If you are searching for the best candles in Nashville, you want two answers: which candle to bring home, and which shops are worth the drive. The fastest way to sort them is by what is in the jar. The wax decides how long a candle lasts and how cleanly it burns.
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Our top pick is Room Service in the 12 oz size. It pairs 100% beeswax and two wooden wicks with a scent built for the room where you host, and it burns 80+ hours. Five Nashville makers and shops fill out the list below, each worth knowing for its own reason, and the two picks at the top both come from the 100% beeswax candles MBur Candle Co. hand pours in New York City.
The wax sets the floor for every candle on this list
Pick up a jar in most Nashville candle shops, and the label will likely say soy. Soy wax starts as soybean oil. Makers harden it through hydrogenation, a process that turns a liquid oil into a soft solid you can pour into a jar.
Soft is the important word there. A softer wax melts at a lower temperature, so the melt pool spreads quickly and the candle burns down faster. Soy is also often blended with other waxes to firm it up, so a label that says soy can describe a mix.
The usual partner in that mix is paraffin. Paraffin comes from refining crude oil into fuel. After the fuel is drawn off, a waxy residue is left behind, and refiners clean that residue and sell it as candle wax. Follow those steps and you arrive at a plain fact: paraffin is petroleum waste, which is why the full ingredient list tells you more than the front of the jar.
Beeswax starts somewhere else entirely. Honeybees make it to build their comb, and beekeepers collect it as a byproduct of honey. In an MBur candle it is the only wax, with nothing blended in. Beeswax also has the highest melting point of the common candle waxes, so it melts slowly and each jar lasts longer.
The wick and the fragrance come next. A wooden wick is a thin strip of wood that crackles softly as it burns and holds a steady flame. Fragrance is where you read closely, because many candles use toxic fragrances containing phthalates. Phthalates are chemicals added to make a scent cling to the air longer. MBur uses only phthalate-free fragrance oil and adds no chemical dye to color the wax.
Keep the wax, the wick and the fragrance in mind, and the ranking below makes sense.
The 7 best candles in Nashville, ranked by what is in the jar
The ranking puts wax and burn first. After the top two, each local pick serves a different kind of shopper, from a group planning a night out to a visitor looking for a keepsake.
1. Room Service by MBur Candle Co., 12 oz
Friends fly in on a Friday and drop their bags in your living room before dinner. They will spend most of the weekend in that room, talking late and coming back between plans. The way it smells becomes part of how they remember the trip.
That is the room our Room Service beeswax candle was made for. It is MBur's #1 bestseller, and it was built around the scent of a five-star hotel lobby. The notes are Saffron, White Tea, Purple Peonies, Orchid, Tobacco, Vanilla, Almond Milk, Tonka Bean.
The white tea and peony keep the first breath light. As the melt pool spreads, the tobacco and tonka bean come forward and warm the room. The effect is a home that feels looked after when your guests walk in.
The 12 oz jar is wide, so it carries two wooden wicks. Two flames melt the surface edge to edge faster than one. A wider pool of melted wax gives off more scent, which is how one candle reaches a full living room.
Wax: 100% beeswax | Wick: two wooden wicks | Fragrance: phthalate-free | Burn time: 80+ hours | Dyes: none
Standout: two wooden wicks and 80+ hours in a single-ingredient beeswax jar. Best for: the living room where you host. Price: the 12 oz size is $65.
2. Retail Therapy by MBur Candle Co., 5 oz
A long afternoon in 12 South ends with shopping bags on the bed. The bedroom holds a dresser and a bed and little else. A room that size fills with scent fast, so one steady flame suits it well.
Our Retail Therapy beeswax candle in the 5 oz size fits that room. The notes are Red Currant, Black Currant, Jasmine, Peach, Black Tea, Amber, Anise, Tonka Bean. Ripe peach and dark berries come through first, and black tea and amber settle in underneath.
One buyer burns it in more than one room and described it this way:
"This scent has me in a chokehold. I burn it in my room and my living room and it fills my space SOOOOO nicely."
Verified buyer
The single wooden wick keeps the flame low and even in a small space. Beeswax melts slowly, so the 5 oz jar lasts through weeks of evening burns in a bedroom or a studio.
Wax: 100% beeswax | Wick: one wooden wick | Fragrance: phthalate-free | Burn time: 40 hours | Dyes: none
Standout: a full scent from a small beeswax jar. Best for: a bedroom, a studio, or a room you light a few nights a week. Price: the 5 oz size is $32.
The next five picks are Nashville names. Each one is worth a visit, and each one sits well beside a beeswax candle burning at home.
3. Paddywax
Paddywax was born in Nashville and is known for soy wax candles in reusable glass apothecary jars. The brand runs a flagship workshop in Berry Hill and a pour-your-own candle spot in The Gulch. The pouring sessions have become a regular stop for bachelorette groups and date nights.
Standout: the hands-on pouring night. Who it fits: a group in town that wants an activity before dinner. The jar you pour there goes home as a keepsake of the night.
4. Thistle Farms
Thistle Farms is a Nashville nonprofit and social enterprise. Its candles are made by hand, and the work supports women survivors as they rebuild their lives. The signature Love Heals line comes in scents like Lavender and Santal Amber.
Standout: the mission behind every jar. Who it fits: a shopper who wants a gift that carries a Nashville story about the people who made it.
5. OAK Nashville
OAK Nashville pours its candles by hand in soy wax. The jars lean into a local lifestyle look, which makes them easy to spot as hometown goods on a shelf.
Standout: local design. Who it fits: someone who wants a jar that looks like it came from Music City.
