Yankee Candle Company has been around for many years, and since the company first started, they have launched lots of new fragrance products other than just candles. Many people are looking for something to make their cars smell nice, and for a long time, Yankee Candle just sold cardboard air fresheners known as “Car Jars” (since they are in the shape of a classic Yankee jar candle). Recently, however, they launched a new line of gel air fresheners called “Car Gels” that are more expensive, but promise to work better. I’ve had a chance to use both products, and in this review, I’ll tell you if it is worth the extra money to “upgrade” from the Car Jars to the Car Gels.
The cardboard Car Jars are the type of car air freshener that most people are familiar with, and they work in the same way as those little cardboard “pine tree” air fresheners that are commonly sold in auto stores and at gas stations. After cutting a small opening in the plastic packaging, you hang the air freshener from your rearview mirror, and you gradually tear off more of the packaging as the scent becomes weaker. It’s important to tear the plastic off gradually, or else all the scent will be released very quickly and your Car Jar won’t last as long as it should. However, most people don’t want plastic packaging hanging from their mirror, so they don’t follow these instructions. If you tear all the plastic off at once, your Car Jar will only last about a week, but if you follow the instructions, your cardboard Car Jar should provide car fragrance for about 3 to 4 weeks. Also, I find that the scent gets noticeably less potent toward the end of the life of the Car Jar.
Yankee Candle Car Gels are much simpler by comparison. The scented gel is self-contained in a plastic shell, so with the Car Gels, you just remove the product completely from the packaging and hang it up from your mirror. The gel inside controls how much fragrance is released, so there’s no messing with ugly looking plastic packaging. Plus, the actual Car Gel is only about one-third of the size of a Car Jar, so the Yankee Candle Car Gel is much less obtrusive than it’s predecessor. The Car Gels easily last for 6-8 weeks, or about twice as long as the Car Jars. Plus, I find that the fragrance stays more consistent for the entire time I have the Car Gel, which is nice.
Overall, the Yankee Candle Car Gels seem to work much better than the older Car Jars, and I will only be purchasing the gel car air fresheners in the future. Yankee Candle Company sells Car Jars for $2.99 and Car Gels for $4.99, and since the gels last longer, I find that it is actually more economical in the long run to go for the gel version. I see lots of people driving around with Car Jars hanging from their mirrors, so I know they are very popular. But if you want a truly superior fragrance experience, spend the extra couple of dollars and choose Yankee Candle Car Gels.
