Happy Holidays From The Blue Gecko Candle Company!

Happy Holidays!

We at The Blue Gecko Candle Company hope that you and your family are enjoying this wonderful time of year! When things get a little hectic this holiday season, we hope you’ll be able to take a little time just for you! Light a candle, run a bubble bath, lock the bathroom door… and let the stress simply melt away! And of course, we’d be happy to help you on your quest for relaxation ;)

It’s been a long time coming, but we are proud to introduce our brand new line of soy blend 11 oz glass tureen candles! These beautiful candles are double wicked for a clean even burn with an approximate burn time of 50-60 hours. The wide mouth of this classy container allows for maximum scent throw. Scents are currently limited, but we will be expanding the fragrance selection in the upcoming weeks! Best of all? We’re running an introductory sale for only $9.99!! What a great gift, and the perfect way to fragrance your living space! Sale ends December 15th.

In addition to a great price on candles, buy $35 worth of products and get not only your choice of 3 free tarts (by clicking on the freebie button on the left hand side of the screen and adding them to your cart), but we’ll throw in 3 of our newest fragrances as well …no coupons needed! That’s 6 free tarts! Promotion begins December 8 and will run until December 19th!

In bath and body, we are happy to announce that shipping on bath melts has resumed! These fabulous cocoa butter bath melts are the perfect solution to dry winter skin! Simply toss one in a warm running bath, sit down and prepare to be moisturized! Still not convinced? Type in the “Make Me a Bath Melt Believer” in the comment section at checkout and we’ll be sure to include a free bath melt with your order!

We’ve added four new fragrances this month! Not all fragrances are available in all products so please be sure to check the individual item menus!

Harvest Spice Cake - Cinnamon, nutmeg and clove are deliciously blended with fresh grated orange zest and finished off with light notes of warm buttery vanilla cake. A delicious and must have fragrance!

Laundered Linens - The fresh, clean, detergent aroma of crisply laundered linens! All the smell of clean sheets without the all of the work!

Spiced Cranberry- A fantastic blend of fresh, tart cranberries mellowed out with just a touch of spice.

Victorian Violet and Rosewater Splash - Imagine a luxurious resort where clean linens are sprayed generously with a romantic medley of delicate wild rose petals and sweet violet blossoms. Fresh, clean laundry type notes are softened with the perfect amount of floral undertones to make this is a truly lush fragrance!

Holiday gift sets are now available! Our Ultimate Pampering Gift Set comes complete with a four pack of our skin moisturizing cocoa butter bath melts, a full 12 oz size Silky Milky bubble bath, one scented sachet, a fragrant air freshener and a beautiful travel tin candle tucked into in a festive snowflake organza bag! All packaged in our holiday baskets and tied with cello and tulle, this gift includes a gift card. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the smiles this thoughtful present is sure to bring!

Our Full of Fragrance Holiday Totes are filled with one of our travel tin candles, a four pack of luxurious cocoa butter bath melts, and an air freshener! these little totes are perfect for gift giving!

Due to the high volume of orders placed during the holiday season, the cutoff date for holiday orders shipped USPS is December 15th. If ordering for the holidays, please be sure to get your orders in prior to this date.

As always, thank you so very much for your patronage! We truly appreciate each and every one of our wonderful customers. Have a very safe and happy holiday season!

Best Wishes,

Deirdre Motley
Owner
www.bluegeckocandles.com

"Twilight" Premier Month Specials!

In honor of the upcoming movie release of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight”, we thought it would be fun to run some Twilight inspired specials! Each week, up until the premier on November 21st, we will run a Twilight inspired contest, sale, or giveaway! Each Monday, we will announce our special via email (if you belong to our newsletter) or blog.

