The best candles can make an instant difference to the atmosphere in your home. Nothing beats the reassuring glow of a scented candle, and here we've rounded up the best candles available right now. You'd be surprised just how much impact a flickering candle can have on the mood of a room – it can instantly create a calming haven, bring warmth to a dingy corner, or create a soothing, intimate atmosphere. And don't forget that scented candles can be one of the best Christmas gifts, whatever your price range.
Right now, we’re seeing more designer fragranced candles than ever before. One welcome knock-on effect is that this has encouraged more mainstream, budget-friendly brands – from Waitrose to Yankee Candle and Marks and Spencer – to up their game, creating candles made with higher concentrations of scented oil and better quality wax.
If you're here because you want to up your game when it comes to creating a welcoming space in the home, you might also want to explore our guides to the best essential oil diffusers. Read on for some buying advice, then dive into our list of the best candles to buy right now.
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Best candles: what kind of wax is best?
Soy wax or beeswax candles are best when it comes to producing a clean burn – that is, a burn which leaves minimal residue on the sides of the jar, and won’t result in a build-up of soot (either on the side of the jar or your freshly-painted ceiling). That said, although there’s growing concern about the use of paraffin wax, which is cheap and readily available, but can create undesirable scents.
The vast majority of candle brands, including some of the most sought-after names, continue to use paraffin wax in their products, relying on additional ingredients to create a cleaner burn and mask any odours.
The widespread use of this type of wax, which is still used in the vast majority of candles, means it’s especially important to treat your candle with care. To get the most out of it, when you first light the wick, allow the candle to burn until the entire top layer of wax is liquid. If you don’t, the wax will continue to melt downwards, not outwards, creating a 'tunnel' and wasting the majority of the perfumed wax.
To get the best from your candle, it’s also important to regularly trim your wick in order to reduce soot-build up. Finally, reduce soot dispersal by using a snuffer to extinguish the flame. Avoid simply placing a lid over the candle – the wax will reabsorb the soot and smoke, all of which will be released into the air when you light the candle again.
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The White Company is known for its high quality home scent products, and is a regular in our best candles list. The Winter Signature candle was created over 21 years ago by the White Company's founder, and remains one of the brand's best loved. This candle invokes the spirit of the festive season without being overbearing or cliched. The spicy, warming scent includes cinnamon, rich clove and fresh, zesty orange. A high quality mineral wax delivers a long, clean and even burn, and the beautifully illustrated box makes it an ideal christmas gift.
Give your home an air of Imperial Russian grandeur with this majestic scented candle from Paris-based artisanal workshop, Astier de Villatte. Inspired by the façade of the Winter Palace in St Petersburg emerging from the morning mist, the candle is imbued with what Astier de Villatte describes as the scent of the tsarinas: a mix of patchouli and white floral notes. The candle itself is made from natural wax without paraffin or petrochemical by-products, with a burn time of around 60 hours, while its glass container is hand-blown in Tuscany.
Molton Brown can always be relied on to have a range of intriguing scents, and this opulent scented candle lives up to expectations. The company describes its Mesmerising Oudh Accord & Gold fragrance as refined with dark complexity, and promises that this candle will style your home with the intoxicating aroma of spiced forests. With top notes of cinnamon oil, nutmeg oil and myrrh, heart notes of elemi oil, black tea and vetiver, and base notes of oudh, honey and tobacco, it all adds up to a heady mixture.
If you're after a luxury scented candle, head to Jo Malone. The Fragrance Layered Candle offers a double whammy of seductive scents. There's no denying that Jo Malone's layered creation, which launched in May 2020, commands attention – a two-tone glass jar filled with four layers of wax which release alternating aromas.
There are two combos to choose from, each making use of the best-known and best-loved Jo Malone Fragrances. 'A Fresh Fruit Pairing' layers English Pear & Freesia with Lime Basil & Mandarin, while 'A Sensual Floral Pairing' mixes Pomegranate Noir and Peony & Blush Suede. If you regularly use the same scents, your nose can get used to them and stop registering them any more – this is an ingenious way to counteract this phenomenon. The inevitable mixing of these layers creates a third fragrance. We also like the subtle branding – Jo Malone has gone for an on-trend gradient design, with no fussy label to cover it up.
A roaring fire is just the thing to banish winter chills, but if you don't have a fireplace – and who does, these days? – then this candle from WoodWick could be the next best thing. Its Fireside candle is designed to evoke the scent of a crackling wood fire, and it goes one step better with a patented wooden wick that actually crackles as it burns. Its hourglass shape is designed to create a wider opening for a fully melted wax pool, giving you a more consistent fragrance, and it uses a blend of premium waxes that burn beautifully without any messy residue. This candle should burn cleanly for around 130 hours.
