Mrs Hinch candles . lovely aesthetically, but worth being aware of ingredients

I want to begin with clarity, because intention matters.

I admire Mrs Hinch enormously. She is hardworking, family-focused and has built a brand rooted in comfort, routine and home. Her latest homeware collection is genuinely beautiful ,  I’ve bought pieces from it myself and enjoy them daily. This is not a criticism of her as a person, and she has never claimed her candles are natural.

But candles are not simply decorative objects. They are products we burn, inhale, and live alongside , and that’s where ingredients begin to matter.

This candle range has been produced in collaboration with Home Bargains, a large retailer with significant influence over sourcing, manufacturing location and formulation. For me, this is where responsibility primarily sits. Large retailers have the buying power to prioritise cleaner materials, more considered manufacturing and higher ingredient standards. When cost and scale dominate decision-making, wellbeing often becomes secondary.

The candles are manufactured in China and made using paraffin wax and synthetic fragrance oils. Paraffin wax is petroleum-derived, and when burned it can release soot and volatile organic compounds into indoor air, particularly when more than one candle is lit at a time or rooms are small or poorly ventilated. That black residue many people wipe from the inside of candle jars didn’t start there ,  it was airborne first. Over time, candle soot can also show up as dark marks on walls and ceilings, especially above shelves, fireplaces and in corners where air circulation is limited, something environmental health guidance frequently highlights.

Most adults may never notice an issue from occasional use, but fine particulates and VOCs are recognised airway irritants. Indoor air quality guidance consistently notes increased sensitivity in babies, young children, pets and people with asthma or fragrance sensitivities. Pets, in particular, are more vulnerable ,  they are closer to the ground where particulates settle and cannot remove themselves from fragranced environments.

Some of the candles list fragrance ingredients such as citronellol, coumarin, synthetic linalool, linalyl acetate and benzyl or phenethyl salicylate. These substances appear on UK and EU fragrance allergen lists, where they are identified as recognised sensitising ingredients. This does not mean they are unusual or banned , they are widely used , but they are listed because a proportion of people react to them, particularly with repeated or combined exposure. Reported reactions can include headaches, throat or eye irritation, asthma symptoms, skin reactions and general discomfort.

This is not about alarmism. It is about recognising that fragrance is not neutral simply because it smells pleasant. Candles are inhalation products, and their impact depends on how often they are used, how many are burned at once, room size and ventilation.

While Mrs Hinch has never claimed these candles are natural, many people understandably place a great deal of trust in those they admire. When someone’s platform is closely tied to family life, routine and comfort , and when they share a home with children and a dog , it is easy to assume a level of ingredient mindfulness without closely reading labels. That assumption is human, and it is why responsibility and transparency matter so much at a retail level.

What feels particularly sad is not that these candles exist, but that someone with such influence could have chosen differently. A collaboration with a small artisan maker. Cleaner-burning waxes. Ingredients chosen with wellbeing in mind rather than cost and scale.

This awareness is deeply personal for me, and it is why I do things differently at Bryluen Botanicals. Every candle begins with one simple question: would I be happy breathing this in, every evening, in a small room, alongside my family and my animals? If the answer is not a clear yes, it does not make it into the vessel.

That means no paraffin, no synthetic fragrance oils, no unnecessary fillers and no shortcuts for cost or scale. Even then, care is essential. Essential oils are not automatically safe , some are unsuitable around babies, children or animals, and many must be used sparingly and thoughtfully. Understanding both the benefits and the limitations of natural materials is part of responsible candle-making.

This approach means fewer products and slower production, but it also means candles that respect the spaces they are burned in and the people and animals who share those spaces.

Candles create atmosphere. They bring warmth, ritual and comfort. But they also change the air around us.

So next time you wipe soot from the inside of a candle jar, pause for a moment. That same soot was once airborne. That same air was breathed by your children, by your pets, and by you.

Beauty matters. Atmosphere matters. But air is not optional.

And once you understand what you are breathing in, it is very hard to unknow it.