I am having a hard time writing this post because I just can’t believe it. As a tried and true Yankee Candle fan, I am saddened to have to report that I no longer think that they are are the superior candle brand. Although their candles are expensive compared to other brands, I have always found them to be the most fragrant and therefore worth the hefty price tag, but recently I have been EXTREMELY disappointed! What is happening dear Yankee Candle? What have you changed?
The problem started way over a year ago when I bought a Lavender Vanilla candle. I was excited to get it home to make my house smell nice and fresh. But when I lit the candle…I waited and waited for that great Yankee candle smell that normally fills my entire first floor…and nothing. Since then I have bought many more candles. I even asked the workers there what was up and their only response was that there are different “levels” of scents. Meaning that some candle scents will smell more than others. It makes sense, but if that’s the case..who wants the lowest level? And they really should mark those ones because I personally think people buy scented candles for just that..their scent! Especially ones that cost $25 a piece!
The final straw was this fall when I bought the Macintosh scented candle. I was so excited to put out my fall scent. Who doesn’t love the smell of apples? I lit the candle ready to get my house transported to the apple orchard…and nothing. Yes it smelled immediately around the candle. But the scent didn’t travel! Not like it used to. So I’m sad.
I have found my new superior candle though. The candles at Bath and Body works are definitely better. As a test I went out and bought 2 yesterday (they were having a sale..2 for $20!) . I lit it, and WOW! The whole first floor became fragrant like it used to with the Yankee candle. Have you ever tried the Frosted Cranberry from Bath and Body works? My mom just has a jar of it in her upstairs hall and even without lighting it the whole hallway is fragrant! Now that is the sign of a good candle!
The good news is I found a replacement for my candle fix…problem solved! What are your favorite candles?
Bummer! I like Yankee Candle’s Cafe Au Lait and Buttercream fragrances. I have tried some B&BW candles, and they were extremely fragrant.
Normally I like whichever ones I buy! Now I’m just nervous to pay the price if it’s not going to smell the house like I want
Buttercream is yummy though! 
I’m a true Yankee Candle fan too but I agree that the level is not all that great anymore. You wouldn’t believe how awesome the Febreze candles are. Try their pumpkin one…it’s amazing!
I haven’t tried the febreez ones…maybe i’ll have to take a look!
Long time reader, first time commenter *hehe* …
I love Yankee Candle, but my husband has some weird problems with candles, so I don’t really get to enjoy them like I’d want to. Recently I bought a Hazelnut Cream (I think that’s the name) candle from Wal-Mart for my office and I brought it home and hubby decided he wanted to light it and if it bothered him, he would just extinguish it. Luckily it didn’t bother him and surprisingly the smell filled up a large portion of our apartment. I’m not sure how many it would take to fill your home with the scent, but they may be a good deal to check. Just an idea. Also, have you tried the Yankee Candle wall plug-ins? I’ve used those and they’re nice, if you can find the scent you like.
I’m glad you came out of hiding!
Did your husband like the new candle you brought home?
I don’t have a big house so I’m sure it could be fine…thus far I haven’t had much luck with the regular store brand ones but if you give it a thumbs up I may give it a try!
Sorry for just now getting back to you. Yes, he LOVES the candle and he actually has lit it more than me, which is weirder than I can put into words, because of his sinus problems, but it makes me happy!
I totally agree – I have some older Spiced Pumpkin candles that still radiate the house with their yummy goodness but the newer ones don’t. I am bummed too about the candles…I will try the bath & body works candles! I love their wall fragrances!
You definitely should give them a try! Alot of their wall fragrances are candles too!
I LOVE the candles from Bath and Body Works. They have great sales on them from time to time and I totally stock up! I’m too cheap to spend $25.00 on a candle, so I have never actually purchased a Yankee.
I always sucked it up and paid because I thought it was worth the smell but not any more! You are right about the sales though. I was pretty happy with 2 for $20!
