In today’s world candles are more of an atmosphere enhancer or guilty pleasure than a necessity. It is comforting to have a candle burning nearby, and definitely pleasurable smelling food, floral or exotic scents throughout the house, but hardly necessary. Gel candles add yet another enjoyable nonessential dimension, delighting us visually by glowing and sparkling spectacularly and making the flame appear to float atop a container of transparent liquid.
Hobby enthusiasts commonly use gel wax in pilsner glasses, goblets, or mugs to make faux beverage candles. More often than not their creations end up as a permanent novelty home decor item, never getting used as a candle and showing off the unique features of burning gel wax. Given that outcome, it seems that they would be better off simply creating a faux beverage and not including a wick, which detracts from the illusion when the candle isn’t burning.
Most candle lovers prefer to actually burn candles rather than admire them, so we have long offered gel candle selections that are both functional and attractive. They all come in a broad array of fragrances, and there are even aromatherapy blends available. Containers range from elegant tumblers with prismatic bases to country chic French-lid canning jars.
There are some practical considerations to burning gel candles. Gel wax burns with exceptional efficiency, which impacts two lesser known, yet related features: candles made from it have long burn times; its efficient burn minimizes soot and impurities being released into the living space.