Scent your home with candles
I love a scented candle, don’t you? Especially at this time of year. There are loads out there – and plenty with festive scents if you fancy.
They also make great gifts, but don’t stint on the price. Cheap scented candles are not nice. You don’t need to spend absolute fortunes, but you’re not going to find anything with a scent that will last in the pound shop.
Anya Hindmarch Candles are available at anyahindmarch.com, and come in small, £50, and large (three-wick), £150.
My favourites at the moment have to be the Anya Hindmarch Smells candles – super cute, and intriguing scents. I’ve got the Chewing Gum one which doesn’t sound that appealing, but is actually a lovely Fresh Mint & Wild Raspberry created by Perfumer Domitille Michalon-Bertier.
It has notes of fresh mint, Madagascan pink pepper, thyme, cherry, cassis pulp, wild raspberry, heliotrope flower, ground almond and cashmeran. Blended, Anya says, with music lessons and scratchy uniforms!
It’s just brilliant to look at, with an Anya sticker on it, and a brilliant box too. There are two others in the range – Lollipop which is Blackcurrant Leaves & Rose, and Pencil Shavings, which is Cedarwood & Patchouli – I would love to smell that one.
Jo Loves Home Candles are £55 each, and the Christmas layered candle is £80, joloves.com
Jo Loves has some gorgeous scents – this is Jo Malone at her very best. I am in love with Gardenia, a fresh floral. It has notes of Gardenia Blossom, White Narcissus and Ylang Ylang, and is a great alternative to winter scents. Jo does have a few festive candles to choose from as well – the fresh Christmas Trees – notes of fresh pine weave with aromatic lavender, incense and amber, Plum Pudding – candied citrus fruits, caramelised brown sugar and crystallised ginger, and Log Fires. There is also a Christmas layered candle that combines all three scents.
Luxe Candle Co Tobacco + Tonka candle, £35, theluxecandleco.co.uk
The Luxe Candle Co has tapped into the leopard print trend this winter with this fab Tobacco + Tonka candle. It has top notes of tobacco leaf and spicy notes, midnotes of sweet tonka bean, tobacco blossom and cacao, and a base of dried fruits, vanilla and iris wood.
Cire Trudon Baal Gold Scented Candle, £78, is exclusive to John Lewis.
Cire Trudon is an ancient French candle brand – been making candles since 1643. They are things of beauty, and smell delicious. This one is Baal – with a pine scent, the smell evokes a rich and mysterious feeling of warm and distant lands – so they say. Baal was the ancient god of the sky, clouds, tempests, thunder and war. The candle is gold on the inside, and comes in a sandstorm yellow coloured glass. There are loads of gorgeous festive scents from the brand, and you can browse them all on trudon.com
Psychoanalysis Candle, £45, Bella Freud @ amara.com
Bella Freud is a fun brand, and this Psychoanalysis candle is fun, right?! Invigorate your home with notes of refreshing neroli and lilac flowers, a heart of tobacco flower and amber, and a base of dry, woody accord of cedarwood for the perfect finish.
Neom Christmas Wish candle, £32, three wick version, £45, neomorganics.com
Neom Organics is a lovely candle brand, and for Christmas, meet Christmas Wish. The packaging is beautiful, the glass is a festive red, and the scent is VERY festive. It’s a wee bit heavy on the cinnamon, which slightly masks the mandarin and tonka bean. There are 13 essential oils in this calming scent, so it’s the perfect candle to help with any festive stress!
Essence of Christmas candle, £20, cathkidston.com
Cath Kidston has candles. Who knew? I used to be such a huge fan of CK when it was a teeny brand, but since it’s global explosion, I’m not so keen. This is nice though. The Essence of Christmas soy wax candle blends rich spices with warm gingerbread notes, creamy vanilla and soft musk. The novelty bauble print on the box is cute.
