Nightmarish McDonald’s Candle Scents, Ranked | Eater
"The fast-food chain released a 'Quarter Pounder Fan Club' merch line that includes a set of six novelty candles meant to replicate the individual components of a Quarter Pounder with Cheese—Bun, Ketchup, Pickle, Cheese, Onion, and “100% Fresh Beef”—alongside other items like a calendar and bumper stickers. Marketed as a gag (with an ominous recommendation to burn them together for the “full effect”), reviewers found each scent distinctly unpleasant: Cheese smells like congealed Velveeta-and-Rotel queso and stale chemical dairy; Onion is pungent and tear-inducing (suggested only for bathroom use); Sesame Seed Bun comes off as bland, mouth-drying “beige”; Ketchup gives a suffocating vinegar-and-corn-syrup aroma; Pickle evokes artificial, neon-green pickle juice; and the “100% Fresh Beef” candle reads as factory-farm grease and decades-old oil—a health-code-violation vibe. The overall take: an absurd, humorously gross novelty that succeeds at being off-putting, and it frustratingly omits the one scent many would actually want—french fry." - Jaya Saxena
