Um depends on the fragrance...

Not generally a fan. But I recently bought one with the scent of "Fresh Laundry" and it was really nice and non-offensive.

Funny -- the hubster and I just had this conversation. I snuck in a small scented candle into his travel bag. He asked why and I said "Just in case the hotel room is slightly dreary and needs a little pep." He looked at me funny...guess it's a girl thing.

With rare exception, scented candles are the Anti-Christ as far as I'm concerned. Most seem to use nasty, cheap, synthetic scent oils that cloy horribly. And folks who like scent candles seem to have no hesitation about layering scents that clash with each other until you have an olfactory riot ready to assault the unwary visitor. If you must use scent in candles, pick one note, keep it very fresh and light, and remember that sometimes less really is more.

I know I'll get looks for this, but I buy candles for decoration -- I never actually light them.

To make our house smell pretty I use Glad Plug-Ins that my husband I and pick out together.

I am incredibly sensitive to scents. Unfortunately, my partner likes scented candles and incenses. Most of them give me headaches. Our compromise is that I get to pick which ones he can burn and for how long. Preferably, while I am not around. The ones that I seem to be okay with are the Pacific brand, like their blood orange scented candles. And, he can only burn one scented candle at a time.

Can't stand them in my own house, but they don't usually bother me in others. Some of the really mild ones don't bother me -- I was given some "pecan" ones awhile back and I like those because

1) they don't smell like anything when I'm not burning them
2) they're just mildly sweet and nutty when I do -- not like I've stuffed my nose full of chemicals.

I really don't like any artificial air fresheners, or even really strong smelling cleaners. I want my house to smell plain clean, or like whatever I'm cooking.

The worst thing is getting scented candles as a gift- I was once given a "sour apple" candle, and it's led me to wonder if that friend secretly hates me... that thing is poison.

I'm not offended by a single scented candle here and there, especially if it's a nice light fragrance or something spicy like cinnamon. However, I am really disgusted by scented candles in the dining room or kitchen. It really messes with the way you taste your food! Blegh!

the only scent I like is fresh green apples or raspberry vanilla.

bath and body works candles are fabulous and rich, not just nasty and overwheleming.

and i like ikea's apple candles.

otherwise, i go for the unscented

I love candles that smell like things baking...there's a vanilla cupcake one that is wonderful. I think of it as a fatfree way to enjoy something delicious!

...but I can't stand incense, it gives me a headache.

Why is the quick fix to get unscented candles? Is this one of those "the man rules the roost" things? My DW and I differ about scented candles. I love them, she didn't. We worked together to find scents that we both like. Interestingly, it wasn't that hard.

My scented candle of choice is one votive--black rose sold in Chicago at a hippie type candle emporium called Wax Man. (It's rose/floral, but not old lady or barfy.) They're cheap and the scent always gets compliments without knocking people over with the scent.

I hate food scented candles.

leave them! unless you're both >=45 years old.

I burn tons of incense, but scented candles are generally so strong and artificial smelling they give me a splitting headache. Unscented candles only in my house.

Brands anyone? Which work for you and which don't?
Share please.

Nope. Not only are most petroleum based, but the artificial scents really get to me after a while.

Gross. Always gross. Can't deal with scented candles at all.

We had a local company that made soy candles, unfortunately the mom and pop operation moved. Their cinnamon and vanilla candles used natural oils for scent, and they didn't bother my allergies. Target used to have a tahitian vanilla that was good. I don't believe in spending a lot for candles, since I do burn them. We use unscented a lot, and when I need scent, I boil cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, and orange peels in water on the stove. Wonderful aroma!

Its a pity how hard it is to find nice unscented candles. I'd actually have more candles around if I could find the non-stinky variety.

@lucitebox WAXMAN candles!!! https://www.waxmancandles.com/index2.php

Sometimes I like to go with beeswax candles. Lovely smell. Completely natural, too.

