28 Best Candles to Elevate Your Space

Why We Love It: Jo Malone London's Red Roses Scented Home Candle evokes the elegance of a bundle of thoughtfully selected roses. This romantic blend incorporates citrus elements to compliment the gentle sweetness of the rose and a honeycomb base to round out all of the floral goodness. You can consider lighting this home fragrance as handing a divine bouquet to your bedroom.

Key Notes: Lemon, red roses accord, and honeycomb
Burn Time: 45 hours

Why We Love It: Gourmand scent fans, listen up because Mala's Milk + Honey candle is here to make your whole house smell like a bakery. Maybe that bakery is the kitchen in your childhood home, where you snuck cookie dough bites while mom was rummaging through the cabinet for chocolate chips. Maybe it's the boulangerie down the block you visit daily after work. Any way you spin it (stir it?), this candle smells totally delicious.

Key Notes: Vanilla, cinnamon, and cream
Burn Time: 20 to 25 hours

Why We Love It: Boy Smells's Kush candles are perpetual best-sellers, and this Cashmere iteration is a softer, slightly less earthy option for those who might not want the intensity of cannabis flower scent. The heady warmth and powdery musk are ideal for a rainy day, to accompany a glass of red wine — or even something a little more smoky, if you know what we mean.

Key Notes: Pot flower, geranium leaf, cashmere wood, and white amber
Burn Time: 50 hours

Why We Love It: The Nest New York Lime Zest & Matcha Candle is an excellent option if you're looking for something bright and mood-boosting but want a break from overly floral scents. The unlikely magic of lime and matcha come together for a surprising, uplifting, evenly-burning treat. Oh, and the candle won a 2023 Best of Beauty Award. Enough said.

Key Notes: Lime zest, green tea, clary sage, and bergamot
Burn Time: 50 to 60 hours

Why We Love It: Harlem Candle Co.'s Langston Luxury Candle honors renowned jazz poet Langston Hughes with scents that evoke the strength of his writing. Think the cloven tobacco wafting from pipes on his Harlem, NYC block, the leather of his armchair, and the amber scents reminiscent of his frequent visits to Mexico. This soy-blend wax candle is perfect for your home library or as a housewarming gift to your lit-loving friend.

Key Notes: Clove, jasmine, vanilla, and amber
Burn Time: 80 hours

Why We Love It: We can't give Glossier's You enough hype — whether it comes as a rollerball, deodorant, or solid perfume. That said, we have a soft spot for the candle version of the brand's bestselling scent. The well-balanced, fresh, peppery fragrance is a welcome addition to any room and is a nice alternative to taking sniff breaks to smell your wrist every hour. This might just be your new favorite candle.

Key Notes: Pink pepper, iris, and ambrette
Burn Time: 45 hours

Why We Love It: Ask the folks at Bond No. 9, and they'll tell you the Nuits de NoHo scent is the essence of the ultra-desirable Manhattan neighborhood. It'll transport you to your glory days living in the city, strolling through its cobblestone streets after dark on a warm summer night. If you're feeling extra generous, gift this candle to your sister along with two round-trip tickets to NYC.

Key Notes: Jasmine, creamy vanilla, and sheer patchouli
Burn Time: 60 hours

Why We Love It: What's in a name? Here: Vacation. More than once. The brand's signature scent aims to transport you back to the best getaway of your life. The beach pic you have as your phone background is a good place to start, but let's kick it up a notch. Even if you already own it in fragrance form, this candle is what you need to complete your collection. Plus, this candle nabbed a 2023 Best of Beauty award for the best beachy candle.

Key Notes: Coconut, banana, pool water, and swimsuit lycra
Burn Time: 50 hours

Why We Love It: Maison Francis Kurkdijian fragrances always pass the sniff test, and the brand's fan-favorite Oud Satin Mood scent is among its best. This is the oud for people who are wary of ouds. It's intoxicating, a little sweet, and flowery enough to temper the scent's natural intensity and transform it into something supremely sophisticated and unique.

