Can you imagine how dark it was for Cinderella as she slept in the ashes at night? At best, she probably had a rushlight or a smelly tallow candle, while the rest of her family basked in the sweet glow of beeswax aflame. At worst, Cinderella probably slept with no light at all by a banked fire that gave off little heat. For that reason, I like to think that she lived with giant banks of glowing beeswax candles once she made it to the big time.
We live in a luckier age than Cinderella did. With the candle industry at around $10 billion a year, we are awash in light and scent. You can buy soy candles, sweet-scented tallow candles, unscented candles, candles with crystals, candles with herbs—the variety never ends.
I’m a scented candle freak, and have been for years. I love candles with herbal or fruit scents, like green tea, lavender, basil, or apple and spices. But most of all, I like candles that smell like incense from mass with a bit of cedar wood mixed in. That, and bayberry. I love bayberry candles so much because my mom always burned them at Christmas when we were children. These days my favorite brand is A Cheerful Giver, and I burn the candles year around.
As for burning, we’ve arrived at the real purpose of this post. After decades of using matches and lighters and fearing I’d burn the house down with my candle habit, I discovered candle warming lamps in 2024.
I’ll never go back. Candle warming lamps shed both light and scent. They make your candles last forever. You can set a timer to “burn” a candle for two, four or eight hours and walk away, because the lamp will shut off once the time is up. You can adjust how close the lamp’s light is to the candle (it’s the lamp’s lightbulb that melts the candle), which affects how much scent the candle throws out, as does the brightness of the bulb, which is also adjustable.
The best proof I can give is in this picture. The candle is three ounces, and is supposed to burn for 20 hours. I’ve used it under the candle lamp for at least twice that long and it looks almost brand new—and the scent is as fabulous as ever. By the way, the candle is called “Woodfire.” It’s by Illume, and I’m obsessed with it. It smells like a Holy Day of Obligation Mass to me, which also takes me back to childhood.
The candle warmer in the picture is highly rated on Amazon. It’s absolutely worth $36.99. I apologize for the Amazon link, as I try not to buy from there, but that’s where the lamps are at the best price. (Also, I have a cheaper candle warming lamp, but it’s nowhere near as good as this one.) It’s absolutely worth the splurge and comes in slightly different styles.
The cold, dark season is upon us. Turn on a candle lamp for a cozy, sweet-smelling vibe. I think Cinderella would love it.
Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother.
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