Candle perfume is built a lot like the perfume you wear. Both use notes, which are the single smells that make up a blend. When a label says "apple, cassis, cranberry and vanilla musk", it is listing those notes. Once you know how they work, a short list of notes tells you a lot. You can guess how a candle will smell before you light it, and pick a scent you will love.

How Candle Perfume Notes Work

Perfumers sort notes into three groups. Top notes are the part you smell first. They are small, light molecules that fade fast. Heart notes, the main smell once it settles, come through as the top notes fade. Base notes, what is still there hours later, are heavy and slow to fade.

The perfume pyramid is the name for this three-layer shape. On skin, heart notes can fade within an hour. Some base notes can still be picked up a day later.

Which ingredients are usually top notes?

Citrus is the classic top note. The Perfume Shop lists lemon, orange and bergamot as top notes, and vanilla and cedarwood as base notes. That is why a sharp, zesty first sniff often softens into something warmer.

Reading a Candle Fragrance List Like a Perfumer

You can try this with the notes on our Advent Calendar. It has 12 Christmas fragrances, and each one lists its notes.

• Candy Cane: peppermint, lemon, mandarin and soft woods.
• Festive Fir: pine, eucalyptus, cedar and warm amber.
• Frosted Berries: apple, cassis, cranberry and vanilla musk.

Look at where each list ends. Woods, amber and vanilla musk are the heavy, lasting kind of note. They anchor the blend. The fruit and citrus at the front give the first bright hit.

Why Perfume Candles Smell Different Lit and Unlit

A candle has two smells. The cold throw is how it smells before you light it. The hot throw is how it smells while it is burning. Many people judge a candle by sniffing the jar. But the hot throw is what fills your room, so judge it lit.

The fragrance load matters too. It means how much scent oil is in the wax. Our advent tealights carry an 8% fragrance load.

Quick answers

What are fragrance notes in a candle?

Fragrance notes are the single smells in a candle's scent. Top notes come first, heart notes form the main smell and base notes linger. Together they make one rounded scent.

Why does my candle smell different after an hour?

The lighter top notes are the first to fade. After a while you mostly smell the heart and base notes. Your nose also gets used to a scent, which can make it seem weaker.

Fruity is the biggest-selling family across the Glow range, and fruit notes tend to lead with that bright first hit. If you want to test your new nose, the Glow Advent Calendar gives you a new note list to read every day in December.

Related reading

• Candle Scents Explained: Fruity, Fresh, Floral and More: how notes group into scent families.
• Strong Scented Candles Fading? Blame Your Nose, Not the Wax: why your nose stops noticing a scent.
• Why a Candle Fragrance Can Bring Back a Memory in Seconds: the link between smell and memory.