Better Homes & Garden Wax Tart Review

It happens. Don’t kill me. I broke down and veered off my “supporting small business” path. In my defense, I had a weak fragrance moment. My drawer full of wax tarts was ridiculously low. Yes, I had about 20 tarts (okay, maybe more) in my stash, but nothing “sounded good”. You know you’ve been there, admit it. Rifling through fragrances and not finding one to suit your mood…major bummer. I was secretly freaking out, I NEEDED a fragrance fix!

 Now, I had to pick up socks for my boy child who seems to go through ridiculous amounts of foot wear each week (how many holes can one child put his socks in one week?). As I perused for socks, an end cap at one of the aisles in Wally World caught my attention. Wax. A whole display of wax. I was slightly jittery in anticipation. Now, I consider myself fairly knowledgeable when it comes to tarts. I have burned just about every major brand out there. It’s my opinion that so many mass produced wax fragrance products are just not up to my wax aficionado standards (in other words, I’m SUPER picky). Again, this is just my own opinion. Now, Wally World (Wal-Mart) is known for low prices. And not that you can’t get good wax melts for low prices, but I was very, very skeptical.

The brand on display was Better Homes & Garden. A big company….mass produced wax melts…..I figured these were going to be junk. But like a true addict, I couldn't resist. I had to go smell them (much to my disgruntled son’s displeasure). I liked the price, $2.00 a clam-shell pack, 6 wax cubes. I ignored my inner wax snob and grabbed a pack of Orange Buttercream Cupcake. It smelled DELISH. For $2.00, if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t feel too guilty.

I used all the Orange Buttercream Cupcake before I thought to take a photo ;)

I was so excited to try out my new wax…I left without getting the socks.

I had very low expectations of this tart, after all, it was a dreaded mass produced fragrance find. The cold throw was phenomenal, but so many tarts do smell fantastic cold, only to fizzle out when heated up. The wax popped out easily, no mess, and melted extremely well. The Orange Buttercream Cupcake was fantabulous!! I was flabbergasted. Not only did the hot throw fill my entire downstairs and halfway up the second level, it was absolutely mouthwatering.

With strong top notes of orange softened by hints of creamy butter and a splash of vanilla, this was one decadent melt. I didn’t smell much of a “cupcake” type fragrance initially, but the cupcake notes seemed to do a stealthy sneak attack about halfway through burning. This was a lovely tart. As an added bonus, I did get a giggle from my boy child who proclaimed, “Mom, the bathroom smells like fruit loops.”

The melt started out so strong, I expected it to fade within hours. This is very common with many tarts, small business melts included. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. Two wax cubes in my electric warmer lasted well over eight hours strong! For $2.00, this was a definite keeper!

Side View of Wax Clamshell Tarts

I was so encouraged by the Orange Buttercream Cupcake, I knew I wanted to try more. And you know…. I did forget my son’s socks; I really did need to go back to the store. I headed back to the store the next day to see what other fragrances I needed…oh and to grab socks. $20 later, socks and fragrances in hand, I was set.

Not every fragrance I tried was a winner, but for the most part, all the fragrances were very dependable in the strength department, (and for the record, the Butterscotch Maple Cream made me deliriously happy). While I do still promote supporting small home based, or small businesses, if you’re in a fragrance bind and desperately need a quick “fix”, give Better Homes and Garden’s wax cubes a try. The price is affordable and the quality top notch.


*I do not, nor have I ever worked for BH & G. I’m simply a quiet little fragrance addict sharing my love for all things scented and saving my readers money by honestly reviewing my finds while working to prevent the inevitable buyer’s remorse sure to ensue with the realization that you have wasted money on a crummy wax product. You can thank me later.

**If you are not sure what exactly a “wax tart” is, or how you use them, please visit my Candlefind friends to read an article I’ve previously written by clicking here Deirdre's article on wax tarts.  

Have a fantastic day, my friends!