Candles by Victoria is a family run candle company based out of Van, Texas. The company is run by Victoria, along with her husband, daughter and one other employee. Everything is made fresh when you order it, no sitting around on shelves like at retail stores. Their company website is candlesbyvictoria.com. Victoria is the sweetest lady you will ever meet, and her customer service is by far the best I have ever encountered. She is very interactive with her customers through her facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Candles-by-Victoria/150093812057, message board http://cbvictoria.proboards.com/index.cgi? youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/CBVictoria and she puts out a monthly newsletter that you can subscribe to through her website. She will personally respond to all emails usually the same day, their shipping is incredibly fast, especially considering that she hand pours everything when you order it. And don't worry about anything breaking in your shipment...Victoria's husband Matt (affectionately known as the Candleman) wraps everything so well in bubble wrap, I often have trouble unwrapping them, but don't worry, there's even a video that shows you how to do that!
I first found CBV through reviews on youtube, and while I was a little hesitant to order scented candles without ever smelling them, Victoria's descriptions of her scents are so accurate, I loved everything that I ordered. So much so that I've probably placed about 10 orders in the last year and a half. These candles and tarts (or scent shots as they are called on the website) are triple scented with the highest quality oils you can find. A 9oz candle will usually scent my entire upstairs, and a 1/4 of a scent shot can fill my whole house. Really, I'm not exaggerating! They are *amazing*!
Here I'll review the scents and different products that I've tried and give you my opinions on them. I do hope you'll give them a try as well. I promise you won't be disappointed!
Note-in some of my pictures, you'll see that the melt pool hadn't completely reached the sides of the jar before I extinguished it. This is my fault :) With my daughter in and out of the house, I sometimes don't have time to let the candle burn long enough for a full scent pool. Don't worry if this happens though, on future burnings, it will all melt. You can also wrap a piece of tin foil around the candle to get a full melt pool in much less time. Victoria recommends burning one hour for each inch in diameter of your jar (3 inch opening, burn for 3 hours the first time). This will set the memory of the wax so it will burn to the edges on subsequent burnings.
Comfort Candles 16oz, $16.75
These are my favorite looking candles that Victoria makes. They look like you could take a spoon and dig right in! They are double wicked 16oz candles and come with whipped wax on the top. These can have some wax overflow the first time you burn them, so be sure to put a plate under them. The wax is super soft, so clean up is not a problem.
Momma's Peach Cobbler
This candle smells good enough to eat! It has the scent Cajun Cornbread in whipped wax on top, and Maple Butter Crunch on the bottom, and also the crumbles are in this scent. There are cute little peach inbeds, and gold sprinkles and more crumbles on top. It broke my heart a little to burn this candle it was so pretty, but hey, I can always get another one! It smells like a true peach cobbler straight out of the oven. You smell the peach, and the cornbread gives it a real homemade smell. Amazing!
Pumpkin Gingerbread Splash
This candle smells like a slightly spicy pumpkin, not too heavy on the cinnamon. The top layer is whipped Spiced Pumpkin Chutney, the bottom is Buttery Gingerbread, and the crumbles are maple. I can smell it in my whole kitchen even without it being lit.
Sweet Treat Candles 12oz, $13.75
These candles all look like yummy deserts. They come single wicked in a heavy tumbler.
Pink Cupcake
This is such a yummy smelling candle! I get a very sweet cakey smell, but it's more the icing you smell than the cake though. The cool thing about this candle is that the candy sprinkles never melt, so each time you light this candle they re-appear in the melt pool, which looks really pretty.
Ladybug Bowl Candle 16oz, $13.50
This candle is the best value per ounce of wax that Victoria offers. I have 3 candles in this bowl. I love the large melt pool that you get with this one, which in turn gives a great scent throw. It is double wicked.
Fluffer Nutter
This is a combination of Marshmallow Campfire and Peanut Butter Cookies. It is slightly perfumy and you can get a hint of peanut butter, but it's not too strong. This is such a homey scent to me, and anytime anyone comes over when I've burned this I always get compliments own how nice my house smells. I consider this one to be my signature scent.
Pink cupcake
Described above, it's the same as the sweet treat candle.
French Crumb Cake
This smells exactly like a crumb cake. It's not my favorite as I prefer a sweeter cake, but I have added pieces of my Buttercream scent shot to the melt pool and I love it that way.
Chocolate Fudge Cinnamon Sugar Cookie Surprise 24 oz, $19.50
This is probably my favorite candle that I own from CBV. It has 3 different scents in it-Fudge Brownie (which smells just like brownie batter), Sugar Cookies (which smells like cookie dough), and Cinnamon Buns, and it's topped with cinnamon crumbles. Each time I burn this it smells a little different as the layers mix in the melt pool. My husband always thinks I've been baking when I've had this one burning :) It comes in this large mustard jar, as well as a 16oz jar.
