Whether or not you follow any religion, you’ve likely seen a votive candle at church, on television, at a wedding, in a dollar store, someone’s home, they’re ubiquitous. Their cheap price and versatility when it comes to their intended uses makes them one of the preferred options if you don’t need anything too fancy or just need a simple way to light up a room or have a pleasant aroma emanating throughout your home or whatever room the votive candle is in.
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Much like the review on beeswax candles, votive candles are manufactured by many different brands. Typically they are two inches tall and just over an inch in diameter. They are larger sizes available, but most votive candles are kept at a small size. Depending on the manufacturer, they are also available in a variety of colors like white, green, pink, black, and brown to name a few. You can purchase unscented votive candles or explore other scents like fruity, spicy, botanical, and more.
A lot of people are concerned about the type of wax used to make candles, usually paraffin, beeswax or the increasingly prevalent organic soy wax. Votive candles use a mix of paraffin and beeswax, but you can find candles that solely use one or the other. Research suggests that soy and beeswax are safer than paraffin in terms of health and environmental benefits, so that’s something to take into consideration if you’re planning on buying in bulk.
Speaking of bulk, votive candles are among the easiest and most inexpensive candles to purchase in large quantities. A quick perusal on a prominent online retailer like Amazon will reveal many votive candles sold in packs of seventy or more. With their cheap prices, they are very affordable.
It’s the burn times where you’ll find that votive candles may not be the best. Depending on the oil or wax used, you may end up with a candle that will burn unusually fast or last longer, typically somewhere between ten to fifteen hours.
Votive candles serve their purpose and are great to keep around for a rainy day, but the scents aren’t as generally strong as what you’d get with a more well-known brand. And since the ingredients tend to differ among candle makers, you’ll need to consider strongly whether paraffin, beeswax or the cleaner and safer soy solution are a better choice for you.
The Good
- Inexpensive.
- Easy to buy in bulk or wholesale.
- Available in small or larger sizes.
- Lots of color options.
The Bad
- Burn times vary considerably.
- Votive sets are often sold without candle holders.
- Some candles use the less safe paraffin instead of high-quality beeswax or soy.
My Two Scents
Chances are if you’re choosing a votive candle, you have very specific needs. Since they’re typically used for religious purposes or special occasions, their ingredients aren’t considered as important as their significance in whatever setting or situation they’re being used. Although they tend to have a particular use, their small size (generally two inches tall) also makes them flexible for use as an inexpensive way to light up a room or give it a nice scent, if for whatever reason you’d rather not go with a candle that’s more expensive or lasts longer.
Keeping in mind the particular use of a votive, you should also know that a soy wax based votive may be a little harder to come by. Depending on what allergies you may have, this may be an important factor since they are typically sold with paraffin, beeswax, or a combination of both as opposed to the cleaner and longer burning soy.
Votive Candles Value
Votive candles come packaged in different sets, from twelve to 144 in certain cases. Burn times differ based on the brand, but we’ll use a two examples of sets sold on Amazon:
- Ten hour burn times for a set of 72 candles ($20)
- $0.28 per candle with a burn time of $0.03 cents an hour
- Twelve hour burn times for a set of thirty ($15)
- $0.50 per candle with a burn time of $0.04 cents an hour
Available Scents
You’ll find many different scents for votive candles which include but are not necessarily limited to the following:
- Unscented
- Food
- Cotton & Linen
- Botanical
- Spice
- Fruit
You can find votive candles in just about any store, from supermarkets to a dollar store or department stores. Online retailers like Amazon offer lots of options when it comes to buying in bulk and often at discounted prices.
