(Fragrance)
Winter Candles To Burn On Cozy Nights In
Bonus: They double as decor.
A snuggly blanket, warm cup of cocoa, and the right candle flickering away make for the perfect triple threat for winter. “There's nothing like a flame burning in a cold month to make you feel cozy, paired with the perfect scent that makes your home inviting, warm, comfortable — your escape oasis where you feel safe,” says Kudzi Chikumbu, aka Sir Candle Man, fragrance influencer and author of Let It Burn: Illuminate Your Life with Candles and Fragrance. “Winter candles help create that feeling of nostalgia with friends and family, but they also have an end-of-year unwind feeling.”
Finding the perfect winter candle is key, but with so many choices out there, narrowing it down can be tough. “I always say a candle should have three things: scent, style, and strength,” Chikumbu says. “I like a candle with a strong throw — I really want to feel the scent. And I'll probably be burning it for a long time, so I like a cleaner burn. Maybe a soy wax candle, coconut beeswax, or if not that, then a soy wax blend is fine.”
The trick in nabbing a great winter candle is looking for the right notes for the mood you want to convey. “I love warm vanillas that are not too sweet,” Chikumbu says. “I’m into cinnamon, orange, and nutmeg scents for that kind of mulled wine feeling. I love pine or fir — it feels like a Christmas tree and nostalgia. I also like boozy notes like bourbon, rum, cognac notes or accords that feel like a fun holiday party with friends and family. But ultimately, my ideal combo would be a delicious vanilla with a touch of spice, a little dash of bourbon, and a joyful stone fruit feeling.”
Strike a match and light up one of these top winter candles.
“This candle is gorgeous,” Chikumbu says. “It's white rum, fir, cedarwood, and vanilla bourbon. To me, it's the perfect warm coziness, but still a little icy, so it feels wintery but warm. It's also gorgeous in a really nice blue vessel with gold speckling.”
Cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves bring on the spice, but there are also orange and mandarin with a touch of vanilla. “That feels like a true holiday season mulled wine, but also mysterious,” Chikumbu says. Then there’s the fact that the candle is a showstopper, with the Trudon crest and the new design for this holiday season.
Nothing says snuggly night in like a fireplace. No fireplace? No problem. This candle will make your home feel like you have one anyway, with notes of dwarf pine wood, atlas cedar, smoke, oak ash, and birch.
Sweet and spicy, this is what it’s like to be curled up in a brownstone during wintertime, with notes of nutmeg and cedarwood. “It also feels very orangey,” Chikumbu says. “There's a little bit of ginger and red chili, so really zingy and effervescent, and then it has a nice base of resin.”
Companion Candles teamed up with celebrity makeup artist Daniel Martin on a limited-edition pet-friendly candle that pays aesthetic homage to Martin’s black cat, Weezy. Evoking a crisp, fresh winter day, it spotlights wintermint and embered juniper. A portion of proceeds will be donated to Mission Meow to support cat rescues.
There’s no place like home for the holidays, which Courteney Cox’s Homecourt sums up perfectly with this candle. “It's cardamom, amber, juniper berry, and then that fir balsam note, which feels like a fireplace, but green and woody at the same time,” Chikumbu says.
“This is one I've been enjoying burning,” Chikumbu says. “It's a white floral jasmine, but it's also really warm because there's a deep vanilla in there and then patchouli. It feels like light is glowing in your home, if that is a scent. And the vessel is this nice, deep green — gorgeous.”
“This is a candle that made me fall in love with candles,” Chikumbu says. “It's fiery— incense and smoke, but still warm and deep. It's so luxurious. It's like holiday at your friend's really rich, gorgeous home.”
“[This cnadle] feels like California Christmas — warm, inviting, meditative, relaxing, joyful,” Chikumbu says. “It has frankincense, tuberose, and vanilla.”
“It's oak, whiskey, patchouli — it feels like a very late night hangout with old friends catching up,” Chikumbu says of this candle. “It comes in a really nice, gorgeous metal vessel that you can reuse and makes for great home decor.”
