Everybody has one: That bougie, designer candle you never light because it costs more than half a dozen Erewhon smoothies and you don’t want it to run out too soon. But then it just sits there, collecting dust. We want better for you in 2024, which is why we’ve taken up the (admittedly not at all) arduous task of identifying what to look for when shopping for the best long-lasting candles. It’s time to finally light the dang thing—and enjoy a room that smells like it belongs in the pages of Architectural Digest, even if you’re standing three feet from a Diaper Genie.
14 Long-Lasting Candles That Smell So Good You’ll Want Them in Every Room of Your House
Including a Meghan Markle favorite
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Published Jan 28, 2024
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Boy Smells/Candier/Otherland
Meet the Expert:
Charlotte Katona is a recognized expert in the candle industry with a passion for innovation and sustainability. Charlotte served as the National Candle Association Communications Chair for five years. She is also the President of Makesy, the world's largest supplier for elevated, innovative candle-making supplies.
How We Chose the Best Long-Lasting Candles:
Katona provided the framework of what to look for—for the full scoop, scroll to the FAQ’s at the bottom of this story—which we used as we evaluated 50+ top-ranked candles to arrive at our top 14. Essentially, it came down to:
- Burn time: 45 hours or longer
- Wax: Soy & blends preferred (due to their value and burn rate)
- Round container shapes (for their tendency to burn more evenly)
- Wick size (Is it the right size for the vessel?)
The Best Long-Lasting Candles We’ve Seen
Anthropologie is known for its stunning candle jars, and this speckled beauty is no exception. What’s even better, though, is the floral-but-not-potpourri-ish scent of fresh gardenias that immediately fills the room. A large candle will set you back $98, but it boasts a 210-hour burn time—and its hot throw is strong enough to cover a living room or bedroom on its own.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: gardenia, salted guava, tonka
- Burn Time: 210 hours
- Wax Type: sasol wax blend
If there’s a smell that can make you feel like you’re curled up in a weighted blanket, ready to delve into your favorite page-turner (turned Netflix binge), it’s this warming scent. Inspired by bedtime spiced milk tea, it’s got a little cardamom and a little woodsy-piney-ness, but overall, the scents are mild, creating a soothing environment overall.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: cardamom, frothy milk, praline woods
- Burn Time: 55 hours
- Wax Type: coconut and soy wax
Most Sophisticated Scent
3. Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 Candle
maison francis kurkdjian
Remember how Baccarat Rouge took TikTok by storm? Well, you can now get what our home editor calls the “fragrance embodiment of sophistication,” and for a fraction of the perfume’s cost ($80 vs. $325, in case you’re curious). It’s a woodsy-floral scent, and it’s best for medium-sized spaces, but you may love it so much you want one in every room. You’ve been warned.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: jasmine, saffron, cedar wood, ambergis
- Burn Time: 55 hours
- Wax Type: soy
If you’re expecting a flurry of overly sweetened Nilla wafers and Runts bananas, you’re sniffing up the wrong candle. This collab between the indie candle brand and the Sex and the City-famous bakery is…nothing like what the name suggests. It’s fruity and smoky, with the banana notes balanced by elemi, cardamom, cedarwood and jasmine. So basically, what you’d expect Carrie Bradshaw to smell like as she noshes on Magnolia treats.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: banana, elemi, jasmine, davana, cardamom, cedar, patchouli, guaiac
- Burn Time: 50 hours
- Wax Type: coconut and beeswax blend
capri blue
You want your house to smell clean, fresh, inviting—and a little like a tropical getaway? This is that scent. It’s the reason Anthropologie stores smell so good (employees have been known to burn it), and it’s been a best-seller for the brand for more than 20 years.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: sugared oranges, lemons, limes, mountain greens
- Burn Time: 120 hours (for large size) to 250 hours (extra large)
- Wax Type: soy wax blend
It’s the second-best part of roasting marshmallows around a campfire (the first being toasted ‘mallows, obvi). And boy, does it give off a powerful smoke-and-cedar scent for such a tiny candle. We were pleasantly surprised by how long it lasted, too, thanks to its decently sized wick (a double wick in this size jar would’ve made it burn too fast) and soy blend.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: cedar leaf, smoke, labdanum, incense, leather
- Burn Time: 50 hours
- Wax Type: soy
Make your house smell like fresh-baked cookies without having to preheat the oven. This vanilla-forward, maple-y scent gently wafts through the room, without smelling like pure sugar. Just note that Siblings’s candles are kits you melt and pour yourself, so you’ll need a heat-proof jar to pour the wax into, or spring for the bundle, which includes a ceramic jar you can reuse.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: nutmeg, maple, cinnamon sugar, vanilla, musk
- Burn Time: 60 hours
- Wax Type: coconut wax blend
A whole season of The Flight Attendant revolved around Le Labo’s Santal 33, but if you ask us, it should’ve revolved around 26—aka this candle. It’s spicy, leathery, musky, leaving you lingering for more.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: amber, cocoa, vanilla, cedar, spices, musk, sandalwood
- Burn Time: 80 hours
- Wax Type: soy wax
Diptyque has long been spotted in Meghan Markle’s home, including this Tubereuse (tuberose) scent. It’s bright and potent, making it a great way to wake up and great the day—or manifest warmer days ahead.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: tuberose
- Burn Time: 90 hours
- Wax Type: vegetable and mineral wax blend
10. Homesick Beach Cottage Candle
homesick candles
OK, so this scent is most reminiscent of summer, which may make it your ideal candle to light up mid-February, when you’re dreaming of a warm getaway. The musk-meets-citrus blend is great for medium-sized spaces (or if you really want to fill a bathroom as you take an everything shower).
