Scented Candles Worth Gifting (and How to Tell Before You Burn One)

Candles are the most-gifted home object and the least-scrutinised. Most are paraffin in a pretty vessel, which burns fast and smells like a shopping centre. A good one is worth twice the price.

We burned eleven candles over four months, scoring them on how quickly they filled a room and whether the scent held to the bottom of the jar.

How we chose

Throw and consistency, measured in a normal-sized living room with the doors shut.

• Noticeable scent within twenty minutes of lighting.
• Scent still present at the last third of the jar.
• Cotton or wood wick, no metal core.
• Wax that burns evenly without tunnelling.

How to read a candle label

Wax type first

Coconut and soy blends burn cooler and throw scent more gently. Paraffin throws hard but burns faster and produces more soot.

Fragrance load, not fragrance name

A candle with eight to ten per cent fragrance oil will fill a room. Anything under five per cent is a scented candle in name only.

Wick size for the jar

A wick that is too small tunnels; too large and it smokes. Double wicks in a wide jar are usually a sign the maker thought about it.

The bottom line

Buy a coconut or soy candle with a cotton wick, in a scent family you know they like: woodsmoke, fig, cedar, salt. Avoid food scents unless you are certain.