Frequent Questions: How to Extend the Life of your Scented Candles

Sometimes scented candles can bite hard on a budget: It's not the initial outlay, it's that they get burned too much or lose their throw over time. So when you're buying a luxurious scented candle from the likes of Diptyque, Cire Trudon or Slatkin or put your favourite luxe brand here), what can you do to make that candle last and perform as indulgently as it should?

Here's advice from the expert, NEST Fragrances founder Laura Slatkin (via boston.com):
"Luxury scented candles are much more complex than non-luxury scented candles, so they must be taken care of in order to fully enjoy them. When lighting one for the first time, always make sure to burn it for at least three-to-four hours to achieve a fully melted pool of wax that reaches the perimeter of the glass. Wax has a memory and if this is not done, the candle will tunnel upon subsequent lightings.
Also, when burning a candle, black soot accumulates on the tip of the wick. It’s very important to remove that soot and trim the wick to one-quarter of an inch before you light it again, because it can cause the candle to smoke, or it can fall into the wax, which will adversely affect the fine fragrance oils used in luxury candles."