Review: Patriot Candles Wax Melts in Coconut Colada and Sea Grass

I haven't done a home fragrance review here on the blog in a while, so I thought this might be the perfect budget-friendly product to show you today, in case you're a candle/tart freak like me!

I picked these up a few weeks ago at my local Walgreens. I've owned several Patriot jar candles over the years (I believe this brand is exclusive to Walgreens but I'm not 100% sure about that) and been quite pleased with them. But these Patriot Candles Wax Melts were new to me, and at just $5 for two packs, I had to make a purchase. There were tons of different scent options at my Walgreens, but these are the two that came home with me:

Patriot Candles Wax Melts in Coconut Colada and Sea Grass

(retail: 2/$5 at Walgreens, six cubes per packaging)

If you're new to the wonderful world of candle tarts (aka wax melts), the concept is simple. These are  little wickless candles that you simply put in a tart warmer. You can purchase tart warmers online or even at places like Walgreens for around $10 or even less. 

Unlike candles, which take a while to "get going," wax melts can provide very quick, very strong fragrance because the pool of wax emits fragrance the minute the wax starts to melt. I actually prefer wax melts to candles because 1) you don't have to commit to the single scent of a candle since these are small and easily interchangeable 2) they're super inexpensive 3) you can customize your scents by breaking the melts up into smaller pieces and putting a few different fragrances in your tart warmer at a time.

The biggest complaint I personally have about wax melts is that, depending on the particular fragrance and manufacturer, some melts don't have as strong of a throw as others. Not all wax melts are created equally, so let's take a look at these and see if they worked for me.

Keep reading for my full review...

As you can see, these come in little packs of six and they're poured into little ice-cube-like plastic trays.

And just like ice cube trays, you just turn the tray over and "crack" it like you would an ice cube tray, to get get the wax melt out. These particular wax melts don't crack very cleanly, but they do come out in one piece.

Sea Grass: if you like the scent of fresh green grass, I think you'll love this one. It has a green grass note, but it's not just straight grass--there's a sweetness to it with a few soft floral notes as well. Overall, it's predominantly green grass, and I think it's absolutely lovely for springtime. The Sea Grass wax tart began to emit fragrance almost instantly once I put it in my tart warmer and within minutes I could smell it throughout my home. In fact, the fragrance quickly wafted upstairs and onto the second floor of my home. I can get through about 1-1/2 tea lights per "cube" before the fragrance starts to lose its "oomph" before I need to remove it and replace it with a new "cube."

Coconut Colada: everything I said above about Sea Grass applies to Coconut Colada as well. I got very quick, very strong fragrance from this one, and the scent lasted through about 1-1/2 tea lights before I needed to change cubes. The fragrance of Coconut Colada is very fun. It's not a straight coconut, but more of a coconut suntan lotion type of scent, with other tropical notes mixed in.

FINAL VERDICT: I'm seriously impressed with these wax melts from Patriot. I haven't always had the best luck with inexpensive wax melts, but these performed just as well as some of the more expensive candle tarts I own. The fragrance of both scents I purchased was quite strong with excellent throw--I could smell the fragrance throughout my home within minutes. The cubes don't break cleanly, but they do come out in one piece without too much mess or hassle. The wax itself is soft, which means you won't have to wait a long time for them to melt and start making your home smell nice. Removal was not a problem for me with my usual method. I always wait until the wax is completely cool and solid, and then I take a letter opener and lightly wedge the tip of the opener between the tart warmer and the wax until the whole melted "disk" just sort of pops out. If you're a wax melt lover, I definitely think these are worth considering. They were a very, very pleasant surprise.

Are you a wax melt lover? Have you tried the Patriot Wax Melts from Walgreens? If so, what are your favorite scents from this line?

PS: I'm sure I don't even have to say this but just in case: WHEN IN USE, NEVER, EVER LEAVE A TART WARMER UNATTENDED!