Beauty editor Laura Mulley loves scented candles, especially at this time of year: cosy season. Here’s her tried-and-tested pick of the best ones to buy…
I make no secret of the fact that I absolutely love a scented candle. As soon as the working day is over I’ll light one up, loving not only the way they make the whole house smell but also the cosy ambience they give to the room, especially when the nights are getting darker, the weather’s getting colder, and all I want to do is snuggle up in front of a crackling fire with a good boxset.
I like candles from all price ranges too, from high street favourites such as Yankee to luxe favourites including Jo Malone and Diptyque. My key criteria is that they must, obviously, smell amazing (without giving me a headache) and burn cleanly and evenly – no hollowed out core or sooty stains.
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If you too are looking at setting a cosy scene, here are some of my favourite autumnal candles – think notes of smokey woods, warm vanilla and rich red fruits…
Best cosy autumn candles for 2025
Yankee Candle Golden Pumpkin Signature Large Jar
£29.99 from Boots
I won’t hear a bad word said about Yankee by candle snobs; they’re great value for the amount of wax you get, their scent really fills the house and, despite some of the faintly ridiculous fragrance names, they smell really good.
Sweet and warm with notes of ginger, cinnamon and caramel, this new season scent is as autumnal as it gets; there’s no escaping pumpkin spice everything at this time of year.
Want a new candle every day? I also love this year’s Yankee Candle Advent Calendar, £28.99.
WoodWick Spiced Blackberry Ellipse Candle
Currently £19.99 from Candles Direct (usual price £34.99)
WoodWick is Yankee Candle’s sister brand, and its point of difference, apart from its slightly more grown up aesthetic, is its crackly wicks, which sounds just like a real fire burning when lit (although it is quite noisy if you’re trying to watch a quiet TV show!).
Smelling like a delicious seasonal dessert, this has notes of blackberry, cinnamon and vanilla, and it also comes in a smaller hourglass shape, currently £27.95.
NEST New York Autumn Plum Classic Candle
£55 from Cult Beauty
A change from the usual woody, smoky scented candles that usually come out in autumn, this NEST candle hits you with mouthwateringly juicy notes of purple fruits, smelling not unlike a very sophisticated hot Ribena, IMO. It’s stopped from being too sweet, however, with hints of patchouli leaf and woods. The jar is gorgeous, too; definitely one you’ll want to wash out and keep.
Rituals The Alchemy Collection Scented Candle
£34 from Next
This Rituals fragrance collection is a rich, warming scent of amber and myrrh, giving it a sweet and smoky scent that’s perfect for this time of year.
It’s not the strongest smelling of this bunch but you can enhance it with lots of other Alchemy products, including body care, a room spray and a stone diffuser.
Jo Loves Maison De Jazz A Layered Candle
£90 from Space NK
Jo Loves founder Jo Malone MBE is all about scent layering, and that can extend to your candles too. Combining brand favourite fragrances Amber, Lime & Bergamot and Black Cashmeran & Tonka, which melt into each other as it burns, this is as sexy as candles come – picture glamorous jazz clubs, velvet sofas and dancing ’til dawn. If, like me, you love smoky scents, you’ll adore this.
Jo Malone London Pomegranate Noir Candle
From £28 from LookFantastic
Onto another Jo, and there’s a reason why Jo Malone’s Pomegranate Noir is regularly lusted over, often copied but rarely bettered. I find that Jo Malone candles often don’t throw their scent very far, but this one fills the whole house with an incredibly elegant aroma of pomegranate, plum, lily and spicy wood, even after it’s been blown out.
It’s available in a range of sizes too, from a travel candle up to a deluxe three-wick; I have one of these that I keep for best, and always get compliments from guests.
Never Fully Dressed 001 Scented Candle
£39 from Never Fully Dressed
I’ve been super impressed by this fashion brand’s first foray into fragrances (you can read my review of them here); the two scents also come in candles, and out of the two, this is the most autumnal.
It contains a few of my favourite fragrance notes: coffee, tobacco and vanilla, and is rich, sexy and comforting without being overpowering (don’t be put off by the oud in there – I don’t like typical oud fragrances, and I love this).
Diptyque Papier Classic Candle
£56 from Diptyque
This isn’t the strongest-smelling of the bunch, but Papier is my favourite Diptyque scent to wear as a perfume, and so I’m excited that it’s now available as a candle – and some people prefer lighter, more delicate scents anyway, right? It smells crisp, clean and ever so slighlty musky, with the smell of ‘paper’ coming from the unusual ingredient of sesame.
The White Company Autumn Scented Candle
From £35 from The White Company
The fragrance of this White Company candle is less about hunkering down indoors and more inspired by getting outdoors of a crisp, sunny autumn day. It’s ripe with autumn fruits – fresh pears, quince jelly and apricots – with a hint of musky amber that keeps it very much in the season. The scent is light, but it does fill the room well. My mini version is no longer available, but it comes in medium and three-wick sizes.