Key Notes: Violet, geranium, oud, and rose
Burn Time: 55 hours

Why We Love It: Driving along Big Sur, the stretch of river that runs through mountains of the California coast, is what we'd call a perfect day. It's even better if you do it during a downpour, but if you don't catch one of those, the D.S. & Durga Big Sur After Rain Scented Candle is the next best thing. The smell of fresh rainwater on the seaside flowers and the soft headiness of settling fog is the vibe you deserve in your apartment, no matter where you live. We're huge D.S. & Durga fans; this is another reason to shop the brand.

Key Notes: Coastal rain, eucalyptus, magnolia, wet wood
Burn Time: 60 hours

Why We Love It: Ellis Brooklyn's Pseudonym isn't too hard to fig-ure out. The fruit is the star of this scent, bolstered by other key bright, smooth notes. It's 100% vegan, with a creamy make and wide scent throw. The coolest part? This candle was inspired by a poem: D.H. Lawrence's "Figs." Allow us to quote "every fruit has its secret." Your secret? This delightful candle.

Key Notes: Bergamot, Capri fig, tonka beans, and sandalwood
Burn Time: 50 to 60 hours

Why We Love It: For all of you non-Francophones, bibliothèque means library in French, and this candle means teleportation to a corner of the world where time stands still. Picture being surrounded by the divine smell of leather-bound books and the sweet musk of aging paper. Step onto the ladder, grab your favorite classic from the top shelf, and cozy up in a well-worn, cushy chair. Better yet, picture the whole thing going down in France.

Key Notes: Plum, cinnamon, leather, and vanilla
Burn Time: 60 hours

Why We Love It: Lafco's taken everything you love (or imagine you would love) about the jungle — the verdant landscape, the wet-and-woody aromas, the sweet flesh of ripened fruits — and poured it as a candle. It's the ultimate love note to the tropic wild in all of its leafy glory. The jar has no label, so once you've burned it down, you can repurpose it as home decor. How fun.

Key Notes: Coconut water, wild lily, and mango wood.
Burn Time: 90 hours.

Why We Love It: You can't go wrong with a vanilla candle, and you extra can't go wrong with this one from Skylar. The coziness of this candle will turn any room into your favorite room, thanks to the rich (but not overpowering) vanilla and cappuccino aromas. You'll find your kitchen has transformed into your favorite café, and we wouldn't be surprised if your next move is buying the fragrance version of this same scent.

Key Notes: Vanilla, caramelized cedarwood, and cappuccino
Burn Time: 45 hours

Why We Love It: You never thought you'd be homesick for your home office, but if you're back on a hybrid schedule, you'd do anything to be sitting at your desk 15 feet from your bed. So when you're WFH on Mondays and Fridays, light up this bad boy and make your workday feel a little more like a weekend. Plus, the bold labels on Homesick candles are always a great, graphic touch to amp up your space.

Key Notes: Water lillies, oud, and patchouli
Burn Time: 60 to 80 hours

Why We Love It: Le Labo's Santal 33 has had us in a chokehold for years, but if you're looking to expand your horizons, Santal 26 is another favorite. Named for the 26 notes in its composition, this candle is smoky without being smothering and gentle without being weak. It adds an aristocratic flair to any room, filling the air with a comforting, woody goodness we've come to love.

Key Notes: Amber, cocoa, vanilla, cedar, musk, and sandalwood
Burn Time: 60 hours

Why We Love It: Fresh is the word. Otherland's soy and coconut wax Verdant Verve Candle will take you right back to childhood, tip-toeing through the garden on a summer night to spy on the grownups, talking about important grownup things. It's bright, it's herbal, and it invigorates any room in which you choose to set it down and light it up.

