LED candles have evolved rapidly over the past 5 years, from a piece of plastic with a garish yellow (and totally not realistic) flame-shaped piece of plastic at the top; to candles that had a flicker effect which from a distance kind of looked like a real candle; to these, the latest generation of make-believe candles that resemble a real flame. There is one brand name that I guess invented this newest style and of course, a lot of imitators. Mystique isn't the inventor (and they are straightforward about that) but they do make one of the better knockoffs.

THE PLUS SIDE

1. These look remarkably like real tapers, they even feel like them. They have the same waxy touch as a real candle. Thankfully they are not scented, which was popular a couple of years ago with fake candles. Most of them had a scent that was too overpowering and candles that smell were generally not very well liked by the public

2. They are made better than the early LED candles were made. The switch is more positive and feels like it will last longer

3. And of course, the flame effect is what you buy them for and that is verging on being as good as looking at a real flame

THE MINUS SIDE

1. It's hard not to overlook how expensive they are. The lowest cost version at the time of purchase was the 8" cream colored variety at just under $17 EACH. I bought candles that had the automatic on/off timer from a discount store 5 years ago at about $2 each that looked almost as good from a distance.

2. The way they are marketed. The same candle in a color other than cream can cost as much as $47 PER CANDLE. It doesn't cost more to make the candle, the extra profit is because the market will bear it. It seems logical that plain white would cost the least but it is one of the most expensive (probably because they are used at weddings).

3. Too much of the "flame" sticks up. I get that they want to show off their cool magnetic technology but that's not how real candles look. As soon as you light a real candle the wax melts and part or all of the flame gets buried inside the top of the candle, which then glows and flickers. Having the entire "flame" exposed makes them look fake. On the plus side, at least the top of the candle glows "¦ there are other brands where only the "flame" lights up which really doesn't look like a candle at all.

IMPORTANT

After seeing these candles I'm convinced that 95% of any disappointment would come from not using them properly. How is that possible? I mean, how hard is it to use a candle? Well it turns out that there is absolutely a right way and a wrong way to use them. The whole magic of how they work is in the flame-shaped tip. It is a flat piece of hinged plastic that's attached inside the top of the candle. In order to work properly you MUST follow some simple rules that are NOT explained in the instructions:

1. The candle must be as vertical as possible. If it leans even a bit to the side the hinged "flame" won't bob around properly and you will lose the whole effect

2. The "flame" is flat and it reflects the hidden LED light bulb inside. To do that it has a good and a bad side. For the ideal effect put the candle in the holder with the LED light bulb at the front (toward you). That way it will reflect on to the flat plastic "flame". If you put the bulb at the rear the entire effect changes and you will get a much more subtle glow rather than the look of a burning candle wick.

3. If you have the flat "flame" turned 90° so you are looking at the edge of it you lose the effect of a flame entirely. So, ideally, these candles are meant to be placed where people will look AT them rather than gather AROUND them.

4. Don't touch the flat plastic "flame". It is mounted to a delicate hinge and if you bend that it won't give you any flickering effect.

5. These candles look best when placed on a shelf or something where people will look slightly upward at them. They look worst when you can see down into the hole in the top and the glare of the LED bulb hits your eye and you can see the hinge thingie moving. I would think they would not be well suited to a dinner table for that reason. Also, the flat hinged "flame" makes a slight clicking noise as it flails around simulating a flame. It a totally quiet room that can be annoying, especially if you have multiple candles turned on.

THE BOTTOM LINE

I am a fan of any LED candle shape, whether it be tapers or pillars, that have the automatic on/off timer. Once you turn it on at a given time it turns itself on at the same time every day and turns itself off in 5 hours. The timer is surprisingly accurate and the batteries tend to last almost a month. They work very well when you place your candles in difficult to reach locations. The only thing you should be aware of is that there may be times when you don't want the candle to go out after 5 hours, like a long dinner party or a wedding reception, etc. With these you can't easily be sure when it is set to timer mode or not. I like them better than LED candles with remote controls though, especially if you tend to mix brands and types of candle "¦ I've run into issues where pushing the button turns some candles on while it turns others off. And certain electronic signals like from a cell phone can turn the candles on/off when you don't want them to. I've found that remote control candles are not as convenient as they sound.

