Old Factory Candles | Review

Tuesday, December 23, 2014



Made from natural soy wax, Old Factory Candles are hand poured in the US. They retail for $25 on Amazon and come in a wide variety of scents. Each box comes with three 2 ounce candles (they're quite small, btw).

I received these candles for review from Old Factory via Brandbacker.

I chose Happy Holidays which includes Candy Cane, Gingerbread, and Christmas Tree. They have a lot of options. Like, a lot a lot, and some are scents you wouldn't quite find in your local Bath and Body Works. They even had a High as a Kite one, and I'll let your imagination figure out what the scents were (that option is no longer available).

Current scents are:
New Born Baby-  Baby Powder, First Blanket, Baby Shampoo
Coffee Shop- Coffee Bean, Hazelnut, Chai Tea
Fall Harvest- Pumpkin Spice, Cranberry, Autumn Leaves
Fresh & Clean- Lemongrass, Olive Blossom, Fresh Linen
Happy Holidays- Candy Cane, Gingerbread, and Christmas Tree
50 Shades- Leather, Jasmine Bubbles, Vanilla Sex
Man Cave- Straight Razor, Leather, Mahogany
Romance- Rose Petals, Champagne, Dark Chocolate
Spa Day- Cucumber, Lemongrass, Green Tea
Vacation- Sea Breeze, Hawaiian Lei, Awapuhi




Candy Cane:
This is the one I was most excited for. I love the smell of peppermint, and there's nothing I want more than to have my whole home smell like mint. Finding a plain peppermint scent is difficult since it always seems to be paired with chocolate (like peppermint bark). Imagine my excitement when I saw this as one of the scents.

Unfortunately it wasn't up to par. It had this strange almost plastic smell when it was burning. Not burning plastic. I think that's the soy, but I'm not sure. There was a hint of peppermint though, but the other smell was too overpowering, and I ended up blowing it out shortly after lighting it. The hunt continues!

Christmas Tree:
This scent never was one of my favorites. I consider it one of those staple Christmas scents (along with cinnamon). But, for some reason I never was a huge fan. But the scent is so light an airy it's nice. It's not over powering, and for some that may not be a good thing, but for me it was perfect. I'll be burning this one for a while. That is, as long as I don't continue to have to fight with the wick (not the company's fault. Some wicks are temperamental). It is true to scent, though.

Gingerbread:
My favorite of the bunch. It's your typical cookie scent, and easily the strongest one of the bunch.




Overall, I wasn't too impressed. For the price I expected a bit more for the price, but they are hand poured with natural ingredients, and the jar is adorable. At first I couldn't get the wax to burn evenly, but that seems to be the case with a lot of single wick candles. I let it sit for a while, rotating the jar every so often so that the flame was blowing in a different direction (yes I have a ceiling fan going in December. That's the Florida lifestyle for you), and that seemed to do the trick. Much better than the little Avon candles, which made me angry.

They do burn clean! Soy candles mean that there won't be any sooty residue left over on the jar, and that's true. 

The wick is self trimming, and are stated to last for over to 20 hours. I'm still working on that burn time, so I'll get back to you if I continue to keep track.

Do I recommend them? That's tough to say. The combinations are interesting enough that if I had the $25 lying around I would try out some of the other scents. It is a good gift idea (not just for the holidays), since there are three different scents in the package. But off of my experience, personally I'm not jumping on Amazon to purchase a set. But that's me, I've seen that a lot of other people have fallen in love with the brand. The almost 5 star rating proves that.

If you've tried these let me know what your experience was.

Hope you all have a fun and safe holiday!


Samples provided by Old Factory Candles 
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Let's Talk About Brands: Zoya

Sunday, December 14, 2014




Earlier in the year I made a post featuring the famed nail polish brand Essie. I figured it was time to resume the series with one of my favorites: Zoya.

Brief history:
Zoya is a brand under a company called The Art of Beauty. The Art of Beauty was founded in 1986 and in addition to Zoya, the company houses Qtica, Smart Spa, and Zoom (quick dry top coat and their "Callus Action Quick Gel"). Each nail polish is inspired and named after a real woman, the first being Carmen. A few years ago Zoya began dabbling into the lip gloss market with Hot Lips.



As far as wear goes Zoya has to be the best brand for me. I have a decent amount, but being as it's not as readily available as OPI, China Glaze, and Essie, my collection isn't as large as I would like it to be. I do participate in their annual Earth Day sale ($4 regular polish, $5 Pixi Dust).

They probably have about every color you could imagine, and close to every finish. From creams to jellies, to Pixi Dust and matte, Zoya is no stranger to variety.

I have never caught Zoya recycling shades like I've seen in OPI and Essie (if you know of an instance, please do let me know!). Each color seems to be unique to the name assigned.

Some of my favorite shades: Cassi, Tomoko, Phoebe, and Julie.

Under the Qtica Smart Spa brand you can find scrubs, lotions, and masks in a variety of scents and sizes for a professional like manicure and pedicure. Qtica is described as "intense therapy" featuring quick drying drops, cuticle repair balm, growth stimulator, and even a lip repair balm (and they're not as expensive as you would think).

I really can't express how much I love the brand. I don't buy from them often, usually about once a year, but whenever I do I'm always pleased with the product I receive.

You can find Zoya at select nail salons, Ulta, and online via their website (look out for deals! They have them frequently).


Sources:
http://workplaypolish.com/2013/07/24/zoya-fun-facts-and-fall-pixie-dust-collection-swatches-and-review/
http://www.zoya.com/content/category/ABOUT_US.html