Merchandise Review: Novelly Yours Candles

I want to kick off a new-to-me feature here on Mary Had a Little Book Blog: merchandise reviews! Bookish merchandise has really exploded in the YA community thanks to cool publisher bonus swag, bookstagram, and subscription boxes for every imaginable genre and fandom. I'm going to take some of the shops and boxes that I've tried out and give you guys a look at my experience with the shops and their merch. First up is the shop that got me into candles: Novelly Yours!

Shop: Novelly Yours

Owner: Brittany @ Book Addicts Guide

Goods: bookish candles

Shop Links:

    

Overall rating: 5 stars

Shop rating: 5 stars

Product rating: 5 stars

Customer Service rating: 5 stars

At this point, everyone should know Brittany's shop Novelly Yours. Brittany got in this candle game way back in Fall 2015 and has been killing the candle game ever since. Disclaimer: I have only ever purchased candles from Novelly Yours or won them in giveaways so this is just me gushing about them as an extremely satisfied customer.

Shop rating

Novelly Yours offers a WIDE variety of size options from wax tarts to 2 oz, 4 oz, and 8 oz tins to 12 oz jars so there are plenty of options for the casual candle lover and the candle aficionado alike. You can buy in themed sets or do a mix-and-match to find what you like! The shop has two different candle-of-the-month options (8 oz or 12 oz layered candle and it looks like she's also starting up a possible monthly themed set!), and you can sign up for a subscription for those candles via the shop's Etsy page (which is the ONLY thing I recommend buying on the Etsy shop. Use the website for everything else so you can earn reward points!)

Fandom wise, I think Novelly Yours does a great job with item variety. There are plenty of candle shop staples like Harry Potter, Sarah J. Maas, Leigh Bardugo, Maggie Stiefvater, and Marissa Meyer items, but there are also a TON of other great unique options like Outlander, The Winner's Kiss, The Princess Bride, Illuminae, etc! But wait! There's more! There's also a fun Disney princess collection and several unique sets of generally bookish candles ON TOP of 2-3 seasonal or limited edition candles offered on a limited basis for a few months. Oh, AND Novelly Yours offers custom candles for individuals or for bulk orders. Just contact the shop for info.

Novelly Yours is constantly creating fantastic new products. Just in May, there have been the two candle-of-the-month additions, an amazing "pirates and rogues" set, Strange the Dreamer, another ACOWAR candle, a Bellas candle (from Pitch Perfect!!!!!), and a couple others. Like, that is a LOT of new stock!

Product rating

Whatever fragrances Novelly Yours uses in the candles, I really like them. I haven't disliked a single candle yet. Although some scents like coffee or pine tend to not be my favorite, I still order candles that include them because each candle is blended with several scents that make each one unique and alluring. I do know some of the candles don't have a strong throw so if you are worried about scent strength, I highly recommend checking out the shop FAQ or using the contact form to find which candle will be the best fit for you!

Which brings me to the last section I'll be grading shops on: 

Customer service

Novelly Yours gets ALL THE STARS.

I've once contacted Novelly Yours to help me with an order that I bumbled, and Brittany responded immediately and was able to help. One time she accidentally mailed one of my packages to my previous address, and she totally got that fixed asap. But it's the other things. Brittany responds to tweets, Twitter DMs, Instagram comments, and Instagram DMs (I'm assuming she does on Facebook as well). She's incredibly involved with and responsive to her customers. She takes questions and requests via the contact form and maintains a shop blog where she not only makes announcements but also answers all your burning candle questions (heh. Pun intented). I love that if the demand for a limited edition candle is there, she makes it a permanent addition to the shop. Even when she retires candles to make room for new ones, she's always bringing back the old for fans to buy their faves. Brittany is a shop owner who knows and understands her customers and does her best to make sure they're happy AND that her shop is successful.

So this is what a large priority box of @novellyyours candles looks like. Full collection pic coming soon (after the new order comes in)! pic.twitter.com/vbFHU1fb6u

— Mary (@knoxdiver) March 8, 2017

Recommendations

There is literally nothing Novelly Yours could do to make me like them more so they're getting a gold stamp of approval from me. For kicks and giggles, here are some of my favorite Novelly Yours candles that I think you should try:

Beast's Library - smells like a library with a roaring fire full of rich old leather first editions (I loved Antique Books first, but it has been retired & Beast's Library smells extremely similar)
Cabeswater - smells like a meadow full of flowers with the sun just burning off the early morning mist
Matthias - bear with me, but this one smells somewhat like toothpaste? It's minty and clean like that just-brushed feeling that gives you chills
Mermaid's Grotto - smells like a cool beach in the late fall with salty sea air, white-capped waves and driftwood
Romance trope - smells like love is in the air!