Tuesday 26 November 2013

YANKEE CANDLES ON TV – QVC CHRISTMAS SPECIALS REVIEW!


It was a bumper extended weekend of Yankee Candle action on QVC as we head into the home straight to Christmas. And there was a definite festive theme in the latest shows hosted by Yankee Candle Brand Ambassadors Rosa Speyer (on Saturday) and Steven Corfield (Monday).

Of the three shows I saw, QVC regular Charlie Brook co-hosted two with Claire Sutton the other.

Some of the highlights are below, with many of the products still available from QVC online.

A lovely item to kick off was two berry stemmed crackle glass votive holders which had three different fragrances included – Warm Spice, Mandarin Cranberry and Paradise Spice. Charlie mentioned how Mandarin Cranberry had become one of his all-time favourite scents and Rosa pointed out its refreshing, bold and juicy appeal. Rosa went on to talk about the delights of Warm Spice, ‘fabulous, with nutmeg, vanilla and brown sugar’ and how it would mix well with the usually summery Paradise Spice with its notes of banana and cloves.
 
Yankee Candle Gift sets available on Saturday

 

3 large jars titled ‘Festive Fruits’ featured Sugared Apple, Cranberry Ice and Apple & Pine Needle. Rosa described Sugared Apple as a delicate, refined scent of warm sweet apples that had just been sugared (and that she’d made herself feel hungry!), while for Cranberry Ice she noted its bright, zesty, icy fresh cranberry feel. Apple and Pine Needle was described as having bold, deep, rich apple and pine notes.
 
Rosa in action on Saturday lunchtime..
 

Two of the elegant pillar range also were Christmas themed – being large versions of Christmas Cookie and Christmas Eve. For the former Rosa said that it had a buttery rich vanilla fragrance which was warming and enveloping and for the latter she highlighted its bright, fresh berry and pine notes and that you can almost hear the sleigh bells when experiencing its fragrance!

 

Onto Monday and lovely to see Steven Corfield again after a while off our screens. In his first show with Claire Sutton, she mentioned how Steven was asked by a fan to sign a bag of frozen peas in a supermarket recently! I guess some fans of Steven desperate for an autograph are easily peased…

As usual Claire helped make the show informative and fun and there were lots of goodies on offer.

Four Christmas Treasure Medium Jars featured all retired festive fragrances. White Christmas was noted by Steven as being a heavy floral which called to mind the aroma of a festive church as depicted on the label. For Christmas Tree he pointed out that you can have a real Christmas tree feel by using this candle and he reminded us that Red Berry And Cedar is his all time Christmas favourite – loving the green notes but made special by that little bit of juiciness. Finally Winter Wonderland, which Steven mentioned was outdoor fresh with a  hint of mint and that it brought to mind being outdoors with your winter woollies on. Get these treasures while you can!

A US exclusive Christmas character gift set was a novel item and sure to light up collectors eyes as it had the rare Balsam And Cedar fragrance in votive form included.
 
 
The character gift set...
 

Steven and Claire both pointed out that burning Yankee Candles this Christmas will bring back memories for years to come – particularly using the same fragrances in future years. Absolutely true, I used Sugared Apple at the weekend and it whisked me right back to the snowy landscapes of last winter.

Into the evening with Charlie Brook and as ever Charlie’s expression when sniffing the scents is a highlight. I think we should change the dictionary definition for rapture to a picture of him sniffing a foody Yankee Candle!

Charlie pointed out that the new Christmas artisan range (mentioned here) had sold around 7000 sets to date, while the magical moments samplers gift boxes had sold around 23,000!

A nice accessory -  a candy cane snow globe topper and jar hugger was available, complete with a large jar of Red Apple Wreath. Yes, with this accessory, as well as looking festive, you have snow globes on the lid and on the base! As for Red Apple Wreath, Steven noted that in the fragrance you have balsam, crisp fresh red apple and a dusting of spice.

 

The Home For The Holidays votive set is worth a mention. Not only do you get Home Sweet Home but also an abundance of Holiday Garland votives – a very hard to find US fragrance. Steven noted that as a fan he was excited to smell this candle and that it was his first time trying it. He mentioned notes of balsam, cedar, pines, eucalyptus – everything green!

Finally there was a nice duo of Sandalwood Vanilla and Beach Wood in large jars on offer. In case you thought Sandalwood Vanilla was just those two fragrances blended together, Steven pointed out that he’d researched and in fact it had around 16 different fragrance oils in the mix including amber and floral notes. Oh how we love the complex Yankee Candle fragrances!

So a bumper couple of days of yankee goodies and… and… TSV special Yankee Candle day on QVC 5th December – don’t miss!!!!!