I get it, summer isn’t usually the time of year you associate with burning your best candles. But, I can assure you, the best summer candles can make all the difference to the vibe of your home at this time of year. While winter candles and autumn candles are adored for making your home feel cosy, and spring candles help inject some freshness, summer candles are probably my favourite of them all thanks to their uplifting nature and the fact that I get to share them with other people.
You see, for the majority of the year, I like to be selfish with my candles—wasting precious burn time on other people?! No, thank you. However, when it comes to the warmer months and I start opening my home up for summer soirées and dinner parties, you better believe I’m bringing out my favourite summer scents to set the mood. I’m talking bright, fresh florals, balmy, holiday-esque citruses and cosier burns for those rainy summer days (something that occurs often here in the UK).
But finding a good summer candle is easier said than done. With the warmer weather comes open windows, open doors and al fresco lounging, and this means you need to look for particularly strong candles. I’m talking candles that don’t just smell great and look the part, but also ones that pack enough of a punch to generate a good throw in a breezy environment. And that is where most summer candles will let you down. But, luckily for you, as a beauty editor who specialises in all things fragrance, I have put a lot of time into testing the best summer candles—and these are the nine that I can guarantee compliments on whenever they’re burning.
1. & Other Stories Perle de Coco
(Image credit: & Other Stories)
This is, hands down, one of the best summer scents ever created. Truth be told, as soon as the weather turns warm, I slather myself in & Other Stories Perle de Coco body products, douse myself in the perfume and burn this candle as often and in as many rooms as possible. It smells like warm sun rays, soaked in a creamy caramel sauce. It is impossible to smell this and not feel instantly comforted.
2. Loewe Tomato Leaves
(Image credit: Loewe)
A bougie expense? Absolutely. But this Loewe Tomato Leaves candlestick is a really special centrepiece to any tablescape. In fact, a number of friends who have visited my home and seen/smelled this have gone on to treat themselves to one. Not only does it look impossibly chic (the whole thing is made of wax and burns away), but the throw is incredible. The aroma of ripe, juicy tomatoes fills the air before it has even been lit. It’s expensive, but it’s a stunner.
3. ESPA Positivity
(Image credit: ESPA)
If you’re after a really luxurious, spa-like scent, look no further than this one from ESPA. With a lightly floral aroma, the bright zestiness of bergamot and orange shines through, making it unbelievably uplifting and joyful. It’s one to burn when the windows are thrown open wide, your home is impeccably clean, and you’re ready to lounge on the sofa for some R+R after a hot day in the sun.
4. Diptyque Citronnelle
(Image credit: Diptyque)
Yes, citronella candles can be chic. This one from Diptyque makes for the perfect outdoor burn. Unlike other citron-based, insect-repelling candles, this one doesn’t make your eyes water and is in no way overwhelming. It has all of that familiar citrus goodness, but with a notable green crunch that brings that element of luxury synonymous with Diptyque. It’s so good, in fact, that I often burn it inside, too.
5. Earl of East Café Americano
(Image credit: Earl of East)
While sweet, creamy, coffee-scented candles might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of summer, trust me when I say this has been my most complimented candle of the season. Not only is it in the cutest vessel you ever did see, but it smells really great—like a sweetened coffee bubbling away on the stove first thing in the morning. It has become my go-to candle for those slightly dreary summer days when I find myself excited for autumn.
6. Jo Malone London Wild Bluebell
(Image credit: Jo Malone London)
If Jo Malone London Wild Bluebell is good enough for Meghan Markle, then it’s good enough for me. This scent has long been rumoured to be one of the Duchess’ favourite perfumes, and I can totally see why. In candle form, it makes for the ultimate, delicately beautiful, summer scent. Like walking through a sunlit bluebell field, it is light on the nose, but undeniably smile-inducing.
7. Maison Margiela Replica From the Garden
(Image credit: Maison Margiela Replica)
If you love juicy, crunchy, green scents but Loewe’s Tomato Leaves candle is too elaborate of a buy, this is the candle for you. While it no doubt possesses that garden-fresh, tomato aroma, it also has an added hit of zesty, juiciness that makes it somewhat mouthwatering. One deep inhale transports you to a lavish British garden on the warmest summer’s day.
8. La Montaña Wisteria
(Image credit: La Montaña)
I make it no secret that niche candle brand, La Montaña, is my favourite of all time. I have never smelled (and think I will never smell) another brand’s candle that could possibly compare. Each of the brand’s creations smells as luxurious and beautiful as the next, and the throw they give is absolutely unrivalled. My current go-to? Wisteria. I burned this in the hotel room the weekend that my now-husband and I got married at the start of the summer, and I keep returning to it. It is powdered and light, but equally as enveloping, warming and comforting. It is like throwing on a flowing linen dress and meandering the cobbled back streets of a small Italian town under the midday sun.
9. Trudon De Oro
(Image credit: Trudon)
Escapism candles don’t come much better than this. Trudon is famed for making some of the best candles in existence (albeit for a steep cost), and De Oro is no exception. The biting fruitiness transports you to a warm, breezy beach, but there is a fresh, green saltiness that ribbons its way through the scent, making it palatable, sense-clearing and totally intoxicating.