Homesick candles smell like home and make great gifts for any occasion

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Nothing can truly replace the feeling of home, but a scented candle from Homesick might be the closest thing.
Homesick makes candles and reed diffusers that smell of the 50 states, several big cities, and even experiences like being in your mom’s house.
Right now, you can save up to 20% on candles and reed diffusers.
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Scent is very closely tied to memory. That’s why when you smell cookies baking in the oven, you might feel like you’re back in your kitchen helping your grandma decorate cookies with icing and sprinkles.

But what about the scents of more abstract things like “home” and even geographic locations like New York?

Homesick candles range from the hilarious to the sentimental, with unique scents that somehow smell like how you’d imagine

Candle company Homesick polled people around the US to find out what home smelled like to them to develop customized scents for each city and state, as well as experiences. The results range from the celebratory – like Let’s Toast, which includes citrus and Champagne grapes – to the more sentimental – like Love Letters, which includes notes of rose, jasmine, sandalwood, peony, red plum, and lemon.

Each candle is made from all-natural soy wax, which is then hand-poured into a glass container. The simple black and white labels are minimal, and let you know what candle you’re smelling. The candles come in cute, colorful packaging, making them ready to gift to anyone who wants a whiff of nostalgia in their home away from home.

Homesick’s candles are reasonably priced starting at $34, and orders over $59 will get free shipping too.

What Homesick candles actually smell like

We tested a few of its candles and liked how the unique scents transported us “home,” whether that meant New York City or baking with our grandma in the kitchen.

New York City candle

As denizens of New York City, the Insider Reviews team typically remembers the malodorous smells we catch a whiff on the street rather than the candle’s idealistic “scents of spring days in Central Park, fine department stores, and concrete.”

Senior reporter Mara Leighton said it best when she described the candle as “what New York smells like in your dreams before you actually move here.” Still, we cannot deny that the candle smells a lot like Macy’s in Herald Square, or that the scent is infinitely preferable to the iffy smell of the city streets and the subway.

When I burned the NYC candle in my apartment, it smelled amazing. The gentle scent made my entire apartment smell great, and it burned evenly.

Holiday candle (currently unavailable)

The Holiday candle hit all the right notes with its scents of “freshly cut Pine trees and pomander balls; Mom’s sugar cookies and Grandma’s pies, warm from the oven.” The whole Insider Reviews team agreed that it smelled wonderful.

Just like the NYC candle, it burned evenly and beautifully all evening long in my apartment. When I closed my eyes, the gentle and aromatic pine scent reminded me of Christmastime at my Grandma’s house, which was surrounded by pine trees. The hint of cinnamon in there brought me right back to baking Swedish cinnamon buns with her too. It’s my favorite of the two I tried.

Homesick also makes a reed diffuser if you’re not into candles

If you don’t like candles because of the fire risk, you may prefer Homesick’s reed diffuser. The glass bottle has four ounces of essential oils that saturate reeds for a lovely scent, and you can choose from several different Homesick oils that smell the same as the brand’s candles.

At $34, Homesick candles are reasonably priced so you can gift them for every occasion. College students and new-ish grown-ups who are just getting started in a new city or state will love the nostalgia factor, and anyone who likes candles will appreciate how well made they are.