Tyler Candle Company has some wonderful scents, some cloying. My fave is Mediterranean Fig. Archipelago and Pacifica also have some great fragrances. Nice scented candles are a treat.

Beeswax or nothing...

Depends entirely on the candle and the scent.

Can't stand those cheap and cloyingly sweet candles in a jar that smell like Blueberry Pie, Peach Blossoms, Bread Pudding or somesuch nonsense...

...but quality candles with spicy fragrances of Vetiver, Cloves or Sandalwood are fine for me.

PACIFICA candles. The bomb.

I generally only buy scented candles if they are the higher quality. Some that come to mind: Slatkin, Henri Bendel, Illume, Illuminations (RIP). Otherwise, unscented. You won't catch me with candles from a grocery or drug store--too artificial!

Only the expensive ones are okay. L'Occitane's little pyramids of incense are okay too.

Glade? No. Yankee Candles? No. Avon? No.

In general, I don't want my home to smell anything but clean, unless I'm cooking.

I like Aloha Bay's Chai Spice and Lavender votives. They use essential oils, not synthetic scents, and they're soy rather than paraffin. But my husband really doesn't care for scented candles because for the most part they give him a headache.

I have a few Method lavender scented candles, and I think one method spiced pear from the holidays. I rarely burn them though. Only when the house feels stuffy and stale to me (or whatever dinner experiment I tried made the house malodorous) and the weather outside prevents a good airing out the old fashioned open the windows way.

The worst candles ever are Yankee candles, holy cow do those things stink even before you burn them.

In general, I think they are evil. I am also pretty much cheap scented lotions and shampoos, and I don't wear, or even get, perfume. But I have found one brand that I actually quite like: big dipper wax works. They are beeswax, and pricey, but the scents are very delicately balanced and don't offend my delicate nose.

i only like vanilla scents, they aren't usually as strong or chemically. other than that i tend not to like incense etc.

I really like candles, but the boyfriend is not a huge fan of them. However, we walked into an Illuminations, and found "The Most Wonderful Cinnamon" candle - and he LIKED it. So I bought 4 of them (because they're a seasonal candle). Now he'll even light candles if we've cooked something that stinks up the house or if he wants to earn brownie points.

Living together is all about compromise! :)

I always poo-poo-ed (pun intended) Glade until they just recently came out with a line of scented votives that you can peal the labels off of so you're left with a normal, unobtrusive looking candle. The ONLY acceptable scent they carry is Linen, but it's seriously the best "linen" imitation I've ever laid nose on. Perfect for putting in a bathroom during a party.

I like scented candles, but only certain scents. And I don't light them very often (except for that one Lemon Biscotti candle I had... that was gone in like 2 months).
My favorite brands are Voluspa and Pacifica.

My boyfriend on the other hand seems to have a love of Glade Plug-ins. He says he only has it so his apartment doesn't end up "smelling like a boy." But oh.my.god, those things are EVIL! EVERYTHING in his apartment ends up smelling like some fake fruity combo. Even him! When he comes over to my place I'm always like "::sniff:: I see/smell that you got a new plug-in scent!"

The only scented candles I can stand (and actually love) are Voluspa Candles. You can buy them at Anthropologie. They smell great, and even my boyfriend agrees.

No fragrant candles in my home ever, no way, not ever. I recently got one as a gift and kept in on the balcony as it stunk so bad (fake chemical vanilla) even packaged and wrapped (and unlit, of course!) until I could get rid of the thing (found someone who actually wanted it).
If you use them (or other smell-producing things) in the home, how do you enjoy your meals? Or do you use them only far away from the kitchen and dinning area? This puzzles me. I like to taste my food.

I can't get enough of the candles made by Tocca, especially the scent Stella. Too bad they're so expensive and must be purchased sparingly.

