The Candles That Lit Up 2025
December 15 | 4 minute read
Words by Cameron Putt
Sometimes it seems as though personal fragrance gets all the glory – celebrity endorsements, launch parties with international DJs, big-ticket social media campaigns. But the masters of fragrance don’t discriminate… they do candles too.
If this year is anything to go by, you love striking a match and lighting up your life. The proof: we’ve digested the data and gathered 2025’s top-selling candles into one easy-to-scan listicle. Buy one, buy two or give yourself a holiday treat and, ahem, buy them all.
So, first things first: baies is French for berries – in this instance, blackcurrants. Dedicated to the whole blackcurrant bush, leaves and all, DIPTYQUE’s Baies Candle will transport you to a country cottage. An appreciation of life’s simple moments, it’s the perfect candle for this time of year – it makes a great gift that’s unique without feeling risky.
What do Taylor Swift and Jennifer Lopez have in common? Well yes, there’s music. But we were thinking of something else: a love for Le Labo’s Santal 26 Candle. And it’s no wonder – an addictively warming scent, its enveloping smoke and leather notes make any space feel like home.
Have you ever found yourself wondering what the original 1961 DIPTYQUE boutique in Paris’ Saint Germain smelled like? Maybe not – but you just know it would smell nothing but immaculate. Like this candle, actually; fresh and green, with notes of moss and blackcurrant leaves. So, fancy an olfactory trip back to the origins of this most-famous fragrance brand?
It only makes sense for your library of home scents to include one that smells like an actual library: wood, leather and balancing notes of plum and vanilla. The Bibliothèque Candle is BYREDO’s bestseller, and it’s truly transportive. It’s the closest thing we’ve found to comfort in a candle.
The first functional candle on our list, and its name gives it away: the This Works Deep Sleep Heavenly Candle makes clever use of lavender, chamomile and vetiver to help soothe tension and promote relaxation before you hit the hay. It’s a bestseller that makes for the best sleep.
Light one up and travel through the Caribbean with this refreshing reinvention of a dark and spicy classic. MALIN+GOETZ Dark Rum Candle takes traditional notes of leather and rum and sweetens them with modern touches of plum and bergamot. One reviewer said, “I want one of these in every room of the house,” and we can’t help but agree.
It started as a custom fragrance (of just 250 bottles) to celebrate crystal brand Baccarat’s 250th anniversary – but it was so good, so sought after, that it lived on, becoming a legend. Experience the world-famous fragrance of Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge 540 – a seemingly impossible balance of floral, amber and woody notes – in a room-filling candle form.
Remember that episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show where she gave everyone in the audience a car? I’d rather have been in the audience when she gave everyone this candle. Herbaceous, green and peppery, Flamingo Estate’s Roma Heirloom Tomato Candle is more tomato leaf than tomato fruit, conjuring the vibe of summer dinner parties in sunny gardens.
Who doesn’t like a lazy Sunday morning? When you can’t quite make one work, or can and want to double down, light this candle. Maison Margiela’s REPLICA Lazy Sunday Morning Candle incorporates delicate notes of lily of the valley and iris with fresh pear and orange flower. It’s calm, it’s comforting, it’s Sunday morning any day of the week.