I am also a “Yankee Candle Snob” and thought maybe my nose just wasnt working like it used to. I actually think the Candles in the jars at Walmart are doing a pretty darn good job for a $3-5.00 Candle! I have Cinnamon Bun burning right now and my whole apartment smells wonderful. I am also a fan of the frosted cranberry candle at Bath & Body…Need to get another one!
Nope not just your nose! I am happy to hear its not just my nose! lol
i love yankee candles, but i can’t bring myself to spend the $$. I use B&BW as well — just got two newbies with the 2 for $20 sale as well! i have been doing some reading about the safety of scented plug ins/candle fragrances because they contain chemicals that can be toxic and are linked to cancer or asthma problems. there is a lot of information out there that supports/contradicts these saftey reports, but it does make me question how much i use them. there are so many things that are said to be ‘toxic’ out there, its tough to know which ones really are….especially, when they make your house smell so good and feel so cozy!
I have heard things about the safety of the oils too..not so much with candles. But like you said it’s so hard b/c the house smells so yummy! I am big on smells so I hope its ok! lol
You are ABSOLUTELY right! I told this to my husband several months ago after buying a new candle — I said, “I bet they are using less fragrance oils or something.” I thought it might have been my nose at first but my older candles (especially Spiced Pumpkin) still smell the whole downstairs! I am really disappointed in them. I have switched to Beanpod Soy Candles. Their Hot Apple Cider is the bomb. I am glad I wasn’t going crazy and other people notice the change, too!
I’m glad I”m not going crazy too! lol I wonder if anyone from yankee candle will read this and let me know..lol I wrote them on twitter about ! hahahha mmm that hot apple cider one sounds yummy!
I really need to get some more candles for the house. I’ll check out the Bath and Body Works ones!
Me too. I have not bought Yankee Candels in a few years now, with one exception, one I burn at Christmas to have the smell of a tree farm, its been discontinued but I fouud one on a site last fall and its not called Christmas Tree. That said, I found, like you the $$$ and the quality do not match up any more. Too bad, the company has been around forever, they started the candles rage and they were always superior to the other store brands, now no so much.
I will also look at the plug ins to see if there is a scent I might like.
I absolutely agree! I worked at BBW for several years and always loved their candles. Last Christmas I bought a Yankee candle because I had a coupon and then ended up buying a few more because I loved the fragrances. But I got them home and couldn’t smell any of them hardly at all! I never had a problem with the BBW candles. So I’ve definitely switched back.
Hi, I was googling candles when I found your blog. I was not a Yankee fan for the past several years because the throw (scent) was not good. I went to Yankee candle store in the mall that sold nothing but yankee candles, diffusers, plug in’s, tarts. I bought a ton of them – specifically the Christmas scent (pine). They had several “christmas wreath”, “christmas tree”, “balsam pine”. I got home excited (like you) waiting to be transported back to childhood and I absolutely love the smell of pine trees. Nothing! Not even in the general area. I bought several plug in’s and nothing. I called the store thinking they wouldn’t believe me or think my “taste of smell” was jut not good but she replaced all the candles and still nothing. So I vowed never to buy from them again.
UPDATE: I found a replacement brand myself – Gold Canyon candles. After searching over the internet and trying out various brands (TRAPP, Votivo, Texastriplescented, Candleicious, Romatique, Victoria’s candles, LOL candles and Salt City candles); I have found a brand with comprable quality – beautiful candles, lovely jars and get this – 2 wicks in each candle – (which in Yankee you can only get if you buy the Tumblers). The throws are magnificent! And I am picky.
I will say, however, in the past 6 months I did pick up a couple Yankees in stores (target, grocery store) since they are everywhere, more for decoration than smell as I think they are pretty candles – and to my surprise the newer scents are great. Try Holiday Garland from yankee – its a beautiful pine (Christmas tree/hollyberry) scent. It does throw and its a beautiful Christmas green color. Also, “Fresh Cut Roses” throws nice in a bathroom (I buy the tumbler in this one) and it makes a difference. I love roses but have found most perfumes and candles have a “fake” smell..more like tinkerbell hand lotion used to smell like when we were kids..Yankee has real, authentic rose smell. Some times when I am in the bathroom I start looking for the flowers as I forget I have the candle lit and the smell makes me smile). Its beautiful.
