Luminara

Kylee & Courtney

Courtney has been using Luminara Candles for 8 months. Kylee for 2 months.

 

 

In case you weren’t able to tell from our other candle post this month, I think it’s more than safe to say that we both love candles. So when Courtney got me this fake candle for Christmas, at first I was a little unsure. I mean it doesn’t smell so what’s the point? But oh boy was I missing the point. These candles are flameless, but unless you’re sitting right up next to it, you’d never know. It moves just like a real candle and gives the perfect cozy atmosphere to your home. The best part is the timer, so you don’t have to worry about constantly switching it on and off, instead you set it once and sit back for months of automatic glow.

 

I am in LOVE with Luminara candles. My addiction started with a birch bark Luminara I bought to go in a lantern my husband had given me as a gift. The lantern looked sad and forlorn…until I put the Luminara inside. Now…magic! Actually, mesmerizing might be a better description. I can not describe in words how realistic the Luminara candles appear. I’ve breezed past flameless candles for years completely unimpressed with how they looked. Far too fake and plastic for my taste. But Luminara are special. I’ve been so taken with them that my husband and I gave them as gifts to all our family members and adult children for Christmas (Thank you, QVC!). I even gave them to two co-workers who bought more for themselves once they experienced the magic in their own homes. I love, love, love these candles and they even have a jar candle version as well as a version that gives off scent (Material for a future post I’m sure!).

 

 

What Courtney loves about the Luminara:

• They look so real that I catch myself just watching them at times (my own form of meditation).
• They add a great finishing touch to a mantle or bathroom shelf or empty lantern.
• The Automatic Timer is genius! Once you pop the batteries into the bottom of the candle you slide the switch to “timer” and thereafter the candle will come on at the appointed hour and run for five hours at which time it turns itself off until the next day. Luminara candles also have a remote (for the control freaks in the crowd). Personally, I love the timer feature. Like I said GENIUS!

 

What Kylee loves about the Luminara:

• Automatic Timer – It’s fantastic that I can count on the candle to come on every night at five and shut off after 5 hours. It’s automatic ambiance without having to worry about switching it on and off all the time.
• It’s realistic – I have seen fake candles and they’ve looked well…fake. But the first time I saw Luminara I honestly thought they were real. They’re beautiful and move like real fire.
• Last a long time – Yes, they require bigger, more expensive batteries, but they last a long time. I’m on month two and my candle is still going strong every night.

 

What Courtney hates about the Luminara:

• I wish they could figure out a way to make them give off the same warm waxy scent that you get from jar candles. If they can figure out how to do that, I’ll buy stock in the company! Actually, there is a scented Luminara candle, but the reviews I’ve read are mixed. I may wait for a newer version before I buy.
• They have a pretty good assortment of colors, sizes and finishes on the Luminara candles but they have yet to come up with a tea light sized Luminara that runs on a battery. They have a rechargeable tea light Luminara but they have to be recharged after each use. What a pain!
• Luminara candles are pricey but well worth it. I look for coupons and pick them up at 40% off. I can rationalize the cost at 40% off!
• Most of the Luminara candles require a C or D sized battery. A set of batteries lasts about 500 hours (3 months+). It would be nice if they could engineer a way to get 6 months of battery life on a much smaller/cheaper battery. Just saying!

 

What Kylee hates about the Luminara:

• I wouldn’t say hate, but to create a really cool look they can’t really be used on their own – it looks a little weird to have a tall candle just sitting there. You really need either multiple candles or a lantern to really dress it up.
• They’re a little expensive – at least as far as candles are concerned. And maybe I’m just a poor lowly young adult, but if it wasn’t a gift, I don’t know that I would have picked this out for myself on my own given the price.

 

Courtney’s Score: Can’t Live Without It 

 

Kylee’s Score: Love it 

Scale: Never again, Not worth it, Meh, Like it, Love it, Can’t Live Without It