Going with the glow: Why sales of luxury candles are soaring despite the recession

Can you smell something burning? The chances are it’s a scented candle.

Sales of luxury candles have soared over the past five years, with Brits spending a whopping £89 million on them in 2012 alone, according to Mintel.

As household budgets are squeezed ever tighter, more of us are entertaining at home and we're using candles to re-create a romantic, restaurant-style atmosphere (minus
the snooty waiters).

Candles are also replacing flowers as a popular gift at dinner parties and even weddings, according to candlemaker and florist Timothy Dunn, who counts the Queen and Kate Moss among his clients.

‘At weddings, it’s traditional to have flowers for the bridesmaids and bride’s mother, but candles are a popular alternative. Flowers don’t last, but you can take a beautiful candle home with you. You can have the lid engraved so it’s very personal,’ he says.

We’re being warned of a triple-dip recession so could anything end our love affair with luxury candles? It doesn’t look like it.

‘In the old days, candles were about light, but these days they’re about luxury,’ says Dunn.

‘Candles are an obsession with some people. They’d rather cut back on their food and have a nice candle burning in the house.’

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