5 Best Target Candles for Cozy Fall+Winter Vibes & Hygge Apartment Dreaminess
Wondering how to navigate the ever-enchanting Target candle aisle this holiday season? I know, there are MANY options and it can be overwhelming - so allow me show you the way!
In this video, I’m sharing the 5 best Target candles (in my humble opinion, at least!) that will help you create the hygge home dreaminess we all strive for in our small apartments during the holiday season.
These home fragrances are perfect for embracing the season’s cozy fall and winter vibes, so curl up with a comfy blanket while I share my Target fragrance recommendations!
Video Transcript ↓
If you’re on the hunt for fall/winter candles that will basically make your apartment smell like all of the holidays that are about to happen to us - but you don't want to break the bank - then this is the video for you.
And I happen to know that a lot of you are on the hunt for such candles because you told me in the comments!
So here are the budget-friendly candles that I have recently bought at Target for the fall/winter cozy season.
And I'll be honest, the reason why it's only Target candles that I'm talking about in this video is because, in real life, that's really all I've bought in in recent months. All the other candles that I have in this apartment I've talked about in past home fragrance videos. So you can watch those if you want some more high-end, luxe home fragrance recommendations from me.
But for the sake of not being repetitive, I want to share the actual candles that I personally have bought recently. And like I said, they're all from Target.
Because you know how it is, you go into Target to buy toilet paper or you know, actual essential things, and then you walk out with a candle or two because you cannot resist the siren call of the candle aisle at Target. I know it's not just me.
And if you're new to my channel, my name is Steffi and I give small apartment styling tips and cozy living inspiration.
Oh, and also I am going to give a little bonus recommendation at the end, because I just remembered there is another fragrance that is a little bit more on the high-end side that I highly recommend as the best winter fragrance of them all. So stay tuned for the end because I'm going sort of tack that one on after I talk about the the Target fragrances!
And before we dive in, I wanted to let you know that you can now watch my free workshop, "Decorate Your Dream Apartment Without Spending Money on the Wrong Decor For You" whenever you want!
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So here are the Target candles that I have been lighting for the past couple months!
*This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll earn a small commission when you purchase through my links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Target Candle #1:
Forest Fir by Threshold
So I think this one is actually my favorite one out of the bunch. I probably should have saved it for the end, but apparently I'm too excited to talk about it.
So the main reason why I love this candle so much is because it actually fills the room.
It really pisses me off when a candle doesn't fill the room and ends up just being a pretty little light on the counter and nothing much more. This candle packs an actual punch.
It smells like Christmas in candle form and it fills me with all of those nostalgic holiday cheer vibes!
The only fragrance note that Target lists on their website is pine (leave it to Target to be super basic, haha) so it's not the most like nuanced candle. But I don't think we go to Target to get super sophisticated, nuanced fragrances. So if that's what you're looking for, then this might not be the candle for you.
But it smells like a Christmas tree and you really just can't argue with that.
And another nice thing about this scent is it comes in a lot of different packaging. You can get it in the glass container like the one I have, they have some smaller tins with like pretty little gold foil pinecone patterns, they have a really pretty gold one that you can get… So you have a lot of options.
So basically if you were to buy just one candle from Target this holiday season, this should be the one. I love this.
Target Candle #2:
Autumn Amber & Pumpkin by Threshold
I want to recommend this candle for two specific reasons. Reason number one is it’s so pretty! My goodness, I love dried florals. Obviously I do - they're a big part of the Moda Misfit brand aesthetic. So I obviously had to buy this candle.
But the second reason I recommend this candle is because it smells wonderful. It's kind of your basic pumpkin spice scent, but again, we kind of go to Target for the more basic scents. And this also fills the room quite nicely.
And once again, Target is very limited in its description of the notes of this candle. It's basically just amber and pumpkin. So I don't really have any interesting fragrance notes to share with you about this one.
But just using my nose, I definitely smell the amber and I definitely smell the pumpkin, and I would also say that there's a woodsy scent to this. Kind of a woodsy, foresty scent on top of the amber and pumpkin. (Which makes sense because I later found that dried leaves are another fragrance note listed for this candle!)
I almost recommend this candle just for decoration. Part of me doesn't even want to light it, and I haven't even lit it that much because it's just so pretty. So up to you, you can use it simply as decor because it's pretty, or you can enjoy the beautiful amber pumpkin woodsy scent of this one.
