I’ve been burning candles for many years now, and I have them all over my house! You’ll find them in my living room, my kitchen, my bedroom and my bathroom. I’d even have them in the toilet if the rest of the family would let me!

But although I love burning them, I very rarely write about what I’ve been burning. And as I know that lots of you who read my blog enjoy burning candles to, I thought it was about time I changed that. So today ladies and gentlemen, I bring you a brand new monthly series called what I’ve been burning.

Each month I’ll be talking about which candles I’ve been burning, and sharing my thoughts on them too. I usually burn something new on a weekly basis, so there will be plenty to talk about each month. And I’d love to hear any recommendations from you guys too.

So, without further ado let’s jump into the very first ‘What I’ve Been Burning’ post. I hope you enjoy it!

BATH & BODY WORKS PUMPKIN CARVING

First up is a candle I bought last year from American brand, Bath & Body Works. It’s called Pumpkin Carving and I chose this one purely because I was after some Halloween scents and it sounded perfect. I’m so glad I picked it up as well as it smells divine! Think of a blend of pumpkin, brown sugar and nutmeg. I’d even go as far as to say that it’s one of my all-time favourite candle scents.

One of the best things about this candle is that it has 3 wicks, which means it burns a lot more evenly than a lot of other candles do. And this, in turn, helps it last longer. Which is what you want to happen when you’ve forked out a lot of money on things like this!

According to the Bath & Body Works website, the candle has a burn time of 25-45 hours. But I have to say that I’ve been burning this for most of October (and the majority of last October too) and there still seems to be loads of wax left, so I think that shows that it’s great value for money. I’m over the moon that I’ll get to burn it for a third year in 2017!

BATH & BODY WORKS SPOOKY VANILLA

Another Halloween themed candle I picked up from Bath & Body Works last October was this one called Spooky Vanilla. It has a nice, pleasant marshmallow scent to it (and I absolutely love the funky pea green colour of the wax), but I definitely prefer the pumpkin scented one. As you can probably tell from the amount of each that’s left!

Again, this is a 3 wick candle which burns perfectly. And it’s been used loads over the last 2 October’s. I’m so impressed with Bath & Body Works, and I’d say the only downside is that they’re only available in the USA. There is a way around this though …

I set up a US shipping address through a website called MyUS. And whenever I shop at Bath & Body Works I have my shopping sent there. MyUS then notify me when my goods arrive at their warehouse, and I pay them to forward them to me here in the UK. It’s a quick and easy process and I’ve never had any problems receiving my goods. They always come in super fast time as well!

RATHBORNES BITTER ORANGE, BIRCH TAR & BALSAM CANDLE

The third candle I’ve been burning during October was one that I was kindly sent to try out from a brand called Rathnornes, who were founded in Dublin back in 1488. And believe it or not, I’d never heard of them before! I’m so glad they’re on my radar now though as this particular one is absolutely gorgeous. It’s their bitter orange, birch tar and balsam candle, and it smells a-ma-zing!

This particular candle has a beautiful, sophisticated scent to it that I’ve really enjoyed. I can smell the orange the most, but I get hints of wood and balsam every so often as well. I love that this fills the whole of the room with fragrance when lit, and as it has 2 wicks, which helps it burn nice and evenly.

I love the simple design on the glass jar too. It just has the Rathborne’s logo embossed in gold on the front and nothing else. I think it would look (and smell) great lined up with other Rathborne’s candles at a wedding reception or similar function.

The candle has a burn time of up to 50 hours, and there are loads of other scents from the collection that I now want to try. Who knows? You may see another one in next months ‘What I’ve Been Burning’ post! I think it’s safe to say I can see Rathbornes fast becoming one of my favourite candle brands. I love them!

YANKEE CANDLE BLACK CHERRY

Yankee Candle have been one of my favourite home fragrance brands for a long time now. I’d say I’ve been burning their candles for a good 7 or 8 years at least. I picked up their black cherry scent after having a sniff at it in Boots over the summer, and I was so sure I was going to love it that I bought it in the largest sized jar, which has an impressive burn time of 110-150 hours.

Once I got the candle home I wasn’t disappointed! The black cherry scent is the most authentic I’ve ever smelt in a candle. And believe me I’ve tried lots of them. When lit, the candle fills not just the room I’m sitting in, but the whole house with fragrance. In fact, the scent is so strong (in a good way) that it even masks odours caused by things such as cooking or dirty nappies!

The only thing I don’t like about Yankee these days is the way their wax melts. In the past, the largest candles always burned evenly, as long as you let them burn for a good 6-8 hours the first time you lit them. These days though, this doesn’t seem to happen as much and I find they tend to ‘tunnel’. A lot of the wax then ends up getting wasted and this drastically reduces the burn time.

I’d like to see more of Yankee’s multi-wick candles available on the high street as I think having this feature really helps candles last longer. I would even pay extra for this! On the whole though, I absolutely love this candle, and I’ve been burning it while writing this post. Yum!

JOHN LEWIS DRACULA & WITCH TEALIGHT HOLDER

And last but certainly not least I thought I’d show you this gorgeous tealight holder I picked up in John Lewis last month! It was from their Halloween collection and features cute little Dracula and Witch characters who are trick or treating. Behind them is a lantern which holds a single tealight, and it looks really pretty when it’s sat flickering away!

I’ve been burning regular, unscented tealights in this holder this year as I didn’t get it until a few days before Halloween, but next year I plan on picking up some of the tealights with autumnul scents to use with it. This particular piece cost me £20, which may seem a lot for something I can only use once a year, but I buy from John Lewis quite a lot and know it will last for many years to come. I just love it!!

And there you have it, my very first what I’ve been burning post! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have any recommendations for what I should try next, or there are any candles you’d like me to review for next months post then please let me know in the comments below.

Why not let me know what you’ve been burning recently?
I love to hear from you!
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*Rathbornes Bitter Orange & Balsam Candle kindly sent for review consideration
All other candles purchased with my own money