Starting November 3rd – November 7th, answer all the following Twilight trivia correctly and be entered in a drawing for a free 12 oz bottle of our wonderful Silky Milky Bubble Bath in our Edward inspired scent, Bel Vampiro (which translates to “handsome vampire”). Please DO NOT respond to this post (everyone will see your answers!). Please email all answers to: Deirdre@bluegeckocandles.com Answers must ALL be correct and must be received by midnight November 7th with no exceptions. One entry per person please.
The winner will be drawn at random and notified via email. Answers will be posted on the next week’s email special. Have fun and let the “dazzling” begin ;)

1st week: Twilight Trivia Challenge
1. How did the author, Stephenie Meyer, pick the name Bella for her main character?
2. What state was Bella originally from?
3. When and where was Edward Cullen born?
4. What does Edward say Bella smells like?
5. Name the Cullens in order of their induction into the family.
6. What does Edward say about darkness?
7. How old is Carlisle?
8. What gemstone does Bella say is her favorite on Edward’s “day of questioning”?
9. What happens to vampires in the sun?
10. What is the safest time of day for vampires?

Have a wonderful week!

Spooktacular Savings From The Blue Gecko Candle Company!

Happy Halloween!

The Blue Gecko Candle Company is scaring up some fabulous savings in honor of this Spooktacular holiday! From Saturday October 18 – Monday October 20 the following treats will be on sale!

* All Single Tarts are ONLY $.99 each!
*Tart Grab Bags will be reduced to $5.95 per bag!
*Our Silky Milky Bubble Bath 12 oz containers are on sale for $10!

In addition to these awesome sales, each and every purchase will receive a free sample of our luxurious Cocoa Butter Bath Melts! Don’t miss out, this is a great way to stock up on holiday gifts, or spoil yourself before the chaos of the holidays!

Happy Haunting!

Deirdre Motley
Owner
http://www.bluegeckocandles.com/

Heavenly Impressions

Okay, so I usually talk candles and fragrances, but I have a wonderful company that I felt compelled to dish about: Heavenly Impressions.

Based out of Shreveport, Lousiana, Heavenly Impressions is the brainchild of Rachel Fultz (www.heavenlyimpressions.com). Heavenly Impressions offers chic and trendy scrapbook inspired photo cards and other unique products. These wonderful cards aren’t your everyday cards! From invitations to holiday cards, Heavenly Impressions has a creative array of fantastic choices.

I discovered this fantastic company while trying to find photo birthday cards for my daughter’s upcoming birthday party several years ago. She was having a Flip Flop Pool Party theme. When I stumbled on Rachel’s site, I was sold! Her Hot Pink Hawaiian card was EXACTLY what I’d been hunting for!

I’d ordered from other companies before finding Rachel’s fantastic company. I won’t ever go back! Not only were the cards professional, the customer service was outstanding. Rachel quickly answers any questions or concerns. She gets back to you with a proof of your design very quickly and ships promptly (although if you’re a procrastinator like me, she does offer Rush Delivery). AND, if your daughter decides to take all 25 invitations to school and invite her entire class plus a few, and you are now out of invitations to give to family members and neighbors....Rachel is more than happy to create a few more ;) Don't ask me how I know this, LOL.

In addition to invitations for all occasions, Rachel offers birth announcements, stationary, address labels and jewelry! For the Holidays, her photo Christmas cards are perfect (and she also offers Hanukah cards as well). Again being the ever constant procrastinator that I am, I missed Christmas cards last year and ended up ordering New Year’s cards. I came up with a cute poem and Rachel custom designed the cards to fit my needs. They turned out beautifully and everyone loved them! This year we’ll be ordering the photo ornaments as presents for family!

So if you’re looking for unique, high quality custom cards, ornaments, stationary or more, be sure to swing by http://www.heavenlyimpressions.com/ . You won’t be disappointed!

Proper Candle Burning

I admit it; before venturing into candle making, I was a self professed power burner (I’m cringing as I admit this!). I’d light candles in the morning and burn all day long, nary a wick trim in site! I didn’t know any better, no one had ever explained how to properly burn a candle. Incorrectly burning a candle is not only a safety hazard, but also a waste of your hard earned money! So what is the right way to burn a candle? To begin with, let’s talk about wick trimming.

