The Cobblestone Candle Company

I'm a burner... of wax melt tarty things. I like the fragrance - when they're quality tarts - and am a bit dangerous with flame. I forget a candle is burning when I head off to dreamland, that sort of thing. I place candles too close to flammable objects. Not on purpose, mind you, but that's where they seem to end up. *shrug*

I'm on the endless search for the *best* tarts I can find. What makes a great tart? Well, for me, it's strong throw [scent] both cold and hot, lasting fragrance, & trueness of fragrance.

I'd heard about The Cobblestone Candle Company from a friend who also burns tarts. She'd led me to other worthy tarts in the past so I gave The Cobblestone Candle Company a whirl.

The site. The Company:
Pleasing design & clean. Dark background, which I don't usually prefer, but still legible. Site loads quickly. Easily navigated.

Their website states: "Hand Poured in Charleston, South Carolina".

Apparently shipping on tart orders is at no charge. Unfortunately, I couldn't see that information because it is in small red text against a black background. Maybe you'd have noticed it. Alas, I did not. Nice perk for tart orders.

However, not seeing the 'notice', I emailed the company to be sure my checkout total was correct as there wasn't a line item for shipping. I received a very nice reply from the Christopher, the owner.

I'm in the same state as The Cobblestone Candle Company. I ordered late in the morning on a Friday, my order arrived on Monday.

One bit I always look for on a web site prior to placing an order is the contact information. The company address is not listed anywhere on the site although there are a few mentions that they are located in Charleston, South Carolina.

The phone number is listed in the "Policies" section. Not easily found.

In this case, I went against my better judgment and ordered from this company despite the lack of contact information.

The product:
Tarts are soy wax - nice, clean melt. Eco-friendly. Soy holds fragrance well. Tarts are 1 oz size. $1.50/ea.

Packaged in poly bags. Can smell the fragrances through the packaging. Nice, professional labels.

My order:

Pomegranate:
Cold throw: Sweet more than tart. Doesn't really smell like pom to me but it's pleasant.

Hot throw: At hour 13, this one turned very powdery to my nose. Not a repeat purchase for me.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake:
Cold throw: Quite Spicy. Pumpkin is faint. No scent of cake at this point through the packaging.

Caramel Apple:
Cold throw: Lots of caramel - creamy - and apple - tart. Seemed to be a winner.

Hot throw: Did so-so. Fairly true initially. Meh on the throw - or maybe it's my nose at this point? - but it did last about 7 hours or so. Would order this one again, maybe.

Banana Pudding:
Cold throw: Nice banana nose. Creamy. A hint of sweetness beyond the fruity sweet of the banana.

Hot throw: The Banana Pudding tart started out like gangbusters - very strong banana, sweetish, a bit creamy, not much vanilla to it. After an hour or so on the burner it mellowed and smelled softer, a bit more vanilla emerged.

Four hours into the melt, this fragrance turned powdery. Did not last all that long, imVho. I expect a good 8-12 hours/tart. Maybe that's unrealistic but I've gotten it from some companies and not from others.

Mojito:
Cold throw: Not sure on this one. Smells a bit powdery to my nose. A bit of mint. Maybe some citrus in there, hard to tell.

Hot throw: Nothing at all. I sit ~6' from my burner. Took the vessel off the burner and it smelled faintly of mint and powder. Not much else. Burned for nearly 3 hours. Another one I ended up tossing. Do not recommend this fragrance.

Vanilla Hazelnut:
Cold throw: Very nice co-mingling of both Hazelnut - more dominant - and Vanilla. The Hazelnut smells quite true. The Vanilla is creamy with maybe a hint of butter note.

This was a big disappointment. Great cold throw but hot, I got nuthin'. Gave it ~4 hours to get some scent from it. Finally trashed it. Do not recommend.

Pina Colada:
Cold throw: This is nice. Complex. I get a bit of coconut, some tropical fruitiness [maybe mango, pineapple, something else] and a background of vanilla perhaps? Another one that will burn beautifully, I imagine.

I ended up gifting this to a client of mine who saw it and went wild for the fragrance. Sorry no hot throw review for you.

Buttercream:
Cold throw: Very buttery. Quite subtle note of maybe nutmeg? I am a very picky Buttercream addict & love this one.

Hot throw: Burning it now. Will update when it's lived its life. *wink*

French Vanilla:
Cold throw: Nice smooth vanilla, not so buttery as the Vanilla Hazelnut. Definitely creamy. There's a background of something - coffee? almond? - that makes this one subtly sweet and more sophisticated than the other predominantly vanilla fragrances I ordered. Another winner.

Was very much looking forward to burning this one. My same client drooled over it so I let it go to her. Hard to say no to a client...

Cappuccino Hazelnut:
Cold throw: Lovely coffee and hazelnut notes, equally strong in this one. A hint of cream and vanilla in there, too, smells like.

Hot throw: Did better than most I tried from The Cobblestone Candle Company. At hour 3 it was going strong, true and no powdery finish. Lasted approx. 10 hours. This is one I would re-order.

Caramelized Pralines:
Cold throw: Lovely caramel. Deep. Rich. Secondary bloom of pecans. Don't smell any sugar. Definitely butter in there with vanilla way in the background, I believe.

Hot throw: This one performed well. Caramel was strong as was butter. Pecans emerged softly along with the vanilla. I would purchase this one again.

Freebie: Clean Cotton: Smells soapy. Or like a favourite t-shirt laundered in a bit too much detergent. Not for me but I can see how if one likes the smell of clean clothes, they'll probably really enjoy this one. It's packed up to send along to a friend who will appreciate it.

Overall, the product is nicely presented both on- and off-line, the site easy to order from and complete a transaction. The tarts look great and many of those I ordered have decent cold throw. Unfortunately, the majority of my order either underperformed [per my expectations] or simply did not smell true to the fragrance name or site description. There are a couple fragrances I would consider re-ordering.