Ask Lisa: How can aromatherapy candles boost wellbeing?

Natural aromatherapy candles offer some wonderful wellbeing benefits. As winter approaches, now is the perfect time to light up your home, lift your mood and discover Lisa’s captivating new Tuscany candle created in collaboration with Tamzin Outhwaite. Here, Lisa answers all your burning questions...

What’s the difference between an aroma candle and a regular scented candle?

“Ingredients! Look a little closer at the ingredients list of many mass-produced candles, and you’ll be surprised by just how many chemicals are included. Unlike my candles, which use 100% natural fragrances and made without paraffin wax, many mass-produced candles use synthetic fragrances and petroleum-based chemicals, which are extremely cheap, and combined with paraffin wax. They’re essentially toxic, and can even be harmful to people with respiratory conditions, such as asthma and lung conditions.”

What ingredients do you use in Lisa Armitage candles?

“My attitude to candle ingredients is exactly the same as the ingredients for my skincare. It’s all about quality, purity and putting clean and natural ingredients first. What makes the Lisa x Tamzin aromatherapy candle special is that it is made with pure, beneficial essential oils – no fake fragrances here! – and 100% natural, sustainably sourced soy wax with a non-toxic cotton wick. It’s altogether better for your wellbeing… and smells absolutely divine, too.”

How can aromatherapy candles boost wellbeing?

“Aromatherapy is a treatment system to help the body balance and optimise wellbeing through the use of essential oils. When formulating the blends for my candles I take into consideration the many situations we find ourselves in emotionally and physically and create candles which contain these therapeutic oils to help you achieve the desired benefits. I created the Tamzin x Lisa Candle with a herby citrus fragrance designed to invigorate the body and mind. It is wonderfully uplifting.”

What was the inspiration behind the Lisa x Tamzin candle fragrance?

“A lot pf people don’t know that Tamzin has Italian roots, and spent a lot of time in Italy as a child. We wanted to capture the warmth and greenery of the Tuscan landscape, so I began experimenting with citrus and herb essential oil blends, until we had a fragrance that perfectly evoked the sun-kissed Italian countryside. The result is a candle that always feels appropriate, whether you’re working or entertaining, in the bath… Citrus scents are so versatile, and everyone seems to love them. That’s why the Tuscany candle also makes the perfect gift for anyone and occasion.”

Which candle wax is the best?

“The advantage of soy wax candles is that they burn at a lower temperature than paraffin wax which means they last around 30 -50% longer. They also burn cleaner, with 90 % lower soot emissions, which is far better for the environment. When it burns, paraffin wax releases toxic compounds into the air, including acetone, benzene, and toluene – all known carcinogens. So not only are they damaging the environment, but potentially your health too. Also don’t be fooled by ‘natural’ labelling. Companies only need to include 51% of natural ingredients to call a product ‘natural’ – the rest can be synthetic (It’s the same with the beauty industry!) The terms ‘nature inspired’ ‘blended with’ ‘botanical fragrance’ are cause for concern and will probably mean that some synthetic ingredients will have been blended with natural ones.”

How can I help my candle to last longer?

“A common mistake, and one that leads to what I call ‘wonky’ candles is, surprisingly, not burning the candle for long enough! The first time you use your candle, be sure to leave it burning for a couple of hours to help the wax to stay level. It’s a good idea to always burn your candle for a couple of hours at a time, but for no more than five hours, to ensure that it burns evenly up until the end, and minimal wax is wasted. Each time you want to burn your candle, start by trimming the wick to roughly half a centimetre long – trimmed wick will give you a cleaner, brighter burn.”