22oz Tureen $18.50
I love this jar, you get a huge melt pool and there's a very large opening. You can order this in glitter!
Sugared Spruce with lime green and red glitter
Peace with gold glitter
This is slightly cologny, but it's definately not a manly scent. I find this one to be a very comforting scent. It reminds me of my husband when he comes inside after being out on a cool day.
8oz Tureen $9.75
This is a great jar with a nice sized opening.
Sugar cookies
This one smells like cookie dough, and just a hint of the golden edges of a baked sugar cookie.
Christmas Buttered Rum
I haven't burned this one yet. I get mainly a buttery smell from this one so far but I know the rum will come out more once it's warmed
9oz Country jar $8.50
Goldilocks
Trick or Treat
This is a mix of Buttercream and Candy Corn. It a rich, buttery caramel scent.
Creme Brûlée
Cinnabon
Smells just like a real cinnabon, with the cinnamon and dough and icing. Love this one! And look at all the oil in the bottom of the jar!!
Blueberry Cheesecake
This smells like blueberry fruit roll ups. I don't get much cheesecake in this one, but it doesn't matter, it's sweet and delicious!
Carmelized Pralines
This is a nutty, caramely scent. It's very strong.
Pink Bubblegum Crush
This is a very girly, sweet, scent. My daughters favorite :) It smells a bit like sweedish fish gummies.
Country Fair Funnel Cake
This is a sweet, doughy, yeasty scent. I want to eat it.
Pink Grapefruit
This a sweet pink grapefruit scent, not too tart. Lovely in the summertime.
8oz Jelly jar $7.50
Stress Relief
I ordered this one just to see what it smelled like. It gets a lot of love on the CBV message board, and I was curious. It has lavender, chai tea and mint in it. I was very surprised at how much I liked this one, as I'm not really a fan of floral or minty smells. I thought that the mint might be too strong but the scents are so well blended that none overpowers the other. It is indeed very relaxing, and it has a strong scent throw.
Citronella
I was looking for a citronella candle for my gazebo, and I've never found a strong one in any store, so I figured if anyone would have a potent citronella scent it would be Victoria, and I was right. This one is sooo strong, but that's what you need to keep those mosquitoes away.
4oz Mini Jelly jar $5
This is a great jar to try a scent in. It has the same size opening as the 8oz jelly jar and 9oz country jar
Cranberry Brûlée
Tart cranberry mixed with sweet creme brûlée. One of my faves!
Me Tarzan You Jane
This is a dupe of the BBW Brown Sugar and Fig scent. I like this one much better, as it is a touch sweeter. Is is slightly perfumy, and you can smell the brown sugar first, then the fig in the background. It's a very comforting scent.
Porridge Pot
This one smells just like a bowl of oatmeal. The scent description lists citrus in this one, but my nose doesn't pick up on it. My daughter got her fingers into this one.
Peace
I described this one above. In the mini jar I didn't really find this to have a strong scent throw, but in a small room it works fine. I prefer to burn my candles in the livingroom so I like a larger jar for this one. The wick is removed because I've been putting it on my candle warmer.
Old Fashioned Christmas
This is a gorgeous Christmas scent, smelling of cinnamon, clove, and dried fruit. It reminds me of baking Christmas fruit cakes with my Mom. Lots of oil in this one :)
Indonesian Delight
This is a tropical fruity floral scent. It's not one of my favorites, as I tend to lean towards bakery scents, but it is a very nice scent.
Scoop Some Scent 16 oz, $14
This is a bowl of whipped wax that you scoop out to put in your tart warmer. It comes with a cute little wooden scoop.
Cranberry Brûlée
Scent shots $2
These are 2 oz cups of scented wax that you can melt in a tart warmer. These are great to try a scent before you buy a larger candle, or if you prefer to scent your home without using a flame. Usually 1/4 of a scent shot is enough to scent my whole upstairs and will last the whole day.
Peanut Butter Cookies-this one isn't too heavy on the peanut butter, it's a sweet cookie scent with the pb in the background.
Red Velvet Cake-yummy! You get the cake with the slight scent of cocoa in the background.
Cinnamon Donuts-smells just like it's called! You get the doughy scent with the sweet cinnamon.
Lemon Pound Cake-this smells exactly like a lemon pound cake, it's crazy! You get the bakery lemon (not too tart) and the pound cake scent is dead on!
Chocolate Chip Cookies-smells just like chocolate chip cookies cookies baking in the over. You can smell the chocolate and the golden edges of the cookie baking.
Simply Delicious-this is a real bakery type of scent. You smell brown sugar, vanilla, no spices in this one. There is pear in it, but I don't smell it at all.
