“Midsummer Night,” by Yankee Candle is a very old scent. Infact it is probably one of the first scented candles I ever sampled when I first discovered Yankee Candle in 2004. This wasn’t just a candle that appealed to me because it was dark blue against all the other purposefully feminine led colours that graced all the other Yankee Candle scented products, but this candle in particular reeked of male aftershave.
There are advantages to having a candle like this around however! Dependent on what kind of format you buy it in, I have found myself buying jars of “Midsummer Night,” as gifts or simply to have the scent pervading my home at odd times in the year. I’m not a keen a fan of this scent burnt continually, but when I have bought the tarts over the glass jars, there have been a few surprises in store – it’s a nice one to have to freshen a room for an hour or less and it certainly has the ability to stink out a home.
Pricing & Product Safety
For the wax tart format though – so called because of their fluted shape and wickless – they will need an independent deep concave potpourri oil burner supported by electric means or the humble tea light candle. Yankee Candle also sells their exclusive burners in many styles if you have a strict budget. Compared to their votive/sampler candles which have a wick through them, the Yankee Candle wax tart can be unsafe to keep around inquisitive pets or children and although priced at 90p on average, they are cheaper but burn for 8 hours as opposed to 15 hours you’d get from the votive candle, but the latter isn’t as strong as the wax tart – and it’s a mistake that most buyers make thinking the votive will have a bigger amount of scent. In both cases, whenever the tart or votive is lit, both holders will get extremely hot – and you need to be aware of the wax tart when it is being used.
Removing the wax tart is very simple though – no need to attack with a knife once the wax tart has been left to cool down. Simply take out the tea light candle and put the entire holder into a freezer for a minimum of 15 minutes. After which, turn the holder over and the tart should fall out of the burner, easily. If this doesn’t happen, touch the solid tart and try moving it with your finger – you will find that the disc is fairly easy to remove. Sniff the base of it however and if there’s scent left, the candle has more to give and can be used again, if you wish.
What Does It Smell Of?
The first tone that comes out of “Midsummer Night,” is that of baby powder. It is a reassuring hit and quite a strong one. The second tone is that of male aftershave, sporty, rich and inviting, quite smooth at times but built up with talcum powder richness, flowery at times but most definitely patchouli has been added here. The base tone is quite a surprise though - rich sage, quite herby and earthy.
Strength & Delivery
Over the years whenever I have read candle reviews by other members of the public and on several online review sites, it seems the U.
S can’t get enough of “Midsummer Night,” whilst UK buyers have been less than impressed. One half of buyers find the candles to be weak upon lighting up whereas others have been impressed with the strength. I am of the latter side – in my experience this is a very strong candle in the wax tart format and I have never been let down by Yankee Candle’s Midsummer Night candle whenever I’ve purchased it in either wax tart format or the bigger glass jars. The wax tart claims to burn for 8 hours and yet I’ve managed 3 to 5 days out of Midsummer Night –but not always. This is because, for some reason and possibly being one of the oldest, most classic scents in the Yankee Candle catalogue, I find “Midsummer Night,” can weaken in the wrapper if you leave it out in direct sunlight or bright room light. Yankee Candles are extremely sensitive to light when they are not being used and this scent is very partial to losing its strength.
As such when stored properly until using, I find Midsummer Night to be pungent, strong and reeks of aftershave whenever it is left burning. It has equal strength and quality to pervade a home very quickly and has shades of an old U.S only scent by Yankee Candle I tried years ago, called “Rainforest,” that had similar aftershave tones. The aftershave that Yankee Candle have got here mirrors Old Spice – an aftershave I couldn’t stand when I was younger and now I’m not too fond of it – but don’t mind it now after all those years of having a Grandfather who loved the stuff!
