Scenterpiece Melt Cup Warmer: Q&A

Today marks my second blogiversary (who’da thunk it?)

After two years and 170 posts, I’d have never guessed the most popular post in this humble little corner of the internet would be the very second one written: Scenterpiece Melt Cup Hack; outnumbering the views on my home page and any other single post for the second year running. The hundreds of visitors searching and finding the blog through it continue to surprise me. It also makes me cringe to think how dated and old-school it appears. ‘Tis time for a facelift, owing a better effort to those who stumble upon these wax-filled pages in search of information. I’ve attempted to answer all the search queries I’ve received below:

How to use an easy melt cup in a Scenterpiece warmer:

It could not be simpler. Turn the warmer on, remove the plastic lid from the wax cup and set the cup inside the warming well; wait. Within the space of 30 minutes, experience the room-filling fragrance provided by an ever-growing list of available scents. The warm throw of the wax cup is 2-3 times stronger than that of a candle. My favorite part? Changing scents is ridiculously easy by carefully removing the cool-to-the-touch melt cup and swapping it with another scent. 

Strangely, there’s a label warning to never mix with water, or pour water on the heating element; why would someone even want to do this? It’s an electrical appliance, do not pour water in it!

One of the best features of the Scenterpiece is the timer, shown above. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra $10 for a timer unit ($34.99). I wish all of my wax warmers had one. Being able to set the timer, pop in a cup and walk away, means not having to think about turning off the warmer and no wasting wax when you aren’t home to enjoy it. 

How long do Yankee easy melt cups last?

Reportedly 24 hours. Not one to blindly accept a scent claim, I used to track my melt cup longevity back when I first started using them. See below. I’m less methodical with tracking these days, but I’ll back up the claim that most give a good strong 18-20 hours before starting to fade, while a few had a fragrance lifespan of 25+ hours.

What is the easy melt cup hack?

Referring to my original blog post, it’s using a less expensive votive to fill the cup:

 First, clean out a previously used melt cup (put in freezer for an hour and the wax pops out). *A major winning attribute is the ability to remove the wax and reuse the plastic dish.Next, pry off the metal wick holder from the bottom of the votive using a butter knife, it lifts up easily. Using slight pressure on the knife at the opening, split the votive in half.Chop into four pieces, drop into the dish and turn on the warmer. The fragrance isn’t as strong as the scented melt cup, but it’s close enough. Votives are a much cheaper route compared to the regular price of $4.99 per melt cup and the scent options are unlimited. *I haven’t had success with wax tarts, they do not fully melt. This photo is after 1.5 hours and it’s still lamely congealed in there.

Will any other wax cups work in a Yankee Scenterpiece? 

A few. I know the Simply Home versions from Kohl’s do, but Target’s version is too small. As an employee at Yankee Candle, customers told us that Gold Canyon scent pods melt fine in these warmers. I’ve never tried one out to verify. *Be mindful of the curved heating element design. If the substitute brand has a flat bottom cup it won’t sit in the base properly and likely slip to one side, spilling partially melted wax. The formula is softer than candle wax, as it heats from the bottom up. This is also the reason it takes awhile for the scent to be released, the top layer is the last to liquefy. 

A partially liquefied wax cup

Does vendor wax work in a Scenterpiece warmer?

Meh, not well. I’ve tried several vendors and few wax types adapt to the lower, slower warmth. These are low-wattage compared to most electric tart burners which run 20-24 watts. The exception has been Super Tarts’ wax. It melts almost as powerfully as usual, then again, ST melts in nearly anything. It’s the only vendor wax I can get to fully liquefy in a Scentsy warmer. 

How about fragrance diffuser oil?

I never thought to try it until I saw this search query, let’s see…it sort of works. I blended two types of fragrance oil and it took around 35 drops to get to a barely noticeable level in the cup and a minimum scent level in the room. Not very effective. I wouldn’t waste my oils in this way, the dishes are too large and open, the oils dissipate too quickly.

What to do with all of the cups? 

A personal question I’ve asked myself; how did I end up with so many? The Scenterpieces were introduced during my brief tenure as a Yankee employee. We were shrewdly allowed to take the product home to test, in order to sell them. I was blown away by the ease and performance and bought them with my employee discount or at semi-sales each season. My current stash is 31 different scents, with many more multiples of various scents. I store my wax cup towers in a huge glass canister and reuse most of the cups or recycle them.The best/worst wax melt cups I’ve tried:

Strongest throw: April Showers

Weakest throw: Sugar & Spice

Favorite melt cup of 2017 (haven’t gotten any yet in 2018): Pomegranate and Fig

Most disappointing melt cup of 2017: Moonbeams on Pumpkins

**To all the new followers I’ve gained this year, thank you. I’m so happy you are here. Because this is a shiny new post, it’s open to comments all year, ask away!