The best scented candles often smell different in the jar than they do once lit. This surprises many people, and florals show it most. Perfume writers have a habit that helps. They smell a fragrance at different points in time, not just once. You can do the same with a candle, and it only takes a little time.

Best Scented Candles Are Judged In Stages

A perfume writer describes a scent as it changes. First comes the opening, which is what you smell straight away. Then comes the heart, the main smell once it settles. Last is the dry down, what is left hours later.

Candles have a version of this. Candle makers call the smell of an unlit candle its cold throw. The smell it gives off while burning is its hot throw. A fragrance oil supplier, AFI, notes that a candle with a strong cold throw can still disappoint once it is lit. That is an industry view, but it matches what many shoppers notice at home.

Why does my candle smell different when lit?

Heat warms the wax and lifts the scent into the air. Some notes get stronger and others fade, so the lit candle can smell fuller, softer or sweeter than the jar did.

Fragrant Candles In The Floral Family

Florals suit this method well, because flowers do not smell one way. Rose can read as fresh and green. Jasmine can read as rich and sweet. Peony can feel light and clean. Each one shifts as it warms.

Try this with any Floral candle:

• Smell the unlit jar and note one word.
• Light it and sit with it for half an hour.
• Note a second word once the wax has melted.
• Smell the room again an hour after you blow it out.

If your two words match, you have found a keeper. If they clash, it may still suit another room.

Scented Candle Wax And Why It Matters

The wax holds the scent, and a full melt pool lets it out. The melt pool is the circle of liquid wax around the wick. Let it reach the edge of the jar before you blow the candle out. For a jar, that takes about two hours.

Want to test a floral without a full jar? Wax melts let you compare a few scents side by side. Once you know the one you like, the 3-wick jars give the fullest burn.

Quick answers

What is cold throw in a candle?

Cold throw is how a candle smells before you light it. It is the first thing you notice in the shop, but it does not always match the smell once the candle is burning.

How long should I burn a scented candle?

Burn it until the melt pool reaches the edge of the jar. For a jar candle that is about two hours. Short burns leave wax at the sides and waste scent.

If you love a floral, have a look at the Floral range and test it in two stages. Your nose will tell you quickly which ones belong in your home.

Related reading

• Perfumed Candles Online: How To Pick A Floral By Notes: how to read a floral scent list.
• Fragrance In Candles: Why No Two Florals Smell The Same: the different floral types.
• Candle Fragrance Fading? It May Be Your Nose, Not The Wax: why a scent seems to disappear.