Shrine Monogram Candle Review
Shrine Monogram Candle
One of my first quarantine purchases last year (YEAR...🥵) was a Shrine Monogram Candle. I was getting served up ads on IG for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so one day I just decided to take the plunge...because hey, I'd probably burn through a couple of candles real quick during our 2 week quarantine. If only she knew.
Shrine Candles is a non-seasonal female founded candle company hand poured in Los Angeles since February 2020. Their candles are an apricot-coconut wax blend, and they're known for great branding, color coordinated candles— plus, they package their candles in a compostable and biodegradable arch packaging made from mushrooms, hemp, and other good stuff. I picked up Monogram, which totally seemed up my alley. I couldn't forget to add one of their matchbooks because I'm a match collecting fiend. Peep my side instagram, Matches in LA, to bare witness.
Monogram is scented with italian leather, violet leaves, galbanum, ambrette, and sandalwood. I loooove more woody, masculine scents, and this seemed like the perfect balance of masculine and feminine to me, like my favorite brand, Boy Smells.
I was so excited to receive my candle in the mail, and upon my first smell, I instantly hated it. The olfactory system is fascinating, and while I've always known that scents can spark up some nostalgia, Monogram reminded me of a strange memory that took me a few burns to piece together.
To peek inside that matchbook... follow
! 😉
Middle school church party fog machine. No, I'm not joking. So, I hid my new pretty candle with shame and would burn it in other rooms so I didn't have to smell it. But with fragrance being so personal, my middle school church party fog machine could be your literal heaven. So, let's talk about the actual candle, because I haven't written off Shrine Candles yet— and neither should you!
These candles burn fairly well and have a great scent throw. Mine doesn't always have a full wax pool to the edge, but it's not tunneled. The matte/painted vessels always tend to hold onto a lot of soot, so make sure to wipe them before burning again. Since my favorite brand has black vessels, I think the soot surprises me more than it should. That's to be expected when lighting a small fire in your house every day for some serotonin.
They're a bit pricier, at $38, but I feel good spending it because it's a small, new, business. And they do it well. I much prefer Shrine over my FORVR Mood Candles I reviewed last August. While Monogram wasn't for me, I think some of their future drops might suit my nose a bit more. Fingers crossed! 🤞
Shop the original 3 Shrine Candles available at Nordstrom online:
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