Bella Druckman
Photo-Illustration: Courtesy Retailers
In our column “What I Can’t Live Without,” we’ve interviewed hundreds of famous people about their favorite products — and here, we’re going deep into their favorite scented candles. If you needed some proof that famous people really are just like us, many of them told us that they get candles as housewarming or host gifts. But there are some who are so obsessed with their preferred scents that they keep their favorite candle in their carry-on. (In fact, eight different celebrities told us it’s as necessary to pack in their suitcase as their toothbrush.) And while the list includes some pricier prestige brands like Diptyque and Cire Trudon, there are plenty of lesser-known makers among their picks as well. To help you scan through their favorite scented candles, we’ve organized this list by price — under $50, under $100, and over $100 — and in cases where more than one celebrity has recommended the scent, we’ve included all of their quotes.
Quinta Brunson
“I’ll just go to Target and clean up on candles. It doesn’t really matter the brand. I’ll just throw them in the cart. But I do always love a good sandalwood candle. It’s nice to light one when I’m coming home to relax or just watching television. I feel like once I light a candle, that means I’m in for the night. I think it’s the ritual of it; makes me feel settled.” — May 2022
Sohla El-Waylly
“Because we live in a basement apartment in New York, there’s not a lot of ventilation. We like having candles since they help get any fish smells or cooking aromas out. A lot of candles are very floral and aggressive, though. My friend got me a candle from this brand for Christmas, and I immediately loved it. It’s very subtle, but it helps with any weird smells in our apartment. My favorite is the teakwood and tobacco, which doesn’t sound like it would be that appealing, but is actually very warm and inviting. We also just like that they come in these apothecary-like glass containers. It fits the aesthetic in our home.” — November 2023
Lindsey Vonn
“I’m a big candle person, so when I have my outdoor barbecues I need to keep the mosquitoes away. Most bug candles smell like shit, but this one smells really, really good. It’s not your standard citronella candle.” — July 2018
Brandy
“I love the smell of gardenias; that’s one of my all-time favorite scents. You know how sometimes you smell an unlit candle and it smells good, but when you light it, you can’t really smell it at all? This isn’t like that at all. You really smell this candle. I love all the designs this brand has for the candle jars. This one has this really beautiful decorative glass that sort of looks illuminated when the candle is lit. I put them all over my home. And they’re not that expensive, either.” — October 2021
Ross Matthews
“I went into this candle shop where they had all these scents, like fresh rain, lilac — just every scent you can imagine. I picked up a candle called Old Books, and it really smelled like when you open an old book from a used bookstore. It is so warm and smells like you’ve walked into a well-loved den in somebody’s house, almost like someone had been smoking a cigar and drinking a whiskey there. It’s so lovely. I just keep buying it online now. It’s always burning in my dressing room on The Drew Barrymore Show. People hang with me in my dressing room, and they always say, ‘God, it smells so good in here.’” — August 2023
Annie Murphy
“I wish there was a perfume of this candle. I found it at a store in Toronto — I think Scout. Any time someone comes into my apartment, their pupils dilate, and they’re like, ‘What is that?’ Then they sniff their way around my apartment until they find the candle.” — April 2023
Carson Kressley
“I like to have a candle in my home and when I’m traveling, just because I like the vibe and the smell. Votivo makes really great ones, and red currant is my go-to, especially in the winter. It’s so delicious-smelling. It kind of smells like the holidays. They make a small one in a glass jar that I carry when I travel, and I always get stopped at security like, ‘Ma’am, what is this?’ Now I’ve gotten to the point where I just pull it out and put it on the conveyor belt so they can see it’s a candle.” — January 2023
Nicco Anna
“I have the Pop Bourbon candle going in my foyer in my apartment. My sister gave me it as a housewarming gift when I moved back from Georgia to L.A. after shooting the season. It’s spicy but soft — kinda like me. It’s in a copper holder, so in the evenings, the candle reflects in the copper; on top of the scent, it’s everything. Then you have your Hue lights going, and it’s a little dim, and the music gets going. It’s definitely a mood.” — June 2022
Kwame Onwuachi
“I light candles when I meditate each morning. This one is the signature scent of my home. It’s kind of masculine and a little musky — I don’t really like fruity scents. I originally found it at CB2, but I see the brand everywhere: vintage shops, candle shops, all over.” — April 2021
