Wellbeing
Long-lasting scented candles that are worth every penny
10 May 2021
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The best scented candles
We love a scented candle - now more so than ever. Sales of prestige candles were up by six per cent year on the previous year the week we entered lockdown, according to market researchers The NPD Group.
There's a lot to consider when it comes to buying a new candle - not just the scent and how it'll look in your home, but also what it's made of (natural wax, vegan wax, or mineral wax. Mineral made from paraffin tends to hold more scent, but many people prefer a natural wax such as beeswax or soy) and how long it will last. If we're spending upwards of £20, to pretty much burn money, it needs to flicker for longer than a few hours and burn down to the very base.
So what is it that makes a candle last longer?
The quality of the wax, wick and oils will give you a consistent burn, so if you can, it's worth investing in a prestige candle especially one from a fragrance house such as Baobab or Diptque, which really knows about scent. You know you're going to be able to use every last drop and the quality of the oils means that lighting it for only an hour or so will give you long-lasting scent all day.
To get the best longevity out of your candle, make sure you trim the wick every time, advises Jo Malone, founder of Jo Loves. "Trim the wick to between four and five milimetres as this allows the candle to burn evenly and also prevents smoking." Nothing worse than having your beautiful jar smoke-blackened - except perhaps finding your candle develops craters down the middle and you end up throwing half of it away.
But there's a solution for that. Wait for the entire surface of the candle to liquefy before putting it out; this will prevent the formation of craters, which are both aesthetically displeasing and make future burning difficult. The first time you light your candle should be longer than the subsequent times to get this process going.
Here's our edit of the loveliest long-lasting candles we're lighting at the moment.
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Bulan Seasalt and Oak Moss Candle, £35
Burn time: 40 hours
Bulan blends its candles with scented oils and paraffin wax to improve the scent throw, which is candle speak for how strongly it smells in your room. This candle transports you to the seaside without even needing to step out of your front door, thanks to notes of seasalt and red sea moss. Think stormy days in sea air rather than coconut scents and you'll be along the right lines. The white jar (which also comes in matte black) makes it ultra-stylish in the home, no matter your colour scheme, which makes it a winner for us.
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Jo Malone Fragrance Layered Candle: The Sensual One, £105
Burn time: 60 hours.
There are few things quite as thrilling as unwrapping a Jo Malone candle and it just became even more exciting thanks to the introduction of the three-wick Layered Candle , which comprises two iconic Jo Malone scents in one. Four alternating layers of wax are poured to blend two scents into one candle. This one is Peony and Blush Suede with Pomegranate Noir for a feminine yet saucy vibe, but you can also buy English Pear and Freesia with Lime Basil and Mandarin for a zingier home fragrance.
The candles are made from a blend of mineral and vegetable bases, with vegetable wax being predominantly soya-based giving excellent burn performance that remains stable with the use of essential oils - essential for a brand that packs the candles with them.
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Beauty Pie Clean House Candle, £17.15 for members, £50 typical price
Burn time: 50 hours
This mineral wax candle launched last year and beauty editors went wild for it - even the name is appealing, making you feel as though by lighting it, you've got your life together even if your washing basket is overflowing and the fridge is bare. It has notes of lavender bushels, freesia and magnolia, mingling with notes of 'fresh cotton sheets' and a hint of musk - exactly how you'd imagine a clean house, with windows wide open, would smell.
Not a member of Beauty Pie? Join using code GTGSENTME and get an extra £50 to spend.
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Urban Apothecary Lemon Curd Kilner Candle, £30
Burn time: 50 hours
Does anything bring the joys of life to reality like the smell of fresh, zesty, and juicy lemon curd? This almost edible soy wax candle evokes memories of lemon cheesecakes and dollops of lemon curd on your freshly buttered toast. Bringing back the wholesome feel that our grandma's kitchens always had. Blended with freshly squeezed lemons and sprinkled with the flavoursome rind, this candle is the perfect gift as it can be used all year round. And once you've finished with it, simply wash out the jar and fill it with your very own homemade preserve.
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This Works Deep Sleep Heavenly Candle, £26
Burn time: 40 hours
Anyone who has tried This Works' Deep Sleep pillow spray will be able to attest to its scientifically-proven sleep induing power, so just imagine that calming scent in the form of a natural wax candle. Dreamy!
This is one to light as you perform your nightly ablutions, soothing you into a relaxed stated before bedtime with a blend of calming lavender and soothing chamomile essential oils to help you wind down at the end of the day.
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Jo Loves Rose Petal 25, £55
Burn time: 37.5 hours
For a romantic evening at home, there's no better candle to have flickering away than Jo Loves Rose Petal 25. This mineral wax candle fuses together rose water, Turkish rose and Bulgarian rose with Rose de Mai Absolute and rose absolute, along with notes of bergamot, saffron and lychee for a complex rose fragrance that lingers long after you're blown out the flame.
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Diptyque Santal Scented Candle, £47
Burn time: 60 hours
A Diptyque candle just exudes class and the Santal fragrance is one most people are unable to resist. The woody sandalwood scent fills the biggest of rooms giving off a hint of fragrance even when it's not lit.
Made with vegetable and paraffin waxes, Diptyque candles burn evenly so you're not left with wax tunneling at the side of your jar. The jars make elegant planters for succulents or makeup brush holders.
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Romilly Wilde Frida Candle, £60
Burn time: 65 hours
A favourite of GTG's editorial director Victoria, this 100 per cent vegan sustainable soy wax candle has a warm grounding scent of sandalwood essential oil, cardamom, clary sage oil and cedar amber, plus the bold orange packaging adds a splash of colour to any room. It's the only candle from Romilly Wilde which is a high performing natural skincare brand that prides itself on no fillers and high performing ingredients. This is strong but not overpowering, you can keep it burning for a good few hours at a time and the jar makes a great keepsake.
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Neom Bedtime Hero Scented Candle, £46
Burn time: 50 hours
Neom introduced the Bedtime Hero scent to the sleep collection earlier in 2020 and we immediately fell for the spicier take on bedtime fragrance. It genuinely makes the bedroom feel like a spa. Neom candles are highly scented so you'll get good use out of this as you won't need to burn it for very long.
Made from natural waxes, the candle is a blend of 11 pure essential oils including chamomile, ylang-ylang and cedarwood to get you in the mood for bedtime. We recommend lighting it two hours before bedtime to really fill your room with the scent.
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Crabtree & Evelyn Herb Candle, £44.50
Bring the outside in with this earthy and uplifting soy wax blend candle, scented with notes of crisp basil and woody oregano combined with freesia, rose and orange blossom. It comes encased in a plantable eco-paper box embedded with sweet basil seeds to grow your own herb garden to recreate the scent.
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Laboratory Perfumes Gorse Scented Candle, £45
Burn time: 40 hours
Made from paraffin wax, this candle was inspired by the gorse lined driveways of the South of France and just lighting one in our home is enough to transport us (in our mind) to Provence. It's fresh and crisp with a hint of coconut and a touch of spice thanks to base notes of cardamom. This is one that everyone will fall in love with.
We love the science-style beaker jar too, which we'll be using again and again after the candle runs out.
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Clean Reserve Rain Candle, £44
Burn time: 40 hours
Clean Reserve create some of our favourite perfumes (Amber Nectar, we're looking at you) so when the clean beauty brand introduced home fragrance this year we were intirgued to say the least. Made from a 100 per cent vegan soy wax blend, this candle has two cotton wicks and delivers a really fresh scent, reminscent of the smell you're left with after a refreshing rain shower. Hard to explain, but a joy to behold.