a question about Valentine candy

Which is more exciting, cheap n' nasty or luxurious and tasteful? The more expensive stuff tastes better, of course, and its ingredients won't make a lab rat of you, but that doesn't stop the cheapest of the cheap from being a vulgar little thrill every once in a while, highly unnatural colors, acrid tastes, crinkly wrappers and all. Here's to a heap of candy hearts and daft dimestore lips.

Clicking on these photos will take you right to the goods.


red wax lips vs. Bluestocking Bonbons Rasperries de Pizan (made with NY State raspberries, organic fair trade chocolate and other great stuff, named after a 15th century Venetian feminist);


squishy Peeps hearts vs. Woodhouse Chocolate Hearts & Domes Box (which includes, among other things, hearts flavored with saffron, rose-water and cinnamon and domes flavored with passionfruit);


ring pop vs. Ladurée Langues de Chat cookies;



Pop Rocks vs. Payard Pop Rocks chocolate truffles (which also have champagne in them, so you can go out with a bang Mikey-style);


Pez vs. Vosges Haut-Chocolat's Gatsby Collection (things didn't go very well for him and Daisy but let's not dwell on that...);


candy straws for candy snortin' (although who knows what generic Pixy Stix are cut with these days...) vs. Bond Street Chocolate tequila ganache bonbons (infused with Herradura Blanco);


cheapo choco lips vs. Maison du Chocolat's heart-shaped box (dibs on the Bacchus piece, which is dark chocolate ganache, flambé grapes and rum);


grape/strawberry Nerds vs. Bluestocking Bonbons pink box (raspberry-balsamic chocolate truffles, also coriander-beet, fennel-apple, and pomegranate-rose petal... like the other pick from this chocolatier, vegan and impeccably sourced);


rainbow heart lollies vs. Mast Brothers Chocolate bars (a variety of flavors available individually via the link above, or a lovely stack of all flavors directly from the chocolate-makers here)


Smarties hearts vs. Woodhouse filled chocolate hearts (how to choose among red ones of milk or dark chocolate with caramel and fleur de sel, Claddagh ones with dark chocolate truffle, and floral ones of milk or dark chocolate with elderflower, orange blossom or jasmine tea?)


Chupa Chupa pops vs. handmade strawberry swirl pop.

{Minor update: I re-arranged the contents of this post a bit after I published it. My apologies if it shows up in your in-box or your feed reader with twice twice the candy candy.}