Fast Facts:
- Scent: bergamot, sandalwood, plumeria, musk, sea air, tonka
- Burn Time: 60 to 80 hours
- Wax Type: soy blend
It wouldn’t be fall without something pumpkin-scented, and this is hands down the best way to embrace the scent. Many pumpkin-y fragrances can be a cinnamon-laced assault to the senses, but this gives you a whiff of the spice and the gourd, tempered by maple, whiskey and orange notes.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: pumpkin spice, brûléed orange, chocolate, maple, whiskey
- Burn Time: 50 hours
- Wax Type: soy and vegetable wax blend
Psst: We have it on good authority that LAFCO candles are interior designers' go-to brand for their longevity, scent throw and elegance. The blown glass vessel looks great on a mantle or coffee table, and you'll get to enjoy the warming, comforting scent of leather, sandalwood, vanilla and frankincense—woodsy, musky, a little sweet—for 50 hours.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: patchouli, cedar, sandalwood, frankincense, leather accord, vanilla
- Burn Time: 50 hours
- Wax Type: soy wax
A bright, fresh scent doesn’t have to smell like Pledge. Nest is known for how well a scent fills a room, so this mellow blend will give your space a just-spent-hours-cleaning vibe, without smelling like straight-up sanitizer (or giving away that you really spent the afternoon watching Firefly Lane).
Fast Facts:
- Scent: mint, eucalyptus, basil, Thai ginger
- Burn Time: 75 hours
- Wax Type: proprietary blend
Hey, your friend just achieved…some major milestone! Whether she just got a promotion or successfully made it through three days without a Diet Coke (that long-neglected new year’s resolution), celebrate it with this sprinkle-flecked candle.
Fast Facts:
- Scent: strawberry jam, vanilla cake, passionfruit, mango
- Burn Time: 60 hours
- Wax Type: soy
Frequently Asked Questions
What Are the Most Important Things to Look for in a Long-Lasting Candle?
It all comes down to container size (the bigger, the better), its shape and the type of wax used in the candle. “You can look at how many ounces of wax a candle contains for an idea on how long it will burn. A safe, general number is 5 hours of burn time per ounce of wax, although some waxes can burn much longer,” Katona says.
While Beeswax candles burn the slowest, they’re also the most expensive wax—which can make you feel like you’re burning money every time you light it. Katona suggests soy waxes and blended waxes, as they’re more affordable but still have the second-longest burn times. (Paraffin is the quickest-burning wax type, she adds.)
“Round-shaped containers burn the most evenly, resulting in the longest burn and all the wax being consumed,” Katona says. “Some container shapes, like ovals, squares or rectangles are not able to burn as long, since the wick cannot reach every corner of the container. This will result in some leftover wax at the end of the candle and a shorter burn time.”
Is There Anything You Can (or Should) Do to Make a Candle Last Longer?
“Truly, the most important thing you can do to make your candle last as long as possible is to let it burn long enough during each use. If you light your candle for only an hour at a time and the wax makes a small melt pool repeatedly, a lot of wax will be left on the sides of the container, and it will greatly reduce the life of your candles,” Katona says. Most candles reach a full melt—meaning just about the entire surface of the candle has melted—in roughly two hours.
“Avoid burning your candle for cycles longer than four hours, as most every candle manufacturer recommends. This will prevent the container and wick from getting too hot, thus consuming your wax faster and reducing your burn time,” she adds, also recommending that you regularly trim your wicks. “This will remove the burnt pieces of the wick and ensure the wick doesn't begin burning hotter than it should, with excess debris buildup. Plus, that debris can fall into your wax if left untrimmed. Not only does it look unappealing, but it can be a fire hazard if one of the pieces of debris also catches on fire.”
She also recommends letting the candle cool completely between lightings, since burning still-warm wax can cause the candle to burn faster.
Can Freezing a Candle Help It Last Longer?
It’s an old internet hack and it’s not worth trying. “Do not put your glass container candles in the freezer,” Katona urges. “The glass can crack and ruin your candle. If it doesn't, it could still cause damage to the glass that makes it unsafe for burning. If you want to put your pillar or taper candles in the freezer, be my guest! I haven't found this to alter the burn time much, but if the wax is very cold, it also won't smell as strong. Fragrance needs heat to dissipate, so I would also recommend not doing this with fragranced candles.”
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