Candle Reviews: Meraki Candles & The Melting Library

I love, love, love candles, something I discovered last summer. And with that discovery also came the discovery that there are people making and selling book-themed candles. It was an amazing discovery and for a while instead of buying books I was buying the candles they inspired. At school I don't get as much chance to burn them as I would like but now that I'm home I've been going through about one a week or so. I have many thoughts about these candles so I've decided to do a review post for some of them. Expect to see another set of candle reviews in the future, when I've bought and burned even more.

First up is Meraki Candles. Overview: I really like the company. I haven't had any problems with customer service, they're priced reasonably (when compared to other bookish candles), and there's a large variety to choose from. Their also really pretty in general and the presentation is done well, and they arrive safely and undamaged, which is a huge plus. My biggest problems lie in how long it takes to get the candles and how quickly they burn. The former isn't much of a problem if you live in the UK where they're based, but it takes much longer than I anticipated for one of these candles to arrive and a Christmas scented candle I ordered I didn't get until it was well past the season. I don't really hold this against them, but it's definitely something to remember when you order from them and live in the United States. The other big problem is how quickly these candles burn. In 15 hours or so I had gone through all but the smallest bit at the bottom. That's not a bad thing, necessarily, but I was surprised to find myself eating through these so quickly. Something else I've notice, but isn't a problem for me but might be for you, is that they do leave wax on the sides as they melt down, which just kinda clouds up the inside and leaves them less-pretty. Fairy Loot Exclusive Candles: When I was subscribed to Fairy Loot I got a Divergent themed candle (it came smaller than the regular sizes) which was a good candle but in general isn't my type, and a Caraval themed candle (pictured above) called Come Back Yesterday. I'm so upset that it's an exclusive because it is one of my absolute favorite candles of all time! I burn it sparsely because I adore it so much. Full Sized-Candles: The two that I have burned nearly all the way down (as I type this I'm currently working on finishing one of them) are the Night Court candle and the Cabeswater candle. I like them both because, while they don't exactly smell how I picture either of these places, they smell clean and the scent travels well in my room. If you're into mixing candles and burning more than one at a time these are also good for pairing with other scents. I have yet to burn my Dorian candle but just sniffing it dry I predict good things (it smells like a clean boy, if that makes sense?). The last one is the Christmas themed candle I mentioned earlier, Wizards Chess. I did burn this a little but I'm mostly holding off for the Christmas season and I couldn't be more excited. It took me right back to all those Christmas and Harry Potter feelings as soon as I sniffed it. Of them all, this is the one to buy next time it shows up on their shop, if you're looking to buy from them.

The first candle company I discovered was The Melting Library and for a while I bought from them exclusively. That has since changed for a couple reasons. Number one is that I just wanted to try more companies. Number two is that I have run into some problems with them. Overview: I love, love, love the candles Melting Library puts out. They're all brilliant and they smell divine. The quality is also really great, they ship safely, and the packaging is nice. Also, compared to other bookish candle companies they're pretty reasonable. But the problems have knocked them down from my number one spot for candle buying. Now, before I tell you what my problems were I don't want anyone to have the impression that I dislike this company or that I don't plan to buy from them anymore. I still plan to buy from them, and I still like them, but I just can't do it as frequently anymore. The biggest problem I have is their customer service. I've had questions and I've had issues with delivery (nothing crazy but I needed to change an address a couple of times; don't ask) and I've contacted them several times. None of those times did I get a response back. It left me confused and burned because even if it wasn't possible to change the address or answer my question at the time I do expect some sort of response. Being left hanging as a customer is really annoying and also kind of problematic. My other problems I can understand why they're happening, they're just not something I want to deal with from a company as frequently as I felt like I was. Lately it seems impossible to get candles in the scents I want because, even though I have alerts set up on their twitter where they announce when the store will be opening, and even though I log onto their store when it opens, I find that most of their candles are already sold out. I get why it's happening but it's been getting more and more frustrating when all I want is the Night Court candle (more on that in a minute) and within ten minutes they're all gone. I don't even check that frequently anymore because it hasn't been worth it for a while. All of this has also led to a really long wait for candles to arrive and that's frustrating because when I first started ordering the wait time was reasonable. Now it can take upwards of a month or more to get what I've ordered and by then I've either forgotten or I'm just not excited to receive it anymore. *shrug* Still I do like their product and if you're a bookish candle fan and haven't tried them they're a definite must at some point. Samplers & Sets: I've ordered three samplers, the Beauty and the Beast set, the Villains set, and the ACOTAR set. I'm not going to go through every single thing in these sets but in general I really like them all. I have yet to actually try to ACOTAR set because it shipped to my school address and I couldn't change the address (even though I did contact them...). I'll be able to burn these in September and honestly I'm super excited. The size of their samples is much larger than I thought it would be and I was rather pleasantly surprised by it. They last for a while and, even though I don't burn these as frequently, they smell really good. They also come with extra goodies which I love (especially the soap that came with the Villains set; I wish they sold it so I could buy more). Full Sized-Candles: Here's another Christmas candle I didn't get until after the Holiday (again, because I couldn't change the address....), the Christmas at the Little Palace (pictured above) is absolutely stunning scent and I'm DYING to burn it this Winter. It's gonna be wonderful. My favorite candle from them, and the first one I ever bought, is The Night Court and it's the only candle of theirs that I've completely gone through (though I still have the jar because I can't bear to part with it). I've been trying to get another to fill the place in my heart but have yet to actually find them in stock. I also really like their Legend and Warden candles (both of which are really great if you, like me, love the Night Court candle). The two I like less, but still really like, are Dirtyhands which was a tad underwhelming and Liesl which isn't my type of scent at all, which is my fault for buying it, though it does pair well with other candles.

Lately I've been in love with Muggle Library Candles and In the Wick of Time and I've been spending time burning not just bookish themed candles as well. What's your favorite candle bookish or otherwise? Is there a candle store I should check out? Let me know, please!!