Kelsea Ballerini
“I love the local Nashville-based company Ranger Station. It makes amazing-smelling candles. I go for ones that have a more spicy, amber vibe. It just feels warm and cozy to me. They have the whole range, though, so I gift a lot of the sweeter scents to my friends. What’s cool, too, is that they’re made in whiskey glasses. So once you burn the candle down, you can do the trick where you boil it, put it in the freezer, get the rest of the wax out, and then you have this beautiful local Nashville whiskey glass. It’s a nice two-in-one gift.” — December 2023
Santigold
“I was buying these ten at a time at one point. As a person, I used to always keep it moving, keep it moving — almost in survival mode — and could feel in my chest a lot of things I’d held inside. A lot of that can happen from not allowing flow through the heart chakra, especially for Black women carrying generational trauma. This candle focuses on that particular chakra, and it smells amazing — a mix of rose, palo santo, and frankincense. I keep it burning in my studio for the smell alone, but it’s nice to know it’s helping me with other stuff too.” — September 2022
Carole Radziwill
“I’ve always had candles in the apartment, but I was so nervous about the kittens and kitty litter that I started burning candles 24/7. I found these Nest candles in the Sicilian Tangerine that I just love. That and the Grapefruit are my favorites. It just has this great smell that’s not perfumy but a little like fresh laundry. You wake up and smell it and think, It’s going to be a good day. I like the way they burn, too. Some candles are $40 and you burn them for two days and they’re done. These burn long and evenly. ” — April 2017
The Boulet Brothers
“Typically with candles that have shapes, they’re usually more gimmicky or decorative. This one feels very special, including the way they package it. Sometimes when you order something in the mail, you can tell you have something very special, and that’s what it’s like to order from Graveyard Wonders. We have our cabinet of curiosities at home, and this candle is in our cabinet of curiosities. It emits this wonderful scent, so anytime you open the cabinet you’re met with this haunting smell.” — Dracmorda Boulet, April 2023
Abby Elliot
“It’s a great alternative to smoking pot. It doesn’t necessarily smell like pot, but it’s nice and smoky, especially in the winter. It doesn’t get you high, unfortunately, but the little container is really cute, and we keep that after the candle’s out as a container for the apartment.” — July 2017
Courtney Love
“It’s not the sexiest or most expensive of candles, but it’s dense with lilac and lasts forever. I love most candles, but I really love this brand. It fills your home. I love the smell of lilac from this one.” — October 2017
Nina Dobrev
“Instead of having logs in my fireplace, I have probably 30 candles in there. I fell in love with this Lafco one the second I lit it. The scent is piney, warm, inviting, and crisp. It’s another thing that brings me back to summer whenever I smell it.” — May 2021
Macklemore
“I love a candle. I love this Oud candle especially. I’m looking at it right now; I’ve got it in my office. They’re all over the place. There’s something about the smell. It’s very masculine. It doesn’t smell like a steakhouse, but it smells like how a steakhouse looks. It’s dark and smokey. There’s some undertones of tobacco in there. Whenever I burn it, it’s a vibe.” — March 2023
Claudia Soare
“I inherited this candle from my mom. I would see that she and all her celebrity friends would gift this to each other, so I started buying it for myself about ten years ago. I always buy the really large ones because I work in a big room and I want to be able to capture this scent everywhere. It has a smooth, rich, a little woodsy scent, but it’s not too overpowering. It has now become a holiday-gifting staple for me, too.” — February 2022
Dorion Renaud
“Whenever I would go to Khloé’s or another Kardashian’s house, it would smell like this. The candles are a little pricey but so worth it. They make me feel rich. I think they’re the perfect housewarming gift.” — August 2021
Jessica Jung
“I have a lot of candles — I don’t even know how many. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I’m really into Diptyque. This one is kind of sweet, but also a little bit musky at the same time. I can never decide which type of smell I like better, so this is kind of a good middle-ground option. I burn a candle right before I take a bath in the evenings to set the vibe.” — June 2020
Imaan Hammam
“The first time I got the candle was as a gift from someone. The smell is so refreshing and also warm in a way. From that day on, I’ve bought boxes of the candles so I always have one in my apartment. I travel with them as well — one is always in my suitcase wherever I go.” — February 2020
Rob Thomas
