You guys already know that Chris and I have been on a journey to “cleaner” living, and especially now that I’m pregnant! But that doesn’t mean I want to give up one of my favorite fall pastimes: burning FALL CANDLES! There’s just something about the flicker of a fall-scented candle that brings me comfort and happiness. Since typical scented paraffin candles can release petroleum and formaldehyde into the air, I have been on a search for some non-toxic alternatives that still smell just as good. I ordered a bunch of nontoxic candles from several small businesses and have been testing them over the past couple of weeks, so today I wanted to review my five favorites!
I was looking for candles that are either made from soy or beeswax (or a blend of both), cotton wicks, and essential oils. No phthalates or petro soot allowed. And the number one requirement? They must smell good!
*Disclaimer: a lot of the non-toxic candles are lightly scented and simply do not fill an entire room with a scent. They still smell good and are just as cozy, but it’s something to keep in mind when you are shopping, so that you’re not disappointed!*
“Pumpkin Spice” by Basic Bee Candle Co.
Scent: 5 out of 5
How well it fills the room: 4 out of 5
Ingredients: 5 out of 5
How long it lasts: 5 out of 5
Overall: 5 out of 5
I thought I’d start out with a tried-and-true favorite. š The “Pumpkin Spice” candle by Basic Bee Candle Co. is my favorite scent: a rich, warm aroma with lots of fall spices like cinnamon and nutmeg… it pretty much smells like a pumpkin pie fresh out of the oven. The scent is really fresh and natural, and I could tell it was made with natural ingredients. In fact, out of all the candles, I think this one is made with the best ingredients, as it’s made with pure beeswax from happy California-raised bees and PURE essential oils (no fragrance oils of any kind). Even though it’s a pretty small jar, it lasts for a LONG time with one candle providing 30-35 hours of burn time. Like most candles made with essential oils, the smell while it’s burning is not overwhelming and certainly won’t fill your entire house, but I still think this one filled an entire room. I absolutely love this one!
“Autumn Leaves” by Eight Hands Farms
Scent: 4 out of 5
How well it fills the room: 5 out of 5
Ingredients: 4 out of 5
How long it lasts: 5 out of 5
Overall: 4.5 out of 5
This is another one of our favorites because it really fills an entire room with scent! The “Autumn Leaves” scent is a crisp fall fragrance with notes of fruit and spices, and really reminded me of a Bath and Body Works scent, although I couldn’t put my finger on which one. All candles by Eight Hands Farms are made with a combination of pure beeswax and 100% soy wax, as well as a phthalate-free premium fragrance oil and two cotton wicks. As far as their ingredients go, I’m skeptical of the “fragrance oil,” but their website says their candles don’t contain paraffin or pthalates, nor do they produce petro soot. Although I liked the scent, I think there is something a tiny bit “artificial” about the scent – I can tell that it’s not made with pure essential oils. On a positive note, though, I will admit that this one was my favorite aesthetically: it comes in an apothecary style amber glass jar that gives a beautiful glow when lit.
“Spiced Latte” by Fontana Candle Co.
Scent: 4 out of 5
How well it fills the room: 3 out of 5
Ingredients: 5 out of 5
How long it lasts: 3 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
This candle does not really smell like coffee to me, but it does smell like fall with hints of ginger, nutmeg, and clove. It wasn’t my favorite scent out of all the candles, but I still really liked it. This candle has super clean ingredients, which include pure beeswax and coconut oil mixed with therapeutic grade essential oils. The website warns that because it’s scented only with essential oils, it will not fill an entire room with scent, so we were prepared for that! I could smell the candle if I had it close to me, but not from far away. All Fontana Candle Co. candles come with a single wooden wick that crackles when it burns – which is really nice if the candle is close enough for you to hear it. This candle requires some maintenance, since you have to trim the wick to 1/4″ after every burn (no special tools are needed – you can just snap off the burnt end with your fingers). Since the ingredients are so clean, I rated it pretty high at 4 out of 5 stars.
“Cinnamon Leaf” by Ello Candle Co.
Scent: 4 out of 5
How well it fills the room: 3 out of 5
Ingredients: 5 out of 5
How long it lasts: 5 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
If you like the smell of cinnamon, then you will love this candle! It smells like one big cinnamon stick, and even comes with real cinnamon sprinkled right on top. I thought this one did a pretty good job of filling up a room with scent, and especially if you burn it in a smaller room like a bedroom or bathroom. All of Ello Candle Co’s candles are made with pure soy wax and are completely paraffin free. They use cotton-braided wicks coated in white beeswax and scent their candles with 100% therapeutic grade essential oils – there are absolutely no synthetic fragrances in their candles and they are all derived from natural plant sources. The website describes the “Cinnamon Leaf” candle as “stimulating, warming and energizing,” which I think is an accurate description.
“Fall” by Natural Sloth
Scent: 4 out of 5
How well it fills the room: 1 out of 5
Ingredients: 5 out of 5
How long it lasts: 5 out of 5
Overall: 3.5 out of 5
I really loved the scent of this candle, but unfortunately could not smell it at all once the candle was lit! When it’s not lit, it smells like cedarwood, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, citrus and vanilla. The wooden wick does make a nice, loud crackling noise that’s incredibly soothing. Made with therapeutic essential oils, 80% beeswax and 20% coconut oil, this brand is non-toxic and clean-burning. Each candle is hand-poured into the recyclable, glass jar in small batches to maintain the natural ingredients’ quality. This was the longest lasting candle ever – the approximate burn time is 50 hours. The only negative to this candle is that after the first burn, I blew it out and put the lid on top to hold in the smoke, and then the entire candle seemed to soak up a smokey smell. This dissipated with the next burn, though.
