Best autumn candles: seasonal scents for a cosy home

Crisp air, crunchy leaves, pumpkin spice… the autumn is a truly magical time, and nothing says cosy like the flickering glow of a candle.

• Affordable autumn decorating ideas to make your home feel cosy
• The best autumn decorations to give your home a seasonal feel

To celebrate the arrival of autumn, we’ve tried and tested the best of this year’s fall-inspired fragrances, so you can spend the season in a home filled with gorgeous scent.

Read on to discover our favourites!

• How to make your home smell great: scent ideas for every room

Best autumn candles for the home

Yankee Candle Autumn Nature Walk

Best if you like: subtle seasonal fragrances

Smells like: crisp autumn air

If, for you, autumn is all about wrapping up warm and long walks through the crunchy fallen leaves, then you’re guaranteed to love Yankee Candle’s new autumn fragrance, Autumn Nature Walk.

To us, the scent is a perfect balance between comforting but clean – there are subtle notes of bergamot, lavender and bay leaf, coupled with sandalwood and tonka bean.

• £22.99 for a medium jar

Buy Autumn Nature Walk from Yankee Candle

Sun.day of London Riad Botanical Candle

Best if you like: natural botanical scents

Smells like: a garden in the rain

If you're after a completely natural scent, the botanical candle range from East London brand Sun.day of London will be right up your street. Each candle is 100% free from synthetic perfumes, chemicals and paraffins and is formulated with a blend of creamy coconut and palm-free plant wax.

There are plenty of delightful scents to choose from in the collection but we love the crisp freshness of Riad. This scent includes elegant spices such as cardamom, ancient garden rose as well as zesty grapefruit, creating a luxurious and awakening scent for the home - perfect for livening us up on those dark autumn days!

• From £26

Buy Sun.Day of London Riad Botanical Candle from House of Fraser

ESPA Restorative Candle

Best if you like: natural, relaxing scents

Smells like: a soothing spa treatment

Autumn is a great time to cosy up and indulge in a self-care ritual or two, and if this sounds like something you’ll be doing as the evenings get longer, you need ESPA’s restorative candle in your life.

Combining rose Geranium, sweet orange and lavender, this aromatherapy candle will fill your home with the most soothing, relaxing scent you’ve ever come across. It’s made from 100 percent natural soy wax and comes in a timeless white jar, so it’ll look great in any room, whatever your style.

• From £37

Buy Restorative Candle from ESPA

Arran After The Rain Candle

Best if you like: fresh, delicate scents

Smells like: roses and clean washing

• £33

If you like your home fragrances to be light and fresh, you’ll love the scent of Arran’s After the Rain. Combining notes of rose with lime and sandalwood, it really does smell like a rose garden after an autumnal rain shower. It’s a great alternative to heavier autumn scents, and the packaging is super sophisticated.

Buy After The Rain Candle from Arran Sense of Scotland

Scooms Sea Salt and Oak Candle

Best if you like: natural, woody scents

Smells like: a crackling bonfire and crisp autumn air

This candle is an antidote to sickly sweet, 'pumpkin spice'-style scents which have flooded the market in recent years. If you’re not a fan of candy apples or caramel aromas, then you’ll love the natural, woody fragrance of this hand-poured candle by bedding brand Scooms. Subtle enough to burn in a bedroom, it smells like a mixture of a crackling bonfire and fresh sea air. Made from 100% natural ingredients and handpoured into recycled glass in England, if you’re looking for sustainability points, this is your go-to.

• £23.50

Buy Sea Salt and Oak Candle from Scooms

St. Eval Bergamot and Nettle Candle

Best if you like: fresh, masculine fragrances

Smells like: freshly-picked blackberries and aftershave

St Eval’s bergamot and nettle fragrance strikes the perfect balance between delicate and uplifting. The scent is slightly herbal but light, and like all of St Eval’s fragrances, it’s inspired by the nature on their working farm in North Cornwall.

You’ll particularly love this if you’re a fan of fresh pine scents in the winter. The warm autumnal tones of its sand-dipped pot are a lovely bonus for creating a cosy evening by the fire.

• £11.45

Buy Bergamot and Nettle Candle from St. Eval

Bampton House Joyful Mind Candle

Best if you like: traditional spicy fragrances

Smells like: cloves and fresh oranges

A mixture of star anise, orange and clove, this all-natural scent is intensely warming and spicy. It’s the perfect thing to burn as the weather gets colder – its essential oils contain antibacterial properties which supposedly help to ward off colds!

• £26

Buy Joyful Mind Aromatherapy Candle from Bampton House

Candalia London Velvet Rouge Candle

Best if you like: fruity scents with a sophisticated edge

Smells like: pomegranate, plum and spicy pink pepper

Candalia’s Velvet Rouge candle is the epitome of luxury. Combining subtle tobacco, pomegranate, amber and lily of the valley, the scent is fruity yet smooth, and it has notes reminiscent of a high-end perfume. If you’re looking for something decadent, then this is probably the option for you. They arrive packaged in little velvet bags, so keep them in mind for gifts, too.

• £12

Buy Velvet Rouge from Candalia London