If you're shopping our best candles guide because you're feeling stressed or not sleeping well, this is the candle for you. This Works has created a whole line of sleep-aid products, from pillow sprays to essential oils. This therapeutic candle is enriched with lavender and chamomile extracts to help to chill you out after a stressful day. Remember, the more relaxed you are before going to bed, the more likely you are to sleep better (and for longer). We've used this candle religiously as part of our wind down routine before going to bed, and now whenever we smell it something triggers in our brain to say 'it's bedtime'.
Try it yourself by running a luxurious bubble bath, with the soft glow of this scented stunner helping you to relax, relax, relax. It goes without saying, you shouldn't burn this while you're falling asleep, for safety reasons – it's for before-bed only.
The fragrance notes for this scented candle from Benevolence LA are quite dizzyingly complex: we're promised top notes of bergamot, mandarin orange, black pepper and black currant with hints of jasmine, lily of the valley, geranium, violet, and ylang-ylang finished with musk, sandalwood, cedar, and vanilla notes. Benevolence LA says that it should reduce stress and lift anyone's mood and who are we to argue?
The candle itself is made from hand-poured organic soy wax and will burn for around 45 hours, and every for every candle purchased, Benevolence LA donates to its charity partner, Zoe International, which works to stop human trafficking and help its victims.
The WoodWick Blue Java Banana is a banana and pineapple-scented candle ideal for fragrance fans searching for something a little more fruity. This candle's unusual, hourglass jar is designed to offer a clean, even burn, and there's more interest to come in the form of the unique 'Woodwick'. This long, thin strip-style wick is designed to crackle as it burns, to mimic the soothing effects of a log fire (although we can't deny there's initially a somewhat unsettling resemblance to the sound of a spluttering fuse).The design of the wick admittedly results in a slightly quicker burn, but the use of high quality fragrance oils means the candle's scent continues to fill the air long after the candle's been extinguished.
With fans including Victoria Beckham and Beyonce, Diptyque is certainly one of the big players in the world of candles. While Figuier and Baies are the clear bestsellers, we're putting this ultra-woody forward as a contender for your next shelfie. This candle conjures up a fresh and wintery scent with notes of Siberian and Balsam pine, cedar and hints of basil and sage, and is designed to "wrap its protective aura around those who light it". The glorious green packaging, covered in little charms (dream catcher, shooting star and beetle) symbolises hope and protection.
Scandinavisk sells a range of candles, presented in painted glass votives with engraved beechwood lids, and complete Norwegian names and scent descriptors that are as confusing as they are appealing. Our current favourite is this '' candle, inspired by the Northern Lights, although that's mainly because of the cool packaging design. Scandinavisk describes the scent as 'Magical, elusive, indefinable', so who know's what you're getting here?
Alternatives include , which combines hints of hints of baked strawberry cake and tea, along with rose petals and wild mint, and Ro, which offers "notes of fresh grass and crumpled leaves, ambered woods and hidden blankets in the dunes". Makes a change from citrus and floral, doesn't it?
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Jo Malone is a real powerhouse in the world of scented candles, and is one of the most copied candle companies ever... that's how coveted these Jo Malone products are. And the Lime, Basil and Mandarin candle is a real classic. Subtly marrying peppery basil and aromatic white thyme with zesty citrus, this one's something of a chart-topper. It's also Jo Malone’s signature fragrance, so a great place to start for Jo Malone candle newcomers. When in doubt, this candle is a foolproof option for Christmas presents and gifts at anytime of the year.
Home décor brand Seletti is known for its quirky designs, and it doesn't get quirkier than this candle: a beady-eyed toad, sandwiched in a burger bun. Part of the highly sought-after range of homeware created by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, the candle comes in a delicate porcelain jar designed to be reused. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the motif offers no clues relating to scent of the candle. Instead of toad scent, here you're getting a heavenly, long-lasting burst of uplifting bergamot, softened with notes of chocolate, vanilla and musk.
La Montaña may not have the lofty candlemaker status of a brand like Diptyque, but boy do their candles smell good! This young company recreates the scents of the Spanish mountains, with romantic and evocative candle names like ‘First Light’, ‘Fig Grove’ and ‘Winter Oranges’. As the brand's signature fragrance, is a particular nose-pleaser, blending wild mountain flora including fennel, bergamot, rosemary, mountain pepper and rockrose. It's ideal to get you through those bleak winter days when you’re fantasizing about your next sun-drenched holiday.
While all of these candles would make a delightful Christmas gift, you'd probably think twice about getting this one for your grandma. The Tom Ford F***ing Fabulous candle is about as far away from traditional candle branding as you can get, but we kind of like its in-your-face swagger. Tom Ford describes the memorable branding as the most straightforward name for such a beautiful scent; and what is that scent, we hear you ask? It's a decadent oriental leather that evokes the private exchanges and insider moments where fantasies come true; expect lashings of tonka bean, clary sage and lavender, among other notes.
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