The Ultimate Guide To Home Fragrances For The Holidays And Beyond

Whether it’s a candle, fragrance diffuser, or room spray, home fragrances are the unsung hero of decor. A scent can evoke a nostalgic feeling especially for the holidays, set the mood for a party, or at the very least, help mask odors from cooking, pets, and children. Candles and diffusers can also be a great way to decorate a table, nightstand, or even a bookcase. No matter the preferred fragrance category, style of the room, or ambiance, these are the best home fragrance products to consider purchasing, gifting, and enjoying for the holiday season and all year round.

Perfect For The Holidays: Glasshouse Fragrances Christmas Trio

Australian-made Glasshouse candles are charming in every way, from their complex yet familiar scents to their unique glass vessels with lovely matching candy jar inspired lids. The Christmas Trio makes the perfect holiday hostess gift or stocking stuffer. It can also be separated and given as three separate tokens. This set includes three scents: Night Before Christmas (a true classic), White Christmas (a nostalgic throwback), and Gingerbread House (a gourmand treat). Larger candles packaged in red, silver, and white jars are also available and add a sophisticated touch of holiday cheer to any room.

When Only The Finest Will Do: LesRuches Marbré And Onyx Candles

LesRuches Mabré and Onyx candles put other luxury candles to shame. The cream-colored onyx and black marble vessels are available in eight-ounce sizes while the Marbré vessels come in larger sizes up to 54 ounces. These candles were made for decorating and the large ones can even be used as bookends— just be careful to move them away from paper before lighting. They also look striking on the edge of a soaking tub, turning any bathroom into a spa. The scents including Le Tabac and Bois Dé Santal are just as sophisticated as the packaging. When the wax is depleted, the vessels can be reused or refilled.

Subtle Yet Festive: L’Avant Collective Winter Fir Candle

While the scent of Christmas trees is lovely, many holiday candles are overpowering, but not L’Avant Collective Winter Fir. The 100 percent natural scent features notes of cedar, fir, balsam, and sandalwood from a blend of soy and coconut waxes. It has a subtle scent that feels fresh and bright. It’s the perfect candle to burn while decorating a gingerbread house or imbibing a mug of hot chocolate. The frosted green vessel has a minimalist yet upscale vibe to add a nice pop of color.  Can’t get enough? L’Avant Collective also makes Winter Fir hand and dish soaps. The brand also recently launched a candle of their signature Fresh Linen scent.

For Going Custom: Taja Collection

Taja Collection not only has beautifully scented candles (Bergamot + Cashmere smells like what dreams are made of) but they will customize the glass container making it the perfect candle for gifting. The candles are hand-poured in small batches in Miami of 100 perfect soy wax, without additives, phthalates, parabens, or synthetic dyes. Whether it’s a logo, pet portrait, monogram, or personally meaningful saying, Taja can put any design on the candle or the wood top (which doubles as a coaster),

For Gourmand Candle Lovers: Otherland Dessert First

Dessert is the best part of any meal and no one knows this better Otherland. This brand is known for its complex scents that fill a room and Dessert First is no exception. Packaged in a sugar plum purple holder, this fragrance has notes of gingersnap, black cardamom, and milky tea. Made of soy and coconut wax, Otherland candles are toxin-free, vegan, hand-poured in the USA, and have a generous 50 hour burn time.

Good Karma Included: JAÉ Candles & Co Alpine Evergreen

JAÉ Candles & Co was founded by three New Jersey teenagers during the pandemic to create light during a dark time. The brand recently announced its partnership with the KIND Campaign, a non-profit organization devoted to anti-bullying, started by Lauren Paul and Molly Thompson. Ten percent of the proceeds from the Alpine Evergreen candle benefits this important cause. All JAÉ candles are hand-poured and made from all-natural soy wax. In addition to this limited edition candle, the brand also offers fun gourmand scents like Pumpkin Ginger Spice and Sugar Vanilla Chestnut.

