.

*Disclaimer: This product was sent to See, Shop, Love! in exchange for an honest review. Post contains affiliate links.

Artistscent was born after founder Natalie Kuhles and her husband, John, purchased an original painting by Ohio artist Ursula Brenner. While admiring the painting one day, Natalie imagined what the artwork would smell like, from the artist's perspective.

Artistscent partners with artists to create scented candles featuring their original piece of art. The artwork is permanently screened onto reusable glass vessels that make a beautiful addition to any home. The candles are proudly made in the USA and packaged in eco-friendly boxes that are plastic-free.

I received the Berry Crush candle from artist Elizabeth Karlson's collection. It's scented with notes of sweet berries, orange, peach, and a hint of sugar. Elizabeth states that her inspiration for this work and candle scent comes from when she would pick blackberries in the summer with her mom, which had a beautiful magenta color when first crushed that turned to a purple with blue tint.

The purple and blue artwork is beautifully screen-printed onto the glass vessel. It's a great match for the scent, which I was worried might be too sweet for me, but it actually smells barely sweet when burned -- not too overpowering at all.

The candle is made with a high quality soy wax blend and cotton wicks for an even burn. It weighs in at 297 grams and has a burn time of 55 hours. The wax is free from phthalates, parabens, sulfates, and synthetic dyes and is also cruelty-free. 

I think the candle is beautiful and I love the purple hues on the glass. It's nice that they're reusable once the wax has burned down. I think I'll use it to hold my makeup brushes.

The scent throw is strong enough to fill my living room without being overpowering. It has a sweet scent overall, but I noticed it is less intense once the candle starts burning. It was very strong when I first took it out of the box, which is why I worried it may be too sweet, but the other notes balance everything out.

• Visit the Artistscent website to browse their full line and purchase

Bottom Line: The Artistscent candles are so interesting and I'm interested in trying more scents from other artists, as well as the rest of Elizabeth Karlson's line. I'm impressed by the quality and I think it's great that they work with artists to bring both a visual and scented expression of their art!

My Favorite Winter Candles

I love candles so much. I have a closet shelf full of them, plus some in a few drawers, on the windowsills, and in my bookshelves. I might have a problem! Winter time brings forth a bevy of wonderfully-scented candles, and I've compiled a list of some of my favorites.

1. Yankee Candle Crackling in Stargaze - "Warm cedar, amber, and musk create a fragrant glow against a clear night sky."  The scent on this is crisp and wonderful, but I especially love this candle because of the crackling wooden wick!

2. Illume Noble Currant - "Rich red currant, crimson rose, and sherry wine blend with rare woods, frankincense, and a hint of warm spices."  I got this in the Home Sweet Homespun Limited Edition Birchbox and immediately fell in love!  It's sweet with a hint of spice.

3. Yankee Candle Sugared Apple - "A deliciously sweet apple treat...a perfect recipe of juicy apples sprinkled with sugar and vanilla."  My mom got this as a gift last year and it is amazing!  It's very sweet, but if you love apples, you'll love this candle as much as I do.

4. Coco & Bubbles Gingerbread - "Fill your home this season with the sweet, warm, and inviting smell of gingerbread.  Warm vanilla and spices combine for a fresh-from-the-oven scent."  Gingerbread is a quintessential Christmas scent, and this candle smells good enough to eat!

5. Frostbeard Studio Winterfell - "Part of our Book Lovers' Series, this candle is a completely original scent!  It's fresh, earthy, and cozy at the same time; not hard to imagine yourself in front of the fire in a castle!"  This has notes of scotch pine and firewood and is inspired by Westeros from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.  I love the firewood notes!

6. Big White Yeti Snow Day - "This candle...is an absolutely beautiful, complex fragrance made of notes of juniper berry, vetyver, and sandalwood."  This is the perfect candle for winter; it truly does remind me of a beautiful, snowy day!

