I want to know: best candle scent. most unobjectionable candle scent. Beginners Candle Scent, Expert Candle Scent.
Ooooo I like this.
Best candle scent is going to be extremely subjective person to person, but for me I'm going to say off the cuff a good apple cinnamon, it presses all the right buttons in my brain. If it invokes a cold New York Autumn, it's a surefire winner.
Most unobjectionable candle is easier to generalize for the wicklighting public, and for that I will say fresh linen, it's the least likely to hit any sensitivities. Nice easy go-to, very popular, a hit for a reason.
Beginner's candle scent is going to be something like ocean sunset, or forest walk, etc., something where we're abstracting from the physical a little bit, trying to evoke a mood from scent alone. Start with a simple one, and appreciate the little smells and nuances, and ponder over whether they got you in the frame of mind the meant to.
Expert's candle scent? that's tricky. You're trying to dive into a specific feeling, or memory. You light the candle and
It's 2009. Late enough in october that most of the trees have dropped their leaves. The day was warm enough, and it still is, but the sun is going down soon and the wind has a little chill. The whole gang is out collecting timber for a fire, and tonight is a good night for smores. The crunch of leaves underfoot, maple and oak and beech and birch. The scent of half-damp earth mixed with those leaves, a faint wiff of smoke from another camper's fire. Suddenly, a flood of sulphur, then the smell of hot fresh tar on a driveway. You look up. The sun behind stormclouds. The smell of heavy rain on the wind. Before you, an elk of impossible size, 14 feet at the shoulder. Its hooves are bent guardrails, where it has fur it is instead battery corrosion, and an ugly copper smell. Exposed muscle is old weaved wickerbasket, flooding your nostrils with turpentine. Its antlers, soaked in pitch, aflame with ugly black smoke that burns your senses. Its torso is a rusted barrel, and the scent of charcoal and lighter fluid explains the glow from within. The neck is a rusted lamp-post, and the head, oh god, the head—and you jump, because a friend put a hand on your shoulder, and you shake it off, grab a couple more sticks, and walk back with them. The smores are delicious, but you can't shake the feeling something is off. You could have sworn this was a deciduous forest, but all you see in every direction is evergreens.
Also, scented candle pro-tip: never get any that mention cherry or have a picture of them on the label. I know it's tempting, but trust me from experience, every last one of them just end up smelling like urinal cakes. Blech.