I’ve always enjoyed having candles around me, dating back to my university student days. I’ve tried so many ranging from the cheap and cheerful to the seriously luxe and expensive. Big brands, independent brands and homemade candles. The choice is huge. If you follow me on Instagram you will know that I have been putting quite a few scented candles to the test over the last couple of months. I’ve rounded them all up into a handy little guide for you today.
Pam Weinstock £30
Pam Weinstock’s Hana candle sits as part of the Mizu collection and combines linden, blossom, mimosa and magnolia to give a fresh scent with elements of Spring. The scent is like having a spring blossom tree inside your home. It is delicious and in the darker months of autumn and winter is a reminder of the spring months that await us. Pam Weinstock told me the photography for the Hana candle was shot in Kyoto in between the April showers during Sakura season, when the cherry blossoms bloom and the scent completely reflects this.
Parks Candles London £37.50
Parks Black Magic candle is unique in it’s black appearance and when lit the interior of the candle creates a beautiful gold glow. The fragrance created by the lavender, lilac, hyacinth, pear, and orange blend is beautiful and fills the whole room without being overwhelming. The fragrance continues on relighting and the natural wax burns for longer than others with 50 hours expected burn time. It’s very luxe in look and comes in a beautiful box making it perfect for gifting and a delight to receive.
WIFF £25
WIFF is a new and unique candle brand and their products stands out for being contemporary and different in a brilliant quirky way. These are luxury scented candles, hand made in Britain which burn for up to 40 hours. WIFF Blooming Marvellous is a rose and tuberose fragranced candle which fills the room with a delicate floral scent. I loved this candle however my choice for Autumn would definitely be the WIFF Sugar & Spice, Orange and Cinnamon candle – does anything say cosy winter home more than cinnamon scents?
AEQUILL £24
AEQUILL candles look different from all the other candles I’ve tried. They have the greenest of credentials with 100% recycled artisan mouth blown glass holders for their single wick paraffin wax candle. They can also be returned and refilled – simply return the empty jar to AEQUILL who will refill with a new wax and essential oil blend so there’s no need to send it to landfill! Why do more brands not offer this it makes total sense?
The candle itself has a fantastic scent throw filling the room with the lemon, geranium, rosemary and lavender essential oil blend which is a lovely fresh pick me up. The packaging makes this a lovely gift too, with an old apothecary feel, each box is hand-stamped with a contemporary wax seal.
Grace Cole £20
British bath and beauty brand, Grace Cole, has recently expanded with a new home fragrance collection. The candles and diffusers are designed to radiate elegant and warm aromas around the home. Grace Cole candles are expected to burn for up to 35 hours and I have a thoroughly enjoyed mine for many evenings. The candles burn well and evenly leaving no wax remaining on the sides of the glass votive. There’s a great choice of fragrances and the nectarine and grapefruit scent was delicate, fresh and uplifting and remained right to the end of the candle. This also comes in a lovely box which would make it a really lovely gift. There are other complementary products in the fragrance ranges available too – room diffusers, bath and body products.
Julian Charles £10
The Julian Charles candle is a Soy Candle which is hand poured in small batches using only the finest quality 100% natural soy wax infused with a blend of premium fragrance and essential oils. Housed in a heavy weight glass tumbler and boxed, the packaging is elegant, making it look more expensive than its price tag and also very gift-able. This candle certainly transformed our living space with the warm and refreshing notes of Pomegranate. On leaving and returning to the room the fragrance was delightfully present without being overwhelming. It will burn for up to 50 hours and the fragrance continues to infuse on subsequent relighting. The Julian Charles candle certainly the luxe factor as well as delivering on fragrance and all-round, value for money.
Jo Malone from £23 (travel size)
The ultimate item on any home accessory lust list has to be a large 2.6kg Jo Malone candle. But at £300 the majority of folk choose a weekend away over a room fragrance! The more reasonably priced home candle at £44 or the travel candle at £23 make the luxe scent more accessible for the décor-obsessed. The scent has a depth and subtlety about it. Pomegranate is certainly the lead fragrance blended with heady spicy lily and spicy woods. It was a delicate scent and on leaving and returning to the room the fragrance was there but only just. I can’t help but feel that a significant portion of the £23 goes into the branding and packaging, which makes it a beautiful gift to both give and receive but it really is not the greatest scented home candle.
Aldi No 3, £3.99
Aldi No 3 is a candle of the cheap and cheerful variety. Being a candle is the only fact this has in common with all the other candles in the post. Whilst it looks luxe from a distance, everyone knows it’s from Aldi! The Aldi candles are fine, they are affordable but not an equivalent for any other luxury candle. They are larger and cheaper, the wax is not the same, the essential oils are not the same and the reduced quality of these mean the quality, strength and performance is significantly less. It could not and should not be gifted. Ever!
What are your favourite candles?
Claire x
If you would like your candle to be included please do get in touch!
