I Have Diptyque Taste on a Budget—These 18 Zara Candles Smell So Expensive
My name is Eleanor, and I have a candle obsession. From Diptyque to Byredo and Jo Malone London to Cire Trudon, it's fair to say that I've burnt a lot of luxury candles. As a beauty editor, I'm lucky enough to be sent some of the most expensive candles out there to try. However, if it weren't for my job, there's no way I'd be able to regularly afford these designer candles. As wonderful as they are, I can't help but wince at lighting an luxury £60 candle—you're quite literally burning money, after all.
However, I love the ritual of lighting a fresh candle, whether it be to create a cosy atmosphere or to fill my home with a scent I love for a bit of a mood boost. But at the rate I burn candles, I like to swap in some affordable ones that I don't feel guilty about lighting. This is why I often turn to the high street. In recent years, high-street retailers like & Other Stories and Marks & Spencer have debuted their own affordable candle collections which are now amongst my go-tos for luxury-smelling candles that don’t break the bank.
However, my favourite affordable candles have to be from Zara. Just like Zara's perfume dupes, the brand's candles smell just as good as their luxury counterparts.
Zara has not only nailed it with its scents, but the candle vessels look so chic too. Place one on your coffee table or fireplace mantel, and you'd never know that they weren't designer. In fact, my friends with the best-smelling homes often have Zara candles dotted around, and coming in at around £16-£30, they're way more bank-account friendly than some of the designer candle brands out there.
If you want to know the best Zara candles to try, scroll ahead for my picks that both look and smell expensive.
The Best Zara Candles, Tried and Tested
Clean girls, assemble. If you love the scent of freshly laundered bed linen, this candle is for you—fig leaf, iris and musk fill a room with a fresh springtime scent. The candles in this line have 620g worth of wax, meaning they'll burn for roughly 80 hours. However, they also come in a smaller 200g size for £16 and a miniature 70g size for £10. Personally, I think it's worth shelling out a few pounds more for the larger, three-wick size to get the most bang for your buck. You can also find these scents in diffusers, room sprays and even hand soap and car fragrance, so you can scent your spaces to your heart's desire.
Love florals? Jasmine, lily of the valley and white musk form the base of this candle, which is both refreshing and creamy. It's a great scent for a bedroom, living room, study or anywhere you want a light scent that isn't overpowering.
Autumn and winter are the seasons to indulge in cosy candles with vanilla notes, and Zara's Black Vanilla is almost good enough to eat. Madagascan vanilla, bergamot and jasmine unfurl into a warm praline scent that makes you want to bury under layers of blankets, ideally with a sweet treat in hand.
I'm bookmarking this candle for spring, which centres around notes of orange, saffron, cotton flower, almond blossom and cosy musk. It's both fresh yet warm—a real crowd pleaser that suits any room.
Poetic Mind is for those who love woody scents, with grounding white woods, lemon zest and creamy magnolia. It's one of my favourites.
Want to emulate the scent of expensive hotel lobbies? Try this. Dark Amber pairs smooth sandalwood with glowing amber and creamy ylang ylang. If I didn't know this was from Zara, I'd guess it was three times its price tag.
You're telling me this is a Zara candle? Not only does this coloured glass vessel look expensive, but the scent inside is exquisite too. The notes of basil, mint and lemon make this a great scent for a kitchen or anywhere you'd like to add a herbaceous touch.
This scent is pure luxury. Centring around cedarwood, this woody scent is paired with citrus, jasmine and freesia and is given an unexpected, sweet twist with sugar cane.
If you like floral candles, this is a really pretty take on white lotus and violet, tempered with smooth woods and uplifting citrus.
Zara describes this candle as a sun-drenched jasmine and musk scent, and I'm sold. It's also peppered with citrus, tea leaves and mimosa, which makes it bright yet smooth with the musk base notes.
I had to do a double take because this candle label resembles a certain premium apothecary candle. The scent is inspired by "an oasis in the desert", combining aquatic notes with creamy vanilla, sandalwood, tonka bean and musk.
If you want to bring earthy woodland smells into your home, lighting this candle will do the trick. With notes of woody akigalawood, cardamon, cedarwood and oak moss, this is like forest bathing in a candle.
The packaging of these candles could easily pass for a designer brand, and once you've burnt the wax, this is such a pretty vessel to re-use. This scent is based around lillies, heliotrope, sandalwood and musk, making it a pretty scent to see you from spring through to summer.
This is another pretty take on florals, with cherry blossom, peony, rose, heliotrope and musk.
If herby, aromatic scents are your vibe, this sleek candle will be up your street. With revitalising eucalyptus, sweet fig, woodsy notes and tobacco flower, this candle fragrance is very sophisticated, and it looks way more expensive than its price tag suggests.
Want to feel like you're frolicking through poppy fields? This candle captures a sunny day in the countryside, with jasmine, rose and amber.
Tuberose is such an underrated scent, and this candle captures the creamy floral with a hint of spiciness and smooth, creamy vanilla. And how beautiful is the frosted-glass vessel?
Like a bouquet of peonies, this scent is floral, powdery and pretty. It's versatile enough to light in any room.
This story was originally published at an earlier date and has since been updated.
Next Up: These 19 Candles Will Make Your Home Feel (and Smell) So Expensive
Eleanor Vousden is the beauty editor for Who What Wear UK. She was previously deputy editor at Hairdressers Journal, health writer at Woman & Home and junior beauty editor at beauty website Powder. She has also contributed to Wallpaper and Elle Collections with written and styling work.Working as a beauty journalist since 2015 after graduating in fashion journalism at the London College of Fashion, she has been highly commended at the BSME Talent Awards for her work on Powder and also contributed to the title winning Website of the Year at the PPA Awards.Eleanor’s journalistic focus is to provide readers with honest and helpful beauty content. Through words, video and live broadcast, she has interviewed several celebrity makeup artists, hairstylists and top dermatologists throughout her career, as well as celebrities such as Sarah Jessica Parker and Scarlett Johansson. She has a particular interest in finding solutions for acne and eczema, which she has experienced firsthand. She has also amassed a large collection of fragrances and can never say no to a new candle.When she’s not writing or testing the latest beauty product or treatments, she’s on the seafront in her hometown of Brighton and Hove, where she lives with her partner and her miniature dachshund.
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