While scented candles are a failsafe gift, they can be seen as a bit unimaginative. But they’re perfect for winter days at home and thoroughly festive. Lighting a candle is a ceremony, and the flickering flame can trigger something comfortingly primal in us.
Retailers, from supermarkets to artisan independents, are developing huge ranges of scented candles, and it’s hard to know where to start. Many of us have been disappointed by a candle that smelled divine when we had an in-store sniff, only to be distinctly underwhelming once it’s home. So we’ve sniffed, burned and rated dozens of candles for you.
Most of our picks are an affordable £25 or below (scented candles can routinely cost £70 and upwards). Fragrance can be extremely personal, so we asked companies for their most consistently popular candles.
A candle’s ability to fill a room with its scent – or not – is known as its “throw”. We concentrated our hunt on candles with a superb aroma and a great throw, ignoring branding and packaging – although apothecary-style brown glass jars seem to be pretty much compulsory now. Here’s our final edit.
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The best scented candles for Christmas 2024
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Delicate flowers
Hedgerow candle, 120ml
£16.95 at Join
Available in four sizes, this hand-crafted soy-wax candle has a powerful throw and a gorgeous summery floral scent that includes neroli, rose geranium and basil essential oils.
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Wood and spice
Incense Ritual candle
£4.99 at H&M
Combining warm, woody notes with sharp, spicy cardamom, this candle in an irregular-shaped ceramic pot has a burn time of about eight hours. It’s from a collection of home fragrances designed in collaboration with French perfume house Robertet, we also loved the unusual Oud Mémoire.
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Warm bergamot
Bergamot and sandalwood candle, 430g
£29.99 at Zara Home
While we wait and hope for a return of the popular Zara fragrance collab with British perfumer Jo Malone, the fashion brand still has lots of great candles available. This deliciously warm and invigorating scent is our favourite.
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Vibrant amber
Amber and sandalwood candle, 198g
£12.95 at Muji
Japanese store Muji has a high-quality, reasonably priced home fragrance range – and it even sells refills. This vibrant scent contains notes of amber, sandalwood and cassis.
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Walk on the coast
Sea salt candle, 200g
£28 at Cornish Sea Salt Co
As brisk and invigorating as a coastal walk, this fragrance combines citrussy bergamot with resinous oud and fir needle. We struggled to choose between this scent and the other candle from this Cornish Sea Salt Co and Keynvor collaboration, Smoky Sea Salt, which feels like sitting by a log fire after a seaside stroll.
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Uplifting ginger
Nom candle, 150g
£23 at Little Karma Co
A joyous, sunny scent with notes of lemongrass, ginger, lime and patchouli, this candle is heartening enough to snap you out of a bad mood. It’s handcrafted from rapeseed and coconut wax, and the paper dust-cover top is seeded with wildflowers that can be planted in a pot or flowerbed.
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Mediterranean fragrance
Paddywax black fig & olive candle, 141g
£16 at Dyke & Dean
Paddywax produces interesting fragrances with a good throw. This one has a fantastic mix of rich, creamy fig and sharp, astringent olive.
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Summery seaside
Sea salt candle, 227g
£15.55 at Amazon
Reminiscent of warm, summery days by the sea, this candle by Cornish certified-B Corp brand St Eval, blends citrus and seaside air notes with a subtle creamy sweetness reminiscent of gorse flowers.
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Deep focus
Onsen candle, 170ml
£24 at Earl of East
Made with 100% natural soy wax and an eco-cotton wick for a clean, sustainable burn, Earl of East’s fragrances are intriguingly unusual, including the floral Jardin de la Lune and this Japan-inspired blend of peppermint, eucalyptus and mandarin, created with concentration and clear thinking in mind.
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Natural and zingy
Deep vermillion refill candle, 260g
£22 at Lit
Lit, a Sheffield company, makes its candles with 100% natural rapeseed oil and sustainably sourced essential oils before popping them into artisan-thrown pots (which cost an additional £40). This pleasing fragrance combines zingy bergamot and ylang ylang with patchouli and black spruce.
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South African woodland
Woodland savanna candle, 180g
£15 at Eden Glory Company
Part of Eden Glory’s African collection, this candle takes inspiration from the woodland landscapes of South Africa, with fresh notes of lemon, lavender and grapefruit, along with cedar, moss and spicy clove.
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Sophisticated and sustainable
All the Love candle, 180ml
£24 at SevenSeventeen
A subtle and sophisticated black pomegranate blend that includes notes of pink pepper, cardamom, clove, tobacco and musk. This sustainable brand donates 10% of its profits to mental health charities, with £63,000 raised so far.
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Grounding
Hinoki and vetiver candle, 142g
£20 at Wxy
An intense and earthy mix of woody hinoki cypress and vetiver with cleansing rosemary and eucalyptus. This 100% soy candle has been blended to help ground those taking in its scent.
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Earthy warmth
Torii candle, 150g
£20 at Cedar
A subtle but spicy, earthy aroma with notes of patchouli and ho wood. Cedar’s candles are made with a Europe-grown rapeseed wax blend that it says is a more sustainable alternative to soy wax.
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Spa vibes
Habitat Spa day candle, 500g
£12 at Sainsbury’s
This candle blends geranium, mint and lavender for a fresh scent. If possible, go for the larger size because it doesn’t have the strongest throw, but it’s perfect for bringing a home-spa vibe to a long, hot bath.
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Warm and citrussy
Neom Happiness candle, 75g
£20 at Boots
This travel candle is smaller than most in our test but worth including for its light, citrussy mix of neroli, mimosa and lemon, blended to conjure a sense of optimism and evoke warm, sunny days.
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What you need to know
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If you’re buying high-street candles that come in various sizes, avoid the smaller versions, where possible, and buy those with the widest diameter you can afford to maximise the throw. If you do end up with a candle that gives out limited fragrance, use it in a smaller room: zhoosh up the loo when guests come over, or create a home-spa feel in the bathroom.
To get the most out of your candle, burn it for at least two hours and up to four hours at a time to avoid tunnelling – that’s when a candle burns down the centre but the outer wax doesn’t melt. Some cheaper candles will tunnel regardless, though. On the flip side, burning a candle for too long can mean it gets too hot and produces unnecessary amounts of smoke. Before relighting a candle, always trim the wick to about 5mm, again to prevent smoke.
To use candles safely, place them on a stable, heat-resistant surface, away from draughts and flammable materials, and never leave them unattended. Discard the candle when there’s a centimetre or two of wax still left to burn, to prevent overheating.
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Kate Jacobs is a freelance writer, specialising in design, interiors and gardens. She gets the biggest buzz from finding pieces for her own home at car boot fairs and charity shops and even things dumped in the street. She is trying to keep on top of a serious Facebook Marketplace habit
