Scented candles have had a massive resurgence in popularity, going from cheap and tacky presents for grandmas to highly sought-after lifestyle products that many people are willing to spend big money on. Part of the appeal that's made them so popular is the huge range of different scents available, ranging from simple and classic to weird and wonderful.
Many of the candles on offer are based around familiar scents that are nice to fill your home with, but there's a lot more a candle can do than just smell nice. If you make your own candles, not only can you save yourself a bit of money, you can also choose scents that bring other benefits. To get you started, here's how to make a relaxing night time candle that will help you drift off into a peaceful sleep.
What you need
How to make your sleepy-time candle
First, work out how much wax you need for your jar. Fill it with water, leaving a gap of about a centimetre at the top, and use a measuring jug to see how much it contains in millilitres. Take off 20% and that's how much wax to use, in grammes.
Put your wax in a pan you won't want to use for cooking again, and set it on a very low heat. When it's just started to melt, get your wick ready.
To keep it in place, dip the metal part in the melting wax and stick it inside the jar, pushing it down and making sure it's in the centre. If the wick is covered in wax, it should stand up on its own; if not, tie the end around a stick and place it across the top of the jar to keep it in place.
Once the wax has melted, add a few small pieces of wax colour. Do it gradually until you get the shade you want so it doesn't go too dark.
When the colour is mixed through completely, take the pan off the heat and stir in your scented oils according to the instructions for quantity. For a first try, lavender is a great choice as it smells nice and it's renowned for its relaxing properties. Afterwards, you can experiment with blending scents together.
If you're using pure essential oils rather than oils for candle making, about 60 to 70 drops should do the trick but you may need up to a hundred if your jar is particularly large.
Carefully pour the wax into the jar, and leave it somewhere safe. Your candle might take longer than you expect to set fully; some people report up to 24 hours, but you can put it in the fridge if you want to speed things up.
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