From classic brands including Diptyque, Jo Malone, and Neom, to newer modern fragrances brands such as Overose and Boy Smells, our carefully curated list of the best scented candles will ensure your home smells wonderful—while some even promise to help alter your mood.
In order to truly determine the best scented candles, we asked experts for their recommendations and then whittled down the list by trialing them in our own homes. This is our curation of the most long-lasting, luxurious, and deliciously fragranced candles on the market. While you're here, you might also want to take a look at our guides to the best essential oils and best essential oil diffusers to fragrance your home.
The best scented candle brands
- Acqua di Parma: For the best smells of the Mediterranean (opens in new tab)
- Boy Smells: Truly unique scents (opens in new tab)
- Byredo: Best for perfume-like burns that ooze modern luxury (opens in new tab)
- Cire Trudon: A luxury hub of internationally-inspired fragrances (opens in new tab)
- Crabtree & Evelyn: Clean and punchy scents made using soy wax (opens in new tab)
- Diptyque: A cult brand for the most addictive candle scents around (opens in new tab)
- Jo Loves: Decadent contemporary scents (opens in new tab)
- Jo Malone: Best for unique but elegant blends (opens in new tab)
- Malin + Goetz: Unique scents made with high-quality perfumed oils (opens in new tab)
- Neom: A go-to for relaxing aromatherapy (opens in new tab)
- The White Company: Simple but sophisticated home scents (opens in new tab)
The best scented candles as chosen by our experts
From Neom to Jo Malone, we've rounded up the candles that will fill your home with beautiful scent.
Best strong smelling candles
You are welcomed by the richness of this Dark Rum scent the minute you enter the room, well before lighting. And while the scent is strong it doesn't feel overpowering. The deliciously fragrant candle offers a dark and spicy aroma, sweetened by the notes of plum and crisp bergamot. This candle burnt at a noticeably slow pace, meaning the wax looked fairly untouched even after three hours of burning.
Neom make some of the best aromatherapy candles around. Their Real Luxury fragrance blends delectable essential oils, including English lavender, Brazilian rosewood, and jasmine. Neom candles can really fill a room and the scent lingers long after the flame is extinguished.
One of the very best Diptyque candles, Feu de Bois is packed full of bold smoky wood notes with an equal smoky, but also sharp, hit of Lapsang tea.
Beauty Pie is already a favorite for serious beauty aficionados, making some of the best skincare products in the industry, and they have amazing candle offerings too. The Bahia de Miel candle wows with honey , vanilla , sharp basil, wintry fir, wood, and musk notes.
Minimalists will love the packaging of August & Piers candles. The Socialite candle has a potent honey smell, balanced out by sharp pomegranate and warming amber.
After lighting this Aldi candle, you may well smell some strong similarities to Jo Malone's best-selling Pomegranate Noir. It's also not the only candle offered by the discount supermarket, so look out for the whole range.
Best Citrus candles
This is the scent of warm Italian summer evenings, with lime, blood orange, and grapefruit mixing with a bitter hit of gentian and warm spicy cinnamon.
Another ode to Italian citrus, this candle blends soft Calabrese mandarin essential oil with sharp grapefruit and a warm base of golden mimosa.
If you love a refreshing scent in the mornings this ESPA candle is a for you. It's a mix between a calming spa aroma and sherbet lemon sweets with dashes of peppermint and eucalyptus.
Counted as one of the best Jo Malone fragrances by loyal customers, this iconic offering from the luxury London fragrance house blends peppery basil and aromatic white thyme with sharp lime and sweet and juicy mandarin.
Best woody candles
This signature scent from the masters of chocolate omits a gentle but distinctive smell of raw cacao fused with vanilla, giving a sweeter side to this woody fragrance. The cedar wood under tone ensures the aroma feels grounded and strong without feeling sickly – a balance that needs to be met when emulating the scent of confectionary.
As the name suggests, this gorgeous candle is just like a big bundle of wood wrapped up in a chic black jar with the brand's signature pink sticker on the front. That said, it's particularly good-smelling wood and augmented with ginger, peppercorns, orange peel, cinnamon and juniper berry.
Known for creating beautifully-blended perfumes, Miller Harris have a perfect collection of scented candles too. Their Santal candle has a rich sandalwood scent ever-so slightly sweetened by a touch if pink pepper and enhanced by the smoky aroma of frankincense.
We love the soft Eastern fragrance of this soy-blended candle and the enchanting black and gold jar speaks to the quality of the product inside. The presentation of this candle also makes it a great gift, whether you're shopping for a milestone birthday or want a generous thank you gift to show your gratitude.
This collaboration between perfumer Maison Francis Kurkdjian and crystal house Baccarat Rouge 540 has become a cult fragrance. It combines woody notes with a heady dose of amber and elements of jasmine and cedar.