6. Department
Department is a boutique on Bandywood Drive that carries niche luxury fragrance alongside gifts and homeware, including artisan candles. You can smell several fragrance houses in a single visit.
Standout: a wide range of fragrance under one roof. Who it fits: a shopper who likes to browse scent in person before buying a gift.
7. Made in TN
Made in TN stocks goods made in Tennessee. Its candle shelf includes Nashville-poured jars and 615-themed designs from local makers.
Standout: many local makers in one stop. Who it fits: a visitor who wants a souvenir with the area code on the label.
The seven picks side by side
The table below sorts each pick by what it is and the shopper it fits. Use it to plan a shopping afternoon and to choose the candle you burn at home.
| Pick | What it is | Where to find it | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Room Service, 12 oz (MBur) | 100% beeswax, two wooden wicks, 80+ hours, phthalate-free, no dye | Hand poured in New York City, ships to Nashville | The living room where you host |
| 2. Retail Therapy, 5 oz (MBur) | 100% beeswax, one wooden wick, 40 hours, phthalate-free, no dye | Hand poured in New York City, ships to Nashville | A bedroom or small apartment |
| 3. Paddywax | Nashville-born soy candle brand with pouring workshops | Berry Hill and The Gulch | A group night out |
| 4. Thistle Farms | Nonprofit candle line supporting women survivors | Nashville | A gift with a mission |
| 5. OAK Nashville | Hand-poured soy candles with a local look | Nashville | A hometown shelf piece |
| 6. Department | Luxury fragrance and gift boutique | Bandywood Drive | Browsing scent in person |
| 7. Made in TN | Shop for Tennessee-made goods | Nashville | A 615 souvenir |
The local picks give you good reasons to get out into the city. The two beeswax picks are the candles built for burning night after night at home, which brings up the questions readers ask next.
Questions that come up before you choose
But my living room is one big open space
Open layouts are the hardest rooms to scent, because the air moves through the kitchen and dining area too. This is where the 12 oz Room Service earns its place. Two wooden wicks build a wide melt pool, and a wide pool sends out more fragrance than a narrow one.
The Retail Therapy buyer quoted above said it plainly about her own space: "This candle permeates every corner of the room." In a big room, the two-wick size gives the scent the reach it needs.
But I want the candle to feel like Nashville
Keep the local keepsake and the nightly candle as two separate things. Pick up a 615 jar at Made in TN to remember the city by, and set Room Service on the coffee table for the nights the house is full.
The keepsake marks the place. The beeswax candle shapes the evenings you spend there with people you love.
But it is a gift for someone who lives here
Then choose by their room. For a friend who hosts, Room Service in the 12 oz size is the gift, because it is the scent people pick for a room where they entertain. For a friend in a studio or a small one-bedroom, Retail Therapy in the 5 oz size fits the space.
Whichever one you choose, the first burn decides how well it performs.
How to get every hour out of a beeswax candle
The first burn sets a memory in the wax. Let it burn until the melted pool reaches the edge of the jar, which can take a couple of hours on the 12 oz size. If you blow it out early, the wax tends to tunnel down the center on every burn after.
Trim the wooden wick before each lighting so the flame stays steady and low. Keep each burn to about four hours, then let the jar cool before you light it again.
Set the candle away from open windows and ceiling fans. Moving air bends the flame toward one side, and that side melts faster than the rest.
Nashville candle questions, answered
Where can I pour my own candle in Nashville?
Paddywax runs a pour-your-own candle bar in The Gulch, and The Golden Slipper has the Alice Candle Bar and Perfumery inside its shop. Both make a good group outing. For the candle you burn through the week after, our pure beeswax candle collection ships to Tennessee.
Are most Nashville candles made with soy?
Many independent Nashville makers pour soy or natural wax blends, including OAK Nashville and Paddywax. If a blend matters to you, read the full wax list on the label. Every candle in MBur's beeswax line uses 100% beeswax and nothing else.
Is MBur Candle Co. based in Nashville?
MBur is based in New York City, where every candle is hand poured, and it ships to Nashville. One tip while you search: results often mix in Nashville, Indiana, so check that a shop is in Tennessee before you plan a trip. You can see every scent in our candle collection.
Which MBur candle suits a screened porch?
Touch Grass was made for outdoor air and green spaces. Its notes are Fig, Black currant, Galbanum, Coconut, Davana, Cedarwood, Amber, Orris, Tonka bean. On a porch, keep it out of the wind so the flame burns evenly.
How long does a beeswax candle actually burn?
The 5 oz size burns 40 hours on one wooden wick, and the 12 oz size burns 80+ hours on two. Beeswax has the highest melting point of the common candle waxes, so it melts slowly. Both sizes are available across the MBur beeswax collection.
Our pick: Room Service in the 12 oz size
The best candles in Nashville come from two kinds of places: local shops worth a visit and the jar you burn at home. For the jar at home, the wax decides the outcome. A single-ingredient beeswax candle with wooden wicks melts slowest and burns cleanest of the options on this list.
Our pick is Room Service in the 12 oz size. It is the candle for the room where friends gather, built around the scent of a five-star hotel lobby, so your home feels ready the moment the door opens. It is 100% beeswax with two wooden wicks and phthalate-free fragrance, and it burns 80+ hours.
"I've tried quite a few scents from them and they all have different vibes and gives you something unique....and they all smell amazing."
Verified buyer
If friends are coming to town this spring, order now so the first burn is done before they land.
Choose Room Service in the 12 oz size for the room where you host, because that is the room your guests will remember.
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