Caramelized Pralines-this is a strong one! You get the nutty scent from the pralines and a caramelized brown sugar type of smell, its a very rich scent
Blackberry Cobbler-I love Victoria's cobbler scents, they are a yummy baked crust scent, and this one has the sweet yet slightly tart scent from the blackberries
Fruit Salad-it's hard to pick out any one fruit from this one, it's a mix of a bunch of different fruits with a creamy background
Caramel cream Eggnog-this is a creamy caramel with the eggnog base, really nice
Blueberry Cobbler-again, I love the cobbler scents, so this one is a great for me. You get the baked crust with a sweet blueberry. It's more of a fruit chew blueberry than a fresh blueberry (like the blueberry cheesecake scent)
Jelly Donut-I couldn't stop smelling this one when I got it, it is exactly like the filling from a jelly donut. I don't get much of a doughy scent with this one, but most people seem to, so maybe my nose just isn't picking up on it.
Vanilla Cream Raspberry-this is a really strong one! I had 1/4 of a scent shot going for 3 days in my dining room and you could smell it throughout the house. It's a creamy sweet raspberry. My friend told me she could smell it from outside when she came to visit!
Butter Rum Crunch-this one is very buttery, I don't pick up on a lot of the rum. I love this one for mixing with other scents.
Peace-this one is described above under the 22 oz tureens and 4 oz jelly jar. I found this a little strong in a scent shot, so I prefer it in candle form.
Heavenly type-this is a dupe of the Victoria's Secret scent. It is a powdery floral, a good bedroom scent.
Pink Bubblegum Crush-if the color pink had a scent it would be this! It is sweet, kind of bubble gummy, kind of like sweedish fish. It's very girly, and my 6 year old daughters favorite
Fudge Brownie-this one is sooo good! I was hesitant about getting a chocolate scent as I've never found one that I liked from any other company, but this one smells just like brownie batter. It isn't artificial smelling at all, very realistic.
Coconut cream Pie-this is such a rich, homey scent to me. The cream stands out more than the coconut, love it! My friend came over while I was melting this one and she loved it so much she ordered a bunch of them in scent shots
Love spell-this one is very strong. I'm not really a fan of the perfume scents, but this one is nice. It's fruity and citrusy, I like this one in the bedroom, but just a tiny piece of the scent shot fills the room.
Pumpkin Vanilla-creamy vanilla and pumpkin, without the spice. A very nice fall scent if you're not a big fan of the spicy pumpkin scents.
Caramel Coffee Cake-dead on to what a coffee cake smells like. Delish!
Why I Autumn-this is a very complex scent, and very well blended. There's some apple, spices, a slightly woodsy scent (but not a green woodsy), an awesome scent for fall.
Blueberry Cheesecake-this one smells like blueberry fruit roll ups. I don't get much of the crust or cheesecake, but it is still a really yummy, sweet blueberry scent.
Christmas Tree-this one is really strong. It's a realistic pine with almost a hint of eucalyptus. An added bonus is that it clears out my nose wonderfully if I have a cold!
Piney Forest-I prefer this one as a Christmas tree type of scent. This one has the wood scent, wheras the Christmas Tree scent (above) doesn't.
Strawberry Kiwi-this one smells like bubble gum to me. My daughter loved it!
Bear Claws-a doughy scent with a bit of caramel, I definitely can smell the raisins, it's really good
Fluffer Nutter-this is my absolute favorite scent that Victoria makes. It's marshmallow campfire mixed with peanut butter cookies. It's a little perfumy, just a hint of peanut butter. Everyone comments on this one when I have it melting. My husbands boss and his wife dropped by when I had this one melting, and 3 times she mentioned how good it smelled in my house, and that was just 1/4 of a scent shot. I will always have this one in my stash :)
Country Fair Funnel Cake-a doughy, sweet delicious scent. Just like the real thing.
Lemon Gingersnap Pie-this one is a bakery lemon scent with the Gingersnap mixed in. I get the gingersnap scent more than the lemon.
Sugar Cookies-another on of my faves. In scent shot form this is more like sugar cookie dough, in candle form it's more of a baked sugar cookie. Both are awesome!
Granny's Pie Crust-this is so yummy smelling! The scent really comes out when you melt it. Its a slightly sweet, slightly salty, buttery creamy crusty scent. It's awesome!
Buttercream-this one is quite buttery with the sweetness of the icing in the background. I like to mix this one with others that aren't quite sweet enough for my nose.
Cream Cheese Frosting-I bought this one to mix with buttery gingerbread. It's not exactly like cream cheese icing that I'm used to, it's not so sweet and my nose picks up a slight nutty scent, but it's still really good, and I love it with the gingerbread.
Pumpkin Pickin-a creamy vanilla pumpkin without the spice. A very smooth scent.
