Scent Strength Versus Scent Throw

If we had a nickle for every time we heard…Is this a strong candle?…well, let’s just say we’d be sipping margaritas on our own private island right about now. The truth is, just like taste, the sense of smell is different and unique for all individuals, and what might be strong for you might be imperceptible to your neighbor. You also have to take into account environment – the humidity, room size, drafts, etc. It all can and does make a difference. Still there are some basic tenets around fragrance – whether from a candle or wax melt – that can be used as a guide. Today we’ll delve into just how scent strength and scent throw are related, and how you can get the most out of your candle or wax melt. 

Let’s first chat about scent throw. What exactly is scent throw, and how does it contribute to your thoughts about a candle? Scent throw is considered the amount of fragrance that is released into the air from a candle or wax melt. 

Candles and wax melts have a cold throw and a hot throw. Cold throw is what you smell when the wax is not warmed. For example, taking off the lid on a brand new candle or opening up the wax melt packaging. What is one of the first things we do? We take a whiff! Of course we are getting to know the scent notes, but it also gives us a good gauge of what the strength of that cold throw would be. Some candles and wax melts have a very strong cold throw and you can smell them just while they are sitting on the counter. 

Hot throw is the scent that comes from warming the wax, either by lighting the wick of your candle or melting the wax melt in a burner. How far will the hot throw travel? Does it stay right there where the candle or wax melt is? Or does it push itself beyond and start scenting up the room, down the hallways, or further? Just as the fragrance notes can smell differently cold versus hot, the cold and hot scent throws can be very different. It depends on the brand, the wax, the vessel, the environment, and, of course, you! 

When discussing a candle, we will most often hear scent throw and scent strength used interchangeably, which does make sense. The two are intricately intwined! Here at Candlefind, though, we try to separate them out and include that information in our reviews. In those instances, we are typically referring to the fragrance’s intensity. Fragrances such as lavender or ozone notes can generally be not as intense. However, they might throw well. Think of a light, lavender scented candle that you can tell is burning all the way down the hallway! That fragrance intensity (strength) might be lighter, but the scent throw is fantastic. So would you call this a strong candle? In our review, we would probably rate the scent throw 5 out of 5 with strength being 3 out of 5. 

There are some fragrances that tend to be stronger, such as blueberry or cinnamon. We would expect that these candles have a greater scent strength (intensity) and hopefully a great scent throw. There are times, though, that a scent strength can be fairly strong in intensity, but it just does not travel well (scent throw). Confused yet? It can become maddening, but suffice it to say that most stronger fragrances have wider scent throws, but the same is not always true for the milder fragrances. 

There are a number of things you can do to make sure you are getting a stronger scent throw and intensity. One is to make sure you are matching the product and fragrance up with the right space. It’s rare that a single votive candle is going to scent up an entire open floor plan, right? Keep the wick trimmed on your candles and burn it long enough to get a full wax melt pool on the first burn. For candles and melts, try placing them in different spots in your home, as a draft or wall angle might make the difference in how strong the candle scent is for you. 

In some cases, you may need to add more wax to your melter or another candle into the mix. We try to avoid this, if possible, because that increases the cost of this hobby! But sometimes you have to go with the flow and that just means more wax. 

Hopefully this primer on scent throw and scent strength was helpful and informative. Armed with this knowledge, you’ll certainly understand our reviews better. We will offer more information as time goes on, including a list of some of the brands we think make super strong candles!