Yankee Candles: A Dissertation

Yes, I like candles. Yes, I'm masculine in most other ways. Yes, this admission will probably get me kicked out of Raider Nation. But I can't help it. I figure if I'm trying to stop eating, I can at least indulge my other senses.

Like most people, I believe Yankee Candles are the candles to beat. No one else can seem to nail scents like they do. Sure, you can buy those crappy, waxy looking "Bougie Parfumee" candles at your local supermarket or Wal-Mart, but they mostly just smell like wax after the first 15 minutes.

Anyway, as much as I like Yankee Candles...we try to visit their flagship store in S.Deerfield, MA whenever we head up to the Berkshires area...I can't help but think they've been getting cocky. For every four new scents they roll out, at least one seems to be a repackaging of a similar scent. (One example..."Carrot Cake", smells exactly like "Pumpkin Spices".)

Plus, one thing that bugs me is that, as good as Yankee is, they haven't gotten the two best flavors nailed yet...Peanut Butter and Chocolate. They've made attempts in the past (Peanut Butter Cookie and a "Chocolate Bar" candle that you can only find in the "unmarked votive candle" section of the flagship store), but neither really seems that strong. Although I can't really blame them...I've sampled other brands in the past and it doesn't seem ANYONE can get it right. Of course it's possible someone DID get these scents right, but people preferred to eat the actual items instead of smelling a facsimile of them and the products tanked.