Awesome Candles

Got a wry sense of humor? Get a Whiff makes delightfully fragrant candles with names like Sage Against the Machine, A Mustache, a Pipe, and Pretentious Behavior, and Let’s Snort Some Lavender. Each glass is filled with a hand-poured coconut wax blend with a mix of heady aromas to match its name. They also come in smaller tins and amber jars.

Truckee, California’s Rescued Wine, recycles wine bottles to house these great-smelling soy wax candles, which combine the fragrances of whiskey and bourbon with notes like oak, cedar, tobacco, leather, and various herbs. They also make candles inspired by other spirits like rum, tequila, and moonshine.

Rock out at home with this candle made in the shape of the devil’s horns. The heavy metal hand gesture has been perfectly replicated by CandleHand using fragrance-free paraffin wax dyed black. It only burns for about an hour, though, so you might not ever want to light it. If you’re feeling a bit more angst, they also make a middle-finger candle.

When is a candle not really a candle? When it’s a high-voltage plasma flame like the one shown here. James from The Action Lab shows how an ultra-high-frequency solid-state Tesla coil can produce an intensely hot flame that can’t be blown out and that can even melt steel.

Usually, candles are supposed to smell pleasant. But The Stinky Candle Co. has carved out a niche by making candles that smell like strange, unexpected, and downright gross stuff. Fragrances include gasoline, garlic, exhaust, skunk, and dill pickles. They also make pleasant scents like chocolate cake and bubble gum.

UCO’s camping lantern provides a warm and natural source of light and heat. It has three spring-loaded candle tubes to keep them stable, and is made from lightweight aluminum with glass windows. Its top heat shield can be used to warm up small amounts of food or water. 9-hour candle refills available here.

Imaginary Authors make wonderfully unconventional fragrances. Developed for ice cream brand Salt & Straw, their Whiff of Waffle Cone combines the scents of vanilla, heavy cream, salted caramel, amyris, cinnamon, and orgeat to produce the aroma of freshly-baked waffle cones. Available as a fragrance spray or candle.

Evan and Katelyn think ordinary candles are boring, so they got to work making the most ridiculous candle they could come up with. It took a bit of math and a lot of effort, but they figured out how to evenly space 1000 candle wicks inside a metal drum. It looks like a massive tealight, but it does get a bit hotter and brighter.

A little candlelight can really enhance the mood. But an unattended candle will burn all the way to the bottom. Rescue & Restore shows us a clever 19th-century invention that could be placed atop a burning candle and that automatically cut off its oxygen supply after it had burned for a set amount of time.

Los Angeles-based home decor collective Cölle makes some truly unique candles. Our current favorites are these handmade candles inspired by the Mercedes-AMG G63 “G-Wagon” and the Land Rover 110, both boxy and classic SUVs. Unfortunately, the limited-edition handpainted versions already sold out.

Love the sweet smell of breakfast cereal? General Mills has got you covered with this series of candles imbued with the aromas of some of the most popular cereals. They come in Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Trix, Cocoa Puffs, and Honey Nut Cheerios scents. Each candle has a triple wick and burns for up to 35 hours.

Etsy seller PlanePieces makes all kinds of home accessories and decor from used airplane parts. These aluminum tea light candle holders got their start as pistons from a Continental Motors engine from a Piper J-3 Cub, a single-engine airplane that dates back to the 1940s. Makes a great gift for an aviation enthusiast.

Today’s most satisfying video comes in the form of this short clip from candle artist Charlotte Martel. Each time she creates a candle in her dip tanks, a bit of wax splashes on its sides. Now and then she needs to clean it all off and return the excess wax to the heat.

London-based candle maker CENT.LDN painstakingly handcrafts these detailed boombox replicas in candle form. The candle is modeled on the iconic JVC RC M90 boombox, featured on LL Cool J’s Radio album cover as well as by the Beastie Boys. It measures appx. 11″ w x 5.5″ h x 2.6″ d and features a triple wick design.

Frostbeard Studios makes delightful candles for book lovers. For the Christmas season, they’ve created festive fragrances inspired by A Christmas Carol, Harry Potter, and the cozy Danish concept of Hygge. The collection incorporates warm and spicy scents like sugar plum, cinnamon, pine, fig, holly berry, and mistletoe.

Rather than flowery or sugary smells, these candles come in the kind of scents you’d expect in an oak-paneled den with tufted leather armchairs. The soy-blend 10 oz. candles come in amber glass jars with a wooden wick and bronze metal lid. Fragrances include Tobacco Vanilla, Barrel Proof, Barbershop, and Coffee House.

Motor City Candle Co.’s tins look like vintage motor oil cans, but the only oil inside is a blend of essentials oils to scent vegan-friendly soy wax. The masculine fragrances – such as leather (Detroit Muscle); cedar, sandalwood, and patchouli (Tiger); and amber and moss (Victory) – can pimp any man cave. Handmade in Detroit.

Love the aroma of freshly-brewed coffee or tea? DW Home’s Cup of Joe collection packages those delightful scents in candle form. They come in Caramel Macchiato, Caffe Mocha, Salted Caramel Latte, Chai Latte, and Matcha Green Tea Latte fragrances, each packaged to look like a coffee cup and lid.

The Conspiracy Candle Co. makes fragrance combos that conjure a sense of mystery and mystique. This set of four soy wax candles includes Area 51 (cactus flower, alow, alien spacecraft), Roswell (desert amber, smoke, sandalwood), Atlantis (Caribbean teak, sea salt, lost civilization), and CLASSIFIED CASE #001 (redacted).

MysticGlo’s gigantic hand-poured candle makes a dramatic centerpiece. It has six wicks and measures 15″ across by 3″ high. They come in a variety of colors and unscented or scented for $15 extra. They also make a 20″, 8-wick version, and a 15″ square, among other designs. Made from a blend of paraffin, soy, and beeswax.

Etsy store Candlelit Desserts makes candles and soaps that look like a variety of food. Its bestseller is this candle that not only looks but also smells like Froot Loops. The 14oz candle comes in a 6″ bowl and has a spoon embedded in it. Not part of a nutritious breakfast.

Are you the middle kid? Do you have days where you feel like Jan Brady? Remind them you won’t be ignored with this purple candle from Whiskey River Soap Co.. Despite its “Largely Invisible Scent” labeling, it actually smells like grape. The 17oz. candle burns for about 60 hours.

Books and fire are a terrible combination (except as the premise of Fahrenheit 451), but reading and candles are perfect partners. Digital reading service, Scribd, teamed with Dorothy B & Co. on a fragrant candle scented with teak, sandalwood, patchouli, amyris, and dark musk. Includes a 3-month Scribd subscription.