Buying a candle is one of the most personal gifts that you can buy for yourself or any man in your life. While it is usually the packaging that draws us in, the best candles for men is about the scent that truly matters. Scents can unlock memories and remind us of people and places that we love.
You have probably picked up a candle before and been transported back into a particular memory. Perhaps of a family holiday to the beach or maybe it reminds you of the signature perfume of a friend.
Candles are so much more than just a piece of decoration. Men are becoming a growing niche within the candle industry, accounting for 10% of sales in the USA in 2017.
Whether you’re a newbie to buying candles, or a man with a good nose for candles, we’re rounding up the top 10 best candles for men.
1. La Jolie Muse Large Scented Candle
The sleek design of this black tin candle will look at home on your dresser or fireplace. It has a Tom Ford inspired feel that makes it appear more expensive than its attainable price tag. This candle offers you 85 to 100 hours of burn time, coming in at an impressive 369g.
The scent of this candle is of a tobacco leaf herb with a warm vanilla top note, and the addition of musk and wood. It’s a unisex candle that features the traditional top notes of men’s colognes, creating a musky scent in your home that will help you relax.
La Jolie’s candles use natural soy which is eco-friendly and biodegradable, meaning you can enjoy your candle guilt-free while knowing you’ve done your bit to help the environment.
The candle jar includes a topper which allows you to achieve an even burn. As well as being eco-friendly, this tobacco leaf candle is paraben-free and cruelty-free making it one the best candles for men who care about the planet.
2. Octo Hygge Candle
Hygge – the Danish way of living – is having a revival thanks to social media. This aesthetic focuses on the idea of cosiness and the concept of putting comfort first to help you feel more content.
It focuses on creating safe spaces in your home, with candles playing a central role in that idea as they help to set the mood of any room and help you feel meditated.
This candle offers you hygge in a jar. Its top notes include cinnamon, orange, and clove, which create a homely scent that makes us want to curl up with a new book in front of the fire.
The Octo candles are hand-poured in London in small batches, and the company is on a mission to create natural and affordable candles.
Each candle is made using 100% natural soy wax that is phthalates free, along with 100% pure natural essential oils that contain no colourants or dyes. Along with its sustainable ingredients, the Octo candle packaging uses recycled cardboard.
3. Yankee Candle Dreamy Summer Nights
Is a candle list ever complete without a Yankee Candle? The American candle marker continues to dominate the market for more than fifty years since it was founded.
And no, Yankee Candles aren’t just for women! Men, don’t feel ashamed, our founder Brandon, and many men around the world love Yankee, don’t let anyone tell you differently.
‘Dreamy Summer Nights’ features a blend of vanilla bean and heliotrope, with an undernote of wood. This candle will transport you back to summer nights in the beer garden with friends and camping holidays with your family.
Yankee Candles are infamous for their long-lasting scent and their ability to achieve a clean and even burn with every use.
The small jar candles from Yankee Candle burn for up to 30 hours, and you can easily remove the label if you want to create a minimalistic look.
What makes Yankee Candle so popular is their natural fibre cotton wick, which allows for a clean and even burn, so that you can get the most out of your candle. It’s one of the best candles for men, because it’s an easy pick up when you’re in the Yankee Store.
4. Shearer Candles Amber Noir
If you are a man of mystery, then look no further than the Shearer Candles’ signature scent, ‘Amber Noir’. This scent smells as though it is a private blend from a luxury fragrance house with its unique mix of tuberose, violets and amber that creates a sensual aroma.
Shearer Candles is a Scottish based company that was established in 1897 in the city’s historic candle making district within Glasgow, giving it a heritage that other brands lack as the UK’s longest established lifestyle candle company.
Although no longer owned by the Shearers, Shearer Candles still operates as a family-run business today under the ownership of the Barnet family.
Their candles offer you a piece of affordable luxury, with up to 30 hours of burn time and a sleek gold metal lid. The colour combinations themselves looks like the Candleaholic branding, so we just had to feature it!
‘Amber Noir’ is part of their ‘Couture’ collection that combines Spring and Winter together to give you a versatile scent that you can burn throughout the year.
The scent is also available in a tin candle size, as well as in a 100ml oil diffuser option.
5. St Eval Sandalwood
Tin candles have become increasingly popular thanks to their versatility and functionality that means you take them with you on the go.
The ‘Sandalwood’ candle by St. Eval offers you a warm musk and woody scent that brings a touch of fresh autumn air into your home.
Each tin is hand-poured in Cornwall, with an approximate burn time of up to 45 hours. The St. Eval candles are made of a mixture of mineral and vegetable wax which improves their stability and performance.
Their candles are vegan and contain no animal products, using a ‘food grade’ quality of wax.
St. Eval began at a kitchen table in Cornwall and has now been making candles for over 25 years. It’s one of the best candles for men to come out of the UK.
Their values include keeping the candle-making tradition alive and being as sustainable as possible to protect the environment.
6. Simon & Tom Amber and Musk
When it comes to candles for men, amber and musk are two top notes that appear across the board. So it’s no surprise that Simon & Tom have brought the two together in their ‘Amber & Musk’ candle.