I’d love to know if you already have a favorite non-toxic candle company – let us know in the comments below!
I love this list – thank you! I ordered the Basic Bee Pumpkin Spice candle when you first showed it and itās delightful. My husband really likes it too. I have another natural suggestion: 1921 Candle Co (theyāre also on IG) made with American grown soy.
The creator of Basic Bee is also just lovely, she contacted me a few times on my order status. Fantastic customer service on top of a great product.
Happy Fall Yāall!
Oh my goodness, I cannot tell you just how thankful I am for this post! Iāve heard some negative things about regular candles and felt so torn about whether Iād buy any this year from Bath & Body Works like I usually do. Candles are one of my favorites when it comes to fall and winter seasons. Iām so excited that non-toxic candles exist. Thank you for reviewing these so in depth and sharing with us. I will definitely be using this blog post as a resource to make my future candle purchases. So excited to not have to give up on candles!
xx
Key
https://storiesbysuddreth.com/
Great recommendations! Thank you! I highly recommend my uncles candle company! They are seriously the best candles I have used and they are all-natural soy wax. He has so many fragrances and different jars.
https://www.delcc.com
I love supporting a small business – just opened the Dawn’s Early Light page. Thank you for suggesting it!
Thank you! Hope you enjoy š
What a lovely post, I like how you are using your platform to promote small businesses as well š
Xx Janine
https://walkinmysneaks.blogspot.com
Love Charleston Candle Co! Their Spanish Moss is my absolute favorite and they also have some yummy fall and winter scents, too!
I love the Trader Joe’s candle’s myself as they are a soy blend with a lead free cotton wick. The Vanilla Pumpkin is actually pretty strong and so yummy, but they sell out pretty quick every fall.
Thanks so much for sharing your reviews! I used to be a huge Bath & Body Works candle fan, but I’m also working on removing toxins from my life, so I did not purchase any this year. I’ve also heard that non-toxic fragrance oils may actually be safer than essential oils in candles because essential oils are not meant to be heated. There is so much conflicting information out there, we just have to do the best we can!
I bet these smell so good!
Candice x
NatalyaAmour.com
Thank you for these suggestions. Another favorite brand of mine is Sweet Water (https://www.sweetwaterdecor.com/collections/fall). They have great scents, candle mugs and more. Check them out!
This is so fun! The fall is definitely when I start to burn candles, as it makes it feel just that must cozier. I have been wanting to switch over to cleaner candles especially now to keep lung health at its most optimum! I really wanted to try the pumpkin spice one and the latte one š the sound of a wood wick crackling is so comforting. Wishing you all the cozy days, Caitlin!
Libby
http://premedwearspearls.blogspot.com/
Do you pay attention to who you partner with for your giveaways? Iām hoping you will be transparent and publish this comment, so I wonāt mention names, but one of your giveaway partners is openly against BLM, LGBTQ+ rights, womenās rights, feminism, and all things you claim to support. I canāt understand why you would encourage your followers to support someone like this? This isnāt about disagreeing with pizza toppings. These are peopleās lives. What are your thoughts?
Hey Krista, honestly I had NO idea that someone I partnered with has those beliefs – do you mind sharing who? You can email me (southerncurlsandpearls@gmail.com) to keep it private, as I do not tolerate those views! Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
Iām not trying to be combative or political here, as this is not the forum for that. But you should know, since you brought it up, that millions of people support black lives but are strongly against said organization because of its stance against family, and men (what they call patriarchy), and because of their dishonesty about the true destination of all donations, which is not the organization itself, but instead a political party. Also, their founders have come out verbally to state that they are trained Marxists. Itās all on record. Their website has recently been ārevisedā to appear a bit less transparent in that regard as so many were alarmed once they realized their mission.
I love your blog, but would join thousands of others in frowning upon any cancel culture moves made in support of such a flawed organization. The important thing to remember is that that does not mean they do not support the black or LGBT community. On the contrary. However, it was refreshing to just escape cultural and political topics to be able to enjoy lovely things and learn helpful information. I do pray you reconsider and continue to support small businesses who desperately need it š
Thank you so much for your list!! I think I might go out and buy some candles tomorrow morning haha! šā¤ļø
I loved the scent of candle, always make me feel relax.
Thanks for sharing non-toxic candle recommendation.
ā”————————————————————–ā”
FashionāLifestyleāJapan āhttps://happyesme.com/
I have found Birdie candle co to be a great candle! They are poured in NC and they smell amazing! I have tried Blue Ridge Fir, Peace, Love and Asheville and Queen City Mint from their Carolina collection. They also have several sizes to choose from which is nice! Makes great gifts too!
Birdiecandleco.com
Looking forward to trying one or two of these candles. Thank you for reviewing organic candles. My husband and I have been searching also.I have a girlfriend of mine who is starting her small business here in Ga and Iād like for you to try her candles also. She says hers are soy with essential oils. All natural to the point where you can lotion your hands with them. Her business name on IG is Wicked Decor Studios. Thank you again for your reviews.
LOVE this review! I have been wanting to clean up the candles we use around the house so this is perfect timing. definitely scooping up that first one! thank you for putting this together!
xo Laura Leigh
https://louellareese.com
THANK YOU for this awesome post!! I have been trying so hard to find some all natural, GOOD SMELLING candles. This post was super helpful!!
Caitlyn, I love those glasses! Where did you get them:)
I love these candles! There so soothing for the fall season and they smell awesome. Whoever made these candles have such a blessing from God!