Made from completely natural wax, the scent of this candle was blended to celebrate the natural wonder of the Northern Lights. It's full of artic magic, with notes of pine sap, Siberian fir, iris and cedarwood.
Topped with a gold-tone lid and neatly packed in a stylish box, this hand-poured scented candle will make a statement on any mantlepiece. The woody scent fills the room and lingers after the candle is blown out. Beautifully presented in a simple but stylish pot, this scented candle would make a good present, because as well as a long-lasting scent, it should burn for around 55 hours, meaning it's truly a gift that keeps on giving.
Best floral candles
Inspired by the English rose gardens at Windsor Castle, this is one of the best scented candles if you want to capture the fragrance of a summer garden in bloom. We were pleasantly surprised by the sweetness of the rose aroma in this candle, a refreshing departure form the more earthy floral notes of traditional rose fragrances.
If you're always on the hunt for the best rose perfume, then you'll love the top-rated Diptyque Roses candle that uses a blend of different roses to give you the scent of a bouquet even in the dead of winter.
Fresh, floral and leafy, this candle is the scent of the woods in spring. Classic British perfumers Floris add high concentrations of essential oils to make sure you get a rich scent and each candle should burn for around 35 hours.
One of the best Jo Malone candles, the brand describe this one as a "Damask rose in full bloom", but the rose is tempered by the dark, woody scent of the oud.
Best herbal candles
This herbal infused scent is a beautiful fusion of White Tea, Thyme, Jasmin, and Bergamot to create a light but distinctive herbal aroma. It not only smells divine but part of the proceeds of this scented candle go to Gem City Selfie Museum to promote color therapy and phototherapy for social and mental wellness.
This sweet-scented candle awakens the senses, it's strong and fruity with a hint of mint. When we tested it we thought the aroma was deliciously fresh and ideal if you like a statement scent. In addition to its scent, this candle offers a multi-sensory experience thanks to the patented innovation 'Pluswick Technology', designed to recreate a gentle crackle reminiscent of a wood-burning fire – and it really does.
A gorgeous, green blend with aromatic herb notes and the idea of crisp tomato leaves and warm and spicy pimento berries.
A cult favorite amongst troubled sleepers, this updated blend has notes of lavender, camomile, and vetiver. Light this just before you begin your bedtime routine and breathe in the calming scents.
Jo Loves is the brand created by Jo Malone the person after she parted ways with Jo Malone the brand. This fig scent brings a touch of green to the indoors, also bringing warm amber for depth and cassis for sweetness.
London-based Polkra makes creative and colorful homewares and their candles are no exception. This one mixes basil and pepper notes with warm cedarwood. The jar is noteworthy too, moving away from the neutral elegance of most candle packaging and into bolder territory.
What is the best-scented candle brand according to our editors?
While the best scented candles come from a variety of brands, our editors each have their favourite brands for certain scents that they go to time and again.
- Best budget candle brand: Aldi—reputed for high-quality scented candles under £10 (UK only), proving that luxury doesn't have to cost a fortune.
- Best luxury candle brand: Creed Aventus—known as a leader in men's fragrances, Creed Aventus also curates unisex candles infused with rich scents.
- Best long-lasting candle brand: Yankee Candle—boasts an enduring 110-150 burn time for each option. The brand also uses premium-grade paraffin wax and wicks made of 100% natural fibers.
- Best candle brand for sweet and spicy scents: Diptyque—reconciles sweet, soft, and floral notes with spicy, more intense aromas. In other words, shoppers truly get the best of both worlds at their fingertips.
- Best candle brand for fresh and clean scents: Crabtree & Evelyn—hailed for crafting great-smelling candles with fresh scents and earthy tones. The brand also makes top-rated floral and citrusy candles.
- Best candle brand for woody and musky scents: Maison Francis Kurdijan—creates candles with warm, winter-inspired scents. Think balsam fir fragrance, along with notes of anise, nutmeg, and tobacco.
- Best candle brand for citrus scents: Acqua Di Parma—the brand's Blu Mediterraneo candle line embodies sparkling citruses, rich fruity scents, and tropical coastlines.
The correct way to burn a candle
We asked candle expert Jo Malone—founder of the Jo Malone brand and owner of Jo Loves—to share her tips for getting the most out of your best scented candles by burning them correctly every time. Jo says, “For the best possible burn and to prolong the life of a candle, it's best to burn the candle for long enough so that the whole surface becomes molten, this usually takes around two hours. Candles have memory, so if you blow out a half-melted candle it’s less likely to burn down evenly the next time.
"Avoid burning any candle for more than three to four hours at a time and once you have put it out, leave the candle to completely cool before relighting it. To get the best longevity out of your candle, it is important to trim the wick each time before relighting it. Trim the wick to between 4mm and 5mm as this allows the candle to burn evenly and also prevents smoking. Avoid burning the candle in a draft too, as this may cause it to smoke."