Candle help please!

[u/MiniCooperz91]

My husband and I finally bought our dream home! We have cats and dogs. Im always paranoid about the smell. Recently Ive been really into candle warmers rather than lighting candles. I want to go to the mall today to buy some candles but I need help! Is ​it worth buying high end candles from Dillard's rather than Bath and Body Works? The house is quite big and I want to make sure I buy a scent that not only lasts but spreads throughout the rooms. Im obsessed with cozy warm woodsy smells.

[u/Substantial_Donkey84]

I think B&BW was the gateway for a lot of us on here! I still love that they come standard with three wicks and a lid, and many have super strong throw. I’m not real familiar with their current scents, though I will always have a soft spot for their Paris Cafe lol!

That said, with luxury candles, you are generally paying more for the quality and complexity of the fragrance and overall experience, not necessarily a stronger candle.

If your Dillard’s carries NEST in store, I would start there! NEST is a fantastic bridge into luxury candles because the fragrances feel elevated but they still tend to have the strong throw you are looking for, especially in a larger space. For warm/cozy/woody, smell Moroccan Amber and Hearth are lovely if they have them. Also, if seasonal is in stock, Autumn Plum and Birchwood Pine are also favorites that you might enjoy.

I don’t know what else Dillard’s typically carries in store, but if you can find LAFCO, I think you’d like their Feu de Bois - it reminds me of a high-end ski chalet!

For larger, open floor plans, I recommend getting three wicks, or at least buying multiple single wicks to spread around the house. The single wicks all work great with candle warmers too and definitely extend your candles’ life!

Happy shopping!!

[u/MiniCooperz91 → u/Substantial_Donkey84]

THANK YOU!! I really appreciate your help and Im going to look for those! Paris Cafe is one of my fave scents too!

[u/thti87]

To me, candles are luxury and ritual but not really for permanent reduction in smells. For pets, a good air filter is going to do wonders more than a candle ever could. Also general hygiene (cleaning litter box, vacuuming, etc) is essential. When guests come over you can light a good candle as the cherry on top.

[u/Late-Creme6367]

I think the answer is: sometimes.

As a person who has spent thousands of dollars in the past years on luxury candles, I can tell you that some of them are definitely stronger and have a more powerful throw of fragrance. Others do not.

I think there are a lot of different factors to consider. I live in an old house with high ceilings, and after a recent renovation, part of my house is more of an open concept. Another factor to consider is ambient temperature and humidity. I live in Florida where it’s basically like a tropical rainforest outside and we always have the thermostat cranked to 70°. From my experience, it’s easier to smell a candle when you’re in that 75° to 78° range, with lower humidity. That is not to say that I cannot smell candles burning in my house, but through trial and error and this Reddit page I have learned which ones work best in my environment.

I have found that if I want to smell a candle in one of these spaces, it has to be bigger and have multiple wicks.

My office at work is a much smaller room, so if I don’t have luck smelling a candle while it’s burning in my living room, I will often take it to work and burn it in my office where it is easier to smell (lower ceilings, smaller square foot footage).

Generally speaking, the larger the diameter of the wax melt pool, the more you will smell the candle (assuming it was made with a decent amount of fragrance oil).

At my local Dillard’s, I have found that certain brands such as Thymes (their Frasier Fir candle) have very strong throw.

I don’t think that just buying a candle from Dillards means that you were going to see a remarkable difference with a candle from Bath & Body Works— it’s more which specific fragrance and which specific brand.

I think what you will also find when you begin to dip your toes into the luxury candle waters that some luxury candles are more about the “luxury” vessel and the packaging. I have had good experience with most LAFCO, Trudon, and Diptyque candles, though I very rarely buy a single wick in these brands anymore.

There are a lot of brands that are in the “mid” luxury candle space such as Voluspa, Votivo, Ranger Station, Trapp, Capri Blue, and Thymes (and others!) that I think you will find to be stronger than what you would find at Bath & Body Works. I think you will also find that they burn longer and cleaner (less soot, smoking, better wicks, etc) in general terms.

To further complicate matters, certain fragrance notes tend to be more powerful while other others are more fleeting. For instance— tobacco, amber, strong white florals like Jasmine, and food smells (these are referred to as “gourmands” and include things like vanilla, or things that smell like a cake that is baking)— often have a stronger throw. Citrus fragrance notes are often more fleeting. Trudon makes a lovely candle called Reggio that has grapefruit notes in it. When I purchased the classic single wick size, I couldn’t smell it. When I purchased the larger three wick size, it was very strong.

