DIY Autumn Scented Candles

October 19, 2015

The smell of Autumnal themed drinks are filling every coffee shop across the world and I know I’m not the only one who longs for my house to smell like Starbucks on a cold Autumn night. Bath&Body Works carry a huge range of Autumnal scented candles, but if you are like me and located in Europe you will be haunted by the fact that they STILL don’t ship outside the States! In the past I have sourced some Bath&Body Works candles through Ebay, but it’s not cheap to do it that way and you don’t have a full selection of the range that the store actually carries.

Not being able to get my hands on the those iconic three wick candles is what inspired me to get into candles making in the first place and so it has been my goal this Autumn to create a PSL candle of my own. I’m actually a little embarrased by the amount of thought, effort and research (yes you read that right, research) I put into the making of these candles, it involved numerous trips to Starbucks during which I would sit, sip and sniff my PSL taking notes on the flavours and scents.

My initial thought was that a PSL would have a strong cinnamon scent to it, considering the posters in Starbucks always feature pumpkins and cinnamon sticks, but I discovered that Nutmeg is actually the prominent spice that you smell and taste. When thinking about creating a PSL inspired scent for my candle with a nod to Starbucks I wanted something sweet with a note of nutmeg and spice; because the smell of a PSL is quite sweet, almost caramely, with a hint of spice. I know, I am taking this very seriously, but PSLs are no joke people.

As always I used soy wax flakes as the base for my candle but this time I changed a few things compared to my usual candle making procedures. Instead of just using essential oils to scent the wax I also used wax tarts, which both scented and coloured the candles. The wax tarts I used for these candles were from Tesco, I bought three, Pomegranate, Vanilla and Spiced Berry; I also used ground nutmeg.

For the first candle, which is my PSL inspired candle, I melted down the soy wax flakes in my little pot; when it was completely melted I turned off the heat and left it sit for 5-10 mins to slowly bring the temperature back down. This is an extra step I added this time as I have found that when you add the scents straight to very hot wax it releases most of the scent straight away and when you burn the candle you don’t get as powerful a scent as desired.

When the wax had cooled a little I crumbled the vanilla tarted and the spiced berry tart into the pot and stirred to completely dissolve them. Next I added about a teaspoon of nutmeg and mixed that through the wax. I then poured the wax into the containers and left it to set over night. This candle has a sweet spicy smell and that ground nutmeg really makes my room feel like Starbucks!

For the second candle I wanted something with a bit more cinnamon, but not too ‘Christmasy’ just yet. So as before I melted down the soy wax and aloud it to sit. I then crumbled in the Pomegranate tart and mixed it through; next a added I a cinnamon and orange essential oil and mixed that in. Finally I poured the wax into the glass and left it to set overnight. This candle has a seasonal fruit smell with a hint of cinnamon, it reminds me of the smell of a fruit pie baking in the oven.

The containers I used for these candles are also from Tesco and were only £4!