The Porridge Pot-this one was in my very first order, and I couldn't stop smelling it all day when I got it. It is exactly like a bowl of oatmeal. Not the flavored kind, just plain oatmeal. I find it to be a very comforting scent.
Hello Dolly-this is a mix of bubbling butterscotch sundae, coconut cream pie and fudge brownie, 3 of my favorites, so I love this one. The 3 scents mix together wonderfully, none overpowers the other.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie-smells like oatmeal cookie dough with raisins. You can definately smell the raisins.
Buttery Gingerbread-love this one at christmas. I mix it with cream cheese frosting, it's like gingerbread cookies right out of the oven!
Victorian Christmas-cinnamon and pine are the main scents I get from this one, with a little clove in the background. Such a great Christmas scent!
Cookies for Santa-sugar cookie dough with cinnamon. Delicious!
Pumpkin Pralines-a non-spicy pumpkin mixed with the sweet nuttiness of caramelized pralines.
Brown Sugar Snap-just like a Gingersnap cookie with a slight rich sweetness from the brown sugar.
Amish Quilt-very complex. Spices mixed with vanilla , great for fall.
Peppercorn-smells a little like a woodsy cologne. I haven't melted this one yet.
Spiced pumpkin chutney-not too spicy, not too pumpkiny. This is on the top of the pumpkin gingerbread splash comfort candle. Really nice.
Christmas Memories-this is a mix of cranberry, spiced orange and sugared spruce. All 3 blend really well. The berry and orange stand out a little more than the spruce. Great Christmas scent. It is a little sweet.
Snicker doodle-a cinnamon sugar cookie scent, my husband thought in had been baking when he got home. He even asked if I had make snicker doodles specifically. They are his favorite cookie. Sadly for him, it was just the scent shot :(
Pumpkin Pie Spice-just like pumpkin pie out of the oven! I don't smell much crust, just the filling.
Genevieve's Tea Ring-the first thing I smell is maraschino cheery, then a sweet dough, I haven't melted this one yet, but I can tell its going to be good!
Cajun Cornbread-LOVE this one! It's peach preserves mixed with cornbread. It's rich, a little sweet, a little bready, with a gorgeous peach scent (not a fresh peach). This is on the top of Momma's Peach Cobbler comfort candle, and I had it get it in a scent shot to smell it on it's own.
Brandied Custard-this ones heavy on the brandy (in a good way) mixed with vanilla and maple. Really nice.
Blueberry Cornbread-I haven't melted this one yet. On cold sniff I don't smell the cornbread, but I'm sure it will come out when it's melted. Smells like blueberry cheesecake so far.
Catchin' Fireflies-this isn't my typical scent to order, I prefer bakery, but I wanted to smell this one because it gets a lot of love on the message board. It's a little perfumey, and I smell amber, florals, vanilla, a touch of sandalwood. It would be nice in the bedroom I think.
Bella Swan-this is a really pretty scent. It's a bit floral, a bit powdery, a little grapey, a very girly scent. Again, not my typical type of scent, but I love it!
Honey Spice Cake-smells like fresh out of the oven gingerbread cookies. This one isn't as sharp as the buttery gingerbread.
Pecan Pie-sometimes I find pecan pie scents to be too maple-ish smelling, but this one isn't. It's a creamy pecan pie filling with a touch of crust. Yummy.
Vanilla Sandalwood-this is a creamy sandalwood scent (if that makes sense). The vanilla really tones down the sandalwood.
Sugared Spruce-this one smells a bit green, with spruce and a touch of sweetness. Not just a Christmas scent, I love this all year.
Vanilla Cedar-I really like this one. I don't really smell the vanilla, but it tones down the cedar so it's not too strong. Very nice.
Pumpkin Pear Strudle-this one is heavy on the pear, a touch spicy, light on the cinnamon with the crumbles of a strudle.
Brown Sugar Shortbread-this is grannies pie crust mixed with brown sugar, so you know it's delicious! A sweetened more caramelized version of grannies pie crust.
Snowdrifts berries-berries mixed with pine, a beautiful combination. I think I smell a bit of mint or eucalyptus as well.
Patch Work Quilt-quite spicy with a hint of vanilla. Another great fall scent.
Autumn Leaves-this one is crazy realistic! I don't know how Victoria does it. This smells just like a pile of leaves that aren't completely dried out, it has still a bit of a green scent. So cool!
OMG Everything about this is amazeballs!! Great job!! :D
ReplyDeleteThis candle smells like a slightly spicy pumpkin, not too heavy on the cinnamon. The top layer is whipped Spiced Pumpkin Chutney, the bottom is Buttery Gingerbread, and the crumbles are maple.
ReplyDeleteTriple and strong scented candles
luxury scented candles