As one of Europe’s leading private label candle makers we know starting your own range of candles is really exciting, but it can also be daunting. While picking fragrances is definitely one of the most fun jobs having too much choice can be over whelming. That’s why we use fragrance families to classify our scents in to groups, based on their dominant characteristics.
As a rule, people tend to be more drawn to one of the families than the others. Therefore, if you are trying to create a range of candles that appeals to a wide audience it can make sense to include a fragrance from each family. Many of the fragrances we offer in the Bespoke Candles HQ will have aspects of different families in them. However, in general the main characteristics of scents fall under the following categories.
Fresh
The fresh family is usually a crowd pleaser because it leans equally toward the masculine and the feminine. Fresh scents have dominated the fragrance market since the early 90s. Fresh is a light and uncomplicated scent. It also tends to be complimentary to other fragrance families meaning the possibilities are virtually limitless. Fresh is also the fragrance group that usually suits most seasons. Fresh scents tend to have a mix of sparkly fruits, aromatic herbs and lighter woods. Fragrances that are reminiscent of water, such as a sea breeze, also fall under the fresh family.
“Driftwood & Sea Salt” is one of our most popular fresh in-house scents.
Floral
Floral is the most easily recognisable fragrance family. It is also the largest family as it contains the widest variety of ingredients, most of which are flowers. Floral is a fragrance that is both familiar and popular. It tends to be the stand out signature ingredient in a fragrance composition. Moreover, most perfumes on the market today will have one (soliflore), or a number of florals (bouquet) at the heart of their fragrance formula. Other flowers popular in the floral family are orange blossom, peony and gardenia.
If the scent you are after is classic and perfumed “Jasmine & Magnolia” could be a great choice
Fougère
Fougère, is a group of fragrances that are mostly associated with masculine scents. Therefore it’s a popular addition to aftershaves. It tends to include non-floral outdoors scents such as moss, hay, wood and coumarin in the blend. Fougère is pronounced ‘foo-jair’ (with the ‘j’ a little soft – almost ‘foo-shair’…). Its name comes from the French word for ‘fern’ which is of course another fougère scent. It is a surprising scent family and, therefore, it tends to make a candle stand out on the shelf. Its a great fragrance family to get your brand noticed.
If you want that outdoorsy scent try our “Fresh Cut Grass” fragrance
Gourmand
Gourmand scents are cosy and delicious. Candles featuring these edible notes tend to make a room feel warm and inviting. (They also might make you want to bake.) It’s a relatively new category to include in candles and they definitely play on human natures love for the nostalgic. The gourmand group includes fragrance honey, vanilla, chocolate, coffee and caramel. (Really any scents that smell good enough to eat).
Our “Sweet Potato & Marshmallow” scent may be unusual, but it definitely has that delicious smell.
Oriental
Oriental fragrances are scents that have been inspired by the East. Spiced fragrances and warm, powdery notes make up the comforting oriental family. Oriental fragrances are often seen as evening fragrances due to their long-lasting, dark and mysterious qualities. Therefore, it is a fragrance family that pairs really well with flickering candle light. As a rule these scents usually have sweet rich base notes. It’s almost gourmand, but it is has a heavily eastern influence. The combinations of spices give these fragrances more of an edge. Examples of gourmand fragrances include amber, cinnamon, myrrh or frankincense.
“Oriental Night” has a great blend of saffron and green cardamom
We hope we have cleared up some of the confusion around choosing scents. You can also learn more about our services as private label candle makers here or you can see more from us on our Facebook page.
