Fashionably Petite's Candle Favorites for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just a few days away, and if you are still looking for a gift, most online retailers have a shipping cutoff of Monday, February 8th to place your orders and receive by February 14th.

I have a few candle favorites that I was introduced to through the New York International Gift Show:

Dayna Decker candles are made with botanical clear wax and an EcoWood Wick™. I love the unique, modern look of this candle. My favorite Dayna Decker scent is Sierra, which is also the most popular. The wax is infused with essences of Neroli Flower, Ananas Leaf, Sweet Jasmine, Musk, and Bourbon Vanilla. I was taken by surprise when I tried the translucent Sierra Essence Moisturizer. The moisturizer made with Argan Oil and Marula Oil feel silky smooth on the skin.

Dayna Decker has just launched their new fragrance Ella for Spring 2010, a sweet flower scent with notes of Mandarin, Citrus, Jasmine, Tuberose and Sandalwood.

Congratulations to Dayna Decker for just winning the EXTRACTS Best New Bath and Body Product Award for their Botanika Body Essence Collection!

The Vanilla Dragonfruit candle from Joya's Luscious collection is another one of my favorites, with a black lace print around the glass container. I love that Joya continues to introduce artistic elements in their pieces. Joya partnered with Sarah Cihat for the Perfume in Porcelain collection - black and white porcelain candles and diffusers with graphic motifs. Each piece is one-of-kind and fired on by hand.

The Strawberry Rose candle is the newest edition to the Godiva Home Fragrance Collection, just in time for Valentine's Day. This candle is inspired by Godiva Chocolatier's freshly dipped chocolate strawberries. A juicy strawberry scent mixed with milk chocolate, accented with rose petals and soft green accords. You can find this candle at Nordstrom, redenvelope.com and select boutiques, departments stores and online retailers.

- Kim Weling

Fashionably Petite Candle Favorites

I'm a little late in sharing my favorite candles - I would have liked to share this before the holiday season, but in case you still owe people gifts, are already looking ahead to Valentine's Day or are just in the market for some amazing, yet affordably-priced candles for yourself, I've narrowed it down to my top picks, most of which I became familiar with at the New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) back in September.



Godiva Chocolatier's Home Fragrance Collection - if you love Godiva Chocolate, then you'll love Godiva's sweet, decadent candles. The candles launched in October and are available at Neiman Marcus, Belk, Dillard's and online at bathandbodyworks.com (unfortunately they are not sold in Bath & Body Works stores). The regular sized 7 oz candles retail at $22.50 and have 50 hours of burn time. The 4.4 oz travel candles retail at $12.50 and have 10 hours of burn time. The regular sized candles come in chocolate brown tinted glasses which hold chocolate colored wax infused with cocoa butter.

The collection includes five different fragrances: Milk Chocolate Truffle, Raspberry Ganache (my favorite Godiva chocolate), Black Almond Truffle, White Chocolate Magnolia and Peppermint Bark. They smell good enough to eat, so it would make perfect sense to gift one of these candles with a box of Godiva chocolates. I most definitely plan on getting the Peppermint Bark scented candle. That one is perfect for the holiday season.

Kat Burki - known for luxury home products including furniture, bedding, lighting, accessories, art and body & bath, I was drawn to the 6.8 oz Hot Toddy candle, a holiday 2009 exclusive priced at $32.00. It is inspired by the Hot Toddy drink, the candle includes a mixture of apple and spice. I think a Hot Toddy drink, blanket and this candle makes for a relaxing night in watching shows on my dvr (I only wish I had a fireplace too!).

Vie Luxe - The Verte candle from Vie Luxe is an eco-luxe candle that blends natural soy and palm wax, beeswax and fragrance oils. The scent is crisp and clean, containing notes of Hyacinth, Narcissus and Green Leaves. All the components of the candle are 100% recyclable and biodegradable. Some of my other favorite Vie Luxe scents include Côte d'Azur (white lily, water hyacinth, friesa, pink rose and French verbana) and St. Moritz (bitter orange peel, moroccan clove and mulling spices). The 8 oz candles have a 60-hour burn time and retail for $45.00 at saksfifthavenue.com.

Seda France - two of my favorite candle fragrances from Seda France include Japanese Quince (rhubarb, passion fruit and white fleshed peach over a heart of white jasmine petals) and Asian Lychee (Lychee fruit, mango, papaya, cilantro, and green coconut leaves, also two of their best sellers. These full sized 14 oz candles retail for $32.00, with a 60-hour burn time.

Bluewick - My favorite scents from Bluewick are the fresh, fruit inspired ones, like Yuzu and Guavapeel. These 100% soy wax candles come in a generous 15 oz glass, retail at $32.00 and have a 100-hour burn time. Definitely long lasting candles for the price!

Stay tuned....I hope to share more of my favorite candles in time for Valentine's Day.

- Kim Weling