Go and grab the last candle you burned. Does the wick look like a long, burned piece of spaghetti? Is there some crazy mushroom looking growth on the top of the wick? If yes, you probably need to trim the wick before the next burn. The proper length for effective candle burning is ¼ inch. A well made candle will come with a properly trimmed wick; it’s your job to make sure the wick stays trimmed after each burn. The purpose of the wick is to draw wax to the flame. The wick draws the wax up to the flame to burn. If the wick is too high, it’s getting to much fuel and the flame will more than likely flicker and throw soot. In a pillar candle, untrimmed wicks can cause uneven burning and dripping. Trimming off the “mushroom” (carbon deposits) on top of a wick will keep your candle free of unnecessary debris. You can purchase a commercial wick trimmer, or use something as simple as nail clippers, but proper wick trimming is essential for safe candle burning. Extending your burn time is another benefit of a properly trimmed wick. Now that your wick is trimmed and ready to go, let’s talk burning!

The very first burn of your candle is an important one. Believe it or not, candles have a “memory”. On your first burn, with a container candle, you need to make sure that the wax melts all the way to the outer edge of the candle. This is called a full melt pool and will help ensure that the candle will burn evenly each time (it’s “memory”), avoiding that dreaded tunnel of wax with inches of built up wax on the sides of the container. In a pillar candle, however, the opposite is true. You should burn until a well is created by the flame and extends to ¼ inch of the sides of the candle. With pillars, you want the wax to tunnel down the center. The general rule for candle burn times is to burn for one hour for each inch of the candle’s diameter. For instance, if you have a candle travel tin with a three inch diameter, you would burn it for a maximum of three hours. Power burning, burning continuously without extinguishing the flame, is a safety hazard and should be avoided. A properly tested container candle will burn clean all the way down, with no wax hang up on the sides of the container. One final point to remember in proper candle burning is to extinguish the candle when there is 1/2 inch of wax left in the bottom of the container. Do not burn a candle all the way down! This can cause the bottom of the container to become overly hot, creating the potential for cracked or damaged containers, and a possible fire hazard. Be sure to let your candle cool completely before re-lighting the (trimmed!) wick. When burned properly, candles can be a magnificent addition to your living space, but you must commit to following ALL the rules!

Rules? There are rules? Absolutely. Of course you already know not to burn candles in a draft, under curtains, or overnight and to burn on stable, heat resistant surfaces…right? But did you know that when burning pillar candles, you should keep them at least 3 inches apart from one another? This keeps them from melting each other and creating drafts which may lead to an improper burn. And although you’ve undoubtedly heard these ones before, they bear repeating (so please humor me):

*Never leave a burning candle unattended
*Always burn candles in a well ventilated room.
*Keep the wax pool free of wick trimmings and debris
*Never touch or move a lit candle
*Burn candles in a well ventilated area
*Burning candles and kitty tails don’t mix, please keep all candles far away
from pets (and of course children!)

Candles are a luxury. We spend our hard earned money on these wonderful luxuries and are rewarded with an array of fabulous fragrances. By properly trimming your wicks, and following good burning habits, you are not only being safety conscious, but are also ensuring a clean even burn, therefore wasting no wax and getting your money’s worth out of each and every candle! Happy (and safe) burning!

Deirdre Motley
Owner
www.bluegeckocandles.com

The Blue Gecko Candle Company's August Newsletter!

Happy August!

We hope you are all managing to survive this scorching summer heat!
In an effort to bring some good out of this miserable sweltering heat, today only, if you type in the coupon code, “Heatstroke”, you will receive 15% off your order! Offer good on purchases made today August 1, 2008 only and expires at midnight MST. Don’t forget about your free tarts! Spend $35 or more (prior to shipping and taxes) and click on the “Freebie” link to get your three free tarts, your choice of scent!

New scents for this month :

*Bellissima Bella
*Forever Alice
*Sugared Raspberry Violets

In honor of the release of Stephenie Meyer's final book in the "Twilight" series, "Breaking Dawn" (which I happen to be ridiculously obsessed with), we are proud to introduce two new fragrances inspired by our favorite characters!

