Looking for a little holiday magic this season? Here are 5 of the most popular scents used in Christmas candles that will be sure to spice up your holiday.
Candles are super popular around the holidays. They make great gifts and they make your home feel super cozy during those long winter nights. As you might have guessed there are specific scents that go into making Christmas candles. These extra special fragrances ensure your home will smell distinctly like Christmas. You probably already know what they are - those spicy, sweet, earthy tones that instantaneously put the image of a Christmas tree in your mind. It’s so familiar that we naturally gravitate towards these cheery aromas during the holiday season. But what are the individual fragrances that bring those candles to life? Here are 5 of the most popular fragrances that are used in Christmas candles.
Peppermint candles are so sweet and so cool like a candy cane. It’s often mixed with vanilla to create a sweetness that coincides with the minty peppermint just perfectly.
Peppermint is so reminiscent of Christmas that when you smell it, it almost feels playful, like the fond memories of Christmas’s past. Remember buying the classic boxes of candy canes? The ones with the red and green box and the little slots where the candy canes are perfectly placed inside. Then you’d take them home and hang them on the tree or hand them out to friends. And every year there they are again, those boxes waiting for you on the shelf. Those memories are so vivid that you can almost smell the peppermint of those candy canes.
And while peppermint may not be strictly a holiday scent, it fits in so perfectly with Christmas that when you look up “peppermint candle” on Google only 1 out of 10 items is not a Christmas product! Christmas has this scent on lockdown.
2. Vanilla
Vanilla is an extremely common fragrance so it isn’t just used for Christmas candles but it sure does go well with all the sweet and spicy scents of the holidays. It’s amazingly fragrant and has a smooth, sweet scent that’s gentle yet very distinct. It’s actually one of the top 10 most popular candle scents according to candlescience.com and it combines really well with other scents. It’s very commonly used as a base for scent combinations and provides a sweet undertone to the final fragrance.
Since vanilla is used in a lot of baking, the sweetness of it is often recognized as a food or dessert smell. This contributes to vanilla being an especially great Christmas scent. During the holiday’s people tend to bake a lot more and correlate the sweet smell of vanilla to the sweetness of baked goods.
Given that vanilla is such a distinct smell it can often be considered “strong” so it’s not for everybody. While it may be incredibly popular at the holidays there are a large number of people that could go without this smell and it can even be a trigger for migraines. BUT not every fragrance is created with equal amounts of the scent. Some candles only have a small amount or it’s combined with other scents so well that it wouldn’t be a problem for you. Try finding a candle that’s a combination of scents and not strictly a “Vanilla” scented candle.
3. Cinnamon
Cinnamon is such an adoring Christmas candle fragrance with its spicy notes that are reminiscent of gingerbread houses and goodies for the family. If you’re looking for a candle for the holidays you really can’t go wrong with cinnamon.
If you’re looking for something different try the Winter Candy Apple fragrance. With cinnamon, apple and orange combined together, it smells just like a hot cup of cider. Cinnamon actually goes really great with citrus. As a matter of fact, it’s frequently used as a non-toxic and natural way to freshen up the smell of your home.
Did you know? When cinnamon and orange peel are combined together in a pot of water and simmered gently it releases the most amazing fragrant aroma that fills your house. There are various recipes found online but here’s a simple recipe if you’re interested in trying it out! Ultimately, cinnamon is really great at creating a warm and inviting tone in your home without smelling too sweet.
4. Pine Needle
OK, this one is in fact the best Christmas candle fragrance of ALL time!
Pine needle is the classic Christmas smell. It’s so classic and so wintry you will not want to stop burning it - all.season.long. Our household goes through several per holiday season thanks to my husband. Men tend to really love this fragrance as well which makes it a win for your home or even as a gift. It’s outdoorsy but sweet and wintry at the same time.
The particular scent of pine needle can come in several different forms or found with different names but each of them has the same goal - to smell like a freshly cut Christmas tree. It just isn’t Christmas at our house without having a candle that smells like a Christmas tree. There are other candles out there that have earthy and woody tones within the fragrance but pine needle is very unique to the holidays and made to smell just like a Christmas tree.
5. Clove
Clove. It’s a little bit more elusive of a fragrance but it’s actually quite amazing and it’s included in a lot of fragrance blends for holiday candles. It creates a nice spicy smell that adds a really great richness and deeper nature to any fragrance combination.
Clove falls into the same category as cinnamon with its spicy tones and it’s also a great combo with citrus. It provides an earthy smell that can be quite grounding and relaxing. It’s also similar to vanilla and cinnamon in that it can also be used for cooking or baking which increases its familiarity with the holidays.
Whether you’re into Christmas candles or not, these scents are #1 on our list to ring in the holiday season. They scream holidays with all their spicy, sweet, warm and earthy tones. It gives us all the warm and fuzzies just talking about it! And if we’re being honest, isn’t that what we’re all looking for? Cozy up this holiday with a nice fragrant candle and enjoy your time at home.