But please try Gold Canyon. They are alt goldcanyon.com. You can order them online. To my knowledge they are not sold in stores but who cares, as I bought a ton of these – they have great throws. I have yet to find one that doesn’t.
By the way, stay away from the mom/pop triplescneted candles. I made the mistake of trying these type candles and they looked “dirty” and smelled “dirty”. Maybe it is psychological (spelling?) because the wax didnt look that great. Gold Canyon makes beautiful candles just like Yankee only Gold Canyon’s actually smell! If I had to pick a Mom/Pop candle company that was decent it would be LOL candles (Laugh Outloud candles). I know, the name is strange, but they make good candles tht throw great. LOL candles specialty is “food” smelling candles ie. desserts, chocolate, pies, cakes,) etc. If you like those scents definitely try LOL candles.
Hi I sell Gold Canyon Candles they are “The World’s Finest”, I promise you will love them.
Would be honored to help you order AND we do fund raisers with a 40% payback to the Organization.
Try just 1 and you will be addicted (lol) thats how I became an Independent Demonstrator!
I don’t use candles all that much but I love Febreze Noticables plugins. I love love love the vanilla scent that they just continued so I bought a lot of 12 on ebay.
I too was a diehard Yankee Candle fan for years and years but started noticing the lack of smell a few years ago. It was then that I also found Gold Canyon Candles while living in Arizona. Ladies, if you have not tried these candles yet, you are doing yourself a disservice. Not only are they beautiful and wonderfully made but they smell yummy! The scent will fill your home and they have so many scents to choose from. They are really wonderful and I am extremely picky. You can find them online at GoldCanyon.com or if you are lucky enough to have a local home sales rep to purchase from. They are not sold in stores.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks the quality of Yankee has gone downhill. Besides the diminished scent, the other thing that really bugs me is the lightening speed at which they discontinue scents. Seems they “retire” a lot of them way too quickly. I used to buy Yankee 100% of the time, now I just pick up a box of tea lights once in a while. What a shame!
This last week I just picked up 6 at ross and marshalls for 9-10 each.
The YC spiced pear from the Encore Collection is actually REALLY strong. (I picked up 4 of these ones) 1 fills my home. I lit 2 one in kitchen and one in living room and it was so strong my eyes were feeling irritated. I decided to keep it to one at a time. I’m thrilled it is not weak.
One of the other ones I picked up was the YC pumpkin + cupcake swirl candle. I was thrilled when I found it because the smell was to die for BUT was truly disappointed to find that when I lit it I could hardly smell it. The last one I picked up was the Apple. I have yet to light it but am scared that it won’t really smell because the scent in the candle itself isn’t that strong.
I will look into the Gold Canyon and Beanpod candles.
I always figured a lot of what i “pay for” with Yankee is the R&D that goes into developing their scents. From what they said when i visited the store is that they start out with a lot of possibilities and do many “smell tests” to be sure only the best make it to production. I think Yankee smells the best and have been disappointed when i try other brands. SO….i stick with Yankee not b/c they have the best scent throw necessarily but b/c they smell so darn good…nothing ever smells as good to me.
Thoughts my fellow candle lovers?
I,too, strayed from Yankee…the smell took a dive after being sucked in with the initial awesome scent throw. Only to be thrown to the curb by them. Therefore, I became a tart user. I loved one particular brand so much that I bought the small business. I put my nose to the grind, and now I make MAXIMUM SCENTED TARTS right from my home garage, and people go absolutely nuts for them.
My scientific research of each tart ingredient has allowed me to create a high-end tart for a low price…and better yet, they are so strong and fragrant, I now have managed to make each one of my tarts (yes, a single tart) lasts for at least an entire week. I am in the midst of an ecommerce website, but because I stay so busy, I am second guessing doing so. I sell a month’s worth of these tarts for under $10.00..so u know where I off to, and where I’ll be…in the garage! LOL…
Most don’t realize that the original Yankee Candle owners sold the company a couple of years ago. The new company charges the same price as before but the quality has gone way downhill. I no longer buy Yankee candles. The original owner’s son of Yankee candle started his own candle comapany called Gold Canyon candles which is mentioned earlier in this blog. They are the same quality as the old Yankee candles. How do I know all this? My sister works for Gold Canyon up in Mass.