Bottom line, if you opt for the size/color that costs under $20 per candle these are a good product. I don't think they are worth over that price. Watch for the price to come down or for them to go on seasonal sale (never buy candles around any holiday). Please check out my video to see how these look compare to the first generation LED candles and the "flicker" ones from recent years. I used careful color controls to try to give you the most accurate rendition of how they actually look, but of course everyone's monitor screens are different so the colors may not look exactly the same to you. I like them (which Amazon defines as 4-stars). I don't "love" them because of the high price and the finicky precautions you have to take to make them look their best.

I love how beautiful these candles are. I got the color taupe and although it isn't really a taupe color, the color in the picture displayed is accurate in person (which is how I truly wanted it to look). Not only is the candle color beautiful, the "flame" lights beautifully and so realistic too. The only con (hate) about this is the price (hence the knockoff of 1 star) because it's expensive. I have previous LED candles that I really liked (reasonably priced) and was going to purchasing more from, but they didn't have this beautiful warm brownish color I was looking for. Apparently, this particular color for LED taper candles are a hard find. Found some similar at Pottery Barn, but they were like $60 each!

This brand makes very high quality flicker flameless candles. The flicker mechanism is the best out there, very realistic looking. I've bought over 20 of these over the years, mostly ivory, and put them on every window sill in the house over Christmas. We had a tragedy in the family a few months back and I bought a red one to put in the window, but after just a few short weeks the bridge red color faded to a muted pink. I suppose this is unavoidable with a wax coated candle, but I wish I would have known.

I'm a fan of flameless candles, because cats and toddlers and safety first. I have bought several different models over the last 5 years. These are my favorite out of all the models I have purchased because they are by far the most realistic. What makes them special is the way the "flame" flickers. There's an almond-shaped piece of plastic at the tip of these candles that flickers when the candle is on, effectively mimicking the action of a real flame. If you're looking at it from a distance, it looks like the real thing. The color of the "flame" also most closely approximates that of a real candle flame, and it even makes a soft "click" (can only be heard close up) that suggests the sound of a flickering flame. While pricey, ultimately they're a good value if you use candles a lot because you won't be replacing tapers all the time. Plus, consider the cost of fire damage, or an injured child -- that can't be quantified. I love that they come in different colors; I now have ivory and black, and am thinking of replacing my red holiday flameless candles with this brand in the red next year. I would definitely recommend these if you use candles a lot and have reasons to prefer the flameless variety to the real thing.

At first I was hesitant about the price of these - after all, you can get a battery-operated 'tea light' candle for less than a dollar. Once I took the candle out of its very secure packaging, though, I was very happy with it! It is nice and bright, with a convincing movement to the 'flame.' Thos style is sized to fit into regular taper candleholders, which is very convenient. Solid, good-quality construction, too - the two AA batteries don't rattle inside at all.
A note on the mechanism: Most battery-operated candles use a simple flicker circuit on a fixed LED to simulate a candle flame; that system is inexpensive, and works pretty well. This type of candle is much more convincing: It uses a bright amber LED, which shines up out of the solid white body of the candle onto a flame-shaped, translucent piece of white plastic. This 'flame' piece moves around (electromechanicallly) partly in and out of the LED beam, and creates a very realistic, actually moving (not just flickering) light. From four or five feet away, it is difficult to tell they aren't real candles.
If there is a downside to these, it is that the 'flame' and mechanism is delicate. They are definitely not for outdoor use, and, just like the real thing, don't touch the flame! Also, they tend to cast light mostly up, in the direction the LED points, so they don't illuminate (i.e., cast light brightly all around) nearly as well as a real candle.