“Everyone who comes in contact with this candle becomes a devotee — we’ve never converted more people to something than with this candle. Even one of my best friends in the world got hooked. He was a special ops in the military. He’s tattooed up his neck and his head, just kind of a badass of a character. And he fucking loves these candles. Every time you go into his room, it just smells like roses.” — May 2022
Lily Aldridge
“If I’m going to the Met Ball, I always pack a little Diptyque candle and have it lit during hair and makeup. I just love candles, I love flowers — they’re just little things you can put in your house to make it more cozy, and to me, a rose candle just makes an environment feel cozier.” — October 2019
Daniel Martin
“I burn a lot of candles — to the point where my husband asks me to stop. But I’m super-sensitive to scents. Diptyque candles are the only ones that don’t make me stuffy or allergic. Byredo makes beautiful scents, but after an hour of them burning I start to sneeze and react. I like Diptyque’s Figuier the best because it’s clean and fresh. ” — May 2021
Zoey Deutch
“I don’t know what it is about the fig one — I don’t think I’ve ever even smelled a fig to confidently say, ‘Ah, yes, this is so figlike to me’ — but it smells so good. I’m very cautious about burning it; before I light it, I’m like, Okay, do I really need to use this right now? It’s silly, but I have to convince myself that I deserve to light the candle because it’s so precious to me.” — March 2020
Victoria Beckham
“My flagship store on Dover Street is all about awakening the senses, and scent was a really important piece of the store experience. Over time, Diptyque’s Figuier Vert candle has become our signature fragrance — everyone who walks in always talks about the amazing smell of the store, and that’s just because of the candle. I love the warmth of fig wood so much that I often have one for my office, too.” — February 2019
Lou Diamond Phillips
“Every time one of the concierges in our building comes up, they go, ‘You have the nicest-smelling apartment.’ And it’s because of [my wife] Yvonne. She introduced me to all the Diptyque candles and sends me off with one for the hotel room whenever I go on locations. It gives me a little home away from home. This reminds me of the scent of old books, brandy, and cigars.” — December 2022
Rita Ora
“My friends always say my house is like a greenhouse with candles because I have so many plants and candles. They’re like, ‘It’s a greenhouse you’re going to set on fire,’ and I’m like, ‘Please, can you not?!’ But I love fragrances so I burn candles all the time. The Ambre scent is smoky and rich, but sweet. It’s a really sexy smell.” — December 2020
Shay Mitchell
“I love this candle. It’s the one I have on the island in my kitchen. I love it so much I sometimes throw it in my bag before heading to the airport just because the scent reminds me of home even when I’m far away.” — June 2019
Antoni Porowski
“I love Ben Gorham. He’s like the ultimate Renaissance man. He’s an ex-NBA player of Scandinavian heritage, he builds and designs furniture and leather goods, and he’s also this scent master. I love that there’s a personal story to every scent that he develops. I’m very emotional and sentimental with food, and he’s like that with scents. Everything is kind of nostalgic to him. Chai is actually one that’s more rare, it’s not available everywhere. I took it with me on my travels and I started flying with it, and now it’s kind of a scent that calms me down. The Chai candle really does smell like that really lovely, creamy, spiced tea. It’s the ultimate nighttime scent for me.” — October 2019
Catherine Zeta-Jones
“After I left London for the States, I would come back to visit or for work, and I used to stay at Claridge’s, which is just off Bond Street. The Jo Malone flagship store was two doors down from the hotel. I was like a kid in a candy store. When I had any time off, I would go in and smell every candle they had. My all-time favorite is this lime and basil and mandarin one. I have one in almost every room in my house. It’s quite an exotic smell.” — July 2020
Shangela Laquifa Wadley
“A candle can change the whole ambience of a room. My favorite is for sure this Jo Malone English Pear and Freesia scent. I love to have a candle burning right at the start of my makeup routine. Doing makeup is a two-hour process for me, and I like to be calm. A candle burning just sets the scene. I get into drag right after a shower: I’m in my robe, I sit down at my makeup table, then, boom, there’s my candle. Time to get glam.” — June 2020
Dan Wilson
“One of my engineers brought over a car freshener that he used in his car and left it in the studio. He just forgot it, but it did its thing and emanated into the workspace. And I suddenly thought, ‘Oh, I need to go online and find some nice smelling candle or scent for my workspace.’ And I remembered that an artist whom I worked with had an assistant who smelled great. This guy smelled so good, and he told me that D.S. & Durga was the brand. So I went on to the D.S. & Durga site, ordered several different car freshener cards, then put them out one week at a time in my music workspace. Big Sur After Rain is just the very best, so I bought the candle. It’s nature-y. It’s not like a Christmas tree, but it’s a little bit like pinewood, a little bit like an ocean breeze. It’s probably similar to the Sel Marin. It’s not aggressive. Zero floral and zero musk, just natural and California.” — December 2023