One better aspect of this candle in wax format (and one aspect you can do with virtually any wax tart) that offers a slightly better versatility about it even before it is taken out of the wrapper, is to leave it in a drawer in a bedroom that stores clothing, T-shirts or even personal clothing like underwear or socks. Prick the wrapper slightly to let out the perfume and the scent will last for months in closed areas and clothing. It is also a suitable wax tart to similarly place in an airing cupboard for that freshening, classic aftershave scent.
Downsides & Other Formats
Unlike virtually any other Yankee Candle wax tart I have ever bought, “Midsummer Night,” isn’t going to be loved by everyone and I’ve known about it when friends have been over and they don’t like the smell at all. I have often found that whenever the scent is burnt, a few of my friends do seem to suffer from coughing with this scent as well as sneezing – so it does paint a rather heavy cloud of scent from the off and it does provoke physical reactions to the scent. Not only that, but in wax tart format, I find over the years that the wax tarts have a bad tendency to stain white coloured, or brightly coloured burners. The stain can easily be removed in time either with bleach or a fabric stain remover but that isn’t the point – there’s clearly a dark blue dye that Yankee Candle keep using with this candle that can stain – and I have never found that with any other candle bar “Midsummer Night.”
As this is classic scent that has been available in the UK for many years, it goes without saying that there are many different types available including rarer formats that are no longer made BUT are available from online auction sites.
Prices are given as averages:
• Wax Tart (22 grams, 8 hour duration, 90p/£1.20 each.)
• Votive candle (1.75 oz 15 hour duration, average price £1-75 to £2)
• Scented Powder Sachet (28grams, 3-4 week duration, £2-99)
• Small Housewarmer jar candle (7 oz 25-40 hours duration, £5-99 to £8-99)
• Medium Housewarmer jar candle (14.05oz 60-75 hours duration, £14-99)
• Large Housewarmer jar candle (22 oz 100-150 hours duration, £18-99)
• Large 2-wick tumbler (22.7 oz 70-90 hours duration, £17-99)
• Lidded glass tumbler (7oz 35-45 hours duration, £8-99)
• Car tab Housewarmer jar cardboard freshener (6-8 weeks duration, £2-99)
• Car air vent gel pack (4-6 weeks duration £2-85, 3 pack additional at £5-98)
• Tea light scented candles (240 grams, 4-6 hours per candle, 12 in a box £5-99)
• Aerosol Room Fragrance Spray (1.5oz, 400 spray limit £4-69 to £5-99)
• On-The-Go Travel scented air freshener pen (limited edition) (£5-99, 65 sprays duration, contains odour eliminator additive.)
• Plug In Scent (£5-99 4-6 weeks duration, 2 capsules per box, also fits old Air Wick plugs.)
• Plug In Plug and "free" scent starter (£14-99, 4-6 weeks duration, also fits old Air Wick plugs.)
• Reed Diffuser (limited edition) (£11-99/£13-99 8fl. oz, 12 reeds 4-6 weeks duration.)
Final Thoughts
“Midsummer Night,” by Yankee Candle is favoured by many who like the idea of sporty, classic male aftershave hanging around the home rather than anything else and although it is a well made candle, it is quite strong and can induce sneezing because of its baby powder/talcum powder effect. It isn’t a fragrance that I would suggest is better than anything else Yankee Candle sell, because in many ways, America’s Number One candle company for scent have shot themselves in the foot with other scents they’ve since released that mirror other male aftershaves. 2011’s “Soft Blanket,” that knocks on the door of Joop and “Amber Glow,” that has a more matured male aftershave feel about it and isn't as over-inducing.
If you were to offer me all three candles and asked me which one I’d pick, I’d find it hard to pick the later scents from 2011. “Midsummer Night,” is therefore a Classic scent in more ways than one and if you don’t like “Old Spice,” you won’t like this candle. It would get 4 stars if it wasn't liable to staining aside from the other more important downsides and it's inconsistent scent reliability. Thanks for reading! ©Nar2 2012
www.yankeecandle.com
The Yankee Candle That Smells of An Aftershave I'd Rather Forget! 
I wasn't keen on this one at all!