Target Candle #3:
Fireside Spruce by Hearth and Hand
First of all, look at the packaging of this. It is so pretty. It has a little bit of a glam vibe to it, a little bit of a vintagey glam vibe, I would say. And I haven't burned this very far down yet, but you can see that as it goes down it's only going to get prettier and prettier because the flame through this glass and it's facets is just going to be so pretty.
The scent is lovely and it has more specific fragrance notes listed: balsam, smoke, clove, musk, and fir wood. So there’s definitely a little bit more going on in terms of variety of fragrance notes with this candle versus the others.
Now, one thing to consider with this candle is it's a little bit on the gentler side. It might be best suited for a smaller room because compared to the first candle I listed here (which in terms of fragrance is very comparable, but will pack a much stronger punch) it’s simply going to be a bit more gentle.
So get this candle if you want something a bit more gentle in terms of strength. And also I think the packaging is prettier. But get the first candle if you want to feel like you're being smacked in the face by a Christmas tree scent. Which, frankly, I want that.
Target Candle #4:
Harvest Spice by Hearth and Hand
So this candle is basically a fall day in wax form. It is pure nostalgia. You know those cozy fall harvesty vibes that we all know and love? This candle is that.
And this is another candle where the packaging is just lovely. I love the terracotta, old world kind of look to this particular candle. So it will not only smell wonderful in your space, but it'll also look beautiful wherever you put it. And visually, it simply looks like fall.
The fragrance notes for this one are clove, vanilla, cinnamon, chestnut, and amber. And that's basically the scientific formula for the perfect cozy scent. 🙃
This candle is also going to be a little bit more on the gentle side. I find that the Hearth and Hand scents are a little gentler, whereas the Threshold scents from Target are a bit more robust.
So again, it comes down to personal preference. It comes down to how aggressive you want your home fragrances to be, and it also comes down to simply room size. But for a nice gentle, harvesty, nostalgic home fragrance, I definitely recommend Harvest Spice by Hearth and Hand!
Target Candle #5:
Vetiver and Cedarwood
Now, I have to admit this candle comes with a major caveat, which is it really doesn't smell that strongly, I am very sad to say. But I do recommend it for other reasons!
One of my subscribers, Anna N., pointed out on one of my videos (because she bought this candle after she saw it sitting in the background in my recent videos) that she noticed this candle basically has zero throw. And she is not incorrect.
This scent does not really travel far, but I do do recommend it specifically as a desk candle, where you're just like a couple feet away from the candle.
Because as scents go, the scent itself is wonderful. I would say that this scent, when you smell it in the candle, it is one of the better, more sophisticated scents that are sold at Target.
Problem is that, like I said, it just doesn't travel very far. So it's great for a desk, great for when you have it nearby. You can also buy the room spray if you want to enhance the strength of the scent a bit.
So basically, buy this one with caution. It serves some very specific purposes. Also, it's so pretty when it's lit. The glow that comes from this candle is beautiful!
Bonus Home Fragrance Recommendation:
Birchwood Pine Reed Diffuser by NEST
This probably my favorite home fragrance right now. I had to mention this because I'm not sure if I'm going make another home fragrance video by the time winter ends.
For one thing, this reed diffuser actually diffuses scent! And it diffuses scent in a very strong, wonderful way. So if you want a reed diffuser that actually, you know, does its job and diffuses whiffs of itself on a regular basis - where when you pass it, you smell it, or when you wake up in the morning like me because I have it on my nightstand, the first thing you smell in the morning is this enchanting scent - this is the reed diffuser that will do that for you.
On their website, NEST describes this home fragrance as smelling like a majestic winter forest. And I don't disagree. It is majestic, it is wintery, and it does smell like a forest.
It has notes of white pine fur, basalm, birchwood, rich musk, and amber. If that's not a fall/winter home fragrance, I don't know what is!
So if you want to up your home fragrance game a little bit and invest in something that is a little bit more sophisticated, a little bit more nuanced and multidimensional in terms of its fragrance notes, and simply fills a room, this reed diffuser is it.
So there you have it! Those were five Target candle (and bonus reed diffuser) recommendations for fall and winter. Let me know in the comments below, what candles are you burning? What reed diffusers are you diffusing? Let me know if you have any recommendations for me!
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