Travel tin, 8 oz or 16 oz: which candle size suits your room

Every one of our scents comes in three sizes: a travel tin, an 8 oz jar and a 16 oz jar. People often ask which to choose, and the honest answer is that it depends on the room and on how you like to burn a candle. Here is how we would think about it.

Start with the room

A candle scents the air by warming its wax, and a bigger melt pool releases more fragrance. That is why size matters more than you might think.

• A small room (a bathroom, a home office, a bedroom) fills easily. An 8 oz jar is plenty, and a travel tin works well in a really small space.
• A big or open room (a living room, an open kitchen) needs more. The 16 oz jar has a wider surface of melted wax, so it reaches further.

Then think about how you burn

If you light a candle most evenings, a 16 oz jar lasts a long time and works out as fewer reorders. If you light one now and then, a smaller candle is better: you will get to the bottom before you get tired of the scent.

Remember the first burn, too. A bigger jar needs a longer first burn to melt all the way across (there is more about that in our post on getting an even burn). If your evenings are short, the 8 oz is the easier candle to look after.

The travel tin is not just for travel

It has a lid, it is light, and it does not mind a suitcase, so it is good for a weekend away or a hotel room. But it is also the best way to try a scent before you commit, and it makes a small gift or a stocking filler. Three tins, one of each scent, is a good way to find your favorite.

For a gift

• For someone whose taste you know well, an 8 oz jar of the scent you think they will love.
• For someone you are less sure about, a set of travel tins, so they can choose their own favorite.
• For a big thank you or a housewarming, the 16 oz jar.

You can see all three sizes side by side, with how long each one burns, on our home page.