The Best Winter Candles

I'm a fan of scented candles whatever the weather, but there's something about dark evenings (and afternoons!) that makes me appreciate them even more. These are my top three for the festive season...

Jo Malone Incense & Embers. Need I say more? I'm pretty sure the name alone is enough to convince you how gorgeous this is. There's something distinctly celestial about this scent, which is definitely more incense than embers. Not the type I burned at uni... but the kind of alluring smokiness that might waft through the air as you stroll by a beautiful golden temple on a heady evening (I'm there now - in my head - grounded only by the cuppa and Rich Tea next to me). Incense & Embers smells rich and reassuring, with leather and amber lifted by vetiver and fir... perfect for this time of year.

Field Day candles (formerly Bog Standard) are made a few miles up the road from me and the limited edition Winter scent is hands down my favourite. Its maker has mastered the traditional festive cocktail of cinnamon, clove and orange - which I usually shy away from - quite beautifully. Field Day Winter throws quite a lot of scent, yet has a sophisticated softness to it that smells much more expensive than its very reasonable price tag (£13.95). It reminds me of the kitchen while baking Christmas cake, with a pot of mulled wine simmering on the stove... I'd happily gift this to everyone I know for Christmas, confident that it would be a winner. I've been burning it a lot and everyone who comes into the house comments on how lovely it is. Very importantly (to me) - this is not so overtly festive that you couldn't burn it long into the New Year. Don't hang about though, a wee bird tells me there's not many left.

Neom Perfect Peace is an uplifting, soothing scented candle made with 25 (!!!) essential oils including pine, myrrh and lime. I prefer it to Neom's traditional Christmas Wish fragrance and think it makes a particularly good choice for daytime burning, perhaps even on The Big Day itself? It makes a striking centrepiece and I have a feeling it would work well paired with a glass of something sparkling, a theory I may need to put to the test...

What's your favourite Winter candle?


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The Best Christmas Candles 2014

If you’re anything like me you’re in full blown candle mode right about now... decorations are well and good, but we want our homes to smell like Christmas, right? You could make a big pot of mulled wine and pierce mandarins with cinnamon cloves, or you could try one of these gorgeous Christmas candles. 

Here’s a quick run through - including pics of the all-important boxes, incase you’re thinking of buying one as a gift. I can’t think of a nicer offering to pop under someone’s tree or thank them for Christmas dinner. 



AROMATHERAPY ASSOCIATES JOY CANDLE

 

Starting with my favourite, Aromatherapy Associates Joy Candle is surprisingly un-Christmassy. It is, however, completely and utterly gorgeous, and one I’ll be happy to burn long after Christmas day. Made with rose and ginger, it’s described as a spicy floral, which makes sense... I also find it quite powdery and more perfume-like than your average candle. 

Hand-poured from the highest quality soy, this is one of the best smelling candles I’ve tried in a long time and throws a lot of long lasting scent, lingering long after its been blown out. The wide, shallow cream jar is extremely elegant - as is the teal, ribbon-pull drawer style box (a keeper for storage!).

Aromatherapy Associates Joy Candle, here


NEOM PERFECT PEACE

 

Perfect Peace... I can't imagine a better name for a candle - and it's a sentiment I certainly aspire to - at Christmas or any time of year. NEOM Perfect Peace contains oils of pine, myrrh and lime peel with a feel-good festive scent that fills the entire room. This could have been made for me, seriously. While the Joy Candle is sweet and powdery, Perfect Peace is fresh and uplifting, with gentle aromatic spice from the myrrh. Available in 1 or 3 wick options (& prices!), these candles contain 30-40ml of pure essential oil aka therapy, incase you need to justify the purchase. The contemporary silver and white packaging is the icing on the cake. 

NEOM Perfect Peace, here 



AVEDA WARMTH & LIGHT CANDLE



I literally swooned at the packaging of this candle, handcrafted in lokta bark paper from Nepal. Inside, the design is a simple clear glass jar containing a soy wax candle with a warm, spicy aroma of certified organic ginger and ginger lily. This is a perfect option to burn during dinner as the scent adds warmth but isn’t overpowering. Note how I’m steering clear of cinnamon in these picks… not a big fan (unless it’s in cake).

Aveda Warmth & Light here


FLAMINGO MULLED WINE & BERRIES



The most typically festive scented of my picks, Mulled Wine & Berries really will make your home smell like Christmas! It wafts aromas of mulled wine with elements of apple, sweet berries, orange, ginger and vanilla. This one isn’t too pricey so you can justify burning it while you decorate the house and wrap pressies (what do you mean you’ve already done yours?!). Meanwhile my daughter is besotted with Flamingo’s Chocolate Orange Scent Melt (I prefer to eat mine!).

Flamingo Christmas Candles here.



RITUALS SACRED FIRE



Not officially a Christmas Candle, Rituals Sacred Fire is so warm, wintry and spicy, I felt it belonged here. Part of Rituals’ Diwali line, this is a rich blend with citrus, floral and gourmand notes, combining calming White Patchouli with warm Cedar. More spicy than I’d normally go for, this is a very unisex scent and definitely one for cold Winter nights, which we seem to be getting our fair share of this week. As always, I love the inscription on the glass jar, which is illuminated more clearly as the candle burns down.

Rituals Sacred Fire, here





What’s your favourite Christmas scent? And can someone please help me decide if I should buy a real tree this year? It’s filling me with dread thinking of crawling through the attic to get last year’s one down again!


PS my top picks from this line up are Aromatherapy Associates Joy Candle and NEOM Perfect Peace. No surprises there!

PPS NEOM Christmas Wish is also beautiful and well worth sniffing out!