Free Voluspa 10oz Candle!

Enter to win a Free Voluspa 10oz Candle! It's quick and easy:

1. Become a Fan of Candles Off Main on Facebook.
2. Post your favorite candle fragrance on our wall.
3. We'll pick a winner on July 2, 2010.

That's it! And your odds of winning are amazing.

We'll ship the winning candle (fragrance of our choice) to any continental US address. Good luck!

The Main Event Episode 75 Our Favorite Candles

One of our Facebook Fans, Ryan Kelley, asked us to do a show on our favorite candles - so here it is!

My favorite scent in the whole store is Voluspa Makassar Ebony & Peach. Of everything we have to choose from, this has been my favorite for years. I love the deep, dark ebony mixed with juicy, fresh peach. I also love the sexy black wax. Since Voluspa candles are so long lasting and well priced, I can indulge in these luxurious candles often. Makassar Ebony & Peach is strong on it's own, but sometimes I really like to turn up the volume and burn a few Makassar Ebony candles at the same time, scattered around the room to really surround me. Voluspa Makassar Ebony & Peach is my go to candle, when I want something I know I can count on, that won't let me down in fragrance and that burns beautifully. Men and women love Voluspa Makassar Ebony & Peach and it's one of their best selling scents.

When I'm looking for a clean, fresh scent, I go to DayNa Decker. Their candles add an instant burst of scent to the room and the fragrances are crisp and direct. I use DayNa Decker candles when I want to freshen the air in the house, such as after cooking fish or on a beautiful afternoon with the windows open to get rid of the stale air. I particularly love DayNa Decker Zelia as I'm partial to woody scents.

One of my fragrance addictions is with to Le Cherche Midi. The candles fill the room with most luxurious ambiance. I love Le Cherche Midi 20 when I want the cozy atmosphere of a den or library. It reminds me of comfy leather chairs surrounded with books and rich wood. I'm also addicted to the Le Cherche Midi 01 signature scent. It's described as an ocean/summer scent, but really it smells like cologne. Men and women love this scent. It's so rich and intense. I use the scent cube in my car but it would also work well in a closet.

When I'm looking for a spa experience from my candles to pamper and soothe me, I turn to Red Flower. Red Flower is all about slowing down, breathing and taking time to smell the flowers. I love to layer Red Flower candles because you can't go wrong - any combination works. I like to put Lavender in our family room for a relaxing scent, Blood Orange in our kitchen for a fresh scent, and Morrocan Rose in our foyer for a more sophisticated scent. The combination is lovely. Red Flower candles are beautiful when the burn because the wax is colorful and it melts to create a mesmerizing glow. Even though they are small in size, Red Flower candles last a long time - even the little candle lasts 15 hours and it's very fragrant.

Dave's favorite candle is Modern Alchemy Opium Den. He thinks it smells like amber but amber is more sweet like vanilla. I think it smells more smokey, like incense and tobacco. It's a cult favorite. I love the bold red wax and the red container. This is a great "guy" scent.

Dave also likes Voluspa French Bourbon Vanille. He likes to burn this a lot in the house. I am immediately taken by this scent when I come home to it. It's lovely. Neither of us are big fans of vanilla, but we both enjoy this one. It's a very delicate, sophisticated vanille. Men and women love this scent and it makes a great gift scent as it is so enjoyable and likable.

If you have any show suggestions please let us know. We love to hear from you and we're always looking for ideas.

The Main Event Episode 74 Voluspa Laguna

One of the hottest fragrances lately has been the Laguna scent in the new Maison Blanc Collection by Voluspa. Laguna is a blend of velvet sand and dazzling azure seas where the gentle Santa Ana winds pull warm desert air into the Pacific. This summer scent also has a hint of floral notes reminiscent of tuberose.

Laguna is available many different sizes. The 12oz candlepot lasts 100 hours and is hand-poured in chic, thick, milky glass. The 2-wick tin makes a perfect hostess or birthday gift and lasts approximately 50 hours. Voluspa Laguna is also available in a fragrance mist that can be used as a room spray or body mist as it is made with cosmetic grade ingredients.

