bitchy | Duchess Meghan’s As Ever holiday collection includes $64 candles

There’s a tendency, from the usual suspects, to cry about the Duchess of Sussex’s lack of success in between her massively successful As Ever product drops. Those people have just decided, without evidence, that As Ever is not doing well, or that Meghan’s brand is in shambles. When really, the progression of As Ever has been quite organic and massively successful from the word go. Yesterday, Meghan launched As Ever’s holiday collection. People could buy a gift box full of multiple fruit spreads (jams), new jars of honey, a Spiced Cider mulling kit, a Hot Toddy mulling kit, and significantly (for me!) there was finally a restock on the much-loved raspberry jam. If you buy the jam gift box, you can also try a new flavor: strawberry!!

But people are talking about two other new items on offer: As Ever candles. One candle is No. 084, which is Meghan’s birthday (August 4) and the other candle is No. 519, named after the Sussexes’ wedding date. Both candles are $64. Now… I’m a candle person, I burn candles by my desk as I work/write most days. It’s calming and I love the scent. Because I’m burning candles for at least four hours every day, I do tend to buy the less expensive ones. I’ve experimented with some of the more expensive ones here and there and they’re nice, but so are the “cheaper” ones if you know enough to go by certain brand names. Basically, I gulped at the price and decided maybe I should do without. I did order a jam gift box and a raspberry restock though. Please let me know if the candles smell nice! I got some FOMO when I saw how many people were buying the candles and if they’re still in stock in a week, I might order one (the No. 084).

And yes, I know that As Ever candles are in the “nice candle” price range, if you’re comparing them to Jo Malone or what have you. Stop calling me broke-ass! I’m not broke, I’m just too cheap to spend $60-plus dollars on a candle! There’s a difference! Still, I really do want to hear about how the candles smell and if people like them.

Photos courtesy of As Ever’s site and Instagram. Additional photos courtesy of Backgrid.