The scent of Christmas

What does Christmas smell like? Well, I think the answer to that is different for everyone but for me it has several different scents. There's the warm soft, spicy, citrus scent of food, drinks and goodies, there's the aromatic, deep green and earthy scent of the Christmas tree and there's the dry, cold, clean smell of snow. When I stocked up on candles for the month to come, this is exactly the mix of scents that I tried to capture, so let's have a look at what I ended up with.

There are several great candle makers that come up with wonderful tempting scents but my favourite brand is Lily-Flame Candles. Ever since I stumbled on my first candle in Waitrose - Fairy Dust, which I must have used about 10 of this year..., I've been a great fan and have tried quite a few candles from their range. Lily-Flame do scented tins in different sizes, candles in a glass and reed diffusers, but I especially like the scented tins. They have a super range of scents with something for everyone, and the candle in each tin looks so pretty with marshmallow type decorations in different colors - good enough to eat actually. The scented tins are very reasonably priced at £8.50 and for that you'll get about 35 hrs of burn time and they burn exceptionally well, not leaving a crater in the middle with lots of waste on the sides.

Jack Frost is a gorgeous cool, sparkling crisp and ever so slightly sweet scent of lemon grass and musk, and for me it makes me think about sunny, cold and snowy Boxing day when you've been out for a long walk and you come into the warmth to eat some more yummy food - oh.... I can't wait... 

From cool and crisp to something completely different with Winter Wood. It's a very distinct, warm aromatic and strong but fresh scent of Christmas tree and pine cones. I hadn't tried this candle before and I am a little bit apprehensive since in the tin it almost smells a little bit like a soapy bubble bath, but fingers crossed it'll warm up more forrest and less soap. 

Now we come to the more homely, foodie scents, starting with Christmas Spice - a warm, and aromatic hearty mix of cinnamon and ground cloves which creates a very spicy, almost slightly oriental smokey scent. This to me is the night before Christmas - you're all snuggled up in your best Christmas leggings and jumper in front of the fireplace with a Christmas tree, having mulled wine and mince pies.

The last candle is also of a foodie kind, smelling just like a scrumptious Christmas dessert. Festive Cheer has rich chocolate, roasted nuts and almonds, and spicy but sweet gingerbread. It's a wonderful piquant and very slightly peppery smell.

These are all very different but they're also all of them comforting, and reassuring in their own way. It'll be lovely to have the different scents of Christmas filling the house. I wonder which candle I should start with...?