7. Goose Creek Candle Co. Winter Splendor - "This is a cool winter scent with red berries, cinnamon, vanilla bean, white cedar, and smokey firewood."  I got this candle in a Little Black Bag and it's so big that I'm not even a third of the way through with it (it burns for 120-150 hours).  It's crisp and cool but still has hints of warmth, so lovely!

8. Bath & Body Works Merry Mistletoe - "A flirty and festive blend of cranberries, pears, frosted citrus and a hint of holiday greenery."  Some people think that the candles from Bath & Body Works are too strong or cloying, but I love them.  This one is especially great, it's got a smooth scent that's a great mix of fruity and warm,

What are some of your favorite winter scents?  Please share them in the comments, I love trying new candles!

May Flicker Box Review (Inaugural Box)

When I first heard about Flicker Box I knew I had to try it -- I am a huge candle hoarder!  I have a whole drawer full of them.  Flicker Box is a new start up run by Kristina out of Chicago, and each month you'll get a curated box of artisan candles.  I'm really impressed by the first box!

My box arrived fairly quickly; I think the time between receiving my shipping notification and actually getting the box was only two or three days at most.  All of the candles are made in the United States, and I'm going to assume that each month will feature a different theme.  This month's theme was beeswax candles.

Flicker Box costs $32 a month, with options for three month ($96),six month ($165), and 12 month subscriptions ($300).  Shipping is included in all of these rates.  While they may seem expensive, consider that you're receiving four to five artisan, handmade candles.  I know that the three-wicks at Bath & Body Works are $20 each, so hopefully that helps to put the price into perspective a bit.

The inaugural box contained five candles, seven if you count each of the tealights separately.  The first brand I noticed on the informational card was one of my favorites, Big Dipper Wax Works, which I was first introduced to through Eco Emi.  Here's a list of all of the brands that were featured:

• Big Dipper Wax Works 1.7 oz Beeswax tin and 3.1 oz. Beeswax glass jar
• Bluecorn Naturals 100% Pure Beeswax 2" pillar
• OneHoney - Chicago Honey Co-Op Bear Hugging Hive
• Scent From Nature 100% Pure Beeswax Tealights

Even though all of the candles were beeswax, I like that there was still a variety of forms included.  Tealights are always useful, and the bear candle is absolutely adorable.  I also like that the Big Dipper Wax Works candles are in containers.  I would have liked to have gotten some scented candles, but I'm sure that Flicker Box will have plenty of those in months to come.  If you're interested, you can use the coupon code "MOM15" through Sunday (May 12th) to take 15% off all prepaid subscriptions.

Bottom Line: I'm really impressed by Flicker Box and I think it's a fantastic choice for any candle lover.  Even if you can only afford to do one month, it's definitely a nice treat!

*Disclaimer: I received a Flicker Box free of charge to facilitate my review.  I was not monetarily compensated for this review and the honest opinions here are entirely my own.

EdenFantasys Review - Massage Candles and Body Souffles

Some of you may be familiar with EdenFantasys, but for those who aren't they offer a wide variety of adult products and more.  I have reviewed some of the beauty products available on their website before, and I have a general overview of their website here.  I was given the opportunity to review more products that they have available, and I chose two of my favorite things -- body butter and candles!

First up is the Ono Pleasure Massage Candle in Red Mandarin & Shea Butter.  I'm a total candle hoarder, and I chose to try this one because I've never tried a massage candle before.  The way they work is that the waxes transform into a moisturizing body oil as you burn it, and you can then use the oils to moisturize the skin or for a massage.  The scent of this candle in particular is very bright and citrus-y; I really enjoyed it.  I wish that the scent was a little bit stronger while burning, but I suppose since the oils are meant to be used on the skin you wouldn't want it to be too strong.

The candle is about 3 inches wide, but I can't find a listing of the weight.  The base is soy wax, and a full list of the ingredients is as follows: Glycine soja (soy) wax, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), prunus armeniaca (apricot) kernel oil, perfume (benzyl benzoate, vanillin).  When using the oils as a moisturizer, you have to work quickly so that it doesn't solidify into wax again, but it definitely can be done.  I suggest letting the candle burn for a while so that you get a good amount of oil built up before using it for a massage.  I will probably use this more often as a standard candle than for the oils.

