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From fine perfumery blends to mind-soothing scents

Today’s luxury candles are more than a pretty centrepiece – they have the power to alter and enhance your mood. A clean, crisp fragrance will clear the air when you’re feeling foggy-headed, while a rose-tinted bouquet will bring a flicker of romance to a cosy evening in. For the exhausted, a lavender candle will encourage deeper sleep, and grounding cedarwood notes should slow an anxious mind.

But finding the best scented candle (whether for you or a lucky recipient) is more than a matter of scent, because not all are created equal in terms of materials, burn time and scent throw.

The new school of soy and coconut-based candles is sure to appeal to those on a natural beauty path. Brands such as Aromatherapy Associates are using expert oil blends to bolster the soothing effects of a flickering flame, while acclaimed niche perfumers Sana Jardin and D.S. & Durga are shaking things up with spectacular, space-filling scents. The 'fashion candle' is on the rise too, with designers from Loewe to Gucci releasing scented style signifiers.

If you're investing in a luxury candle, you're going to want to get the best from it – and a little care can go a long way. When lighting the wick for the first time, allow it to burn for long enough that the entire surface of the wax melts evenly: this will prevent the candle from 'tunnelling' in the future. Be sure to trim the wick before every use too, as this will stop the flame from growing too large – Diptyque's wick trimmer is an objet d'art in itself.

All of the candles below rank high when it comes to quality, burn time and intensity – all you have to do is select the scent that speaks to you.

When it comes to luxury candles, Diptyque is likely the first brand that comes to mind. And while the old classics like Baies and Figuier will always be a chic move, serious fans know to pounce on the seasonal limited-editions.

This season's offering is a homage to the brand's beloved Do Son scent, paying tribute to India's heady tuberose fields. Powerful yet fresh and green, it's the perfect summer floral fragrance.

As coveted as the designer's slogan sweaters, this supersized gilded candle is so in demand, it rarely stays in stock for long.The signature scent is an escapist ode to the 1970s, with heady patchouli and frankincense over a lingering musky base. The fragrance is especially strong – so much so, you rarely need to light the wick to enjoy its hazy, nostalgic trail.

Bitter Peach is one of Mr. Ford's most memorable Private Blend scents, and it works just as well in the home. Sticky, sweet peach and blood orange are tempered by the spicy warmth of cardamom and cashmere-soft sandalwood. A delicious option that will make a serious style statement, too.

Loewe has taken a predictably off-kilter – yet entirely chic – approach to home fragrance, filling these traditional terracotta jars with truly unique scents.

Each scent smells almost spookily like the real thing. Dive straight into the niche end with Tomato Leaf or Luscious Pea, or ease yourself in with the crowd-pleasing floral Honeysuckle.

Sustainable bedding brand Rise & Fall has recently expanded its offering to include luxury home accessories and cashmere loungewear.

This responsibly produced candle is made in the UK from a blend of soya, rapeseed and beeswax, and set with a hand-centred cotton wick. The packaging – including the minimalist glass vessel – is entirely recyclable.

When it comes to scent, you have four to choose from, but our favourite is the deeply grounding Dark Noir: a rich and warming blend of pomegranate and spice.

Few can compete with Aromatherapy Associates when it comes to essential oil blends that truly transform your mood. The brand has recently relaunched its much-loved candles in a very chic new guise. Revive is the ultimate tonic for a groggy head or low mood: clarifying grapefruit meets invigorating rosemary in a blend that will make your home feel akin to a spa.

Sana Jardin is a perfect example of how to create a brand with social conscious, but that’s not the sole reason to invest.

Steeped in the top-selling Tiger By Her Side (also available as an eau de parfum), this candle throws a heady rose and incense scent that lingers for hours. It’s sweet, earthy and smells – as any good candle should – like a fine fragrance.

If you need a push to give this stellar brand a go, consider that every sale empowers female flower harvesters through reliable employment and business mentorships.

Gucci's appropriately over-the-top candles are destined to steal the spotlight in any room – whether the wick is lit or not. Made from fine Richard Ginori porcelain, this one is painted with the house's signature surrealist motifs and burns with a floral rose-tinted fragrance.

Trusted CBD brand CBII has moved into candles, and the Unwind iteration is a must-try. It combines a seriously soporific blend of lavender and neroli in a natural hemp-seed wax base – a very sustainable choice – and is free from synthetic stabilisers.

They're travel-sized, but burn for an impressive 25 hours, and the scent fills a high-ceilinged room with ease.

Brooklyn-based D.S & Durga is one of the best-looking niche fragrance brands to invest in today. The scents are remarkable, too – Big Sur After Rain clears the air with a hit of herbal eucalyptus, underpinned by wet grass and dew-kissed plants.

