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I have a serious love of candles. Every time I’m out shopping with a friend, I always follow my nose straight to the jars of candles on display. But from how my friends react to this, you’d think it were OxyClean I’m hooked on instead of a calming and completely natural soy wax. Is a candle obsession on equal weirdo levels with collecting porcelain dolls? Or appliqued sweaters? Does the idea of burning candles seem too cheesy, like it should only happen on the set of a Boyz II Men music video? Or are they just too irrelevant to spend more than thirty seconds thinking about?
I don’t care what anyone else thinks. For how little they are, my candles give off huge homey vibes, a cozy glow, and a menagerie of scents to accompany any of my twenty moods throughout the day. And since winter is the perfect time to fill your space with soft, lux accents, I’ve rounded up a list of my favorite candles for this time of year. I call it “The Candle Snob’s Picks for Warm, Wintry Wicks”.
Black Forest by Archipelago Botanicals – I grew up in the woods, so the smell of pine and fir trees will always remind me of home. But for any city-dweller, the fresh aromas of the forest is an intoxicating one, and especially fitting for the holiday season when we have to grapple with setting up a 6 foot tree in our already-full living rooms. With scented oils like Black Currant, Ebony Wood and Douglas Fir, this candle is an easier way to enjoy that Christmas tree smell, and way less messy.
Illume Boulangerie Jars – You can’t go wrong with the scent of fresh-baked deserts, but a lot of candles do. Chocolate cake winds up smelling like sugary rubber, or apple pie comes out strangely pineapple-scented. These adorable jars – replicated to look like vintage Parisian pottery – get it just right: sweet but not overwhelming. Because no one should be passing out from a sugar coma before they’ve even tasted your souffle.
Citron de Vigne from Fresh – Bottles will be popping all season long, but even on a quiet day, you can still feel festive with the 50-hour wick of this candle. It’s filled with bubbly notes like pinot noir, oranges, pink grapefruit, sandalwood and amber and is subtle enough to burn during your worst post-party hangovers, or even better, in place of them.
Nell’s Compass Collection – Of all five senses, scent is the one most strongly tied to memories. These candles, named after their makers’ grandmother, capture the memories of four different places, from Italian hillsides to lush Southern gardens. I bought this collection a year ago, and still haven’t made it all the way through. Mostly because they smell just as good in the jar as when they are burning.
Assouline Library Candles – Seeing the words “library” and “candles” next to each other was like Thanksgiving all over again. I haven’t gotten my nose on the set just yet, but I imagine the four candles, in books, leather, wood, and culture lounge scents, to be as transportive as a good historical novel. Library trips have become a rare luxury for me, but I am still a sucker for that dusty scent of old books. And with these candles, I have no more excuses for opting out of the Kindle.
