If you're looking for a cheap thrill, candles are it. Of course, you have the scented ones—smoky firewood, bright green fig, sparkling florals...There's nothing like taking a big deep breath of candle-scented air and letting it pour out as a soothing and downright yogic ahhh. Sometimes, however, a scented candle is simply not appropriate. Like when you're cooking dinner. Or when you already have your diffuser (or, uh, another scented candle) going.

That doesn't mean you have to miss out on the warm, drippy delight a good candle brings—a new menagerie of unscented candles is here to update the ol' classic pillar (and your mantle) with color, texture, and wiggly shape. [Ed note: OK, fine, the Loewe one is scented. But it's still more of an objet than your run-of-the-mill candle, don't you think?] Unlit they're interesting pieces of sculpture, but light the wick and they transform into shimmering magpie magnets that can liven up any surface. You might even take the party outside, where a scented candle would be wasted but an unscented one serves as a whimsical light source while you relish in the last nights of barkyard dining. Not that you need convincing—if you're anything like us, at least one of these candles is in your cart already, and you haven't even finished this paragraph.

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Candles, from left to right:
Handmade Goddess Beeswax Candle, Edition 94 Swirl Candle in Rose Pink, Hannah Candle, Catbird Flora Candle in Ivory and Pink, The Floral Society Fancy Tapered Candles in Parchment, Loewe Scent of Marihuana Wax Candleholder, Nata Forme Candle in Cream, Greentree Home Cone Taper in Blush, Areaware Totem Candle in Small Plum, Lex Pott Twist Candle in White, Esh Mandarin Orange, Urban Outfitters Ombre Taper Candle Set, Esh Tie-Dye Star Pillar, Areaware Totem Candle in *Medium Plum

Shot with: Snowe Marble Candle Holders in White, the Aeyre Prima Candlestick and Concrete Cat Hex Coasters

Photographed by Alexandra Genova