The Best Candles to Gift in 2023
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Finding the right candle(s) for your home isn’t a task to be taken lightly. The aroma you set is often the first impression you make on a guest — whether you want to be known as a woody cedar or fresh citrus is up to you. Aside from fragrance, candles can also be used to add a layer of warmth and “hygge” to any room — the flickering flames offer a soft light in the form of an orange-tinted glow. And despite being cheapened to a last-minute gift, the right candles can make for a perfect stocking stuffers or housewarming gift for loved ones, close and distant.
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Below, find some of the best-smelling candles to buy this year — including classic choices such as Le Labo and Diptyque and playful releases such as Literie’s Below Deck-inspired scent and Homesick’s Barbie Dreamhouse collab.
Literie New Yacht Smell
Following their successful Real Housewives collaboration last year, Literie has returned to the Bravo-verse with the limited-edition “New Yacht Smell” inspired by “Below Deck.” The fresh scent has hints of sunny sea breezes and ocean air.
Price: $45 $Literie New Yacht Smell
Apotheke Charcoal
Experience the rich and addictive aroma of Apotheke’s broody bestselling fragrance, Charcoal. This Classic Scented Candle is made with a premium soy wax blend and essential and perfume-grade fragrance oils in a chic matte-black glass vessel.
Price: $44 $Apotheke Charcoal Candle
Boy Smells Mandarin Fantóme
No one delivers as complex a fragrance as the Los Angeles-based candle company Boy Smells, whose sleek rose-hued packaging makes a welcome addition to any tablescape or nightstand. It’s so good Kacey Musgraves even partnered with the brand to create their bestselling Slow Burn candle.
Price: $48 $Boy Smells Mandarin Fantóme
Homesick Barbie Dreamhouse Candle
Transform your home into Barbie’s Malibu Dreamhouse with this adorable candle from Homesick. The bespoke candle features rose and jasmine accents, with uplifting notes of lemon and sandalwood.
Price: $44 $Homesick Barbie Dreamhouse Candle
Diptyque Amber Candle
Evoke the aura of a cackling fire with this woody scent from Diptyque, which features notes of wood, vetiver and patchouli enhanced with radiant aniseed, insolent spices, mysterious incense, cistus and tonka bean.
Price: $72 $Diptyque Amber Candle
Byredo Bibliothèque Candle
This luxe candle from Byredo is for book lovers who find themselves intoxicated by the smell of newly printed paper. In this candle, aptly named Bibliothèque, the velvety quality of paper is embodied in touches of peach, plum, vanilla and patchouli.
Price: $45 $Byredo Bibliothéque
Maison Margiela Replica By the Fireplace
Achieve a mix of fresh citrus and cozy woodfire with this unique aroma from Maison Margiela’s Replica, whose perfectly balanced scent includes notes of orange flower, vanilla perfume, clove oil and chestnut.
Price: $70 $Maison Margiela Replica by the Fireplace
Le Labo Verveine 32 Classic Candle
If you’re familiar with Le Labo perfume, then you won’t need to be convinced into their candles, which pack the same long-lasting and unique fragrances into their hand-poured wax. The Verveine 32 creates harmony between zest and earthly blends, with notes of makrut lime, verveine leaves, eucalyptus leaves and cedar leaf.
Price: $84 $Le Labo Verveine 32 Classic Candle
Jo Malone Glowing Embers Scented Candle
Jo Malone makes for a can’t-go-wrong stocking stuffer or last-minute gift. Part of their Townhouse Collection, the Fresh Fig & Cassis scented candle gives off the woody scent of a cackling fire, poured into a hand-finished ceramic vessel with a decorative lid.
Price: $140 $Jo Malone Glowing Embers Scented Candle
Malin +Goetz Leather Candle
If you’re someone whose favorite part of a well-worn vintage find is its ripened smell then this leather scene from Malin + Goetz is for you. This modern scent embodies nostalgia with top notes of lotus flower, eucalyptus and clove, balanced by leather, cedarwood, sandalwood, suede amber and cashmere musk.
Price: $60 $Malin + Goetz Leather Candle
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