Trust Me: These 12 Vanilla Candles Smell So Sophisticated

Call me basic, but when it comes to candles there is one aroma that I'm always drawn to when scenting my home: vanilla. Sweet, bright and cosy, there's something about this uplifting note that I always come back to. Is it because it basically makes my house smell like a dessert? Perhaps. Or maybe it's because it has a comforting familiarity. From sweet, vanilla-scented childhood toys and home-baked birthday cakes to my first perfume from The Body Shop, vanilla candles smell like home to me.

However, I'll be the first to admit that a vanilla candle doesn't necessarily spring to mind as the most sophisticated option to scent your home with. The associations that many of us have with this sweet note from childhood mean that even I went through a stage of trying to eschew my penchant for vanilla candles in favour of more grown-up aromas like leather, woods, and earthy florals. But after some pretty extensive testing and trialling I am here to assure that no vanilla scent is created equal—and the list ahead contains some of the most complex and delicious vanilla candles on the market.

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(Image credit: @_JESSICASKYE)

From spicy, gourmand blends to earthy homages to the vanilla pod itself, there's a vanilla candle for everyone in this edit. (Oh, and of course there's a few that smell good enough to eat for the vanilla purists like myself.) Ahead, keep scrolling for the 12 best vanilla candles to make your home smell incredible.

1. Beauty Pie The Birthday Candle

2. Diptyque Vanille Candle

3. Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille Candle

4. Jo Malone London Myrrh and Tonka Home Candle

5. Maison Margiela Replica Whispers in the Library Candle

6. Laboratory Perfumes Tonka Candle

7. Rituals Private Collection Suede Vanilla Scented Candle

8. Byredo Bibliothèque Candle

9. Floral Street Vanilla Bloom Candle

10. Vyrao Rose Marie Scented Candle 

11. NEOM Hibernate Scented Candle

12. NEST Crystallised Ginger & Vanilla Bean

Next Up: From Zara to Diptyque, This is Our Ultimate List of the Very Best Candles

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Mica Ricketts

Mica Ricketts is a freelance beauty editor, copywriter and regular contributor to Who What Wear UK. She also writes for titles including Marie Claire Refinery 29 and Cosmopolitan, and previously worked at Who What Wear UK as Beauty Editor. With experience in both editorial and content management, she also works with beauty brands and small businesses on brand messaging and content strategy. As a busy mum of two, she is passionate about finding efficacious beauty products that can disguise all signs of tiredness with minimal effort.