An Elevated Diffuser: Lindye Galloway Thucassi Ferrum Diffuser

While diffusers can be a great alternative to candles or to provide a continuous fragrance, most don’t do much in terms of being decorative. However, the Ferrum Diffuser from Lindye Galloway just pops. The chic navy blue bottle looks like an object found from an antique shop or estate sale. However, instead of standard reeds, the fragrance is diffused through blueberry-hued dried flower buds.

Ideal For High Vibes: Lifetherapy Inspired

Lifetherapy is an aptly named brand with candles designed to feel therapeutic. With a generous 75 hours of burn time, it contains notes of gardenia, pineapple leaf, sensuous musk, and palm bark. Fresh and subtle, it doesn’t overpower a space so much as enhances it. Better yet, lotion, body wash, and bath salts are also available. It’s the ideal candle to burn while reading or meditating in the bathtub.

Best For Linens: Caldrea Juniper Laurel Mint Linen & Room Spray

This limited-edition holiday spray from Caldrea is the product you didn’t know you needed. With notes of evergreen, pine, and eucalyptus, it smells like a fancy holiday market. While it instantly refreshes a room, this spray is also a great way to get rid of pet odors on fabric (especially accidents on carpet). Spray it on flannel sheets while ironing to add some fresh-pressed holiday cheer.

For Modern Spaces: Hotel Collection Scent Diffuser

The black  Hotel Collection Scent Diffuser has a sleek and modern aesthetic. Designed for rooms up to 400 square feet, it can diffuse at an interval and intensity of the user’s choosing. Easy to refill, it uses cold-air diffusion technology which is safe for children, pets, and artwork. It also won’t leave a residue. A nice variety of holiday and year-round scents are available including Pinecones & Holly and Midnight In Paris.

For Tech And Candle Aficionados: Pura Smart Device And Homesick Refills

There’s so much to like about the Pura. It’s a smart fragrance plug-in in every way. Controllable via a Bluetooth app, fragrance diffusion can be easily scheduled. This saves money because the product is only dispensed when desired, at ten different levels of strength. There’s also a seemingly endless variety of fragrances available from favorite brands including Homesick (don’t miss Ski Trip and Winter Mantle). So, it’s a great product for homes with kids and pets where candles could be hazardous.

For Farmhouse Chicness: The Little Burlap Barn

Farmhouse chic devotees will love The Little Burlap Barn. These mason jar candles feature the brand’s signature scent with notes of fresh apple, and cinnamon as well as maple and bourbon butter. The perfectly sweet soy wax has a hint of freshness for a cozy vibe, ideal for any home in any season. 

For Flower Fanatics: Floral Street Midnight Tulip

This British candle company makes the finest floral fragrances. With candles and reed diffusers available, these vegan and cruelty-free products are made with sustainably sourced ingredients. Not sure which scent to purchase? Opt for the mini candles, which are also available in a discovery set. It’s also impossible to go wrong with Midnight Tulip, which has notes of amber, incense, patchouli, lemon, saffron, and powdery damask rose. The vessels also add a pop of color to any room. 

For Masculine Style: Aerangis No. 212

Aerangic candles are minimalist and sleek in design yet quite elaborate when it comes to fragrance notes. Inspired by New York City, this candle features bergamot, fig, sandalwood, jasmine, and lemon. The black, somewhat edgy packaging makes this the right candle to give to a bachelor or anyone with a modern abode.

Doubles As Massage Oil: One Golden Thread One Golden Candle

Keep One Golden Thread One Golden Candle on a nightstand. Made from a blend of coconut, soy, and essential oils, the melt doubles as moisturizing oil for massages. The decorative gold vessel, which was crafted in India can be re-used to pot plants or to drink from after being carefully cleaned. The wick is made from all-natural balsa wood. 

For The Fickle: Snif Candle Bundle Kit

Not sure what candle to choose? The Candle Bundle Kit by Snif is a smart concept that solves this frustrating dilemma. It includes three full-size candles (Birds and the Breeze, Off The Grid, and Instant Karma Candles) and three samples that have up to 200 hours of burn time combined. If all three candles are kept, each full-size candle costs $40. It’s impossible to make mistakes with Snif.

This post first appeared on Forbes.com. To see the original, click here.