‘Sweet Orange & Chilli Pepper’ and ‘Cucumber & Wasabi’ lines are two of the best-selling candle fragrances for 2011 at Candle Shack, a UK-based manufacturer of hand-made natural soy wax candles. Traditional favorites, like Clean Cotton, Lavender and Vanilla, have taken a back seat to bold new fragrances.

When Candle-Shack.co.uk was launched little over a year ago, the founders made two key decisions: 100% natural soy wax would only be used in their scented candles and the candle line up would include several ‘exciting and quirky’ fragrances along with more classic scents. The top three selling Candle Shack fragrances throughout 2011 have been:

• Sweet Orange and Chilli Pepper: A sweet and spicy blend of Orange Zest, Tangerine, Bergamot, Cassis and Neroli with undertones of Black-Pepper, Chilli and Musk.

• Cucumber and Wasabi: Grapefruit and Lime, with heart notes of Cucumber, Guava and Passion Fruit, perfectly balanced with base notes of Japanese Wasabi and Coriander.

• Clean Cotton & Amber: Clean Cotton with White Blossom top notes, Cashmere heart notes and Amber, Musk and a hint of Patchouli.

“Candle Shack’s bolder fragrances, although perhaps a little unconventional, were not chosen on a whim. Each and every fragrance in our range has been selected based on painstaking research and direct feedback from our customers,” says Duncan MacLean, Managing Director of Candle Shack. “Sweet Orange and Chilli Pepper was an instant hit with market customers and has outsold all other fragrances in the range. Its sweet citrus top notes and warm spicy base notes have the broadest appeal I have encountered in any candle. Almost everyone who smells it falls in love with it and we have struggled to maintain stock levels. Our Cucumber and wasabi fragrance has also been extremely popular and was leading the field in the summer months.”