Friday, November 19, 2021

And now for something completely different - Mac & Cheese, Mashed Potato, Dinner Roll, and Thanksgiving Feast Candles

DW Home Candles

I love food smells. Which is a weird descriptor, but it's the most accurate way to convey my preference to people working in perfume or candle shops. (They always look at me like I am crazy.) 
Foodie smells must not be popular, because everything I love always ends up being discontinued. It started with Juice Bar cotton candy and gummy bear scented perfume in middle school, then Jessica Simpson's edible cosmetic Dessert line, and then the Dessert Delights line from Bath and Body Works. Each one was amazing, and each one was discontinued after a few years. Just like my favorite deodorant. Strawberry Teen Spirit was my go-to for over a decade, but a few years ago they stopped selling it in America. (You can still get it in Canada but it's a smaller size and super expensive to import.)

Which brings me to today's post. DW Home is a candle company, and in the last year or two, they started making some foodie scents, and not just desserts, but savory foods too. And for some reason, you can buy these at TJ Maxx for like, half the price than what is listed on their website. So, I went to TJ Maxx, scooped these up, and here we are. 

Let's sniff some savory candles!


Mac & Cheese
  

Before lighting: Oh. Oh, no. This is the boldest, most novelty scent of the bunch. It looks white, but it smells neon-orange. Like movie popcorn butter mixed with the packet from blue-box mac and cheese. Savory, fake buttery, salty, a little cheesy, and kind of horrifying. The more I sniff it, the grosser I think it is, and yet I can't stop sniffing it.  


After Lighting:
Thankfully it smells more like neon-yellow movie theater popcorn than mac and cheese when lit. It's savory, kind of salty, and a tiny bit cheesy, all while being very artificial. But when lit in a room, it's fairly mild. If you get up close and personal with the lit candle (careful, don't burn off your eyebrows), it smells kind of like Cheetos. Salty, savory, and a little cheesy, but in that bright-orange cheese dust kind of way.

When it isn't lit, it smells like boxed mac and cheese powder, when lit, it smells like lightly cheesy orange-colored popcorn. And thankfully, the lit aroma is far milder than the non-lit. It Doesn't overwhelm or overpower. Which is great because I might have thrown up otherwise. It's a fun novelty, and really doesn't smell bad when lit. I wouldn't buy it again for myself, but this would be a fun gag-gift for mac and cheese or Cheeto lovers and I am happy it exists. This is the candle-equivalent of eating something gross and than excitedly wanting your friends to try it anyway.

Final Candle Rating: 3.5/5 



Mashed Potatoes
 

Before lighting: Oddly sweet, vanilla-heavy, and dessert-like. If you told me this was vanilla, I would totally believe it. There is nothing potato-y about this aroma. Maybe you could argue the sweetness has a cream and butter aspect to it, but it's still nothing like it's namesake. (Is someone out there adding sugar to their mashed potatoes?) 

After Lighting: It smells like nothing. I lit this hours ago and unless you get very close to it, it doesn't seem to have any throw. Up close, it's very similar to a generic vanilla candle. A little buttery and sweet, but not much else. Even as a vanilla candle, I've sniffed better. 

I feel so conflicted. It burns, and it looks nice, so it performs it's candle-duties, but it doesn't deliver on it's name-sake, lit or non-lit, and after burning it for hours my room smells like nothing. If you just want something for the novelty, that doesn't smell bad, this is it. But I find it very disappointing.

Final Candle Rating: 2.5/5 


Thanksgiving Feast

Before lighting: At first sniff, savory, with strong herby scents like rosemary. Second-sniff brings forward more of a sweetness with a light citrus tang. This is more butter-lemon-rosemary-thyme than anything meaty or turkey-ish. But I'm into it. It's not bad. Kind of like a mash-up of all the items you would dress a turkey with. 

After Lighting: Warm, savory, herby. It's cozy, and inviting, kind of like turkey gravy. But like, good gravy, not the Heinz stuff that comes in a jar with no flavor to it. Which sounds weird as a candle, but it's actually really nice. No one would walk into your house and think you were in the middle of cooking a turkey dinner, but it is super cozy, homey, and reminiscent of the holidays. 

I bought this online last year when it went on sale after the holidays. The smaller size was sold out so I had to go with the 2-wick, but it turned out to be a happy accident. This one is my favorite of the bunch. It's so different from any candle I've burned before, and savory, but I dig it. I actually bought another one for a friend, and a back-up for myself in case this gets discontinued like everything else I love. It's great for warming up the house and feeling cozy on a rainy day (like today), but it is definitely a seasonal smell. I can't see myself burning this spring/summer. This smell is perfect for cold, cozy, weather only.  

 Final Candle Rating: 5/5


Dinner Roll

Before lighting: Very buttery, savory, a tiny bit sweet, and kind of baking soda-y. Like a weirdly intense artificial butter. If "I Can't Believe it's not Butter," was a candle.  


After Lighting:
It's subtle, but buttery. It makes the room feel warm and cozy, but the closer you get to the candle the more it smells like it did in it's pre-lit form. It's pretty nice, especially on a cold night, and far more enjoyable than I expected. 
Do they sell butter scented candles? If not, they probably should. It really does add a subtle warmth to the room. If this somehow smelled like fresh baked bread/rolls, I would have loved it even more. But even if it stays light and buttery as-is, I might buy it again. 

Final Candle Rating: 4/5 

If you were only going to buy one of these, go for Thanksgiving Feast. It's going to cover a lot of the seasonal bases, and it's so unique. The others (minus the mashed potato dud-candle) are more of a fun novelty, and could make fun gag gifts, but they didn't win me over. If they were added to my foodie-scented discontinued graveyard, I don't think I would mind. 

Fans of these would also like: Aldi Turkey and Stuffing Chips, Aldi Thanksgiving Ravioli, and my Game of Thrones Feast
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1 comment:

  1. You should try indie perfumes, there are a lot of gourmands that smell like food!

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