If the candle has a heavy scent when it's unlit I won't buy it because I know it will smell even stronger when lit. I don't like scented candles around food but one in the bathroom or the bedroom is fine, provided that surrounding candles lack scent. There are some really yummy ones out there. Lavender, balsam fir, vanilla and citrus are my favorites. Anything with some obscure name like Ocean Breeze reminds me of fabric softener. I want the candle scent to share it's name with an actual plant or fruit. Scented candles are one of the few things that I wouldn't cheap out on. You get what you pay for. I went into a CO Bigelow store and they had some great candles. http://www.bigelowchemists.com

Only if they're soy and with an appealing fragrance. I cringe at the thought of burning petroleum-based wax with cheap, synthetic fragrance in an enclosed space. Indoor air pollution at its worst.

My favorite candles are from Bluewick. They last forever, smell divine, and when you're done burning them - you have a nice glass jar with a lid. They're pricey, but worth it. I got my first one as a gift and now don't hesitate to buy them for myself. http://www.bluewick.com

I like those little tarts, and you can make your own from your favorite scented candles when the wick bites the dust. They never (or rarely ever) melt into oblivion, and if you get sick of the scent, you can just pop it out of the warmer and put in a new one. I keep extras in my linen closet and underwear drawer and rotate them around when I want something new or different.

The only continuing cost is buying the sack of votives at Ikea.

i love scented candles, but only soy-based with natural wicks (there are a few etsy sellers i like) and they have to be scents in the pumpkin/spice/gingerbread realm.

completely depends on the scent.

henri bendel "firewood." my husband is obsessed.

I once said "you just can't cheap-out on a scented candle" while stealthily extinguishing a "Pumkin Spice Bread" Yankee candle the size of a 2-litre of Coke that was quickly killing a room full of people during Christmas dinner at a relative's house. The haze of chemical Pumpkin Spice induced behavior in me that normally, I would have kept quiet. It was grosser than gross. It was the lasting memory of that Christmas.

I use mostly unscented, but every once in a while I like to light Molton Brown's The Vert. It is fresh and awesome, and lasts forever, so I light it maybe once a week. Votivo and Diptych are also nice. As long as they are natural and fresh, not cheap and cloying, they are OK.

I still sneeze when I pass a Yankee Candle at the Mall. And gag.

I grew up near Yankee Candle and driving by there on a daily basis is enough to cure you of any desire whatsoever to be in the presence of a stanky candle for the rest of your life.

Most scented candles, including purportedly "lightly scented" flavors like fresh laundry or spring breeze or summer mulch, etc., have an offensive, overpowering odor - even when unlit. And when they are lit, I have the sensation that I am breathing in oil. I feel sick just thinking about it.

That being said, Pacifica does make some earthy scented candles that do not inspire claustrophobia. The lemongrass and fig are acceptable, but not frequently.

Japanese incense is much more welcome in our home.

Only higher-end candles, and I usually only light them when I'm taking a bath. I prefer my home to smell clean and neutral rather than like cinnamonspiceapplebrownsugartahitianvanilla.

Lower-end stuff is just horrible. It's as if the majority of people have lost their sense of smell. I hate going past the candle department at Bed, Bath & Beyond--it's olfactory assault.

I only really like vanilla candles and my husband and I actually agree on this, oddly enough. And I can no longer tolerate any incense after having an equilibrium problem that I think was cause by burning some sandalwood incense. Even if it wasn't the cause, that smell alone now makes me feel dizzy over ten years later!

I'm more for the few drops of organic essential oils in some water add to a one dollar mister and badaboom badabing! nice smells!

Love candles to look at, but the scents almost always really shred my sinuses! Incense is even worse, like having a smoky bonfire in the house! Found a new favorite easy on the nose and throat, soy candle. Made by Yankee, but 100% soy, called Beanswax. The scent is called Beat Around the Bushel. The lightest, freshest apple scent...love it!

voluspa smells great and most fragrances are subtle and fresh. however, nice scented candles are pretty expensive and its probably nicer to open the window and get some fresh air. lol unless its nyc and august.

