How to Choose a Candle
As mood-setters, candles are a multifaceted piece of decor: when lit, they cast a warm glow, can emit a great scent, and in both instances instantly transform the ambience of a room. After all, fragrance brings personality and dimension that can become an extension of your personal brand and home. Even before you light it, a candle's color, the way you display it, and the vessel it resides in can shift the mood of a space. But how do you choose (and care for) one? Below we give you the basics on candles.
Types of Candles
Decorative Decorative candles focus on aesthetics. They can come in beautiful vessels made of ceramic or glass or come in different shapes other than a standard cylinder formed from a mould.
Pillar Cylindrical candles moulded from wax that are rigid enough to burn free-standing, which means they can be displayed alone, inside a hurricane lamp, or on a decorative heat-resistant plate. These are thick candles (usually at least 2 or 3 inches wide).
Taper With their tall and slender proportions, taper aka dinner candles work perfectly in candlesticks and candelabras. Sizes range from ½-inch to 1-inch in diameter and from 6 to 18 inches tall.
Votive Votive candles are small and usually cylindrical. They’re presented in a protective vessel and perfect for adding a small bit of candlelight to bedside tables, bathrooms, or shelves. Usually between 2 and 3 inches tall and 1 to 2 inches wide, they are wider than tapers but narrower than pillars.
Tea Petite and inexpensive, tea lights are small, almost flat candles ideal for scattering across high and low surfaces and offer maximum impact when grouped in multiples.
Choosing a Scent
Choose a scent based on what you’re doing or the mood you’re trying to create
Just like fragrances, the scent of a candle usually contains top, heart, and base notes. Remember: top notes are the scents which get noticed first, the heart is the core of the aroma, while base notes develop over time. When buying a candle, look for one that has a sufficient ‘scent throw’ which refers to whether a candle can fill a room with its scent: a large space needs a large candle while a smaller space needs a smaller one.
All candle waxes have a saturation point which is the limit on the amount of scent that can be added to it. An overly saturated candle will leave a layer of oil on top which unsightly, highly flammable, and a fire safety hazard. However, too little scent added means the candle won’t have a sufficient scent throw. Candle waxes also shrink or create holes when they set, often requiring a second layer of wax to be poured on top of the first layer to create a smooth finish. As such, some companies only scent the wicks or use scented wax in this second pour which is why you might stop smelling the scent of the candle after the top layer of wax has burned away.
What are candles made of?
Soy Wax Made form soybean oil, soy wax candles are natural and renewable making them a sustainable option: the natural material is biodegradable so wax spills can be easily washed out. Soy wax has a lengthy, clean burn meaning it results in less soot. Another reason to choose soy wax? It’s an excellent fragrance carrier that does not require chemical amplifiers resulting in a well-balanced, true to scent candle.
Paraffin Wax Paraffin wax is used less so in luxury candles as it produces more soot in comparison to other wax types. However it can be dyed easily and is ideal for making highly scented candles. The downside? Paraffin can be an allergen for sensitive individuals.
Beeswax Beeswax, like soy wax, is also natural and boasts a honey-like fragrance. It's known for creating a warm glow when lit. Because of its makeup, dyes and scents aren’t necessary so beeswax candles can be enjoyed as is. Due to its high melting point, the wax is also less prone to dripping.
Candle Basics
Wicks Multiple wicks tend to be used on larger candles and have visual and fragrant benefits: in addition to creating a more vibrant glow courtesy of multiple flames, multi-wick designs create larger pools of liquid wax which release a more intense fragrance. A single wick candle can emit a strong scent as well, as long as the wick is made from quality materials such as cotton or linen. The material of the wick also makes a difference in how well the candle burns and in how much care the candle requires: look for a cotton wick which burns more evenly and slowly than wire woven types. Cotton wicks also don't require trimming and smoke less than wire wicks.
Tunneling Tunneling can occur when the wax sticks to the side of the glass and doesn’t have a full melt pool (i.e. the whole surface of the candle has melted), resulting in the flam to burrow down into the candle. This can affect the quality and life of your candle. When lighting a candle for the first time, it is very important that you leave it to burn long enough that the entire top of the candle is molten wax; wax has memory and if you extinguish it before it has reached the candle’s edges, the next time you light it, it will only burn to the same diameter, hence creating a tunnel down the candle. The result? A shorter lifespan for your candle and potentially poor wick performance, causing it to smoke. Likewise a candle in a draft can cause the candle to burn unevenly resulting in the same problems. It is very important that you trim your wick each time before lighting. If there is soot on they sides of your glass, this is due to the wick being too long when lighting your candle. Trimming the wick will also lengthen the life of your candle.
Burn Time The burn time of a candle depends on its size and quality: long burn times are a signifier of higher caliber candles. You can also increase burn time by caring for candles correctly like trimming your wick and burning it for an appropriate amount of time (see above).
Candle Care
Prior to burning your candle each time, trim the wick at least ¼ inch: this prevents uneven burning, dripping, soot, or flaring and will help you achieve the longest, cleanest burn possible.
If soot forms on the inside of the vessel, extinguish the candle, wait for it to cool, then wipe the inside of the vessel with a clean damp cloth. Trim your wick and then relight it.
Always let candles burn until the entire surface becomes molten. This increases burn time and prevents tunneling.
Keep pools of molten wax free of debris such as match ends or old wick trimmings.
To prevent dripping, keep candles away from drafts and extinguish pillar candles when the wax pool reaches the edge.
Don’t burn candles for more than four hours as wicks can begin to form a ‘mushroom’.
Extinguish your candle with a snuffer, or dip the wick into the melted wax and then straighten the wick to prevent smoking and also prevent any hot wax from splattering. Do not blow out your candle.
Do not use water to extinguish a candle which can cause the hot wax to splatter and could break a glass container.