Key Notes: Oak moss, neroli blossom, and fresh thyme
Burn Time: 55 hours

Why We Love It: If you've already been dousing your body in Maison Margiela's Replica Bubble Bath scent (guilty!), you'll want the candle, too. You know how your bathroom smells after a nice, steamy shower? That's the vibe here. As this cozy candle burns, the notes come together to emulate the freshness of your favorite body wash, and coconut milk accord adds an ever-welcome, never-cloying touch of sweetness.

Key Notes: Soap bubbles, rose, white musk, and coconut milk
Burn Time: 40 hours

Why We Love It: The centuries-old tradition of fragrancing leather goods inspires the Malin + Goetz Leather Candle. Here, the inventive brand captures that nostalgia while embracing modernity, creating a candle that fuses muted florals, wood notes, and, of course, leather. Suddenly, your favorite leather jacket has some serious competition. Light this bad boy, grab your journal, and start working on those poems you've been dying to put on paper.

Key Notes: Lotus flower, iris wood, leather, and cashmere musk
Burn Time: 60 hours

Why We Love It: Brooklyn Candle Studio knows how to create a sense of place, and the Brooklyn Escapist Candle is no exception. This hand-poured candle is inspired by the NYC borough you know and love, with its many moods and destinations. Simply put, it reminds us of crowding into a cocktail bar booth with our closest friends. Whether marking the beginning or end of the night, the vibes are immaculate; Live jazz is seeping in from the back room. The $14 cocktail was worth it, and you can't wait to do the whole thing all over again next weekend.

Key Notes: Orange blossom, leather, patchouli, and wild sage
Burn Time: 70 hours

Why We Love It: The sugary citrus of the Capri Blue Volcano White Signature Jar Candle evokes a summer soirée dressed in your finest white-wears. Whether you're transported to a gathering on a beach or a perfectly kempt backyard, this candle captures the feeling of your chicest celebration yet. When Labor Day rolls around, and you reluctantly resign your white pants to the back of your closet, rest assured you can keep burning this candle year-round.

Key Notes: Tropical fruit, sugar, citrus
Burn Time: 85 hours

Why We Love It: Rose lovers, rejoice. You'll be a fast fan of Voluspa's sweet take on this classic pick, which finds you in a rose garden, surrounded by the flower's many species — no thorns necessary. It's a great pick to bridge the confusing weather that marks the transition from winter to spring and will help you manifest your fullest bloom to date. The pink glass jar is an extra lovely touch and looks good on any surface.

Key Notes: Rosa Damascena flower tops, Bulgarian rose, and pink peony
Burn Time: 40 hours

Why We Love It: Diptyque's Maquis Scented Candle is designed to smell like the plush shrubland of the Mediterranean, so this is your endgame if you want a scent that gives you vacation vibes minus the beach. The fragrance is a nod to sun-baked earth and the gently spicy air surrounding immortelle flowers. Diptyque always does it right, and if you're already a fan of their bestselling Baies scent, grabbing this candle is a no-brainer.

Key Notes: Amber, leather, and rockrose shrubs
Burn Time: 60 hours

Why We Love It: Sundays's C.02 Green Fig & Ginger Candle is a 100 percent soy candle with a cotton wick. It burns to create an uplifting, undeniably floral scent, while middle notes add a dash of sweet spice into the mix. It's a great addition to any wellness routine, whether it's breathwork, early morning stretching, or gratitude journaling. Before you start your day, swap out the essential oil diffuser for this candle and feel the tranquility at work.

Key Notes: Fresh orange peel, ginger, fig, and sandalwood
Burn Time: 50 hours

Why We Love It: Tuck yourself into bed, lean over to your nightstand and light Apotheke's White Vetiver candle. We promise you'll want to get up even less than usual. Anchored by a woody essence, this expensive-smelling, feminine scent is a little creamy and a little crisp, making it a go-to for any occasion that calls for a candle. Scratch that. Every occasion calls for a candle.

Key Notes: Sicilian bergamot, silky cashmere, white cedar, and crisp amber
Burn Time: 60 to 70 hours