Fragrance Oils vs. Essential Oils: What Works Best in a Candle?

Let’s talk about something that comes up a lot when people shop for scented candles: what’s the difference between essential oils and fragrance oils, and which one is better?

At Empire Candle, we use both. In fact, every fragrance blend we create includes essential oils. Whether you're lighting a Tuscany Candle or wax melt, or enjoying a fragrance from our Candle Essentials line, you're experiencing a thoughtful combination of natural plant extracts and high-performance fragrance ingredients designed to work beautifully in a candle.

What are essential oils?

Essential oils are concentrated plant extracts - things like lavender, eucalyptus, lemon, or patchouli. They’re known for their natural origin, aromatic strength, and their long history in aromatherapy and wellness practices. We use essential oils in all of our candles because they add authenticity and character to a scent, even when used in small amounts. Their complexity helps us build more realistic and layered fragrances.

That said, essential oils aren’t always ideal on their own for candle use. Many tend to evaporate quickly or lose their potency when exposed to high heat, which can result in a weaker or inconsistent scent throw.

What are fragrance oils?

Fragrance oils are specially formulated blends designed to perform in scented candles and other fragranced products. They’re what give a candle its strong, room-filling aroma and consistent burn. These blends often include essential oils, but they also contain other ingredients that help the fragrance last longer and hold up better when the candle is lit.

We use fragrance oils because they allow for more creativity and reliability. From cozy fall spices to ocean-inspired freshness, they make it possible to offer the wide variety of scents found in our collections—and they ensure that every custom candle we produce delivers the kind of performance we can stand behind.

Which one should you look for?

The best scented candles use both. Essential oils bring the soul of a fragrance, while fragrance oils bring the structure that makes it work in a candle. Together, they create candles that not only smell amazing but perform beautifully, too.

Whether you’re lighting one of our seasonal Tuscany Candle favorites or building a line of custom candles with our team, you can trust that every fragrance is thoughtfully blended for maximum impact, and made to enhance your space, one burn at a time.