Balsam/fir candle that actually smells like a tree?

January 17, 2019 11:01 AM

I got a balsam candle to try to get some Christmas-tree smell, and it was kind of sweet and cloying and not super tree-like. Can you recommend a specific tree-scented candle that actually smells like a Christmas tree?

Thanks!

posted by kristi to Home & Garden (13 answers total)

If you melt a little pine pitch on a normal candle it'll smell pretty piney. Or bow rosin.
posted by aspersioncast at 11:18 AM on January 17, 2019 [4 favorites]

Best answer: I love my Paddywax Balsam and Fir candle.
posted by corey flood at 11:19 AM on January 17, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The Thymes Frasier fir candle.
posted by purpleclover at 11:36 AM on January 17, 2019 [19 favorites]

Best answer: i literally ordered like 5 of the bath & body works balsam fir ones, when they went on sale after christmas!!
posted by crawfo at 11:37 AM on January 17, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Thymes, absolutely. I have a Frasier fir candle that my mother bought me right before she died which still smells wonderful now, ten years later. That one is special and I haven't lit it but I've burned numerous other Thymes Frasier Fir candles and they are the best.
posted by lydhre at 11:44 AM on January 17, 2019 [4 favorites]

Best answer: Bedrock Tree Farm's Fir Needle Soy candle. The best. I keep them going from November through March.
posted by mmw at 11:47 AM on January 17, 2019

Best answer: Not quite a direct answer to your question, but I use an unscented tea candle in a soapstone oil diffuser with balsam, pine, cypress, or cedar oils.
posted by Earthtopus at 12:23 PM on January 17, 2019

Best answer: Thymes all the way. I even got their essential oil an use it in my diffuser.
posted by oflinkey at 12:46 PM on January 17, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Juniper Ridge candles are literally made from trees. They do a Christmas Fir one during the holidays every year, but the Cascade Forest one is also a fir scent, and will definitely get you where you're going.
posted by mollymayhem at 1:34 PM on January 17, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Nthing Thymes. It's the only pine scented thing I've ever found that is truly pine-scented. The oil diffuser is great.
posted by ereshkigal45 at 2:41 PM on January 17, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I'm Christmas tree obsessive, and I love the Nest Birchwood and Pine candle. I think a lot of pine candles smell weirdly one-note, like the tree version of a banana Runts candy. The Nest one is bright and crisp but also deep and woody.
posted by mostlymartha at 9:16 PM on January 17, 2019

Best answer: The Washington Post did a comparison of balsam fir candles to determine which ones smell the best. Thymes won, but there are others on their list.
posted by Nosey Mrs. Rat at 4:36 PM on January 20, 2019

Response by poster: Yep, the Thymes Frasier fir is a winner! There's still just a hint of sweetness to it, but on the whole it's just what I was hoping for.

I will probably try the Bath & Body Works ones, too, at some point.

Thank you all for your great suggestions!
posted by kristi at 2:55 PM on February 16, 2019