Creating Autumn Ambiance with Candles

If you're like me, you've come to embrace the positives of each season and look forward to those great things as the seasons begin to change. In each season, the two things I almost always enjoy are having the blinds open to let natural light come in, and taking advantage of those grey, rainy days in the Fall/Winter, or those cool, sunny, breezy days in Spring/Summer. And, I love having candles burn throughout my house to match the mood. I have tiny ones in our bathroom, a big one in our living room, and then scents that usually complement the season and the decor of our kitchen and bedrooms.

I love the switch from tropical scents to more homey scents moving from Summer to Fall. With the official start of Fall on Friday, September 22, I thought I would take advantage and share some of my favorite candles to create that warm, comforting atmosphere in your home.

Candles really can add a cozy element to your home and fill it with the scents that you make memories around. With proper maintenance (trim your wicks!), they won't dirty your ceilings and walls or darken your glass, and they'll burn to their full potential with minimal hazard.

Bath and Body Works 3-Wick Candles, $22.50-$24.50 (Wait for sales!), 14.5 oz.

This may be the most obvious choice, but I love Bath and Body Works' (BBW) Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin. It has notes of vanilla, clove, cinnamon, brown sugar, and, of course, pumpkin, and it just brings this nostalgic feeling that makes me 100% ready for crunchy leaves and big blankets. It makes me think of pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving, and cool days. If I could, I would buy every home fragrance item that Bath and Body Works makes with this and keep it in my home for the entirety of Autumn.

My next favorite is Marshmallow Fireside. Its scent notes include smoldering wood, toasted marshmallow, fire roasted vanilla, and crystallized amber. I took it as a compliment that the first time my husband smelled this, he said, "Oh yeah, this scent definitely reminds me of you." We keep this candle in our guest bedroom where we have an outdoorsy vibe with buffalo plaid and bears so I have an excuse to burn this year-round. It smells like a bonfire. It reminds me of camping. It makes me want to get outside, under the stars. It's magical. And I absolutely love this scent.

I believe this last scent is new to Bath and Body Works this year, but Bourbon Maple is more masculine with notes of barrel-aged bourbon, sugared amber, and Maple wood. Just as my husband thinks of me with Marshmallow Fireside, I think of him with this scent. It complements our bedroom nicely, and makes me think of the time we spent in Vermont. Not necessarily because of the "Maple" in the candle, but just the overall atmosphere that Vermont had for us when we were there. It brings back truly special memories of a fondly viewed vacation.

Lindbergh Candle Co., $11-18.00, 4-8 oz.

So I have to start off by saying that I love this small business. It was started by a creative, Savannah Wallace, who I follow on social media, and her husband. I love this company because I think their products and branding are fantastic and they give 10% of their profits to an organization doing incredible work. Right now, because of the devastation in Texas from Hurricane Harvey, they are giving toward that relief effort. Other times, they give to St. Jude's or toward Autism awareness. If you're a fan of supporting small businesses, I would highly, highly recommend these candles! I love them so much! I believe they are set to release their Autumn scents soon, so check their website frequently! AND if they repost your picture of their candle on social media, you get a discount on your next purchase. Yay!

The first scent I want to talk about is Cabin. This scent is so good. It smells like delicious apple cider and sends me straight into an apple orchard. It has hints of chai spice and cinnamon, and strong mulled apple cider notes. It's incredible. I still remember burning this in my home as my husband and I prepared to leave for a camping trip a year or so ago, and every time I walked into the house after taking things to our car, I was just so in love with the feeling it gave me when it greeted me. I burned this sparingly afterward for that reason, and I'm already looking forward to bringing it back out again this year.

The next scent is Lumberjack, a more spicy scent that requires your coziest flannel and your favorite mountain man. This candle's notes include spiced vanilla and maple pancakes with a hint of tobacco. I know I said Bourbon Maple by BBW reminded me of my husband, but man does this one too. No one can wear a flannel better than him, and every time I even think about this scent, he is the first person/place/thing/idea (the first noun, haha, English jokes) to come to mind. I love burning this one in the kitchen as I feel it gives me a creative kick to make something different and unexpected, but I also just love it pretty much any time. Another candle I would burn year-round.

The last scent out of their Autumnal fragrances that I want to recommend is Harvest Moon. It's similar to Bath and Body Works in its notes with pumpkin, vanilla, and cinnamon, but I wanted to mention it as another option. I know what you're thinking though. Why talk about it if BBW is a better deal? Bigger candle, potentially cheaper price on sale. But it's another option because, again, you're supporting a small business. I think you get a higher quality product that looks great in your home and smells out of this world. Any time I can plug for a small business, I will! They are both great products, but one is directly supporting the dream of a little family outside of Atlanta, which I think is pretty awesome.

Pure Integrity Candles, $27.99, 26 oz.

I first found Pure Integrity when I was looking for a clean-burning soy wax candle. These candles last forever too. You get 110-120 hours of burning from their largest candle and the fragrance strength is incredible. This is another small business that takes the utmost care in making sure your candles get to you safely, with a personal touch and usually a free tealight of a scent they think you might enjoy.

The first scent I want to mention is their Oatmeal Cookie candle. YUM. I always get compliments on this candle when I burn it as it really does smell like oatmeal cookies fresh out of the oven. And the fragrance strength is so powerful that if you're burning this in an open area in your home (depending on the size of your home), it might be the only candle you need! In our small home, that is definitely the case. Because of the warm notes (nothing specific listed on their website, but I can describe it as cinnamon, brown sugar, and vanilla), it truly cozies up your spaces and makes your mouth water for some fresh baked cookies and cold milk.

This is another dupe for a BBW candle by the same name: Pumpkin Pecan Waffle. You'll pay a little more for it, but you get 110-120 hours of burning time! That's incredible! And the fragrance strength is another super powerful one that smells soo, soo good. Its notes are maple syrup, brown sugar, pumpkin, pecan, and spices. The lovely people at Pure Integrity originally sent this to me as the tealight sample, and I fell in love with it. Just that little tealight filled my kitchen and laundry room with a great, delicious smell.

The last fragrance is Hot Mulled Cider. This scent's notes include Macintosh apples, cinnamon, and clove. Another apple scent that is great for burning on those crisp, sunny Fall days with the windows open and the sunlight filtering in. This is a great scent for me when I'm working from home - it keeps my mood uplifted and happy, and I seem to stay more focused. I don't think it has the magical power of making me more productive, but I love the brightness of this scent paired with sunny Fall weather. Love, love, love.

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That's it for my favorite Fall candles, and how they can create a lovely atmosphere in your home. If you have any favorite Fall scents, please comment them down below! As you can probably tell, I have a comfort zone that consists of apples, maple, and pumpkin, so if you have anything that falls outside of those things, let me know! :) Thanks, as always, for reading.

This post was not sponsored. All items were purchased with my own money, and all opinions are my own. Pictures used in this blog post were taken directly from each company's website or social media account.