Bellissima Bella: If you’re a fan of the wonderful Twilight book series by Stephenie Meyer, this is what we think Bella must smell like to that handsome forbidden fiend of hers ;) Soft floral notes of lavender and freesia are dazzled with fresh cut spruce, sprinkled with luscious sugar crystals and balanced out with just a hint of orange zest; ending with a sweet infusion of juicy summer berries, picked in the deep woods of Forks, Washington. Be warned, may attract Vampires.

Forever Alice: Inspired by the hit novel, “Twilight”, our custom blend, Forever Alice, is named for the premonition having best friend of Bella. Alice is a teenage girl, bubbly sweet, but she also happens to be a vampire, immortally cold..she's forever Alice. Our interpretation of Alice is filled with sweet, sugary cotton candy, innocent creamy vanilla and swirls of gooey caramel; ending with an icy tribute to her cold immortal destiny; minty fresh, frosty cold peppermint. May induce possible premonitions of the future, visions may or may not be reliable.

We’ve also added the delightful fragrance, Sugared Raspberry Violets; sweet summer raspberries are married with soft delicate violets and sprinkled with just a dusting of crystalline sugar.

We are also proud to introduce our new line of Sassy Sink Scents! This isn't your granny's cleaner! This is a sassy, chic, and fabulously fragrant sink freshener, deodorizer, and cleaner! Highly scented, this sink scent is a wonderful way to get rid of that icky odor coming from your drain! Simply fill your sink with hot water, adding 3-4 tablespoons of our cleanser while water is running. Let the water cool, and the steam from the water will infuse your home with an amazing amount of fragrance! Once the water is cool, drain the water and use a sponge to scrub the remaining mixture in the sink. Non drain clogging. Available in all of our body safe scents!

We hope you are all managing to keep cool. We’d also like to remind everyone to burn responsibly! If you’re not sure how to properly burn a candle, be sure to check out our article in the August edition of Candle Corner Magazine!

http://www.candlecornermagazine.com/august08page3.htm

We hope you are having a wonderful summer! Enjoy those refreshing summer scents, fall is just around the corner (think pumpkin and spices)!

Have a wonderful weekend and be sure to stop by http://www.bluegeckocandles.com/!

Deirdre
Owner
www.bluegeckocandles.com

The Wonderful World of Tarts!

Scents can trigger memories, affect your mood, and create a sense of well being. With summer in full swing, many might shy away from lighting candles to create the fragrances they so love. An open flame in 100 degree weather? Not very appealing. So what can we use to scent our living and work spaces without adding to the heat? More and more people are turning to wax tarts as wickless alternatives to burning candles.

What is a tart? A tart (also known as a wax melt, wax potpourri, or scent disk) is highly scented wax poured into molds…with no wick! Tarts can come in a variety of clever shapes, depending on what mold is used. Below is a picture of our own Jelly Berry Butter Cookie Tarts!





A tart is one of the most efficient ways to fragrance your living space. No wick means no open flame to add to the heat of the day, and tarts can be used in places candles aren’t allowed..like offices or dorm rooms! Tarts have the potential to be stronger than candles (no flame means more fragrance can be added!), and they are extremely user friendly.

To use a tart, simply place the wax tart in an approved tart warmer and turn on. Once the tart has melted (it should be fully melted within 35 minutes or so), the fragrance is released. A good tart will last a minimum of 8 hours, depending on the type of warmer used, the fragrance itself and how long the burner is on. Another wonderful benefit of tarts? When you’re tired of smelling a certain fragrance, you can simply change tarts!

