[2006-03]
The Christmas Candle
That Embarassed Me Into Learning More About Candles
More than simple curiosity was lit at Christmas when the lovely candle gift I brought for the hostess turned out into a major embarrassment for me.
The colorful holiday decorated pair of pillar candles were labeled "Christmas Pine" and "Christmas Berry", and I can tell you they were purchased at a hefty price to match their full pound weight.
Each had a visible surface of white wax that resembled winter frost over the green of the Christmas Pine, and over the red of the "Christmas Berry". Around the base were baby pine sprigs and tiny real pine cones, and bits of red and orange berry with green leaves.
My hostess was delighted with the gift, telling all the other guests how much she loved pine scented candles during the holiday season.
She immediately placed the candles on holiday candle plates in the center of her table. She carefully trimmed the wicks (as we had both read on the paper packed with the candles), and then she lit them.
Dinner guests leaned in around the table to sample the aroma.
Happy h oliday "Pinecones on the Hearth" and "Berries in the Cobbler" scents were expected because that's what the package had described.
But all I smelled was a faint -- very faint -- whiff of something sweet. Lightly sweet -- and sort of tangy.
For a minute or so I thought I was too far away at my end of the table and just beginning to smell the berry, so I kept my mouth shut.
So did everyone else.
Then after another minute somebody mentioned they hadn't smelled anything yet, and the table conversation turned to social chatter.
What I smelled by that time was worse than nothing, it was the distinct odor of burning WAX. And the longer it burned, the more the odor matched my memory of a hot day on asphalt!
By the end of the meal I could see a thin column of black smoke funneling into the air above the flame, and was grateful when a guest seated close to the candles discretely pinched off the offending source.
I kept reminding myself (and hoped the Hostess understood) these were NOT cheap candles. I'd paid just under $50 for the two of them with tax and shipping!
Fortunately I was able to salvaged my dignity with the hostess by insisting she allow me to take them back and show the supplier that they were "defective".
It was just the kind of experience that drives me to find out why any candles at that price would underperform so badly. Like a kid with a broken toy, I had to take it apart to figure out what went wrong. What was in the wax that makes it do that?
Well I finally understand the difference between plain old candles, and "Gourmet Candles", between decorative candles (which should be displayed for looks, not to be burned), and true "airomatic" candles designed to have "scent throw" to fill the the room or even the whole house with the mood of my choice.
I'm learning more all the time as I go. Stay tuned to learn along with me. Or if you're in a hurry, click on the advertiser below and get a head start.
