Inclusion candles, also known as botanical candles, are more popular than ever this Christmas season as we fill our homes with these candles decorated with orange slices, cinnamon sticks, cloves, berries and more. However, the stand out version seems to be the M&S Christmas candle which is on track to sellout in the next week.
Retailing for a mere £12.50, many hail this candle as one of the best Christmas scents and it’s selling like hot cakes at the moment. The M&S Mandarin, Clove & Cinnamon Botanical Candle perfectly completes a natural Christmas aesthetic and makes for the ideal Christmas table centrepiece idea if we’ve ever seen one.
The trend was undoubtedly started by The White Company’s botanical candles which are still seen as the OGs and are the go-to Christmas present ideas. The Winter Botanical Candle by The White Company, is still the golden standard against which all other inclusion candles are measured. But it does come in at double the price of the M&S at £35, and that's not the only competitor on the scene this year.
Christmas inclusion candles
M&S is on fire this year with their best scented candles (quite literally). The M&S Mandarin, Clove & Cinnamon Town House Light Up Candle has already sold out and during the peak sale period, the brand sold one of them per minute. We asked representatives at Marks and Spencer and they said that the botanical candle is expected to sell out in a matter of days, definitely before Christmas eve. So grab yours while you still can as apparently, some missed out last year.
‘Another lovely winter candle from M&S,’ wrote one reviewer. ‘I saw these last year and they were sold out before I got the chance to buy. So I made sure I got it early this year. I will get another one to light so I have this one to keep.’
But if you do snooze or simply would love to peruse some alternative options, then there are plenty to choose from. As we said, this is one of the biggest trends of this year’s festive period.
Blending Christmassy notes of cinnamon, clove and orange with sandalwood, this inclusion candle promises a burn time of 60 hours.
With a burn time of 63 hours, the Winter candle encapsulates the spirit of the season with a spicy and warming fragrance of cinnamon, clove and orange with the addition of pink pepper berries and pinecones decorating the wax.
Talk about a bargain! Currently on offer, this cinnamon stick-decorated inclusion candle is even cheaper than the M&S one, while offering the longest burn time of 70 hours. The scent is slightly different but just as beautiful as the others as it blends sweet and spicy cinnamon with balsam fir, reminiscent of a real Christmas tree smell.
‘Christmas inclusion candles tend to go in and out of style. But right now they're in,’ says Sophie Parker, founder of a candle brand, The Flora Lab. ‘What is more fabulous than a candle and all of the beautiful botanicals which make up the scent? They're a great decorative piece on your table, especially around the festive season. They're a fabulous talking point and the warmth from the molten wax releases the natural oils from the botanicals encased in the wax.’
Have a lovely botanical and beautiful smelling Christmas season!
