Every year the same requests come in, so we put together a holiday wish list of scents we would love to see from our favorite candle brands. Think of this holiday wish list as a letter to the makers, written from the shop floor.
One of the nice things about selling a variety of the finest luxury candle brands in the United States is that we have a completely objective view of the offering. Each brand has it’s own area of excellence making them a perfect fit for some scents but not others.
We also hear what fragrances customers are constantly asking for that we either don’t have or don’t have exactly what they are seeking. It’s always amazing that even with hundreds of different fragrances available (we have over 10 different lavender candles!) that some key notes are completely missing that are requested over and over again.
If we could wave a magic wand and have highly requested fragrances created by specific brands, here’s what we’d request:
Votivo Candles
The Votivo Holiday Collection was revitalized a few years ago and really gained momentum. What a difference a little packaging upgrade makes! We’d love Votivo to make their retired Gingersnap fragrance a permanent part of their core holiday collection.
They brought it back briefly this past holiday and it was well received. Votivo Gingersnap is a great, warm, comforting and slightly spicy blend that is hard to find at the holidays. It’s surprising how few gourmand fragrances there are during the holidays and this one is great.
The Votivo Paperwhite Narcissus candle in the French Collection is also a big hit and we’d love to it see duplicated in the Holiday Collection. Paperwhite Narcissus is a relevant floral at the holidays and there are so few floral fragrances available in holiday packaging that it adds nice variety.
Trapp Candles
Trapp also committed to their Holiday Collection a few years ago by updating packaging and expanding the selection. The strategy worked just as well for Trapp as it did for Votivo, if not a little bit better. One of the most highly requested fragrances at the holidays is Frankincense and/or Frankincense and Myrrh yet no one offers it!
Aquiesse had a Frankincense and Myrrh candle in previous years but discontinued it. Fortunately, Trapp nailed frankincense years ago with their Frankincense and Rain fragrance that customers have been pining for since it was discontinued. We’d love to see them bring it back for the Holiday Collection, perhaps tweaking the name and/or fragrance to be perfect for the holidays.
Aquiesse Candles
Aquiesse does a nice job with woody notes so we’d love to see them create a wood burning fire fragrance similar to Diptyque and Lafco Feu de Bois or the old Tocca Cortina fragrance. It’s tough to get a good wood burning fire fragrance for under $60 and Aquiesse could do something really lovely with this in their unisex packaging.
Nest Candles
Nest nails it for creating the most commercial and commonly-accepted products and fragrances at the holidays. From packaging to fragrance to price they just no how to put it all together with enough flair to be interesting but not so much to turn off potential buyers.
One thing we’d love to see from Nest is for them to bring back the best selling chocolate fragrance from the Godiva Collection and put it in distinct everyday packaging similar to Pumpkin Chai so that it can remain year round. We get so many requests for a chocolate candle and no one makes one.
The Godiva candles from Nest were absolutely mouthwatering, dead-on, amazing. We loved the deep, dark brown vessel and wax with the glitzy box. Again, perfection.
Voluspa Candles
While Voluspa doesn’t have a dedicated holiday collection, they also don’t cannibalise their everyday sales and continue to do well with their incredibly gift-worthy packaging and pricing. What I’ve never seen Voluspa do, however, is create a limited edition holiday collection to make them more special and timely.
Typically their holiday fragrances live in their Seasons Collection (now the Vermeil Collection). It makes the products inconspicuous at the holidays.
I’d love to see them bring back the still-craved Vanilla Ginger Clove fragrance that was discontinued several years ago. It’s tough to find a good, warm, spicy scent at the holidays and everyone loved that one. I’d also love to see Traci create the most delectable scent – reminiscent of sugar cookies.
She does such an amazing job with Macaron and French Bourbon Vanille that I know a holiday gourmand fragrance from her would be stunning. Voluspa customers love her sugary scents so taking Macaron and turning up the volume just slightly would be amazing. The third fragrance I’d love to see in her holiday collection is something fresh.
Clean scents are also hard to find and Snowflake from the old Seasons Collection was perfection. Everyone loved it. The warm, spicy Vanilla Ginger Clove fragrance, a sweet Sugar Cookie and clean Snowflake fragrance would make a lovely, well-balance offering while avoiding the over-done, common fragrances she likes to avoid.
What really matters is what YOU think! What fragrances and products would you love to see next year? Post your answer in the comments below. We love to hear from you!
Why a holiday wish list matters
When you hear from customers all year, patterns show up quickly. People ask for frankincense, for chocolate, for a proper wood fire and for a sugar cookie scent that smells like the real thing. A holiday wish list like this one turns those requests into something brands can read.
It also shows how narrow the holiday shelf can be. Most seasonal candles fall into tree, citrus and spice families, so warm gourmand, floral and clean scents are harder to find. If you want a fragrance that did return, read about the Votivo Gingersnap candle.
Filling your own holiday wish list
If the exact candle you want does not exist, borrow from the families around it. Someone who wants frankincense could look at resinous, woody or incense-style scents, and someone craving a wood fire might try a cedar or smoky blend. Jot those down on your own holiday wish list and watch for new releases.
Layering helps too. A vanilla candle beside a spicy one can get you close to a sugar cookie mood, as we explain in our guide to layering candle fragrances. Diffusers and sprays are worth a look as well, and our post on Nest holiday candles, diffuser and room spray shows how many forms one scent can take.
What tops our holiday wish list for next year
A permanent Votivo Gingersnap, a revived Trapp frankincense scent and a real wood fire from Aquiesse come first. From Nest we would love a chocolate candle in everyday packaging, and Voluspa fans have their own holiday wish list: Vanilla Ginger Clove, a sugar cookie scent and a clean snowflake-style fragrance.
Fragrance is personal, and the best part of a holiday wish list is that it is never finished. The Wikipedia page on perfume is a nice rabbit hole if you like how scent families are described.
Now it is your turn. Tell us in the comments which scents belong on your holiday wish list.
