What Are Fragrance Notes?
A scented candle — like a perfume — is made up of different layers of fragrance that reveal themselves at different stages. These layers are called notes, and they're divided into three categories: top notes, heart notes, and base notes.
Think of it like a piece of music. The top notes are what you hear first — the opening — and they grab your attention. The heart notes are the main melody, the sustained body of the scent. And the base notes are what linger after everything else has faded, the deep resonance that stays with you.
Top Notes
Top notes are the first thing you smell when you light a candle or bring it close to your nose in the shop. They're the lightest, most volatile part of the fragrance, which means they burn off relatively quickly — usually within the first 15 to 30 minutes of burning.
Common top notes include citrus (lemon, bergamot, grapefruit), light herbs (peppermint, eucalyptus, basil), and fresh florals. They tend to feel bright and clean, which is why so many candles smell incredible in the shop but slightly different once you get them home and burn them properly.
Our Breathe candle — Peppermint & Eucalyptus — leads with exactly this kind of top note: sharp, cool, and instantly clearing. It's the olfactory equivalent of opening a window.
Heart Notes
Heart notes, sometimes called middle notes, are the core of the fragrance. They emerge once the top notes start to fade and form the main character of the candle — what most people think of when they describe what a candle "smells like."
Heart notes are typically richer and more complex than top notes. Florals like rose, peony, and jasmine often sit in the heart, as do spices and warmer herbs. They're what make you stop and say "that's it, that's the one."
Drift, our Peony Velvet candle, is built almost entirely around this middle layer — soft, velvety, and quietly romantic. It doesn't shout. It just fills a room in the most effortless way.
Base Notes
Base notes are the foundation of the entire fragrance. They're the heaviest, densest molecules in the scent composition, which means they burn the slowest and last the longest. Long after you've blown out the candle, the base note is still quietly present in the fabric of the room.
Typical base notes include woods (cedarwood, sandalwood), musks, vanilla, amber, tobacco, and resins. They add warmth, depth, and that particular quality that makes a scent feel grounding rather than fleeting.
Indulge — our Honey & Tobacco candle — is a masterclass in base notes. The tobacco and the dark honey work together to create something that feels genuinely luxurious, the kind of scent that makes a room feel like it has a personality.
How to Use This When Choosing a Candle
The most useful question to ask yourself when choosing a scented candle is: what do I want this space to feel like?
Fresh and energising? Look for top-note-forward candles with citrus, mint, or eucalyptus. They work brilliantly in kitchens, home offices, or anywhere you want to feel alert and focused.
Calm and restorative? Seek out heart notes — florals, soft herbs, gentle spice. Lavender sits beautifully in this space, as does jasmine. Our Unwind candle (Lavender & Vanilla) is one of the most popular choices for bedrooms and winding-down rituals for exactly this reason.
Warm and atmospheric? Go for deep base notes — woods, vanilla, tobacco, amber. These are evening candles. Living room candles. The ones you light when you want a space to feel intimate and considered. Soothe (Sea Salt & Sandalwood) does this quietly and brilliantly.
A Note on Burn Time and Wax Quality
One thing that's easy to overlook: the quality of the wax affects how well the fragrance notes actually develop. Paraffin wax — the most common type used in cheaper candles — tends to muddy the more delicate top and heart notes, pushing everything towards the heavier end of the fragrance.
Natural waxes like coconut wax, which we use across all nása-shō candles, have a cleaner burn and a better scent throw. This means the full range of fragrance notes — top, heart, and base — has the space to develop properly as the candle burns. It's one of those differences that sounds technical but genuinely changes the experience.
The Short Version
Top notes: what you smell first. Fresh, light, fleeting.
Heart notes: the main body of the scent. Floral, spiced, the character of the candle.
Base notes: the foundation. Deep, warm, long-lasting.
When in doubt, smell the candle after it's been burning for 20 minutes rather than cold. That's when the heart notes start to speak — and that's usually when you fall in love with it.
Explore the nása-shō collections — Essence, Haven, and Dolce — to find the fragrance that fits your space.