The Gorgeous Candle I’ll Buy Over and Over (It Never Tunnels!)

I love a good candle, but I’m not very good at burning them correctly. Even when I follow all of the instructions, I still end up with tunneled candles that are unusable halfway through their burn life. That’s why I was so excited when I tried out the Dark Cypress candle from San Soli — it’s the first candle I’ve ever been able to burn all the way to the end, and the scent is right up my alley. 

San Soli is a fragrance and design studio based in Los Angeles, California, but their candles are made in Grasse, France, which is known as the “perfume capital of the world.” The candles pass International Fragrance Association (IFRA) standards, which means that it passes industry-wide safety guidelines.

The scent of the Dark Cypress candle is described a lot like a perfume — it has top notes of lemon, lavender, and citrus; middle notes of cypress, pine, and galbanum; and base notes of petit grain and clary sage. It’s made of premium mineral wax, and a 6.3 ounce candle (with a 50-hour burn time) is $65. 

I tend to really gravitate away from “warm” scents like vanilla, or “gourmand” scents that are sweet or dessert-like, so this candle really strikes what I, personally, enjoy in a scent. It’s bright with the lemon and citrus, but it also has woody and herbal notes from the cypress and lavender. It smells great for any season without being cloying (something I hate). 

But what I really liked is how evenly the candle burns. I have notoriously bad luck with even the fanciest candles, as they often tunnel. I’ve tried to fix the tunneling with foil, but it doesn’t seem to work. This candle burned perfectly from the beginning, and as a result of the scent being so lovely and the candle being well-built I was able to enjoy it until the bitter end.

I also love the matches (bought separately for $8) that San Soli sells. They’re solidly constructed, come in beautiful packaging, and they’re very long, which makes them perfect for lighting candles at any level of burn. You can easily dip your hands into the candle without it hurting or without worrying about burning your fingers with these matches. Plus, they light super easily, and don’t break easily when you burn them. 

All in all, this is a fun little gift for yourself or a friend. 

Buy: San Soli Dark Cypress Candle, $65