Strong sents give me migranes, so I HATE most scented candles. Especially since my sister uses them to cover up when she's been smoking or using nail polish, etc, so it's usually fake chemical scent, PLUS whatever nasties.

I do have a couple of nice ones that I like. They're mostly for display, btu every now and then I light them for 5 minutes or so and then there's a faint scent for the next week or so just from the wax.

ok people are wimps when it comes to scented candles. they're not THAT bad! when you find a scent you like it's usually strong at first but then it fades away (or you get used to it and don't smell it anymore but it other people can still smell it) and then it's great. your house is lightly scented like something tasty instead of dirty shoes, toilet, sweaty laundry, or burnt food. i am a clean freak and live in the tiniest apartment so i NEED the scented candle!

Diptyque throws great strong scents, but they bother visitors. I keep one in the bathroom - an interior room with no exhaust fan. I use the room sprays throughout the house (the smell diffuses quickly).

I also found that an unlit candle thrown in the car will neutralize the smell of damp dog until everything dries out. If you're riding in my car, you just have to suffer.

BeanPod soy clean-burning candles in reusable glass jars. Especially Mandarin, Orange Cream and Coffee!

I keep one in my kitchen, the kind with the top on it so you really can't smell it when it's not lit. I only light it when there is a food smell remaining in my kitchen (bacon is an infamous culprit) and I just can't get rid of the stink. I'm really bad with food smells, after I've eaten and the smell sticks around for a day or more it starts to make me sick to my stomach. So, that's when the scented candle comes in handy!

Hate scented stuff. Candles, perfume, you name it - bleh. It all smells artificial and chemical-laden to me.

I can't physically tolerate heavily scented things. I get instant laryngitis and a wicked migraine. So scented candles, 99% of perfumes and colognes, Bath & Body Works stores, incense, and the entire practice of aromatherapy are all my personal version of hell.

I almost always dislike scented candles. I also hate all "air fresheners", scented laundry detergents, and refuse to use fabric softener. Ugh. Air fresheners are the worst, address the odor and open the window! There is nothing worse than something smelly combined with a scented candle or air freshner.

BTW I am a woman.

@pcniccole: It's not about 'wimpiness'. Some people are just more sensitive to fragrance than others. It's not something you can just get over, especially if strong scents give you headaches, make you lose your appetite, or are just revolting to you (there are certain flower scents that almost physically repel me).

I think covering up stale or bad smells with another layer of artificial fragrance is silly. It is best to address whatever is causing the bad smells in the first place.

I'm with misamel. Air fresheners are the worst!

A friend of mine always has a vanilla or coconut flavored ones in the guest room. (the two worst smells next to lavender!!) I always unplug it as soon as I take my bags in the room. But then riding in her car! -Ugh.

Subtle scents are nice. My brother's kids got me a really nice clean smelling candle - I actually think it smells like a brand new saddle. I love it! I don't burn it though.

The Volcano candle from Anthropologie is the absolute best! I could burn 40 of them in my house at once and not care if my "sensitive" friends ever come over because it smells so amazing.

I love Pacifica candles. I don't like flowery scents - instead I go for spicy, woodsy scents. Also like tea , amber and lemongrass. Don't care for the plug ins - too strong and over-whelming.

I know some people are very sensitive to smells- my former boss used to get migraines if she was around any sort of strong scent. so we're careful not to go too crazy with candles when we have company until we know they don't have allergies or sensitivities. As for scented candles around food, not a good idea.

I LOVE Dipthyique candles and wear their perfumes every day. Unfortunately can't even come close to affording either now that I'm back in school. I also have this one coffee scented candle- can't remember the brand but I got it at Anthropologie a while back - that smells just like fresh black coffee and is great in the kitchen.

Other than that, I hate them all and feel horrible when I get them as gifts. They're the new fruit cake.