The second product I chose to review was the Kama Sutra Body Souffle in Chocolate Creme Brulee.  It smells amazing!  The scent is very chocolate-y, and it reminds me of the Tutti Dolce products that Bath & Body Works used to carry.  The texture is thicker than standard lotions but still silky and smooth (as one would expect with a body souffle), and it absorbs into the skin nice and quickly.  The scent is fairly strong on the skin, so I wouldn't recommend this for people who like more subtle fragrance.  Kama Sutra's products are cruelty-free, per the FAQ page on their website.

Bottom Line: I was happy with these two products and would definitely recommend them.  EdenFantasys is an adult shop with sex toys and the like, but for those who are a bit more shy about those types of things, there are also G rated products like massage candles and beauty products.

*Disclaimer: I received these products for free to review from EdenFantasys.  I was not monetarily compensated for this review and the honest opinions here are entirely my own.

Diamond Candles Review Opportunity

Attention fellow bloggers! Diamond Candles is currently extending a review opportunity for 100 bloggers to review and giveaway their precious soy candles.



Precious? That's not usually an adjective used to describe candles—but these really are. Each candle contains a ring valued anywhere from $10-$100-$500-$5000! It reminds me of the feeling I get before I see what the value is on my Victoria's Secret “Secret Reward” gift card—except so much better!

I'm really hoping to review one of these candles because, as you can see if you've been following my blog for a little while, I am a candle junkie. I prefer soy candles because they burn so much cleaner and are better for the environment.

If you're a blogger and are interested in applying to review Diamond Candles, head over to this post on A Family Full Of Opinions!

More FABulous Finds: Maryink and The Soi Company

I've blogged about how much I love Fab.com before, and now I'll share with you my most recent purchases from my favorite flash sale site.

I am absolutely loving Fab because they have such a variety of sales.  They're design-focused, so their sales run the gamut from clothes to interior decorating to magazines to toys...there is seriously so much stuff.  I highly recommend checking it out.



As I've said before, I've accrued a total of $215 free credits for Fab sales, and I also currently have two months of free shipping for referring so many members to the site.  I joined them pre-launch, and have achieved Prime Member status.  Needless to say, it's been really fun getting a bunch of great items for free!
The sweater in the photo above is by Maryink.  Founded in 2005, they print t-shirts and sweaters for all occasions.  All of their items are hand-printed on order on a manual press, which I think is great.  You really are getting a shirt that was made just for you!  I liked the deer design on this one; the sweater itself is a dark gray.  It's a little slouchier, which I really enjoy because it's super cozy.  Their sweaters normally retail for $42, but I think it was something like $28 or so during the Fab flash sale.

• Check out Maryink's website and shop
• Follow them on Twitter and Facebook

The second item I bought is this candle from The Soi Company.  It's mistletoe scented, and was special to the Fab sale because it was the scent's premiere.  What's cool about these candles is that they are also a skin moisturizer!  After you blow out the candle, you can dip your finger in the all-natural soy base and rub it into your skin.  It sounds weird, but it works really well.  The candles burn for about 140 hours, which is 40% longer than normal wax candles.  I really like soy-based candles because they burn so much cleaner than wax candles, too.  They're eco-friendly, hand-crafted, and biodegradable.  Oh and the mistletoe scent is perfect for winter!

• Visit The Soi Company's website
• Connect with them on Facebook

Bottom Lines: I really enjoy the products I've gotten from Maryink and The Soi Company.  I'm a candle fiend and would definitely buy more Soi candles in the future.  I also really recommend Maryink sweaters, they're super cozy!

I've really lucked out with all of my free credits for Fab, but regardless of whether or not you are able to get items for free, you'll still be getting great design for awesome discounts.  You can sign up for Fab here.