3 Jamaican Scented Candles to Try

I’ve been very deliberate about trying Jamaican scented candles for the past few months, while I’m enamoured with homemaking. It just makes sense that supporting local brands are at the top of the list for products to try while I go about my mission. Local brands with great products (and customer service), that is. I know we are all into pushing the ‘Buy Jamaican’ tagline; which is great, but I will not spend my hard earned money if the product is subpar, just to say I’m ‘buying Jamaican’. So of course, when I find good ones, I’ll share them so they can prosper and grow, and my audience can discover awesome products and services.

There has been quite a number of local candle-making businesses/companies in the last few years, though only a few have managed to expand beyond Instagram stores and brand themselves well. Soy wax and clean burning is all the rage right now when talking about scented candles.

Caveat: My husband has very active allergies and sinus issues. So active in fact, that I don’t need a meteorologist or weather app to predict a change in the weather. His nose is just as effective and he awfully becomes congested and dissolves into sneezing fits at the slightest change in temperature or irritation, as in this case with candles.

As a chronic migraine sufferer, I also avoid extremely strong scents that can be irritating or prove to be a trigger. So I always have these things in mind when shopping for candles, and the opinions offered below are my own after trying the products for several months.

1. Laura Alexis Homemade Candles

Laura Alexis is one of the more popular Jamaican scented candle companies, so I had to give them a try. This company doesn’t just make candles though, they have multiple aromatherapy products, including soy wax melts, linen sprays and diffusers.

The soy candles are made in Jamaica and are beautifully but subtly scented. The scents have spunky names like Bedroom Bully (Eucalyptus and Peppermint), Duppy Conquerer (Frankincense and Myrrh), Bad Like Yaz (Citrus) and Sekkle Dung (Lavender). Their candles are offered in glass settings as well as eco-friendly wood, which can be personalized.

My Thoughts

The scents are very subtle which is great if you don’t like strong scents and have allergy issues. I had the pleasure of speaking with the owner of the shop and she relayed that her own sinus issues were an inspiration for her line. I bought the single wick candle.

It burns well, but the wick isn’t great. After burning, the wax tends to dry over it, making lighting it a bit of a challenge when you use it next.

I am exceptionally partial to Eucalyptus scents and found Bedroom Bully to be very therapeutic and calming. So be sure to try that one, for a fresher, calming scent.

The candles don’t come with covers, which I don’t particularly care for. The scent is subtle enough that I’d prefer to be able to cover it. The dust factor is another reason I would prefer covers. Other than that, the scents are lovely and the customer service is A1.

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2. Rielle Co.

Rielle Co. is one of the businesses I found on Instagram at the height of the Christmas season, last year (2020). They are a smaller business, with a limited collection. I meant to only try their holiday scent ‘Mistletoe’ to accompany my other holiday-scented candles, but was tempted by the ‘Luxe’ option that promised the scent of baby powder. (What doesn’t love baby powder?!). Their collection also includes wax melts and linen sprays.

My Thoughts

The scents are subtle, but not too subtle and really nice. They don’t aggravate my husband’s sinus issue in any way which I am grateful for. I love that I was able to purchase 4oz jars so that I could decipher whether I liked a scene or not before investing in the 10oz jars.

The manufacturer can do with some revamp of the labelling. As it stands, on the 4oz jars, the logo (barely readable) and the name of the candle is obvious, but everything else is unreadable, which isn’t great. They have a rustic style with their packaging which is also very nice.

3. Hand Poured by Tessamae Candles

This one is by far my favourite of the three shared. However, their digital presence is extremely limited. I stumbled upon them in a local pharmacy while shopping for an anniversary gift for my husband. As soon as you lift the cover, you can smell the very potent aroma. You don’t need to light the wick to smell the awesome scent. They have a decent range of scents available as well as diffusers.

My Thoughts

Hand Poured by Tessamae Candles makes my heart sing. My excitement over finding Jamaican scented candles that looked promising on sight was palpable. Their collection smells absolutely amazing. I found my happy place with this one. They really have a scent collection that is internationally comparative to Bloom and Prosper candles; a personal favourite of mine. Although their collection is more savoury scented, towards comfort and home scents as opposed to fruity and sweet, that is what I like about them.

They have a great selection of scents with names ranging from Watermelon Cooler, Holly Berry to Pine Cove, Banana Nut Bread, Apple Ooze and Winter Harvest to name a few. If you do give them a try, be absolutely sure to check out Watermelon Cooler. It is amazing. Also, I am a huge fan of the minimalist aesthetics of the jars and labelling.

I will continue to try new scents and brands, and update you when I find ‘the good tings dem’.

Are you into candles? Are there any other Jamaican scented candle companies you think should try out? Share your faves and suggestions in the comments.

Xo, Shandean.

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