Thanks Vanessa. That makes sense! I used to love Yankee because I worked at a Hallmark store and we sold them and I loved the smell of them, but the last few times I had got them they had no smell when I burned them. Even my husband commented that they didn’t smell. I have been burning the Slatkin candles sold at QVC and Bath and Body and they are what Yankee used to be. But will check out the Gold Canyon candles.
I thought I would throw my voice in on this too. I absolutely agree, Yankee Candle has gone downhill, fast! A correction to a previous post, the founder of Yankee Candle Micachael Kittredge and his son have started a new candle compay called Kringle Candles. I’m not sure where the previous poster got the info about Gold Canyon candles but they are from Arizona and started by Karen Waisath, it’s a catalog/ party company.
I thought I was the only one who realized something was different with Yankee Candles. They have lost their scents. I have been a long time user of their candles, and am very disappointed with their products. Once in a while I get an old candle from their shelves, and they smell great..but the new ones are horrible.
Hi Debbie,
I was a Yankee Fan for many years, then I found Gold Canyon. They do NOT lose their scent even after storing for 7 years!!
No matter where you live you can order Gold Canyon, try 1 you will LOVE them. They also has wickless versions of the candle scents.
I sell them now so I my Home always smells WONDERFUL!
Just googled this and came here. My fiance was telling me he heard that yankee candles only scents the top few inches of each candle. I noticed something because one I recently bought seems to have lost all but a trace of the original scent. I won’t be buying from them again. Will stick to soy candles from now on. Great post!
Three months ago, my sophomore class used Yankee Candle to fundraise and earn money for our Junior Prom Next year. The candles came two weeks late and almost did not make it in time for Christmas. Many items were missing from students’ orders and many got the wrong candles. We requested refunds and item changes and the items didnt arrive until two weeks after we requested them. Three months later and we still have not received our refunds. Now, Yankee Candle is requesting more money from our class because they claim we didn’t not pay them all of the money we should have, even though we did. We are extremely dissapointed with Yankee Candle’s service and the quality of their candles…
I have been buying Yankee Candles for the past 11 years or so and YES they are NOT even CLOSE to what they used to be. Way back when I could go to the mall and come home with a nice size bag full of tarts (30 tarts or so) for around 30 bucks with tax, but now they want 2 dollars and change for just one. Besides the unjustifiable price hike, they cut the amount of scents they once had in stock by more then half, and now the scent is all but gone in what they still make. At one time I would spend between 40-80 bucks a month at Yankee, now I won’t give them a penny for their high prices, and very weak scent. Good job Yankee, you lost yet another loyal costumer of over a decade because of your poor quality and silly prices..
Not only are the scents not as strong and the prices higher, have you noticed how much they smoke now? I’m done with Yankee Candles and am moving onto soy candles to avoid the smoke. But I still love Yankee Candles Boney Bunch! Can’t wait til August when they should be released!
Please don’t waste your money on yankee candles, they smoke very badly. I’ve just spent a fortune having to have my house redecorated and my health has suffered. I’m not the only one, a quick google search will reveal more. Awful.
Just a little fyi…Yankee candle makes bath and body works candles…research it if you dont believe me.
also for those of you getting smoke its because you dont trim your wicks before every burn. trim the wicks you will see no smoke.
I must have been in denial. I bought the “sample” which is tiny and only 1.99 to try out the apple berry spice scent and it didn’t release any scent so I convinced myself that it was the size so went back and purchased a bigger size for 15 and I can’t smell anything. I burned both for 3 hours.
