These Candles Will Make Your Home Smell Like a Vegetable Garden
When you think of candles and home fragrances in general, you likely think of floral, airy smells — and sometimes musky scents to set the mood.
But with so many scents on the market, fragrance is becoming more creative by the day, not just in how it's transmitted but also in the perfumes that are created. Instead of sultry, cleansing, or romantic scents, candles are starting to go in a different direction, and it's perfect for all the aspiring coastal grandmothers. Enter the vegetable-scented era.
Yeah, we know it sounds kinda...odd. But before you wince at the thought of an onion candle taking over your kitchen, picture yourself walking through a vegetable garden — whiffs of squash, tomatoes, celery, and fresh herbs. Picture a feast being cooked during the summer: the sound of knives chopping carrots and spinach, those pleasant scents filling the air.
Otherland/ Malin+Goetz/ Getty Images/ InStyle
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There's something very wholesome, very Ina Garten and Martha Stewart about these scenes. So what's not to love?
Candle brands are slowly rolling out options that smell like they could be part of a recipe for the best-tasting pasta sauce. Take Malin + Goetz, for example. The luxury brand's founders were inspired by their passion for gardening when they created Tomato Candle — a blend of freshly-picked herbs (basil, lavender, and mint), vines of green ivy, ripe tomato, mandarin, woodsy petitgrain, cedarwood, and green pepper. Together, the notes smell earthy yet fresh, strong but not intense — it screams tomato season but also "I wear muumuus, only eat organic foods, and have a wrap-around porch."
Courtesy of MALIN+GOETZ
Then, there's Otherland. In 2021, the candle brand launched a limited-edition tomato candle (we're seeing a trend here), and this year, it launched Verdant Verve. It's part of the brand's seasonal Garden Party collection and makes its mark as the earthiest, most herbal scent of the group with notes of oak moss, neroli blossom, and thyme.
Courtesy of Otherland
Luxury brand Diptyque joined in on the trend, too. Its recently-launched La Droguerie collection includes a candle that, unlike other candles from the luxury brand, is designed to perfume and remove unpleasant smells. (Wet dog smell and overdue laundry piles, be gone!) Unlike the previously-mentioned candles with dominant vegetable notes, this one is heavier on the herb scents, with subtle notes of tomato leaf. It smells fresh and earthy, like a vegetable garden after rainfall.
Courtesy of Diptyque
Of course, we'd be remiss not to mention the Gen-Z-favorite candle brand, Boy Smells. Its GARDENER candle is fit for one, with scents of orange tree, oak moss, tomato leaf, and a subtle hint of floral nectar. When lit, it smells fresh, slightly citrus, and earthy — it actually has notes of dirt in it for that extra garden-y feel.
Courtesy of Boy Smells
This trend, if anything, marks a new path for home fragrance. And hey, we've always been told that eating veggies is important, so let's smell them, too.