All of the Voluspa Maison Blanc fragrances are available at CandlesOffMain.com.

The Main Event Episode 73 MOR Cosmetics

MOR Cosmetics is the collaboration of product designer, Dianna Burmas, and industrial designer, Deon St. Mor. They share a passion for luxury personal care products and wanted to use traditional apothecary to blend age old and contemporary ingredients. MOR is from Australia but sells over 150 products in savvy beauty emporiums worldwide.

We really love their clean-burning scented soy wax candles. The packaging is stunning, complete with bow and ready for gift-giving. The containers are embossed with 24 karat gold and the scents are Divine. The soaps are just as beautiful, wrapped in intricate paper and secured with ribbon and seal.

MOR fragrances are sophisticated and feminine. Cucumber & Casaba is fresh and clean. Snow Gardenia is a pure floral. Belladonna is a buttery floral. Hibiscus Bloom is a fruity floral. Italian Blood Orange is a fun scent and their best-selling. Personally, I love the bold Black Cherry Plum fragrance.

MOR candles and bar soaps can be found on our website at CandlesOffMain.com.

Great Ways to Keep the Bugs Away

There are many fragrance options available for keeping the bugs away. Citronella is a common choice that can be used in many different shapes and sizes. Citronella tealights, votives and pillar candles can be used in decorative candle holders to create beautiful arrangements that are also functional.
For those that don't like the scent of citronella, other essential oils can be used to keep bugs at bay. Way Out Wax uses lemongrass, rosemary and geranium oils in their Geranium Bug Out candle, available in both a 2-wick tin and spray. Their Original fragrance uses lavender, tea tree and neem essential oils also with 100% soy wax in a 2-wick tin or spray. For those that like the scent of citronella, Way Out Wax combines it with hemp seed oil in their Hemp Citronella 2-wick candle.
As an alternative to citronella candles and sprays, a Lampe Berger lamp can be used with their Summer Night fragrance oil to keep bugs away. Lampe Berger lamps are easy to use and there is no smoke or flame while they are working. For more information on Lampe Berger products, please see our website at CandlesOffMain.com.

Mystery Box - Shelley Kyle Collection

Shelley Kyle's inspiration for creating perfume came from needing something to put into the beautiful crystal encrusted perfume bottles she was making at her boutique in Atlanta, GA 17 years ago. She met with a local perfumer that showed her the way and since she's created five stunning fragrances, each named after her family members.

Her signature scent, Shelly Kyle, is a refreshing, clean scent blending lemon zest, freesia and violet leaves. Most of her scents our light and feminine. The deepest scent, and our favorite, is McClendon. It's mostly grapefruit but a touch of black currant absolute adds a depth and character we really enjoy. Annabelle also has grapefruit but blends with honeysuckle, blue peony, Lily of the Valley and tuberose to create a soft, sweet floral. Tiramani is the most fun scent with a strong blood orange accord mixed with Madonna Lily, white nectarine, cashmere musk and night blooming jasmine. Perfect for summertime - it's absolutely delicious. Sorella is her most floral fragrance with notes of fresh tuberose, gardenia, red roses and crushed violet leaves for an utterly romantic bouquet.

Blended with soy wax, the Shelley Kyle McClendon candle was one of the easiest and cleanest burning candles we've ever tried. The fragrance was potent! A little overwhelming for our small family room, the large 3-wick size is perfect for grand spaces or for those that loved to be enveloped in scent. She also offers a standard size candle that lasts over 45 hours and is packaged in a luxurious box.

Shelley Kyle fragrances are available in eau de parfum, candles, soaps and lotions. I love how she went ultra-feminine with her line - complete with powder puff for the ultimate in fun, girly indulgence. You can find Shelley Kyle products at http://www.shelleykyle.com.

Post a comment here or on our Facebook fan page and we'll select someone to win a travel size of her signature perfume - Shelley Kyle!

Please checkout our new website http://www.basicsoffmain.com for all your taper, pillar, votive and tealight candle needs.