Vanessa Hudgens
“It’s the perfect fall candle. I just love the whole line because it takes a time and a place, and this one is in France in the ’70s by the fireplace — who doesn’t want to be there?” — November 2023
Ryan Norville
“I’ve owned a lot of luxury candles and many of them don’t pay off in the scent department. This one really fills a room. It smells warm and woodsy with a little touch of cinnamon. You would think that would only be appropriate for the holidays, but I burn it in my house all year long.” — May 2021
Claire Saffitz
“My husband and I have gotten into gardening over the last couple of years, and we’ve been growing a lot of tomatoes. I was telling a friend how much I love the smell of tomato plants, and she was like, ‘Oh, a friend of mine has a shop that carries a tomato-scented candle. Not the fruit, but the actual plant stem and leaves.’ I bought one, and it does smell like an earthy tomato plant.” — November 2022
Helena Christensen
“Boy Smells makes the most beautiful scents. They’re not overwhelming; they’re quite subtle with very authentic notes. When I smell something that really affects me, it’s like a little explosion in my brain. These candles are just so wonderful. How I really fell in love with them was the colors they use on their glass. They embrace a huge palette of colors that change throughout the season. ”— December 2020
Sloane Stephens
“I love to travel with a candle. It’s a simple way to elevate the hotel-room experience and bring a little bit of familiarity and home to every stop on tour. It’s a very warm and luxurious scent that fills the room, and the name just makes me stand a little taller. I switch up my candles but find myself coming back to this one.” — August 2023
Gus Kenworthy
“I have the massive 42-ounce candle that basically comes in a cement planter in my living room and den. We light them when we’re entertaining. It’s obnoxious how expensive they are, and I kind of hate that I bought them. But they do smell so good and last a really long time. It smells earthy with a hint of tobacco that’s not overpowering, like hay.” — July 2022
Lucy Hale
“Santal 26 is my signature home scent. I have one candle in every room. I travel with them, too. The scent is so comforting to me. I think my friend Kelsey also put me on to this. She was wearing Le Labo perfume, and I loved it. I stopped in the store one day, and my life was forever changed. I think I bought my first Le Labo candle that day. It’s been a couple of years and I have yet to get tired of it. I do own the little glass ones, but for my home, I love the huge cement ones.” — December 2021
6lack
“It’s a beautiful scent. It’s a smell that when you walk into a room, someone’s like, Who got the candles? I have one burning in every greenroom and it’s on my rider for every tour stop. I try to have one burning at home, too, but they’re a little bit expensive. I recently saved up the courage to buy the big one. It ran out a lot faster than I expected.” — January 2024
Saweetie
“Whether it’s my dressing room, my house, or wherever I’m working, I’m a vibey type of girl and need a vibe to be set. I need the right colors, I need my blanket, and I need it to smell good. A Voluspa candle is like the icing on the cake because it just smells like luxury. It makes me feel like a bad bitch.” — April 2020
Bebe Rexha
“This makes my whole bedroom smell like rose ice cream. It’s definitely sweet, but not too sweet — I’m kind of over that insanely sweet vibe. If I got a giant five-wick candle from another brand, it’d probably be like $600, but this is just a little more than $200. It’d make a great gift for someone. I got the big one after Saweetie posted a video online — I don’t remember exactly what she was doing, going through her makeup or cooking in her kitchen or something, but she had this massive candle next to her. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I need that candle.’ And I don’t regret it.” — October 2020
Amy Sedaris
“I’m really serious about lighting candles for people when they come over. And this one burns really nicely.” — April 2019
Ryan Seacrest
“I do love candles. I light them as soon as I get home in the evening, and I keep them lit throughout the course of the evening. But this brand and this scent just really relaxes. It’s nice, it’s not too strong, it’s elegant, and it’s a very old candlemaker. It was founded in the 1600s, so they’ve been around for a while. In my New York apartment, they are in front of my sofa on the coffee tables. There’s two in the bedroom, there’s one in the bathroom. ” — March 2019
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