Our edit of the best luxury candles includes something to delight everyone in your life, from sleek sophisticates (we suggest Celine), to colourful creatives (try Ginori 1735), soigné friends (Jo Malone), and all those in-between.
Luxury candles
Aesop
Neandertal
Neandertal launched in 2017 as a conceptual perfume brand with two scents inspired by the history of Neandertals and imagined reality in which they continue to live with us in the present day. This avant-garde concept has just been reformatted as two companion candles-‘us’ and ‘them’- in handmade porcelain containers designed by Neandertal’s founders, the artist Kentaro Yamada and designer Campbell Melrose-Allen.
Sunspel
Sunspel’s candles are the olfactory companion to the brand’s iconic knitwear and, like their clothing counterparts, they are well-executed and refined.
With scents formulated by Britain’s master perfumer, Lyn Harris, the Oakwood and Neroli Sun are Goldilocks candles. They exude just the right amount of fragrance to be noticeable without being overbearing, and are timeless enough to appeal to most sensory palettes.
Loewe
Loewe’s candles are, like most things the brand does, is an expression of impeccable aesthetic taste undercut with by a cheeky edge. The plant and vegetable scents are inspired by Creative Director Jonathan Anderson’s own garden with witty scents like honeysuckle, cannabis, pea, and beetroot, to name a few.
The candles come in terracotta pots based on a 5th century BC Greek mug and are available in a range of colours, from striking black to powder pink.
Ginori 1735
Ginori 1735’s playful candle collection is inspired by the court of Catherine de Medici. Designed by Luca Nichetto, the collection features multicoloured busts of characters from de Medici’s entourage, including L’Amazzone (The Amazon), L’Amante (The Lover), Il Letterato (The Scholar), and more.
The luxury candles are available in three fragrances: Orange Renaissance, a rich blend of bergamot Tuscan cypress, and musk; Black Stone, an oriental scent that combines nutmeg, cloves, patchouli, and amber; and Purple Hill, a light floral of mandarin, lavender, and white flowers.
Jo Malone
Jo Malone’s ability to continuously produce scents that are both inventive and accessible has garnered the company a cult status within the fragrance world. This holiday season, we recommend trying the brand’s festive collection of luxury candles, which includes scents such as Frosted Cherry & Clove, and Wood Sage & Sea Salt.
Cire Trudon x Balmain
Legendary candlemaker Cire Trudon has collaborated with Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing to create an updated version of Trudon’s beloved Ernesto candle. This new incarnation is a floral, slightly more delicate edition of the original Ernesto which is inspired by a Havana hotel during the Cuban Revolution, and features a steamy mix of tobacco, cedar and gunpowder.
The candle’s striped, red and gold container is a visual complement to Balmain’s fashion collections and ,as with all Trudon candles, the glass container has been handcrafted in Tuscany and filled with a unique wax formulation perfected over its over 300 year history.
Diptyque
It would be remiss for any story on home fragrances not to mention Diptyque. The beloved French fragrance brand turned 60 this year and has launched a number of sweet-smelling products to celebrate. Among them is ‘Le Grand Tour’ collection, which includes five new scents nodding to locations around the world that inspired the brand’s founders.
The collection includes the ‘Byblos’ candle, a roasted coffee and cedar scent so powerful you can almost taste it; and a ‘Paris’ candle, which blends myrrh with the accords of old books, wood patina, and Paris stone to recreate the feeling of strolling alongside the Seine and pausing to scan the book stalls.
Loro Piana
The first line of luxury candles from cashmere brand Loro Piana is made entirely from natural materials. This includes the fabric woven into the wax paraffin, essential oils used for the fragrance, and the cotton wick dyed with food-grade natural pigments.
These ‘sculptures-in-progress’ come in three different scents – Zibeline, Jacquard and Bouclé – which allude to materials used by the brand. Cashmere production scraps are melded into the wax as an innovative means of reducing waste.
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