Unlike a candle, the wax does NOT disappear. If using a warmer with a removable bowl, once the fragrance has faded (or you want something new), turn the warmer off and let the wax cool and harden. Once cool, you place the removable bowl in the freezer for about 10 minutes, remove from the freezer and the wax should just pop out! NEVER place cold (frozen) bowl back on the warmer, please wait for the bowl to reach room temperature. Another option is to simply pour the hot wax into a jar or can and wipe the bowl clean (please be careful, wax and bowl will be very hot). NEVER pour the wax into your sink, while it may get rid of that icky leftover spaghetti smell, it will clog your pipes! Easy to use, tarts are also easier to store than candles (and a lot less bulky).

Tarts should be stored in their own packaging. Keeping them in a cool dark area (a drawer or a closet) will help preserve their longevity. For best results, tarts should be used within 6 months, however, some tarts may last up to one year depending on the scent. Storing multiple scents together may cause the scents of those tarts to intermingle. Nothing like lilac cinnamon grapefruit tarts to make you gag! Now that tarts have been explained, what is the best way to melt them?

There are a variety of tart warmers on the market today. There are tea light burners, tin burners, burners that melt with light bulbs, and electric ceramic burners. So which one is best? While it is a matter of personal preference, there are some facts to consider before making a tart warmer purchase. Tealight burners (which require a tealight candle to melt the tarts) may not melt the tart completely, and fragrance may not be as strong (and if you’re trying to avoid an open flame, this defeats the purpose). With light bulb burners, you will have to replace bulbs. Many consumers today are turning to the electric plug in tart warmers with the removable bowls.

These are my personal favorites, and are currently carried in our store: http://www.bluegeckocandles.com/. They melt the tarts nicely, don’t get overly hot, and you can turn them on and off with a click of a button. With the electric warmers, you never have to replace light bulbs or use tea lights. Using an electric tart warmer is ideal for dorms, nursing homes, offices, or other places where an open flame is forbidden. Do keep in mind, just like a candle, you should NEVER leave a tart warmer unattended.

Tarts are a wonderful alternative to candles. Decorative, highly scented, long lasting, and no flames make these wonderful wax tidbits a fantastic alternative to burning candles during these hot summer months.

Written by: Deirdre Motley – Owner www.bluegeckocandles.com

Welcome to The Blue Gecko Candle Company's Blog!

Hello and welcome to our blog! I'm Deirdre, the owner of The Blue Gecko Candle Company:(http://www.bluegeckocandles.com/) . This fabulous blog is written with the intention of sharing my passion for all things scented! But, since this is my first blog, I will go ahead and tell you a bit about my company and how we got started!

I’ve always had an obsession with candles. In 2004, I discovered the world of wax tarts (also called wax melts & wax potpourri, wax with no wick). I was hooked. I loved how my house would smell when I’d burn a tart, and no open flames was a nice bonus. In 2005, I had an epiphany. I could make these, how hard could it be? I could save some money! HA! Wow, boy was I in for a shocker. I made my first batch of tarts in August of 2005. I was so proud, I handed them out to everyone I knew that had a tart warmer (which is how you melt the tarts). I expected glowing reviews. I waited. And then my friend called, “Well, I can’t smell it”. I was floored. I immediately burned a few I’d made. I could smell them, but they definitely weren’t all that. And so began my adventure. I started playing with different waxes, formulas, and additives. The tarts got better! After about a year and much research (and LOTS of spent money), I’d found a formula that worked. I gave them to some testers and waited nervously. The result? RAVE reviews! The tarts were strong and they lasted for such a long time! And that’s how it began. I began making candles, dabbled in bath products and air fresheners, and slowly things began snowballing. Friends and family were placing orders left and right, but everyone had one question, “Do you have a website I can order from?”In October 2007, I took the plunge and opened my own online store, The Blue Gecko Candle Company, http://www.bluegeckocandles.com/. I am so proud of it! It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s definitely worth it! I have the best customers (seriously)! It’s hard work, but I absolutely love it!

Thank you so much for stopping by to read our blog. And if you're looking for a wonderful way to scent your living space, do stop by our store. As an added incentive (and a thank you for reading our blog), if you type in "blogspot" in the coupon code box, you'll get 10% off your entire order (expires 8/31/2008)!

Have a wonderful day!