How to Choose the Perfect Candle: Understanding Scent Notes

A helpful guide to finding the perfect candle.

Choosing a candle through the internet can be tricky, so we're here to help! In this guide we're breaking down the eight different types of scent notes to simplify choosing the right candle for your personal palette. 

Not sure what the different “notes” in your favorite candle mean? Notes typically refer to a specific scent within a fragrance oil, i.e. sweet orange would belong to the citrus fragrance family. Here at Candle Stork, we value sharing our full ingredient lists with you and we never use synthetic fragrances in our candles. We formulate each of our bespoke oils by hand and include a full ingredient label on each of our products, This means you can actually see exactly which essential oils we use for natural, safe scenting.

This does two important things: first, it creates complete transparency for our customers. When you know exactly what's in our bespoke oil blends, you know that you're getting the real deal: 100% pure, organic essential oils and extracts, not synthetic versions laden with harmful chemicals like formaldehyde or hexane. Secondly, it makes deciphering whether you'll love a candle (or not) much easier. Chances are, if you've ever enjoyed the smell of real ginger root in person, you already know what our fresh ginger essential oil smells like! So we can build upon your nose's "vocabulary" with the smells you already know and love. It can still be helpful to know the different fragrance families in order to find new favorites! 

All fragrances can be sorted into one of eight families, and knowing which of these you actually enjoy smelling can help you pick a candle you’ll love, every time.

You may have never heard of gourmand fragrances before, but you've certainly experienced the instinct of wanting to take a bite of something that smells really delicious. I wouldn’t recommend biting into a candle (even one as natural as ours!) but if you’re the type of person who loves a sweet, dessert-style scent then gourmand fragrances might be what you're looking for when choosing a new candle.

The Eight Fragrance Families:

1. Spiced: These fragrances are exciting, vibrant, intense, and depending on the spice they're embodying can be cooling or warming. Here are our choices if spiced scents are your fav: The Witch's Familiar (clove), Tales of Lore (black pepper), and Blanket of Snow (peppermint). 
2. Gourmand: These fragrances are sweet, addictive, delicious, decadent, and smell so good you may want to take a bite. Our picks for you: Creature of Habit (vanilla), Ghost in the Garden (pumpkin pie), and A Forbidden Orchard (apple cider).
3. Woody: These fragrances are rich, grounding, deep, timeless, and long lasting. Our picks for woody scents: On the Forest Floor (cedarwood). 
4. Aromatic; Natural, fresh, clean, bright, and ever green fragrances. Our picks for you: An Upstate Retreat (balsam fir), and Through the Woods (balsam fir).
5. Floral: Feminine, colorful, delicate, heady, and happy. Our choices for floral scents: Blame the Moon (lavender), and Among the Wildflowers (jasmine). 
6. Citrus: These fragrances are zesty, energizing, bright, fresh, and uplifting. Our top choice for citrus lovers: Among the Wildflowers (lemon).
7. Green: These fragrances are lush, leafy, natural, and herbaceous. Our picks for you: The Barefoot Gardener (basil), and Tales of Lore (sage).
8. Fruity: These fragrances are vibrant, sweet, juicy, succulent, and tangy. Fruity scents you'll love: A Forbidden Orchard (apple).

I hope this guide has helped you get more familiar with the different types of scent notes in our candles, and maybe helped you choose a few you'd like to try!