The internet has applauded a woman’s keen eye for luxury after spotting a candle that was marked down in a thrift store—only to find out it’s worth $540.
Judith Moor is no stranger to thrifting, and she’s found some incredible bargains over the years for herself and her daughter, Sophia Armata. Indeed, when she went to B-Thrifty in Annandale, Virginia, on October 22, she was hoping to find more treasure, but she couldn’t have predicted what she was going to uncover.
Moor spotted a large Jo Malone candle in the store, which was originally listed as $29.99, but with an extra 30 percent off, it cost just $20.99. This might not be noteworthy to some, but Moor knew it was a luxury brand, and was stunned when she searched online to see that the candle retails for $540 on the Jo Malone website.
Armata, 26, who lives in Atlanta, was delighted by her mother’s latest find and told Newsweek that she “had no idea the value” of the English Pear and Freesia scented candle. However, her mom wasted no time in announcing that she’d saved over $500 on it.
Left, Sophia Armata shows the Jo Malone candle her mom thrifted. Right, a picture of the Jo Malone candle. The candle usually retails for $540 but Armata’s mom managed to get it for just $20.99.
@wxsoph / TikTok
“The first thing I noticed was the size of the candle. It’s the biggest one I’ve ever seen,” Armata said. “I’d heard of the brand Jo Malone, and I knew it wasn’t cheap per se, but I never would have guessed the true value.
“My mom has an amazing eye for expensive things. She’s been thrifting her entire life and has a genuine love for finding treasures that people have discarded. She recognized that Jo Malone is an expensive brand, so she quickly got her phone out and Googled the retail price. Safe to say, the candle went in her cart immediately.”
The large candle weighs 2,100 grams (4 pounds, 10 ounces) and has an approximate burn time of 220 hours. Moor joked that they should light the candle now until her 90th birthday because “that’s how long it’s going to last.”
Armata and Moor couldn’t be happier with the find, and within 30 minutes of lighting it, they said the scent had filled the entire house.
“My mom has always appreciated a good quality candle, so if anyone was going to stumble upon this candle, it was going to be her,” Armata told Newsweek.
Armata posted a video on TikTok (@wxsoph) showing her mom’s purchase and the clip went viral with over 565,500 views and more than 41,100 likes. Alongside the video, she wrote in the caption: “95% off is crazy… leave it to my mom to find this!”
The idea of finding such a candle in a thrift store has astounded many, and Armata hopes it will encourage more people to try thrifting out for themselves.
“People are either familiar with Jo Malone and shocked that she found such a gem, or they’re shocked that there’s such thing as a $540 candle,” Armata said. “I learned a lot about proper candle burning etiquette from posting this video. She’s been lighting it and making sure to let the wax melt on all sides of the container before blowing it out. We also trimmed the wicks.”
Plenty of internet users hailed the incredible discovery and others offered advice on how to get the most out of the candle, leading to more than 320 comments so far.
One reads: “For a FULL SIZE Jo Malone candle? $20 is INSANE. Congratulations on this find!”
Another TikTok user wrote: “My dream has always been to have a Jo Malone candle.”
A different person added: “That’s insane and it would be my dream to find this at a thrift shop.”
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