I love candles, but choosing a scented candle is hard when you can't smell the fragrance beforehand (I'm still waiting for Smell O' Vision). But fear not! There are ways to choose the perfect scent with just a little know-how!
In this guide, I'll share with you my tips and tricks to choosing candle scents without smelling them and being happy with your choice every time!
Consider Your Space
The first thing you need to think about is the space the candle will be located in. Are you using it to add ambiance to your gaming table? Or are you using it as everyday décor to show your love for tabletop games? Will it be in the living room? Kitchen? Office?
If you are using your candle to add to the scene at the table, you'll want to choose scents that match. When traveling through a dark and mysterious forest, woody, scents would be your best. But traveling through a town, you may want to choose food or tavern scents to set the scene.
If your D20 is for décor, floral scents are great for bathrooms, while spicier scents are better for the kitchen to compliment food smells.
A Note about Notes
Notes are the different layers of aromas or scents that make up a fragrance. The way fragrances combine is what makes unique and specific profiles.
Top notes: The scent you first smell when your candle is lit. This note gives you the initial impression of the perfume and lasts only as long as it takes for other notes in that particular blend to jump out at you instead. They are most often light florals or citrus aromas.
Middle Notes: The heart notes are the balancing component of a fragrance--they are flanked by the top and base notes, making them central to how we perceive scents. They're often called "the heart" of a fragrance.
Base Notes: The base notes of a fragrance are its backbone. They give the fragrance staying power and add depth to the scent by making it richer and more complex than just top or middle notes alone could accomplish. Base notes include ambers, musks, vanilla, and woods.
Know Your Scent Families
In the fragrance world there are 10 scent families: Amber, Aromatic, Citrus, Gourmand, Green, Floral, Fruity, Marine/Ozonic, Spicy, and Woody.
Amber Notes:
Amber is a blend of exhilarating musks, exotic resins, and woody notes that impart warmth, sensuality, and sophistication to any fragrance. They can be musky and sweet, or powdery and soft. They are often used to add warmth, sensuality, and sophistication to fragrances.
Amber notes include Incense, musk, myrrh, powder, and tonka bean.
Aromatic Notes:
Aromatic fragrances are grounded in natural evergreen notes such as pine, eucalyptus, and camphor—and also encompass herbal scents like mints, rosemary and sage. Masculine perfumes often include them to add freshness and depth.
Aromatic notes include eucalyptus, pine, black tea, mint, saffron, basil and rosemary.
Citrus Notes:
Citrus scents are invigorating, adding a sparkling character with notes like lemon and orange as well as zestiness from the bergamot. Citruses also add an energizing feeling of brightness and energy to any space.
Citrus notes include: orange, lemon, lime, bergamot, lemongrass, mandarin, and lemon verbena.
Floral Notes:
Florals are the backbone of perfumery and are used to create complex scents full of layers and subtleties. They are incredibly varied and range from rich garden florals such as rose and lilac to heady white florals such as jasmine and gardenia they bring joy and tranquility.
Floral notes include rose, jasmine, lilac, cherry blossom, freesia, gardenia and ylang-ylang.
Fruity Notes:
Delicious fruity notes add mouthwatering juiciness and vibrant sweetness to a fragrance. Fragrances come alive with orchard fruits such as apple and peach. Succulent red fruits like strawberry and cherry add lively playfulness. Tropical fruit smells such as coconut, mango, and pineapple evoke summer holiday fun.
Fruity notes include black cherry, apple, peach, mango, coconut, cranberry, and fig.
Gourmand Notes:
Like gourmet food, a gourmand fragrance notes are sweet and mouth-watering. They add a touch of sweetness with notes like caramel or butterscotch; creaminess from vanilla, chocolate, or marshmallow; and nutty character from praline. They may also be flavored with rum, amaretto, or whiskey for a boozy kick for added decadence.
Gourmand Notes Include: Bourbon, caramel, sugar, maple, whiskey, and buttercream
Green Notes:
Fragrances with green notes are inspired by natural elements, including crisp notes from scents such as cucumber and leafy greens like grass or verbena. These scents add a sense of liveliness to your favorite aromas.
Green notes include fern, grass, aloe, moss, palm, cactus, bamboo
Marine/Ozonic Notes:
These scents are fresh and clean and evoke the cool, crisp whiff of a salty breeze or sea air. They bring with them an invigorating freshness, taking you away to seaside getaways and mountain adventures.
Marine/Ozonic notes include Ozone, rain, sea salt, watery
Spicy Notes:
Spicy fragrances have dazzling energy and intensity. Spices—including pink pepper, cardamom, and ginger—can be used to give a cooling contrast while cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg provide warm intensity.
Spicy notes include, Cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, ginger, and nutmeg.
Woody Notes:
Woody fragrances give off the impression of being complex, timeless, and elemental—they have a rich character that is rooted in nature. They add warmth and depth to a fragrance, as well as lasting power.
Woody Notes include cedar, sandalwood, balsam, oak, and oud.
Choose Your Candle
Now that you know about the notes in fragrances, you are ready to choose the perfect scent for your candle! Think about what scent elements you enjoy, or if it's a gift, what scents your recipient would like the most.
You can find a list of the scents we offer here and find the ones with your favorite notes.
You are still unsure, you can also order tealight samples HERE and try before ordering your custom scented D20.
Now you can choose a scent online with confidence! Click here to shop for your perfect D20 candle, or pick up an Adventure Class Bundle with specially matched scents to fit your D&D Character!