Hi. I read your blog with great interest. At 60, I decided earlier this year to try to learn to sell something… to supplement our income. My husband is a public school teacher of 15 years, and retirement in 18 months is going to be tough. I, too, was a die-hard customer/believer in Yankee candles. I noticed they had changed. Well, my husband ordered me some Scentsy warmers at his school. I was very impressed… so i jumped in and bought a kit to sell it. NO, I’m not a dealer now. I stopped before I got started. I think the thing I didn’t like most was that I had to break up the wax and when the scent was gone, I had to clean it out over a trash can with a paper towel. Yuck. I also would leave the warmer on overnight and then be mad that I’d wasted the scent when everyone was sleeping.
holders and decor to go with the candles, too. I was impressed because their warmer scents were in pods with tops. You warm the whole container, put the top on and use a different one… meaning I could change if I was in the mood for something else. But even better, all of their warmers have TIMERS built into the cord. Click once for ON and keep clicking to get a 4-hour cutoff or 6 or 8 or 12 hours. Whoa. Now that I loved. So, much to my husband’s dismay, I bought a kit to sell Gold Canyon. I’m honestly just a couple of months into this, but the rave reviews I get from every single person is amazing.
No tunneling.
However, sometimes I just love a REAL candle. You can’t beat it for the romance and ambiance.
Then I found Gold Canyon. They sell both wickless/flameless warmers and REAL candles and all of the glitzy, sparkly, blingy
About the strength and long lasting fragrance…. WOW. I put a warmer on for the 4 hour timer, and almost without fail, after about two hours, I turn it off because the scent has floated throughout my house. I found that if I burn their large Heritage (just like a Yankee candle) it does go all over. I use the smaller warmers and candles in various rooms if I want to change from room to room.
Also, FYI, you can go onto any GC consultant’s web site and once you start shopping, in the upper right corner, you’ll see “Scent Lookup.” You can look up your favorite scents from a LOT of candle makers (including Yankee)& it will give you the scent names of all the GC candles that are close to the one you love.
BTW, as long as you trim your wicks to 1/4″ before lighting each time — and GC sells the coolest WICK TRIMMER… sharp enough to cut your hand off. ha… your candles will burn cleanly. The GC candles are reported to burn 5 to 7 hours longer than the Yankee with about 90% less soot. So healthier!
I’m impressed with the double and even triple wicks! There is NO WAX left in the jar when it dies.
Well, I do love my Gold Canyon. I don’t care if I become the best sales person for them… I will be a die-hard customer forever.
The original inventor and owner of Yankee candle is Mike Kittredge. He sold the company and gradually the candles changed. BUT!!!! He and his son have started to make candles again. I believe it’s called Kringle Candles. You can Google it. I have smelled them right from the jar and they smell like to old original candles. I will not be buying Yankee candles anymore and I have been purchasing them for 20 years. I have many in my home. Some of them emit a burning smell that seems toxic. I just purchased 4 Balsam Fir large jars and they are awful.
Angie, I sell Gold Canyon Candles too and I LOVE them,nothing makes me happier than finding a new customer who cannot believe like us the fragrance availability and the aroma within minutes of lighting any of our Gold Canyon products….nice to meet you and good luck in your business, i’m in my 9th year of selling and going strong! Happy Holidays….I just earned my new catalogs and smellers FREE!
Patti
Would have to agree as a long time yankee candle fan the candles just aren’t what they used to be . Thanks for the tip on bath and body works , will definetly check those out .
Patti, I earned my samples & new catalogs free, too.
Sam!
That’s terrible about your fund raising experience. What happened to the Yankee Rep who helped you sign up to begin with? I’m going to start doing fund raising with my Gold Canyon Candles in about a week. I am EXCITED about it. can’t imagine the Rep not being there to help check it all in, sack it all up, and help you handle Any & All shortages or errors! Maybe it sounds crazy, but that’s FUN for me… and certainly the most important part of the Rep’s job. I’m going to make it clear that if they pick me, they get my services until the last “t” is crossed. again, I’m sorry to hear anyone at Yankee would do that. My integrity is at stake with every transaction… but it’s times TEN when helping someone raise money!
Ang