General candle care + Wick Trimming

• Trim the wick to ¼” before lighting every time!  This makes all the difference in the longevity and clean burning of your candle. A long wick burns much too hot and will both use up the candle more quickly and create soot.  

• Burn your candle for up to 1-2 hours at a time.  It’s very important that the first time you use the candle to burn it long enough for the melted wax to reach the edges of the container.  This prevents the wax from building up and possibly tunneling during future use.  You always need to burn your candle long enough for all the wax to melt across the top of the jar.  If you don't burn your candle until the wax melts across the top you will cause tunneling and you will be left with wax around the edges of the jar.

• Never leave a candle burning unattended or within reach of a draft, pets, or small children.

• If the flame seems high or the container is too hot in the midst of burning, simply extinguish the flame, let it cool down, trim the wick and restart!

• Trim your wicks to 5-10mm before lighting your candle each time. If your wick is too long it will flicker and smoke. If it is too short it will drown in the wax.
• LuLu & Oliver Candles are designed to be burned for a maximum of 3hrs at a time. If you burn for longer you risk the wicks drowning and the jar becoming too hot.
• To extinguish your candle gently blow the flame out, put the lid on or use a cloche. We use all cotton wicks in our candles so they will ball on the top. If you blow too hard you will blow the ball off and it will end up in your molten wax.
• Wait until your candle has re-solidified and trim the ball off the wick, keeping the wick to 5-10mm in length.
• If you find you have soot on the inside of your jar this could indicate your wick was too long, your candle was in a drafty area or you burnt your candle longer than the recommended time.
• When the jar is cool wipe soot off with a damp paper towel. 
• Stop burning when there is 1cm of wax left in the jar.

How To reuse concrete candle vessels:

Here's a common scenario: you've burned through your candle, and now you're left with an almost empty vessel (or maybe a closet full of them!). Now what? One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is "what do I do with my leftover candle jars?" .  Of course, that's a great problem to have - we love knowing that you loved and fully enjoyed your candle! Kudos to you for considering the environment instead of simply tossing the jar into the trash. The good news is, there are lots of options for reusing and repurposing your empty LuLu & Oliver candle vessels - read on! 

First, start with a clean, empty vessel. There are lots of ways to do this (a quick web search will confirm), and a few of our favorite ways are below:

The Last and BEST option is to bring your empty / clean vessel to our working studio located at The Foundation Art Studio in the River Arts District of Asheville.  We will gladly refill your candle vessel with the scent of your choice and the best part is, it will be half price!  We will refill the candle for half the initial price of the candle, because we highly encourage upcycling.  There are no limits to the refills....just bring by your candle, sniff around a bit and refill the candle.  

What are Scent Notes?

A candle has three types of notes, a top note, a middle note, and a base note.  A top note is the first scent you ‘experience’ when the candle first burns or when you smell it when it is unlit. 

Then, the middle notes, which can also be called heart notes, are the scent results after the top note has faded a little.  This scent that you experience consists of the middle notes of the candle fragrance.

Finally, you then have the base note, which are the scents that reveal itself as the candle is lit and burning at a full melt pool (top layer is melted).  It can take up to an hour or so for this to occur.  So what is the true and actual scent of the candle?  That would be the mix of the middle notes and base notes. 

How long will my candle last?

• Candles that are 10-12oz will last around 70-80+ hours and are well suited for larger, open areas in your home or studio

• Candles that are 8-9oz will last 50+ hours and are well suited for small-medium sized areas in your home or studio

• Candles that are 5-7oz will last 25-40+ hours and are great for bathrooms, bedside tables and smaller, cozy spots in your home

Why Coconut Soy Wax?

It was extremely important to me to make good quality, clean and safe candles and in researching wax I found that Virgin Coconut Soy wax was the best out there. It is a plant-derived, vegan blend of natural soy and coconut. It has a creamy white appearance and gives an evenness of burn and wax consumption. Our wax at LuLu & Oliver is gluten free, toxin free, paraben free, and phthalate free. The entire blend utilizes only FDA approved waxes so you have peace of mind while using your home or studio.

Why is what wax you use important?

Most candles have a wax blend, most commonly you will see a soy-paraffin blend.  Paraffin is the most widely used wax for a lot of candles because of it’s low cost and optimal scent throw (how much you smell both when the candle is lit and when it’s cool). Paraffin wax is derived from petroleum as a byproduct of the refining process and tends to cause more concerns in the long run. Therefore the thought of these candles being “clean” is a tad misleading. In an effort of LuLu & Oliver to carry as much clean products as we can, we went the route of coconut soy wax!