There have been studies done where people who try to cover up bad smells with "good" smells inevitably start to associate the bad smell with the "good", and get grossed out by whatever fragrance they were trying to use within a pretty short time span. Once I heard that I stopped putting anything scented in the bathroom...

I HATE commercial candles that use those artificial scents with those stupid names like pumpkin spice, apple martini and usually have those ugly bright colors made with chemical colorings etc. etc.

They are so toxic and the smell makes me want to puke. I prefer clean burning beeswax candles with just the natural scent of the wax or pure aromatherapy candles using real essential oils not those cheap fragrance oils.

i like l'occitane candles but before i found those all of them smelt rank, strong and headachy to me.

i prefer to use good cold pressed lemon oil in a burner for fragrance. fresh and light and guaranteed no headaches..

By the way, the best way to make your home smell fresh without out spending much money and having any harsh scent is to boil a pot of water throw in lemon and grapefruit peels and fresh basil or rosemary and let and them steam in the pot for about 10-15 minutes.

Your home will smell fresh and yummy naturally.

anyone who says they dont like candles has not burned a voluspa goji berry & tarracco candle. omg..so good. other brands that are pretty amazing are volcano, bluewick, kai, beanpod & the farmers market ones in larchmont....

diptyque baies is good, & red currant by votivo if you dont mind non-soy based ones.

I love to burn Yankee candles. My favorite is Macintosh Apple. Also, there are Circle E candles that I have found in some home decor stores. They have a website you should check out. Their candles smell very clean and fresh. They also last a long time. My favorite scent of theirs is "Bird of Paradise". Everytime I have people over and it's burning I get so many compliments.

this is hilarious - i ran to get a scented candle and light it as soon as i started reading this post. i never thought of them as being over stuffy or headache-inducing, although certain smells will definitely do that (agree with the crowd that says "it depends on the scent). which brings me to my next point: most of the scents that people love throw me over the edge in disgust.... in my opinion, vanilla isn't "light" or "airy" its absolutely stuffy and fake, always. and i can't stand anything apple or sugar related or cinnamon woahhh i'd rather smell skunk

My fiance hates me because for Christmas he gave me a... wait for it... Campbell's Tomato Soup candle, that he found at Big Lots. It smells like a tomato soup fart. So, let this serve as a warning that only *baked goods* should become candles, not regular cooked foods.

I love them. If you live in Australia Dusk candles are high quality and smell gorgeous. I worked for them years ago and became immune to the scent, it's nice to be able to smell them again. Their chocolate candle is yummy!

I like the look of candles but I don't buy scented ones. I like my home to smell clean and well-aired, and not like anything else.

Candles that are a light fragrance are good - candles with this heavy fragrance are bad.

pniccole - they can be "THAT" bad!

Aromas can have a HUGE effect on the human body - the wrong one for certain people can have very debilitating effects - for migraine sufferers thay can be a nightmare

I generally dislike them, although a few of the higher-end ones are okay. I keep one in the living room because my husband has a medical condition that - well, sometimes in the middle of winter in New England, opening all the windows just isn't an option, okay? And I have to do something. So I light a candle for a few minutes, then blow it out. I have to hunt around to find an inoffensive one. The one candle scent I really like is the smell of pure beeswax. Glade and all that stuff is beyond awful.

I far prefer the occasional spray of the "allergen free" febreeze on fabrics in the house. It doesn't irritate those of us with allergies in my house, and I think it smells pretty fresh.

I cannot stand that artificial scent of most candles (and worse, all plug-ins). I'd rather my house didn't smell at all, but when needs must (after cooking, or in the bathroom occasionally!) I light an insence stick for a while-they're a bit too intense when they're on, but they're just right after the stick has been put out, and they DO get rid of the smell better than just masking.

