Opening up a well sealed package of scented candles must be one of my guilty pleasures. There’s something inherently divine about that burst of scent out of the box when the seal is broken. Of course, not every scented candle has that burst of scent. Some even are difficult to get to release their smell when lit. While some of this might be related to the type of wax they are made out of or the oil used in them for fragrance, a large part of it is packaging and storage practices while they sit in stock at the store or in the warehouse.
Unless you are buying freshly made hand constructed candles, you can almost be assured that much of the original scent in the candle has escaped into the air by the time you buy it. Open candles with no protective packaging will lose far more fragrance then one that is stored in a sealed box. Placing a candle in a box with tape closing it but leaving the seams open does not seal in the scent either. While edge protectors or cardboard edge protectors can protect the physical structure of the candle only custom packaging solutions can really provide the candle maker with a sealed box that preserves most of the fragrances placed inside the candle wax.
Once you get the candle home, you really do not have much choice in how to keep it from gaining an ever weaker scent. Keeping it in the original box can help a little, particularly if the candle is stored in a cool, dry cupboard. Reducing the exposure to heat and light will help the candle retain more “like new” qualities then if it is sitting out on display. Of course if you have a soft candle and don’t mind too much having the color fade you can place it in the window where it will warm up and gently release scent all day without being burned.
When shopping for scented candles you might notice that not all of them have “best used by” dates. Because of this you really have no idea how long the candle has been sitting around. Find a wrapped, sealed, box instead of getting one that is open or on display. If you do see there is an open one, you can look inside to determine how protected the candle is. Does the box have internal edge protectors or cardboard edge protectors to keep it from damaging the candle inside? If so you can buy with confidence. Many smaller candle makers use custom packaging solutions just to make sure their product arrives safely.
All in all, careful shopping can preserve that guilty pleasure of opening a new box of scented candles. It’s all in the packaging, really. Sealed boxes that have ways to restrict internal movement not only preserve the smell but protect the candles. And really, there’s nothing quite like freshly opened scented candles to lift the mood or ease the mind.
