If you have ever struggled to describe why you love one candle scent and dislike another, understanding fragrance families is the key. Fragrance families are the categories that group similar scents together, and knowing which families you are drawn to makes choosing candles significantly easier. Here is a complete guide.
What are fragrance families?
Fragrance families are broad categories that group scents with similar characteristics. The same system is used in perfumery and home fragrance. Understanding which families you prefer gives you a reliable framework for choosing candles, even when you cannot smell them before buying.
The main fragrance families
Floral
The largest and most diverse fragrance family. Floral scents are built around the fragrance of flowers, from the classic rose and jasmine to more unusual choices like peony, freesia, and ylang ylang. Florals range from light and fresh to rich and heady. If you love the smell of a garden in bloom, you are a floral person.
Examples: Rose, jasmine, lavender, peony, lily of the valley, violet
Fresh
Clean, light, and airy scents that evoke cleanliness, open air, and water. Fresh fragrances include citrus scents, aquatic notes, and clean linen or cotton. They tend to be uplifting and energising rather than calming or heavy.
Examples: Lemon, grapefruit, sea breeze, fresh linen, eucalyptus, green tea
Woody
Warm, grounding scents built around wood notes. Woody fragrances range from dry and smoky to warm and creamy. They tend to feel sophisticated and long-lasting, and work particularly well in living rooms and studies.
Examples: Sandalwood, cedarwood, vetiver, patchouli, oud
Oriental or Warm Spicy
Rich, warm, and often sweet scents built around spices, resins, and exotic ingredients. Oriental fragrances feel luxurious and enveloping, and are particularly well suited to evening burning and winter months.
Examples: Vanilla, amber, cinnamon, tonka bean, frankincense, myrrh
Fruity
Sweet, bright scents built around fruit notes. Fruity fragrances range from sharp and citrusy to sweet and tropical. They tend to feel cheerful and uplifting, and work well in kitchens and social spaces.
Examples: Apple, peach, mango, blackcurrant, raspberry, fig
Gourmand
Edible-inspired scents that smell like food or baking. Gourmand fragrances are warm, sweet, and comforting, evoking the smell of a kitchen rather than a garden or forest.
Examples: Vanilla cake, caramel, coffee, chocolate, biscuit, honey
Finding your fragrance family
Think about the scents you are naturally drawn to in everyday life. Do you love the smell of fresh laundry? You are probably a fresh family person. Do you gravitate toward warm, spiced food smells? Oriental or gourmand fragrances will suit you. Do you love being in a garden? Floral is your family.
Once you know your preferred family, you can explore within it with confidence, trying different specific scents knowing they share the qualities you love.
Explore our Fresh and Floral Scents and Fruity Scents collections, or browse our Best Sellers. All candles are hand-poured in Carlisle, Cumbria.