The festive period is a full sensorial experience.
From the twinkling fairy lights to the traditional jingles, the season ignites all five senses in a way that ensures it lives up to its reputation as the most wonderful time of the year.
When you think of Christmas, your olfactories will immediately conjure up notes of cinnamon, pine, orange, clove and ginger. These aromas are synonymous with winter and if you’re looking for a way to get fully into the seasonal spirit, you can start through the power of fragrance.
Burning a Christmas candle will not only scent your space but the wood and spice element will transform your mood, creating a cosy ambience with the flicker of the flame. As we head into the colder months where sunlight is lacking, the small things you do to enhance your self-care will make a huge difference - and can be as simple as lighting one of the warming, beautifully scented bougies to make you feel all warm inside.
They’re also aesthetically pleasing. These candles will play a part in your holiday decorations, set tactically on a mantle or bookshelf with their typically red hue or intricately designed vessels alongside - but far away enough - your tree and tinsel.
From the return of beloved classics from Jo Loves and Diptyque, to new and limited-edition concoctions from Carrière Frères and Yankee Candle, see the very best Christmas candles below.
Shop now
Best autumn candles for a gorgeous scent as the season turns
Best scented candles of all time for a cosy and fragrant home
Best candle holders for large candles, tea lights and candlesticks
Best beauty gift sets for Christmas 2023: From Augustinus Badiner to Elemis and more
Best gifts for women 2023: Christmas and birthday present ideas she will love
Best luxury gifts for him, them and her 2023: Clothes, accessories and more
NEOM Christmas Wish
A coveted candle with a charity edge, NEOM has made its already sought-after seasonal selection that extra bit more gift-worthy with £5 from the sale of the three-wick iteration of its Christmas Wish Candle donated to The Mental Health Foundation.
The natural aromatherapeutic has notes of mandarin, cinnamon and tonka bean that are suitably seasonal, but also encourage you to take a moment of calm among the chaos of the festive period.
Buy now £50.00, NEOM
Trudon ASTRAL
Heritage fragrance house Trudon is celebrating its 380th anniversary with quadruple candle magic. The luxury label has unveiled four aromas as a testament to its expert savoir-faire, housed in colourful glasses decorated with gold leaf.
You only need to take one look at them to see they are opulent aesthetic details, and if you dare to burn them, they will fill your home with their heady aromas and golden rays in homage to the solar power of the Sun King and the importance of astronomy.
Altaïr is the new scent that combines oud with rose, a contradicting but intoxicating olfactory experience. There’s also Gabriel – a gourmand firewood, Gloria – a warm spicy composition and Fir with suitably green, woody notes inspired by the Christmas tree.
Buy now £103.00, Selfridges
Acqua di Parma Bosco Candle
Fill your home with fresh, green notes with the Acqua di Parma Bosco Candle. The luxury Italian fragrance house offers limited-edition bougies each year (we adored last year’s panettone-inspired scent) and for 2023, it recreates the aromas of a forest filled with Fir trees. Pine needles are set alongside eucalyptus with the surprising spice of cloves bringing a warmth.
Buy now £74.00, Space NK
Jo Loves Christmas Candles
When it comes to scenting your home for the holiday season, Jo Loves has the most expansive selection of suitably festive aromas. The Christmas Trees and Log Fires are bestsellers each year. The former recreates the fresh forest scent of pine trees with lavender, incense and amber and has been given a redesign for 2023 with textiles brand Warner House. The latter is a smoky, comforting aroma that will transport you to a countryside retreat in front of a roaring fire.
The Snowflakes blends eucalyptus and cinnamon to give a white Christmas whether the British weather plays ball, while the Plum Pudding combines the sweet elements of candied citrus fruits, caramelised brown sugar and crystallised ginger. To round off the collection, there’s the Gingerbread Candle that has notes of cinnamon and orange with clove, ginger and vanilla and Roasted Chestnuts with touches of candied vanilla and earthy sandalwood that is nostalgic and classic.
What if you can’t decide between each of the room-filling scents, then what? Well, perfumer Jo Malone has thought of that. Her Jo Loves label is offering the Christmas Layered Candle that combines three of the seasonal favourites on top of each other; opening with the refreshing note of pine with Christmas Tree before evolving into the sweet Plum Pudding and finishing up with the smoky aroma of Log Fires.
Buy now £55.00, Jo Loves
Carrière Frères Pine collection
Three limited edition scents join the line-up at luxury fragrance house Carrière Frères. Dubbed the Pine collection, each of the candles is infused with the fresh woody note that has become synonymous with the Christmas season but it is used in very different, distinctive ways.
