There are rituals that, no matter how small, can elevate a day, a space and an experience from good to great. You know this well from your favorite cigar, but it can extend across plenty of different areas: Putting on a vinyl record, sliding into stylish slippers or lighting a tasteful, richly scented candle (or a combination of all three).
The best candles on the market are another extension of your favorite scents: Not as wearable as the best colognes, but another way to elevate a home, living room or den in signature, tasteful style. The best options can be seasonal, with dark, deep scents for fall and winter, as well as light, airy and refreshing for the spring and summer months.
And with plentiful options on the market, the right candle is almost like a design piece in and of itself: Some are housed in vintage-style containers, others feature matte black designs or vibrant glass. All are worthy of adding to each and every room in your house.
D.S. & Durga Be Still Candle
In New York City, D.S. & Durga candles are a cult favorite and prized by everyone from stylish apartment dwellers to the city’s finest restaurants. They immediately set the tone and fill a space, with this option covering everything from incense and cypress to copal. With an artistic label and colorful glass, they’re also an indicator of great taste (at least, in our opinion).
Ash & Fir Upstate Candle Quad
Head over to Bespoke Post, purveyors of some of the coolest gear and home goods on the market, to outfit any space with not one, not two or three, but four handsome candle options. Inspired by the rich, refreshing air and wonderful nature of upstate New York, these candles are almost like visiting a quaint town on the Hudson River. Our favorite might be the Beacon, with rich dark barrel rum notes.
Le Labo Santal 26 Classic Candle
When shopping for the best candles for your home, you might notice a few names appear reliably over and over again. Le Labo is another brand with an intense focus on iconic scents, and its candles (similar to D.S.& Durga) are prized by some of the most stylish outposts in major cities across the globe. In this case, notes of musk and leather add richness to any space, especially a den or carefully outfitted basement bar.
P.F. Candle Co. Piñon Candle
Recall what we said about the best candles adding some design flair to any space, yes? That’s perhaps no more true than with a deeply scented candle housed in an apothecary-style amber jar, as with this Southwest-inspired candle. That means, as the company says, you’re getting style points in addition to scent notes of vanilla, a smoky bonfire or crisp Southwest winters.
Hawthorne Aromatic and Woody Candle
It follows that the custom scent makers at Hawthorne – who identify your signature scent with an easy online quiz – have done quite the job at crafting a fairly priced, sleek candle with its own prized scent. The matte black candle jar holder is sleek and polished in its own right, but it’s the aptly named woodsy scent that’s caught our attention (and impressed guests more than once).