Connecting the dots between sound and scent, the duo have created a playlist to match the mood of each votive – head to the brand's website, and hit play as you ignite.

Cire Trudon's candles can be seen on the shelves of the most stylish homes, but it's the sublime scents that keep people loyal to the brand. While the gilded glass votives are indeed opulent, the fragrances inside are surprisingly light and fresh.

An ode to Morocco, Abd El Kader is a hyper-realistic blend of sweet mint tea, sharp lemon and green herbs, with the tobacco and vanilla notes taking a backseat.

Jo Malone's floral candle is not just a beautiful choice: 75 per cent of the RRP is donated to various charities across the UK, including the NSPCC and St. Mungo's.

There are four scents to choose from, but we love the Peony & Moss blend, which captures the olfactory uplift that a walk in the park brings.

Liberty has finally launched its own line of candles, and the weighty votives (each one burns for over 65 hours) are sure to slip right into any home aesthetic.

As you can likely imagine, the scents are all divine: Wild Flowers sees classic blooms contrasted against a deep base of cedarwood, while Faraway Palm is a rosy, oud-based homage to Arthur Lasenby Liberty and his exotic travels in the 1800s.

Byredo's cult candles are loved for more than their status-symbol aesthetic. The brand's most fail-safe scent, Cotton Poplin smells fresh, clean and entirely crowd-pleasing – yet boasts enough strength to fill a room properly.

Something cosier? Try the equally well-loved, vanilla and bourbon Ambre Japonais.

If you needed proof of Beauty Pie's unfathomably high quality, consider that the oils for these candles are blended in Grasse: the home of fine fragrance.

What's more, each one is large enough to burn for 60 hours. Costing just £17.33 to members, (it costs as little as £5 to join), it's little wonder this one, which smells like crisp, lavender-spritzed cotton sheets, keeps selling out.

Few things will look chicer on your coffee table than a Le Labo candle. If you're looking for a scent to start with, make it Santal 26: a famously good take on sandalwood, with a soft musky trail that makes it the ideal home fragrance.

Trust Penhaligon's to create a candle line that boasts truly unique, memorable scents. Each one delivers olfactory escapism, but Celyon Pekoe is a real stand-out: imagine earthy tea and spiced cardamom with floral brightness via lily of the valley.

Fornasetti's maximalist candles can fill a room with scent like no other. Powerful yet pretty, the white floral blend this hand-poured candle (created by renowned perfumer Olivier Polge) is romantic and complex yet entirely sophisticated. The 60-hour burn time is impressive, too.

This calming candle is a fresh alternative to Neom's classic Real Luxury scent. It's formulated with chamomile, rather than lavender, yet will quieten a racing mind just as well.

Three wicks are set into a sustainable vegetable-wax blend, which will burn for up to 50 hours.

Legendary perfumer Jo Malone has created countless cherished scents throughout her career, but this is the first fragrance she made for herself. So popular, the brand released it in candle form, Jo By Jo Loves is citrussy without being overly summery, thanks to the soft cedarwood in the base.

Acqua di Parma's fragrance library is full of invigorating odes to the Italian coastline – but the most iconic is clearly Colonia.

This cubic candle is a striking way to fill your home with the zingy citrus scent: it's almost too good-looking to light, but luckily the embossed exterior remains intact as your burn the wax inside.

Carrière Frères is the little sister of Cire Trudon, and its cottagecore candles are still made by hand using fragrance oils from Grasse.

Anyone who eschews overtly feminine scents in favour of something more grounding will love Cedar: a deep, woody fragrance that'll calm your nerves and slow a racing mind.

Malin + Goetz' cult candles are loved for more than their sleek New York aesthetic. This one is the sharpest leather scent around, somehow managing to capture the buttery, comforting warmth without veering too far into smoky territory. The heavy glass jar will fit into any interior style, too.

Boy Smells crafts its candles with the same complexity as its outstanding perfumes. Gardener is based around a central tomato note – it might sound strange, but consider the fresh, botanical scent of a sun-soaked vine, and you'll soon see the appeal.

It won't take long for August & Piers' candles to become as coveted as those fine-fragrance behemoths (you know the ones). Brand new, yet already settled on Rosie Huntington-Whiteley's very chic shelves, these minimalist votives burn with unique, thoughtful and intriguing scents. The latest, Darling, is a wholly unique treatment of rose, with soft violet and grounding cedarwood lending wintry depth.

Kalmar's travel-sized scented candles are designed to enhance the four 'soul states': peace, love, joy and calm.

Our favourite, the Peace fragrance is grounding and woody, with green vetiver and citrus-spiked bergamot to lift the amber base. Light it when you need a moment of mindfulness, wherever you are.