Winter Rose sets pine with rose petals, giving the traditionally powdery touch a cold-weather twist but retaining that feminine feel, while Smoked Wood recreates the homely, welcoming ambience of a fireplace with a smoky, comforting scent. Lastly, Candied Ginger gives pine an invigorating gourmet reinvention to add spice to the winter season. The vessels are adorned with beautifully illustrated botanicals.
Buy now, Selfridges
Pott Candles Heather Stoneware Orangery Scented Candle
What do you do with the jar of your candle once it has fully burned? You may reuse the container to house your earbuds or cotton wool pads but what happens when that role has been filled? That’s what Potts Candles is here to tackle.
The British brand makes the stoneware vessels by hand where once burned, you can purchase one of the refills, making it a more sustainable and purse-friendly option. The refills cost £27.50 and are offered in Tonka, Eucalyptus, Eden and Orangery, the latter of which will bring the Christmas feels. It has notes of orange blossom, rosemary and basil with cedarwood, oak moss and woods that are sourced from natural essential oils and set in rapeseed and coconut wax.
Buy now £55.50, John Lewis
John Lewis Winter Spice Inclusion Three Wick Scented Candle
Winter Spice is already a bestseller at John Lewis. The candle comes in an array of sizes to suit all budgets and has the suitably festive notes of spicy cinnamon, clove and orange that are combined with warm spices and sandalwood to create a fragrance that will have you adding one to basket for each person on your Christmas shopping list.
Buy now £38.00, John Lewis
Yankee Candle Christmas Cookie
There’s a jar candle at Yankee Candle to tap into every Christmassy memory you can think of. New for 2023 are the aromatic Silver Sage & Pine and zesty White Spruce & Grapefruit but the returning Christmas Cookie will always be a favourite thanks to its cosy, sweet home-filling scent. It has notes of creamy vanilla bean and nutmeg, cinnamon and sugar for a so-good-you’ll-want-to-eat-it experience.
Buy now £29.99, Amazon
NEOM Cosy Nights
New to the NEOM line-up last year, Cosy Nights has notes of sandalwood, frankincense and nutmeg for a suitably seasonal aroma that will get you in the mood for the festivities. Much like the rest of the NEOM collection, the candle has a room-filling scent, even when not lit with a rich blend of essential oils that will make you feel like you’re in front of a cosy, roaring fireplace even in your compact London flat.
Buy now £48.00, lookfantastic
NEST New York Holiday Classic Candle
Luxury New York-born fragrance house NEST is putting a spicy twist on your celebration this Christmas with its festive take on its beloved Classic Candle.
The holiday edition marries notes of pomegranate, mandarin orange, pine, cloves, and cinnamon with the most subtle warmth of vanilla and amber to bring the festive spirit. Snuggle up in your cosy living room or bedroom with the addictive aroma.
The brand’s tinted wax has been formulated to encourage a long and even burn - no tunnelling here - and is housed in an attractive gilded jar.
Buy now £43.00, Cult Beauty
this works Winter Solstice Warming Candle
Light this one when the weather outside is torrential and feel the warmth emanating from the wicks. A treat for all the senses, it fills your space with cinnamon and cedar that has an immediate calming effect on the body and mind. The candle has been hand-poured.
Buy now £26.00, This Works
ESPA Soothing Candle
Encourage peace and tranquillity in your space throughout the festive season and beyond with the Soothing Candle from the wellbeing experts at ESPA. The calming blend of sandalwood, rose geranium and frankincense is intended to invite a soothing atmosphere as it glows. The aromatherapy oils are set in a white glass vessel to sit seamlessly among your decor.
Buy now £37.00, lookfantastic
Maison Margiela Replica By The Fireplace Candle
No log cabin in the woods with a blazing fire? No problem. This candle is designed to replicate the smoky aromas as part of luxury fashion house’s Maison Margiela home fragrance offering. You can picture the scene: it’s a dark winter’s night, a fire is crackling and you’re in your slippers sipping hot chocolate. This is the scent that accompanies you with notes of chestnut, pink pepper and clove combined with cashmere and orange flowers. Sweet yet woody.
Buy now £55.00, Cult Beauty
Santa Maria Novella 1221 Firenze Candle Collection
The oldest Officina, Santa Maria Novella has turned the traditional Christmas scenting on its head, unveiling eight new candles for the festive season. Each is beautifully decorated with architecture and paintings that you’ll find in the establishment’s home city of Florence. The Tuscan brand seals each with a seal that nods to the Medici Coat of Arms and a terracotta-hued wax.
The fragrances extend to Acqua della Regina, Pot Pourri, Melograno, Fresia, Angeli di Firenze, Tabacco Toscano, Rosa Novella and our personal favourite, Rosa Gardenia. The latter offers a floral spicy olfactory experience with notes of lemon, petitgrain, centifolia rose, gardenia and jasmine and a base of cedarwood, musk, patchouli and sandalwood.
Buy now £75.00, Santa Maria Novella
