8 iconic candles that will really light your fire this spring

Whenever I walk into a friend’s house and see a fancy candle, I always have the same two thoughts in rapid secession: 1) OMG, I hope we get to light it. and 2) This is what Heaven smells like.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t once legitimately seduced by the simple act of a dude lighting the wick of a Cire Trudon, and that the first time I ever truly felt like I was adulting was when I sparked up a Diptyque Baies candle in my own apartment. Yes, I do see the irony in the fact that for some people, that moment comes when they get their first paycheck, and for me it came when I used 65 hard-earned dollars on a candle. It was worth it.

But what is it that makes these glowy pillars of wax feel like such a luxury? In part, it’s because one whiff of their aromatic blends will mentally transport you to a spa or a vacation. And yet, on the other hand, candles can become ritualistic reminders to pause, find your center, and breathe deeply (which I for one, need to be reminded of now and then) and remember that you’re home.

So we rounded up nine of the most iconic flames that envelop you with their all-encompassing scent, so that when you walk in the door, no matter what kind of a day you have, with the flick of a candle you can transport yourself wherever your want to be. You know, JOMO.

Diptyque Baies ($65)

Diptyque Baies is basically the Beyoncé of candles. My nose has an almost Pavlovian response to the fruit-floral scent— and even just the thought of it makes me feel warm and happy inside. Blackcurrant leaves meet summer berries and Bulgarian rose to produce a sweetly balanced fragrance that sums up summer. I will know that I have made it in life when I can have one of these candles in every room of my home.

LAFCO x John Derian ($65)

Imagine sticking your nose into the most glorious bouquet of flowers and taking a deep inhale—that’s what it’s like to smell this candle. The brand describes the scent as “a rich, floral incense,” which is made up of a blend of natural wildflowers like lavender, violet, jasmine, heliotrope, neroli and currant blossoms, plus a resin base of Agar Wood, laburnum, sandalwood, patchouli, musk, and frankincense.

Otherland Canopy ($36)

If you were to bottle up the first three weeks of summer and turn them into a candle, this is what you’d get. Scented with fig, ivy greens, and mint, this candle will do its part to transport you to the land of summer porches and pitchers filled with iced tea…or a julep.

Byredo Bibliotheque ($85)

If the Harry Potter movies somehow magically came with a scent feature (see what I did there?!), it would smell like this. Breathing in this candle will make you feel like you’re in the Hogwarts library, surrounded by old, leather-bound spell books and chomping on chocolate frogs. Or in other words, the scent of actual magic.

Jo Malone English Pear & Fresia ($67)

I’ve never been to the English Countryside, but this is what I like to think it smells like on a spring morning. The only thing that would make the combination of English Pear and Fresia more intoxicating would be if I were smelling it from inside of a Bed & Breakfast in the Costwalds.

Cire Trudon Abd El Kader ($80)

As mentioned, this scent really gets me going. It has a vanilla base with notes of jasmine, apple, ginger, cloves, lemon, and spearmint. And I mean, just look at that packaging.

Kai Skylight Candle ($48)

If you like the smell of roses, you will l-o-v-e the smell of all things Kai. The brand’s Skylight candle turns its signature rosy scent—which, in case anyone cares, is what I spray all over my body during the day and on my pillows at night, and the one beauty product that my mom and friends try to steal from me on a regular basis—into a complete experience. Light it up and prepare to never want to leave your home until it completely burns out.

Sunday Forever Rich ($36)

A candle scented like “cashmere and smoke?” Full stop.

Since you may now be considering investing a small fortune in your candle collection, here’s how to make them last ALAP (as long as possible). And here’s why you may be seeing more and more patchouli in just about everything in 2019.