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The Best Lavender Candles
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When you want to transform your home into a soothing sanctuary, lavender candles are the way to go. Especially ideal for bathrooms and bedrooms, the best lavender candles come in a variety of designs and sizes, and are often paired with other notes to create a more unique fragrance. While the scent of the candle is likely your main consideration, the aesthetics of the vessel can also be a main selling point (and there’s no shame in choosing a candle based on the way it looks — we’re all guilty of that).
Because lavender is a scent that doesn't subscribe to a single season, you can look for a lavender candle with warmer notes, like vanilla and musk, for something that feels more cold-weather appropriate, while the addition of sweet and zingy florals will result in a candle that’s perfect for spring. On its own, lavender has long been used in traditional folk medicine, and more recently, it has been scientifically proven to have natural calming properties. According to one study highlighted in the journal Frontiers In Behavioral Science, it's the linalool that's naturally found in lavender extracts that has similar effects on the brain as anxiety-reducing drugs. This is why lavender candles are so ideal for rooms in which you tend to relax, like your bedroom or bathroom.
From statement-making vessels that double as decor to tiny, practical tea lights, scroll on to shop the best lavender candles for every room in your home.
1. Best True Lavender Scent
This wild lavender candle will transport you to a picturesque lavender field. The chic rose gold jar holds a soy-based wax candle infused with lavender essential oil to burn cleanly and slowly for at least 45 hours. The brand, Benevolence Los Angeles, has teamed up with multiple non-profit organizations, pledging to give 10% of its profits to those most in need. For each candle purchased, the brand makes a donation to Zoe International, an organization dedicated to rescuing children from and putting an end to human trafficking.
2. Best Lavender & Vanilla Candle
Yankee Candle is a go-to brand for many, and with over 30,000 five-star ratings, this candle is certainly a favorite among Amazon shoppers. Pairing calming lavender with comforting vanilla, this jumbo-sized candle will add a bit of relaxing warmth to your home. In addition to the herbal scent of lavender, powdery jasmine and sweeter notes of vanilla, tonka, and amber make up the candle's surprisingly complex fragrance. Available in a variety of sizes, this massive jar is a solid choice once you've found your favorite scent, since it gives you a minimum of 110 hours of burn time.
3. Best Lavender & Thyme Candle
When relaxation is your main goal, Chesapeake Bay's Serenity + Calm candle is a perfect (and affordable) choice. Lavender is paired with aromatherapy favorites like bergamot, rosemary, eucalyptus, and thyme for a spa-inspired fragrance meant to create a calming vibe. The soy wax blend will burn for up to 50 hours, and it comes Amazon user-approved with over 30,000 five-star ratings.
4. Best Lavender & Cedar Candle
This 8-ounce candle is a bit of a splurge, but NEST's products are well worth it. NEST added complementary herbal notes of rosemary, sage, and cedar to this lavender-scented candle, which burns cleanly and evenly for up to 60 hours. The white, frosted-glass vessel looks chic in any room, and once the candle burns out it can be cleaned and reused (I have several across my vanity holding makeup brushes, lip liners, and eyeliners). NEST's candles are vegan, and the brand uses packaging cartons made from sustainably sourced materials in an effort to be more environmentally friendly.
5. Best Decorative Lavender Candle
Many of the candles on this list come in vessels that are reusable, but none are quite as fun as this Paddywax Wabi Sabi Lavender Mimosa candle. The soy wax candle features lavender, eucalyptus, and soft floral notes, and burns for up to 84 hours. Once the wax reaches down to the last quarter of the bowl, Paddywax recommends putting it into the freezer overnight so that the wax pops out easily, and the bowl can then be reused for any purpose imaginable (they suggest making it a succulent planter, pencil cup, cereal bowl, or bathroom canister if you're looking for ideas).
6. Best Lavender Tea Lights
Tea lights are always useful, and each of these lavender-scented tea lights burns for at least five hours, dispersing a true lavender scent courtesy of English lavender essential oil. The candles, which are made from a blend of food-grade paraffin wax, mimic the flowering plant in appearance, too, with a soft lavender color that shows through the clear plastic vessels in which the tea lights are housed.
7. Editor's Pick
“This is one of my favorite candles for creating a relaxed atmosphere in my home,” says TZR editor Carina Finn. “The blend of lavender and cypress is fresh and soothing, not overpoweringly floral or soapy at all. There are also some nice woodsy, spicy notes that make it feel a bit more sophisticated than some other lavender-based candles I’ve tried. I love the minimalist jar, and it has a clean, even burn.”
Studies referenced:
Linalool Odor-Induced Anxiolytic Effects in Mice, by Hiroki Harada, Hideki Kashiwadani, Yuichi Kanmura, Tomoyuki Kuwaki; https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00241/full