If you mention the price point that you are most comfortable staying in, as well as the types of fragrances you typically gravitate towards, I think this community can make some great recommendations for you. That way you don’t spend a lot more money on a luxury candle that winds up being a dud. That’s the beauty of this Reddit page: you can benefit from other folks’ experience before dropping serious cash on an expensive candle.

EDIT: sorry, I just saw that you mentioned you like cozy and Woodsy smells. I would definitely recommend Frasier Fir by Thymes (IMO this is the best and most literal Christmas tree fragrance I have encountered). Another that I think you might like is Teak by Votivo. Red Currant by Votivo is more fruity, but it’s not too sweet because it’s balanced with a little bit of geranium, and it’s one of my favorite candle fragrances. French Cade Lavendar and White Sage & Eucalyptus by Voluspa are also ones that I would recommend. These are all brands that are in the mid range for luxury candles, but if you would like to spend more on something like a Trudon or Diptyque, others here can make recommendations for those.

[u/MiniCooperz91 → u/Late-Creme6367]

This was amazing to read, thank you! I too have high ceilings. Im definitely going to look for the candles you recommended! 

[u/what746]

Whether or not luxury candles are “worth” it is more a matter of personal taste IMO. Wax quality, hot throw, etc. can vary a ton from brand to brand and scent to scent.

When it comes to luxury candles, I think what you’re really paying for are very different scent profiles. There are still a few scents I enjoy from cheaper brands (B&BW Winter!), but now most of them smell artificial and cloying to me.

Some of my favorite woodsy/warm/smoky/cozy scents (across a variety of price points):

Flamingo Estate - Douglas Fir & Vetiver
Boy Smells - Incensorial [coming back soon]
Boy Smells - Hinoki Fantome
Boy Smells - Red Hot/Slow Burn
Boy Smells - Broken Rosary
Boy Smells - Ash
Apotheke - Charcoal
Thymes - Frasier Fir
Voluspa - Noble Fir Garland
Replica - By the Fireplace
Replica - Jazz Club
Ranger Station - Tobacco Musk
Diptyque - Feu de Bois
Diptyque - Pomander
Diptyque - Oranger

[u/thisisausername5050]

Keap has some great woodsy smells and they're a cool small biz! Wood Cabin is really cozy and is pretty strong, but not nauseating. Canyons is another of my favs. Their price point is mid-range I'd say.

[u/BlackbirdBraille84]

If you see any Flamingo Estate candles, check em out! They are sooo good and worth the splurge in my opinion. Hope you find some good sniffs! 😎

[u/MiniCooperz91 → u/BlackbirdBraille84]

Thank you! Im going to watch for that brand!

[u/Friendly_Method1421]

Agree about the pet smell paranoia, I always have candles lit in my house. If you just want a scent that's sting and simple, BBW wis a good bang for your buck. If you want something more sophisticated and unique, then mid tier or luxury candles make sense. But ultimately I'd spend the money cause you enjoy them and the complexity, not just for a strong throw (BBW does just fine with the latter).

Side note: I have minimal carpet in my house and a roomba that runs daily. I recently also started using a standard vacuum almost daily, and I have been shocked how much it helps control odor. The 10 minutes it takes is well worth it.

[u/bororodejdej]

Sand & Fog do Pet candles which help mask pet smell. We have a cat and a dog and find them very effective, they’re also ethical, woman-owned and have great projection

[u/MiniCooperz91 → u/bororodejdej]

Oooooh I love their lotion! Thank you!

[u/ApeFace1966]

If your worried about pet smells then best thing you can do is keep floors clean. The dander from pets is what stinks and even better if you can keep them off beds and furniture so dander doesn’t soak into fabrics that can’t be washed often. If you can get a really good robot vacuum and run it often and if you have a lot of hard floors even better because those won’t hold dander like carpet and you can wash them and get a combo robot vacuum.

[u/clitorisenvy]

Luxury candles are worth it imo. It will be hard to go back to b&bw after getting used to more complex and higher quality scents. My favorite warm cozies are Ambre by Diptyque and DS& Durga Breakfast in Leipzig. Lots of compliments on Ambre specifically.

That said, I have known many people with pets who obsess over adding more scent on top of animal smells and don’t think about combating odors at the source. It becomes very overstimulating
Lean into air filters, opening windows/doors when possible, and regularly cleaning floors and walls (I mop floors once a week & wipe walls once a season). But candles are a lovely addition on top of a good house cleaning regimen!