When we started making scented candles, in the kitchen of our family home, one thing was absolutely critical - all of our candles had to be natural. Beyond this, I was keen to make sure that we were being kind to the planet, wherever possible, and putting people before profit in every way that we could. We have built the entire business on these principles and endeavour to do so.
What does putting people before profit mean to us? I’m glad you asked. If we were to produce a scented candle using Paraffin Wax and Artificial fragrance, we could make a significant profit margin on every product that we sell. A substantially higher margin than what we make selling natural soy candles. Would I light any of these candles in my own family home? Absolutely not. And for that reason, I won’t be encouraging any of our customers to either.
There is an ongoing debate on the subject of Soy Wax vs Paraffin wax, however, a 2009 study, carried out by R. Massoudi Ph.D., and Amid Hamidi , Ph.D., discovered that [candles made from beeswax or soy wax] “do not release potentially harmful amounts of indoor air pollutants while retaining all of the warmth, ambience and fragrance of paraffin candles (which are made from petroleum)”
Scented Candles are designed to bring us pleasure. When we think of a burning candle, we think of cosy nights in, romantic dinners, relaxing bubble baths … not so relaxing when we’re doing all of these things whilst inhaling toxic air pollutants.
We flipping love a candle, we LOVE them! Whether I’m lighting a candle to fragrance my home, ready to greet guests as they arrive, or, (more likely) lighting a candle to reclaim my calm after a busy day. I need to be safe in the knowledge that I’m being mindful of my (and everyone else’s) well-being whilst doing so.
What really did surprise me when setting up Aysiya, was how few people were aware of the differences between an artificial candle and a natural soy candle. Thankfully, there are lots of small independent candle businesses that are doing their bit to raise awareness.
Hand Poured Scented Candles
Why do we hand mix and hand pour every single candle? To get an even scent throw, throughout the candle. By hand pouring the wax, the fragrance is evenly distributed so your candle smells as delicious at the bottom as it does at the top. It’s a cheeky little tactic but some of our competitors only add the good scent to the top of their candles, adding cheaper fragrances to the bottom of the candle (a 
bit bloody naughty if you ask us). It goes without saying that our candles are hand mixed and hand-poured to ensure your candle smells exactly the same from top to bottom.
How Scented Candles Work
There are two types of scented candles: Artificially Scented Candles and Natural Scented Candles. We only ever produce Natural Scented Candles.
Expertly blended by aromatherapists, our ethically sourced essential oils are gently swirled into a melting pot of the highest quality soy wax. After reaching just the right temperature, the candles are hand-poured into individual glass jars, ready to be set. Once set, we hand trim all of the wicks ready to be packaged and dispatched. Our Three Wick candles contain up to 30ml of essential oils.
A lot of love goes into all of our scented candles before they reach you. But the care doesn’t stop once it’s left our doors. There are a few simple steps that you can take in order to get the most out of your Aysiya Scented Candle.
- Trim Your Wick - This might surprise you, but a well-trimmed wick after each burn can be the difference between a 35-hour burn and a 20-hour burn. Remember to always trim your wick. We’ll trim your wick to the right height ready for your first burn, but after this, it’s over to you. You can do this.
- Make sure you burn your candle between 2-4 hours each time. Burning for this length of time allows the wax to pool right to the edge of the candle jar, creating an even burn. If you burn your candle for less than 2 hours, it is likely that the candle will not burn evenly and will reduce your overall burn time.
scents from your candle, combined with a meditative breathing exercise will help you to reclaim some peace, ground your body, calm your mind and restore your sense of self.
Scented Candles with Essential Oils
As humans, we have 300 active olfactory receptors genes devoted entirely to detecting thousands of fragrance molecules. Our sense of smell plays such an important role in the physiological effects of mood, stress and working capacity.
In a 2016 study Sowndhararajan K, Kim S, used electroencephalograph studies to reveal how fragrances significantly modulate the activities of different brain waves and are responsible for various states of the brain. He noted how the aromatic properties of these [candles, room sprays, perfumes and bath and body] products play a major role in the psychophysiological functions of human beings. Noting that essential oils are the main therapeutic agents, as opposed to their artificial counterparts.
There are plenty of reasons why we chose to work with essential oils instead of artificial fragrances, but this is one key factor.
Luxury Scented Candles
How do we define luxury? Most natural scented candles are pretty similar. When a candle is priced over £100, you are usually paying for the vessel as opposed to the wax or the oils. Fornasetti Candles for example, are priced from £155 onwards, but the vessels are serious works of art to be kept long after the wax has been burnt down. Created by the Italian surrealist artist Piero Fornasetti, his artwork has been reimagined on to everything from candles to plates. The candle itself is made from soy wax and essential oils, just like ours.
Jo Malone London Candles and Dipytique are often described as Luxury Scented Candles or High End Candles. I’ve owned many of both of the years, but their use of synthetic fragrance rather than essential oils has left me questioning whether they truly are Luxury Scented Candles?
Large Scented Candles
There is something so seriously exquisite about a Large Scented Candle, wouldn’t you agree? It screams opulence. If you’re searching for luxury scented candles, it’s all about size as far as I’m concerned.
We’re working on a 2kg candle at the moment, perfect for the garden, ready for BBQ season. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to know when it’s released.
Three Wick Candles
Three Wick Candles come in many shapes, sizes, scents and colours. Our Best Selling Three Wick Candles are 50cl and fit perfectly on every bedside table, dining table, breakfast bar, side table and mantelpiece, just about everywhere … that the children can’t reach (which, come to think of it, actually narrows it down … is there ANYWHERE they won’t try and get to… but you get my drift). The best place I’ve ever seen our Three Wick Candle? On the coffee table of a PR House in London, looking utterly sensational beside a bowl of pink hyacinths and the pink Versace coffee table pink … it was a VIBE.
What does Your Home Fragrance Smell Like?
How many of us would love to be able to smell our own homes? If only to make sure it smells divine if nothing else. Friends with Pets are always the most obsessed, for obvious reasons. Whilst I totally understand the need to mask the smell of pets in our home, it’s also really important to know what fragrances we can and can’t use.
Eucalyptus Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Cinnamon, Citrus, Peppermint, Pine, Wintergreen, and Ylang-Ylang are known to be toxic to pets, regardless of whether it is used topically or via candles or plug in air-freshners. Be sure to avoid these scents if you have pets in your home.
Reed Diffusers and Candles
A game-changing duo. Reed Diffusers and Scented Candles go together like Salt and Pepper, like Birds of a Feather they … stick together. Well, not always, we can use them separately, but they’re always better together in our eyes. Totally gorgeous combo as a gift … whether that gift is for a friend or for your lounge, is entirely up to you.
Fragrance vs Essential Oil Scented Candles
Just like Essential Oils, Fragrances smell divine. Sometimes fragrance throw from artificial candles can be stronger than their essential oil counterparts, but the fundamental difference is the toxins produced by the chemicals needed in order to create the fragrance. The purpose of a Natural Essential Oil Scented Candle is to benefit from the Aromatherapeutic air that is released when lit. Our candles are created with a well-being purpose in mind, whether that is to calm and relax you after a stressful day or give you a much-needed energy boost when there’s a busy day ahead. The added bonus is that they smell gorgeous and fill your home with a beautiful scent. Fragrance candles work differently, some do smell delicious, but they’re not great for your little people and can be incredibly toxic in homes with pets.