Life

Disneyland-Scented Candles Must Smell Like Magic

by Brianna Wiest

You know when you reach that point in your adult life when being too sophisticated for kids' stuff turns is no longer cool? When you realize that it's actually amazing to eat dino chicken nuggets for dinner and watch animated movies as an adult? Well, a candle company basically has merged that feeling into a scent: behold, Disneyland scented candles are very officially a thing.

As we all know, it doesn't take much to jog our memory of happier times: hearing the Spice Girls or remembering the scent of our elementary school (they totally have a particular smell, by the way) is always such a great reminder that we are still little kids inside. And in fact, this is not just in our heads! Research has shown that smell is linked to memory. Jordan Gaines Lewis at Psychology Today sums it up as follows:

Data suggest that odors that trigger strong, emotional memories also trigger elevated activity in the brain areas strongly linked to emotion and memory. A number of behavioral studies have demonstrated that smells trigger more vivid emotional memories and are better at inducing that feeling of “being brought back in time” than images. [...] Individuals can have widely divergent emotional responses to scents that are identical in chemical composition. There is also evidence to suggest that what you think you’re smelling affects your response to an odor.

Anthropology Candles is owned by a South-Carolina-based couple named Stephen and Rheney Williams. Stephen is a professional jazz pianist and Rheney is a vocalist/musical theater actress — the idea to start a candle business was purely a passion project. They offer park-related scents such as Dole Whip or Main Street Bakery, as well as scents more associated with musicals or rides, such as "Let It Go," "Part of Your World," and "Haunted Mansion." Aside from their Disney scents, they also offer other candles related to books and movies (Harry Potter, for example!) The candles are made from natural soy wax and are sent in reusable glass jars.

Unfortunately, if you were looking to order some of your own, you're going to have to wait a little bit. Due to the incredible popularity that their shop has gained, they'll be closed for the next few weeks while they catch up on placing orders. Yet, they were sure to emphasize that the close is just temporary, and that they'll be back "bigger and better than before." They expect to reopen on March 1, if not sooner.

Soarin'

This amazing scent will remind you of all things magical.

Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Imagine how amazing this would be before a Disney-themed brunch, or a kids' birthday party... (or, uh, an adult's birthday party...)

The Black Pearl

As one of the scarier, movie-based scents, beware of how you burn this: you'll start feeling like Jack Sparrow!

Images: Anthropology Candles (3)