The Best Fall Candles: A Guide to the Cult Classic Compendium

Fall is the season people light candles most, and for good reason. The evenings get dark early, the windows stay shut, and a good scent makes a room feel lived in. Here is how to choose a fall candle, and a walk through the five candles in our Cult Classic Compendium.

What makes a good fall candle

A good fall candle smells like the season without smelling like a spice cabinet. Look for a blend with layers: something warm (vanilla, maple, amber), something spiced (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove), and something that keeps it from getting too sweet (woods, smoke, fruit, or fresh air).

The Cult Classic Compendium

**Basic Witch** is the cozy one: toasted pumpkin, cinnamon spice, nutmeg, and extra vanilla cream. If you want a vanilla pumpkin candle that feels like a warm kitchen, start here.

**Amuck!** is a bonfire in a jar: smoldering embers, pumpkin vine, spiced apple, and maple bourbon. It is warm and a little smoky, great for a living room on a cold night.

**Apparition** is fall's crisp side: white birch, eucalyptus, smoldering woods, and cold air. It suits people who find pumpkin scents too sweet.

**It's Showtime!** is the moody one: graveyard moss, earthy mushroom, dark absinthe, and sweet black currant. Earthy, green, and a little dark, perfect for October.

**Midnight Margaritas** is the wild card: salted rim, lime, coconut milk, blue agave, and rum sugar. It is for anyone who wants a party instead of a pie.

How to choose

For a kitchen or entryway, go warm and sweet. For a bedroom or office, go crisp and woody. Not sure? The Starter Trio lets you pick three 8 oz candles for $68 with free shipping.