A buddy and I were sharing a hotel room for 4 nights for a race weekend. After the first night, I stopped by a drug store and picked up some scented candles and a lighter and put them in the bathroom. He wanted to know why when he saw them. I asked if his wife had scented candles at his house. He said yes. I said I got them for the same reason.

Hey, people smell, especially in the bathroom. Most do not really notice, or mind, their own. Anybody else's smell is a problem. So a big thumbs up on scented candles.

I also keep candles in the kitchen. After cooking they help get the smell of food out. I live in a condo with no outside venting in the kitchen.

Diptyque Diptyque Diptyque...

Oh, did I mention Diptyque? If loving a $65 candle is wrong, I don't want to be right.

They're wonderful. And when they're finished (and they last forever) you have a glass (they just use regular glasses for holders)!

I love smelly things generally (perfume, candles, incense, etc.) although I am probably not as hard to live with as some people this way-- no Glade, nothing artificial, no heavy florals, just spicy/warm/citrus natural scents-- but I grew up with a dad who is a strong-smells-make-him-gag guy. It is an incredible joy to me that my fiance loves my perfume/candles/incense etc. He will come home and say, "Yum, our house smells like an Ethiopian restaurant!" when I am burning resins... or give compliments on one of those Diptyque candles... or say "You smell good!" when he hugs me. It makes me SOOOOO happy to be (better than) compatible this way.

It depends on the wax base. Paraffin wax smokes too much and makes me wheeze. I stick to soy (or, in a pinch, palm) wax candles, which allow me to breathe.

My favorite brand, hands down, is A Scent of Scandal (.com). (Prudes be warned: their candles tend to have hilariously naughty names.)

I come from a family of migraine sufferers, so heavy or mixed scents are a definite no. Candle stores are evil cesspools of nasty, cloying, headache-inducing odors. My mother loves the wax burner in winter though, in cinnamon or pumpkin scents. She doesn't cook much so it's a nice way to get a holiday scent through the house--but she only uses one at a time, for an hour at most.

I also really love the smell of plain beeswax candles (I grew up going to Moravian lovefeasts at Christmas). My favorite scent ever is lavender, to me it smells soapy-clean and calm. Tart, fruity scents are a close second, like a good pomegranate or grapefruit. I also have a definite fondness for rose, though, because when I was little my mom wore a perfume called Gingham that was predominantly rose.

But incense is the work of the devil and should be eliminated from the earth, unless there's a genuine religious reason to burn it. But for home fragrancing it just hurts, really.

And mint! I love mint. I should append the "lavender is my favorite" to "herbal smells are my favorite." Lavender, mint, rosemary.

Candles are only for blackouts, and any other products need to be unscented. Incense is too strong for air. Air fresheners are coating your lungs with oil! Yuk.

SherryBinNH -- Candles are nice for more intimate settings or when you don't want lamps (movie night perhaps). We keep one burning in the bathroom whenever we have guests - I find it less repulsive than burning a match and letting that awful sulfur smell in the air (which I am allergic to).

Wow, surprised so many people here HATE scented candles!! I myself love anything smelly. I cannot live without my Chanel Chance and Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb perfumes! I don't really mind paraffin-based candles either, unless they are not like cheap made in China ones. I like Slatkin ones at Bath & Body Works, Henri Bendel, BeanPod, Pottery Barn ones, Voluspa...etc. Of course I love high-end candles but they are just too expensive to burn for me right now. I'm not very fond of Yankee Candle, they have only few scents I can stand but I would rather buy something else. I hate most food smells like fruit, spice, cookie, drink... usually they are just gross to me. I love herbal/floral scents like mint, rosemary, lavender, rose... I'm picky on these though. My DH gave me a jar of WoodWick candle last Christmas and I like it quite a bit. Its wood cracking sound is so relaxing, and especially nice because we are living in an apartment with no fireplace. If only they smelled better..too artificial and not pleasant at all. When I have time, I make homemade beeswax votive/jar candles. They are so fun and easy to make!