Taking a break from the dissonance and discord of the world could be relieved by the familiar flicker of candlelight and the calming aroma of a whirlwind of scents. While lighting candles at home has been a lifelong practice that helps improve one’s mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being, why can’t it improve our home spaces too?
Local artisans and handcrafted studio specialists have been working on their craft from perfecting their signature scent palettes to expertly creating the most alluring mixes of fragrance oils and packaging. But, let’s be clear: there’s no shortage of the various brands and scents that have been entering the local market, especially with pandemic hobbyists and serial entrepreneurs coming into the mix. But what we want to set apart are the ones who are disrupting the normal and going against the general flow of things, whether it’s their scents, packaging, or overall brand.
Because finding the cutest local, affordable, and best-smelling scented candles online is no easy feat. But best believe we rounded seven of them up in this ultimate list for you!
Vintage Candles
Offering the first-ever seashell candles in the country, Vintage Candles was once a homegrown small business that started over the pandemic from a passionate mind with a goal to breathe new life into seemingly improbable vessels for candle making, whether it’s a seashell or a teacup – an ode to reusing and reducing. Personally, they bag the top spot for creating the most unique and innovative candle designs in the country, from their molding and packaging to even elevating a normal glassed scented candle by adding mini wax rainbow hearts that melt into a technicolor swirl.
Try out the Mermaid Shell candle (100g, ₱400.00) to have a piece of the beach on your bedside with a hint of subtle lavender and chamomile.
Pete & Alia
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Producing the first rice-based solid perfumes in the Philippines, Pete & Alia strives to create the best fragrance line for home or personal use. In their candle line CLOUD, the brand calls for us to rekindle memories through their scents. Made with 100% non-toxic, no-soot soy wax, the candle pots are also created by local artisans with lids that double as bases. Pete & Alia believes that everyone has their own unique scent and offers you to take their quiz to find out what’s yours!
Try out the Strawberries + Cigarettes CLOUD candle (200g, ₱799,00) to have a bittersweet take on your favorite tub of strawberry ice cream with notes of strawberry, cream, aged wood, smoke, and cherry tobacco.
Saan Saan
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Acclaimed local hand-poured candlemakers Saan Saan recently opened up shop in Brixton Street, Pasig where you can immerse yourself in their mindful implements all inspired by movement and stillness alike. Besides offering a varied range of scents in different formats, from deep and woodsy soaps to bright and breezy candles, they have also been keen on sharing the spotlight with other local slow businesses. They’ve partnered up with Auro Chocolate and Some Love Wine Store for the perfect gift pairings while hosting pop-ups in their first studio cum store with the likes of Moko Plants and Good Morning Wines, open and free to all. P.S. They now finally offer very limited candle/soap-making workshop slots. So I suggest keeping an eye out for that!
Try out the No. 2 Baker Street in Poblacion candle (238g, ₱950.00) to transport you and your space to the winding yet alluring alleys of Poblacion’s hidden bakeries filling your senses with cream vanilla, cinnamon spice, and frankincense.
Rare Earth
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Patch Silva, an artist by talent and a visionary by feat, created Rare Earth as a sophisticated take on handcrafted soaps. This quickly turned into creating the most heavenly blended scents housed in glass jars with their signature auric gradient of colors in abstract shapes. Rare Earth candles have mastered the art of fusing fragrances as the base of any home scent, one for each type of preference from musky to floral. They also offer free scent samples for any order! Just make sure to leave a note when you do!
Try out the Halcyon candle (225g, ₱1,600.00) to ground your home to the earthly senses of the world, tinged with vetiver, dry peppercorn, and lavender.
Clocheflame
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Widely loved by tons for their viral and in-demand beauty products, Clocheflame also came out with a candle of your dreams. Their debut candle brings back the memories of hazy summer sunsets and the feeling of wet sand in between your toes. A single eco-wick candle made from soy-blend wax was birthed with the idea of bringing vacations to our homes instead of chasing them. While the chic neon orange glass brings blissful light into spaces that need sprucing, be sure to also check out their cult favorite beauty essentials while you’re at it too!
Try out the Vacation candle (200g, ₱646.00) to transport yourself into your tropical daydream. It is an ode to the Philippines with scents of tangerine, seawater, peach, musk, and lemon verbena.
Bálay Obra
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Gravitating towards more homely minimalist collections, this proudly-Filipino fragrance brand was started by two interior designers with the hopes of creating thoughtfully and intentionally made and curated pieces for the local home. Paying homage to their hometown of Catanduanes where simple and purposeful products are made, Bálay Obra delights us with their array of home fragrances from scented candles and room sprays, to diffuser and humidifier oils. They’re also very big on the circle of life, urging us to refill our candle jars to reduce waste!
Try out the No. 06 AROMA Scented Candle (220g, ₱580.00) to feel the early morning rush in a hidden café with a whiff of coffee beans and vanilla cream.
LEV
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From their signature holographic jars juxtaposed by their stark white bare-boned label, the self-proclaimed Levmakers of LEV Manila requires one thing on their resume: The tiniest attention to detail. Besides their bestsellers, they also offer molded stick candles of varying sizes and consistently churn out soulful mixes of scents with their attentive take on packaging that seeks to elevate spaces into a new light. They also just recently came out with smaller tinned candles for you to explore which of their signature LEV scents you want to take home.
Try out the Empyrean Candle (260g, ₱1,550.00) to know what it’s like to have heaven on Earth with ethereal notes of ginger flower, neroli, white jasmine, lily, violets, leafy accord, and vanilla bean.
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Header image courtesy of Vintage Candles