If you’re on the hunt for an elegant candle to gift to the man in your life, then the Simon & Tom range is a perfect choice.
This candle offers a burn time of 100 hours and the refreshing scent of amber and musk, with vanilla and green tea undertones. The ‘Simon & Tom’ candles are made in Spain, with a recommended use time of 4 hours.
While ‘Simon & Tom’ offer vegan candles, the ‘Amber & Musk’ scent is non-vegan, however the ‘Vanilla’ and ‘Green Rose’ options are vegan.
This candle is the perfect choice if you want to experiment with a European candle that offers you a luxury experience. The ‘Simon & Tom’ collection is elevated in every aspect, from its packaging to its scent.
‘Simon & Tom’ takes its inspiration from the journeys that we experience in life and the exceptional nature around us. Their candles bring together textures and captivating scents that can become part of your daily ritual.
7. Skandinavisk HAV Scented Candle
If you want to invest in a European inspired candle, then this 200g Skandinavisk candle is a perfect choice.
This ‘HAV’ candle takes its name from the Scandinavian word for ‘sea’, with the scent inspired by the Arctic and Baltic seas, as well as the North Atlantic water that sounds the Scandinavian region.
The scent encapsulates this through its use of seaweed, hawthorn, and beach rose to remind you of a stroll along the seaside.
The Skandinavisk candles use a Swedish rapeseed wax and a pure cotton wick, which sits inside a painted glass jar, complete with its own engraved beechwood lid.
When you light this candle and close your eyes, you can be instantly transported to Scandinavia. Once you’re finished with the candle, you can reuse the glass jar to house tea lights or for storage.
This is one of the best candles for men who wants something that keeps that minimalist style, perhaps its great for their desk, or office!
8. TOFU Scented Candles Gift Set
This gift set by TOFU allows you to try two of their scents – lavender and amber moss. The candles give you up to 50 hours of burn time, with the candles coming in at just over 200g each.
If you are in search of a candle to help you relax, then lavender is one scent that is known around the world for its ability to aid with your sleep and to help you de-stress.
Amber moss creates a calming environment that would be perfect for any living space in your home, with the glass containers designed to fill your room with the scent.
The TOFU candles use 100% soy wax, with no additives and 100% essential oil that gives these scents their potency. Their focus is on creating an aromatherapy experience, with their high concentration of plant extract and essential oils that are intended to help your de-stress from the events of your day.
The candles have a lead-free cotton wick and use premium perfume-grade fragrance oils to help you achieve a clean burn with long-lasting scents that hang in the air even after you blow out the candle.
As you would expect from a brand called ‘TOFU’, the candles are paraben and cruelty-free.
The brand’s packaging is minimalistic and down-to-earth, reflecting its focus on natural ingredients and tranquil scents. The TOFU candles come with a giftable box, meaning it’s the perfect ready-to-go gift for any occasion throughout the year.
9. 221B Baker Street Scented Candles
For fans of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, there is only one candle that you need in your life – the ‘221B Baker Street’ candle. The packaging features a tartan check design on one side, inspired by the detective’s signature look.
It also incorporates one of Sir Conon Doyle’s infamous quotes on the back – “when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth”.
This soy candle transports you into the world of Sherlock Holmes with its unique mix of teakwood, tobacco and fresh rain – just what you would smell at 221B Baker Street during an English afternoon.
The glass jar helps prolong the life of your candle, and it is the perfect size to take with you on the go between your home and office space.
Each candle is handmade and poured in small batches, with the vegan-friendly recipe giving you a longer and cleaner burn with an approximate burn time of up to 25 hours.
Whether you’re a fan of Sherlock Holmes or know someone who is, this candle makes a thoughtful gift with its artistic flair.
If the British detective is not your choice of entertainment, then the brand also has an Aladdin inspired Arabian nights candle.
10. NEOM Organics London Happiness Candle
When it comes to brands that are making an impression in the world of candles, NEOM is becoming a breakout star. Each of their candles is inspired by the emotions that the scents make you feel.
This particular candle is a floral scent that is designed to make you feel happy, whatever your version of happiness is, making it one of the best candles for men who want a floral touch.
92% of those who took part in the NEOM Happiness Programme felt uplifted and in a better mood after using the products.
The Happiness candle uses a unique blend of 7 of the purest essential oils, including neroli, mimosa and lemon, to create a unique blend that balances your emotions and makes you feel more positive, both in body and mind.
Each candle contains up to 40ml of pure essential oils to create a long-lasting scent that lingers in the air. NEOM recommends that you light all 3 wicks in the candle at the same time and burn them for at least 2 hours at a time to help the wax burn evenly.
As it is a candle that is made with your happiness and wellness in mind, it’s no surprise that this candle is 100% natural, using ethically sourced ingredients with no harsh chemicals, artificial colours or paraffins in the wax.
The candle is part of their ‘To Make You Happy’ range, which includes a diffuser and a mood-lifting pulse point so that you can keep the scent with you on the go to give you little bursts of happiness throughout the day.
There’s a look at the best candles for men based on our personal opinions. We’ve tried and tested most on the list, and can assure you any man in your life will love it. Or if you’re a man wanting to treat yourself, any of these listed above will be the perfect personal gift.
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