Here are the best French candle brands you definitely need to know! With amazing scents and chic designs, scented candles (“bougies parfumées” in French) are the must-have home accessory for a cozy vibe. Not only do these decorative pieces add a cozy touch that makes any space feel instantly more lived-in but candles can change the entire vibe of a room and bring immense joy to those who light them. They can also make great gifts for anyone and are a small luxury purchase to treat yourself.
For me, it’s a way to self-care (“prendre soin de soi” in French) as an aroma that evokes a happy memory is a shortcut to feeling happy right now. And there is nothing quite like the smell of a beautiful French candle to remind yourself of treasured memories. If woodfire and hazel trees scents can transport me to the cozy winter holidays, cypress and fig tree can bring me back to that calm feeling of my last vacation in Greece. I like to place several scented candles in the different rooms of my home and I opt for different scents depending on the time of the year —see my favorite scented candles for the Holidays or for the autumn season.
So, in order for you to find the scent that will set the perfect mood in your home, I’ve gathered the best French candle brands for you right here. These French candle brands take the category to a whole new luxurious level: fine fragrance, high-quality essential oils, and ingredients. These candles are like perfume in wax form.
Diptyque
I’m sure you’re probably already familiar with , the French luxury perfumer. If you’re heading to Paris soon, you can visit their original boutique at 34 Boulevard Saint-Germain where it all began in 1961. The painter Desmond Knox-Leet, the designer Yves Coueslant, and the architect Christiane Gautrot opened, at the very beginning, a storefront bazaar. The company was producing printed fabrics, but they meet success a few years later when they introduced a line of scented candles.
Diptyque’s fifty candles are grouped by olfactory family: floral, woody, herbal, spicy, fruity, citrus, and oriental. It’s one of my favorite French candle brands, I love , and .
Cire Trudon
In 1643 was the provider of the royal court of Louis XIV, as well as most of the churches in France. Cire Trudon is the oldest French candle-maker and was the biggest wax-producing factory in the French Kingdom during the 18th century! If you’re heading to Paris, I’ll recommend visiting their original Left Bank boutique in Saint-Germain to breathe in the scents of woody cognac, tea and vetiver, and Versailles’ wooden floors. My favorite Trudon’s scented candles are and .
Sacré Français Paris
Sacré Français is a brand new French candle label created in 2021 in Paris, with an obsession for both creativity and quality. The Parisian brand combines strong aesthetics and bold creativity to bring you a fresh olfactory experience with fragrances developed with absolute creative freedom. Perfumes are just exquisite, I’m in love with Luxes & Vanités 1845 and Dissident 1871.
“Because a candle is that subtle extra touch that creates positive energy, and simply because beautiful scents and stories can change your day… and your evenings”
All their candles are entirely designed and manufactured in France in limited quantities: Paris for the creation of the fragrances, the Loiret for the hand-pouring of the candles, and Grasse of course for the production of the fragrance concentrate.
Le Labo
was born in Grasse, the capital of perfumery located in the French Riviera, and raised in New York, where Edouard Roschi and Fabrice Penot opened the first lab in February 2006 on Elizabeth Street in Nolita. The brand is an artisanal fragrance brand that produces 18 unisex perfumes and 10 soy-based wax candles. The formulation doesn’t include animal products, paraben, preservatives, or coloration. Their candles are made with soy wax and use pure cotton wicks. My favorite ones are the and .
Astier de Villatte
Benoit Astier de Villatte and Ivan Pericoli founded in 1996 the house . The brand is famous for its 18th and 19th-century Parisian-style handmade ceramics. In 2008, the collaboration with the perfumer Françoise Caron resulted in a collection of Eaux de Cologne and thirty-three scented vegetable-wax candles. Those scented candles are made in glass pots with Astier de Villatte’s signature. My favorite candles are and .
Buly 1803
Buly 1803 is a sort of apothecary heaven! Buly 1803 was founded by famed perfumer Jean-Vincent Bully in 1803, who made a name for himself selling perfumes and scented vinegars on Paris’s rue Saint-Honoré. Today the label is led by Victoire de Taillac and Ramdane Touhami who draw on the company’s historic 200-year-old legacy to create new innovative fragrances, diffusers, and candles that honor long-standing techniques and the virtue of natural ingredients.
Bon Parfumeur
is a traditional perfumery, made in France with exceptional ingredients. The brand was born from the desire to revive the beautiful perfumery of yesteryear, the artistic perfumery, in a resolutely contemporary and creative way. The label offers a range of twenty-eight eaux de parfums created by talented French perfumers, divided into ten olfactory categories and four scented candles for the home.
Kerzon Paris
is a family story and started with two brothers: Etienne and Pierre-Alexis. Kerzon’s candles’ fragrances reveal scents that remind happy times, made with natural raw materials and quality natural ingredients.
“Take a walk in the forest, make a garden, have a coffee, go to the bakery, stroll on the banks of the Seine River, offer a bouquet of Mimosa or have a drink with friends… “
All of the scents are composed in Grasse by one of the oldest French fragrance houses. My favorite scented candles are and .
Overose
is a French luxury perfume house founded in 2016 in the 9th district of Paris. The brand offers an overtly modern, feminine, and artsy aesthetic. The brand characteristics are the signature monochromatic pink and holographic candles. Each scented candle is crafted to the beautiful and practical in tune with the everyday lives of the people for whom it is designed. All candles feature a special in-house botany blend of wax and non-classical floral essences.
Carrière Frères
The erudite and entrepreneurial Carrière brothers founded in 1884 . Passionate about patents and innovations, the brothers manage to keep candle-use alive in spite of the industrial revolution at the end of the 18th century. The two brothers reinvented the candle-making process by creating a unique wax formula that allows for clean and even burns. Carrière Frères offers singular scents inspired by exotic or indigenous oils and made with the help of Robertet Group. My favorite candles are , , and .
Fréderic Malle
founded Editions de Parfums in 2000, a completely original concept whereby noses composed creative fragrances sold under their creator’s names. Editions de Parfums is a publishing house of perfume that gives total creative freedom to the world’s greatest noses. At first, the idea was more a reaction to the commercially driven perfume industry that puts forward brand names instead of the perfume itself. In addition to fragrances, Frédéric Malle sells candles as well, which are both decorative objects and powerful fragrance diffusers. My favorite candles are and .
Maison Francis Kurkdjian
Francis Kurkdjian, a renowned perfumer, and Marc Chaya founded in 2009 the fragrance house . Francis Kurkdjian was made famous at age 26 for designing the scent of Le Male for Jean Paul Gaultier, one of the best-selling perfumes. In addition, he created some major other perfumes including Elie Saab Le Parfum, My Burberry, L’extase (Nina Ricci), and Narciso Rodriguez for her. The French Maison created a collection of six scented candles. Each of the scents refers to Francis Kurkdjian’s memories: his childhood house, his French West-coast beach house, or his Parisian apartment. My favorite candles are and .
Et voilà! I hope this guide to the best French candle brands will help you find the scent that will set the perfect mood in your home. If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments below.
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