15 Best Scented Candles of 2026, Tested and Reviewed

Whether you’re looking for a cozy night in or need to air out the stress and anxiety of the day, there’s nothing like a good candle to elevate the ambiance of your home and set the mood. Candles also make great gifts for almost any recipient or occasion. With so many different types to choose from, it’s easy to see how picking the right candle can be difficult. From woody scents to floral fragrances, and from seasonal collaborations to the best candles for gifting, the vast array of options available is overwhelming.

To save you the time and energy of picking the right candle (and possibly a headache from sniff-testing one too many candles in store), our team of editors and product testers tested a variety of different scented candles you’ll love, no matter the scent family or vibe you’re looking for. Keep scrolling to find our top fifteen scented candle picks.

How We Tested

After spending hours of research, we shipped over a hundred candles to our offices, where HGTV editors and product testers smelled every single candle and picked out their favorites. Grouping similar scents together and dividing among eight editors, we then sent 74 of those top candles home for testing, lighting them one at a time and evaluating them on scent quality, accuracy and packaging.

Scent Quality: We sniffed each candle before burning it, noting whether the scent was too strong, too weak or just right. After lighting the wick, we again observed how strong the candle was or if the fragrance changed while burning. We also wrote down how long it took for the candle to melt all the way to the border of the vessel and whether the wax burned unevenly or resulted in any tunneling. If the wick fell apart or had a large buildup of soot, we noted this, too.

Accuracy: As part of our testing, we smelled each candle and considered whether or not the scent was accurate to the product description and scent notes. If a particular scent was overpowering the others or there was an unexpected additional fragrance, we wrote that down.

Packaging: Finally, we wrote what we liked and didn’t like about each candle’s packaging and vessel. We evaluated things like if the vessel looked good in our spaces, whether it was stylish enough to repurpose for an alternative use after all the wax had melted and if the branding was too distracting. If a candle came pre-gift-wrapped and would be great to gift as-is or featured a handy lid to protect the candle from dust when not in use, we noted that as well.

What to Consider When Buying a Candle

Depending on your price point, it can be helpful to examine certain factors when shopping for your next candle. We tapped Chrissy Fichtl, founder of APOTHEKE, Kudzi Chikumbu, also known as Sir Candle Man on Instagram and Saskia Wilson-Brown, founder of The Institute for Art and Olfaction, for their expertise on what you should be looking out for.

Candle Size: This might seem like a trivial detail, but depending on your preferences, the size of your candle and the size of the room you put it in does matter. The main factor to think about is “throw” — “how far the fragrance projects and diffuses into the room,” according to Chikumbu. Larger candles ultimately give the biggest throw, but if you’re placing a candle in a small room, like a bathroom, a votive will suffice. If you’re the type to care about what candle goes in what type of room, Fichtl recommends a citrus scent for your kitchen. “It just feels like it's almost cleansing your kitchen and getting rid of any kind of smell,” she said. To keep your living room cozy, consider a woody amber scent. Of course, scent is very personal to each person, so as Wilson-Brown says: “The only rules are the ones you set for yourself!”

Wax Type: The most popular wax used in candles is soy, though exclusively using soy gives you less of a throw, Fichtl says. Coconut wax is another type frequently used, though because it melts quickly, it’s often used in conjunction with soy or paraffin wax. Paraffin wax is considered a byproduct, so if you’re looking for a more natural candle, it might be best to avoid this kind. Beeswax is also an option that burns cleanly, but can turn yellow over time. Typically, most candles are a combination of several types of waxes.

Wick Type: Wick is an important factor in the burning process of your candle. “If it's a tightly braided wick, it will have a very strong, tight flame that stays very centered,” said Fichtl. “If you have a looser braid, it opens up the flame a little bit, which makes the candle burn a little bit hotter, which then also makes the candle have a little bit more scent.” Be sure to watch out for a cheaply made wick — according to Wilson-Brown, they can create carbon buildups, which then make the burning process messy and smoky.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of candle is the best to gift?

When gifting a candle, aim for one more elevated in design and decor to absolutely wow the recipient. If you’re unsure of a person’s scent preferences, Wilson-Brown recommends you get something like rose, vanilla or tomato leaf — they’re universally beloved fragrances. But be wary of too strong of a scent. Chikumbu notes that some people are sensitive to fragrances, so opt for a candle that has not too strong of a scent so as not to overwhelm anyone.

How can you tell if a candle’s ingredients are good quality?

According to Fichtl, finding a candle with good quality ingredients is all in the smell. “What I want you to understand is that when you smell a scent that's high quality, the first accord that your nose senses should be a very clear understanding of what you're smelling,” she says. That is, if you smell a candle that has a filler to it — not what it’s advertised to be — it’s a sign that its ingredients might not be as high quality.

What’s the difference between a top note and a middle note?

The very first scent that you smell is considered your top note. It’s not the main smell, but it’s what you get a whiff of first. The middle note is the heart of your candle’s scent. “It's what you want to smell in your candle,” Fichtl says. “You want to smell a lot of it.”

How do you prevent tunneling in your candle?

Tunneling happens when the wax on the side of your candle remains unmelted, leaving a small, deep circle in the wax. It’s difficult to fix once it happens because it essentially becomes a memory ring for the rest of the candle’s life. To prevent tunneling from happening, make sure that when you first burn your candle, the entire top melts, which will likely take a few hours. This way, after you blow out your candle, it will cool down without a tunnel. To further ensure the longevity of your candle, make sure to trim your wick. A quarter of an inch tall should suffice, says Fichtl.

If you are a victim of tunneling in your candle, there are a few ways to remedy this. Chikumbu recommends using a candle lamp — a favorite method of his. Putting a candle under a candle lamp will heat it fast and melt the excess wax. If you don’t have a candle lamp, you can also cover the candle in aluminum foil and put a hole in the top to melt the wax.

What are some candle trends?

If you haven’t already noticed, a popular scent that’s emerging in perfume is a very sweet gourmand-type fragrance. “Sometimes the home fragrance triggers perfume, like body care, and sometimes body care then goes to home fragrance,” Fichtl says. In this case, the marshmallow-sweet scent permeating perfumes has made its way over to candles. Expect to see elevated vanilla and sophisticated confectionery scents in shops. Decorative vessels are also rising in popularity. “I think candles follow that lipstick effect, where people still indulge in some luxury items from time to time, and they want them to be really nice,” Chikumbu says.

Why You Should Trust Our Testers

Our picks were tested by a plethora of HGTV editors, all of whom have years of experience conducting hands-on tests for a variety of home products. They created a rigorous testing rubric for this test and brought each candle to try out in their own home, using personal experience to inform their insights.

Why You Should Trust Our Writer

For this article, Amelia Chang, HGTV’s Editorial Assistant, spoke with three experts in the candle space to contribute reporting to this review. She has experience with hands-on testing at HGTV and loves burning candles in her apartment.

Why You Should Trust HGTV Shopping Experts

HGTV Shopping Experts believe the best method for testing products is based on how our fans are going to use them in the real world. In each of our Tested and Reviewed stories, products are not tested in sterile laboratory settings that don't mimic real life. Instead, we test products in real homes that reflect our readers' real lives, which can also include pets, kids, partners and more. We follow rigorous testing rubrics designed by our expert editors and take copious notes during the testing process. When choosing our top picks, we evaluate all of our testing data and take into consideration many factors, including ease of use, price, product availability and practicality. Our goal is to choose the best products for our readers.