As summer quietly starts to take a back seat for the season, it’s time to pull out your sweaters! Nothing screams fall like pumpkin spice lattes, picking apples with your friends, walks while watching the leaves fall, and good old Sunday afternoon football. With the new season just around the corner, two new scents follow close behind. With pumpkin usually being the star of the show, many other scents can also scream fall!

In previous blog posts, we looked into the ingredients in conventional Pumpkin Chai and Apple Harvest fragrance candles that you would find in large retail stores and had compared them with two of our essential oil candles crafted to naturally replicate those scents. Now it's time to look at our two newest all-natural fall arrivals: Roasted Chestnut and Orchard Lane and see how they compare to traditional fall fragrance candles.

Manufacturers are not required to disclose the chemicals used to create fragrances. This means that they could be hiding chemicals, typically derived from petroleum, in their candles that could harm human and environmental health just to get a good smell and strong scent throw.  The ingredients that give a candle or any scented product its unique aroma are considered trade secrets under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1966. As such, they are not obligated to reveal the fragrance ingredients. So, how can we uncover some of these fragrance chemicals? 

We took a look at the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) of the scents for Black Cardamom & Cream and Fallen Leaves sold by CandleScience, a leading candle ingredients supplier in the United States 

What is a Safety Data Sheet, exactly?

Safety Data Sheets (SDS), also known as the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet), includes the properties of each chemical; as well as physical, health, and environmental health hazards of the chemicals; with protective measures and safety procedures for storing and working with the chemicals.

OSHA regulations require laboratories, facilities or shops that use chemicals to have an SDS that is specific to each chemical used in the workplace. They also require the SDS be readily available during each shift to employees in the work area. 

Unfortunately, this important safety information does not make it to the consumer purchasing the final product.

The Disclosed Ingredients

Black Cardamom & Cream

• Benzyl benzoate 

• 2-acetyl

• Octahydro

• Tetra

• methylnaphtalene (main isomer)

• Ethyl vanillin

• Vanillin

• Linalyl acetate

• Ethyl maltol

• delta-Decalactone

• Coumarin

• Eucalyptus oil

Fallen Leaves

• 2-acetyl-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro-2,3,8,8-tetra-methylnaphtalene (main isomer) 

• Eugenol

• Benzyl benzoate 

• Coumarin

• d-Limonene 

• Cinnamaldehyde 

• 6-Acetyl-1,1,2,4,4,7-hexamethyltetralin

•  (−)-α-Cedrene 

•  Geraniol 

• 1-2,6,6-trimethyl-3-cyclohexen-1-yl-2-buten-1-one 

It is important to remember that fragrance manufacturers do not have to disclose all of their ingredients. The SDS sheet could only be showing us a portion of the chemicals in this fragrance. 

Without a chemistry degree it may be difficult to understand these ingredients, but here are some of our favorite takeaways: 

Benzyl benzoate found in both of those scents is most commonly used for treating scabies and lice. 

The Eugenol found in the Fallen Leaves fragrance has been used by dentists for over a century, typically mixed with zinc oxide to create temporary fillings and cements.

If you were wondering what 2-acetyl-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydro-2,3,8,8-tetra-methylnaphtalene is, you are not alone. This chemical gives a scent a woody and cedar like aroma, but it also greatly extends the life of the fragrance. This is why traditional candles can last for years; however, we recommend burning all natural candles in a year for the best burn and scent experience.

Now that you know more about the hidden ingredients in fragrance candles, it can feel a little scary figuring out who or what to trust when it comes to your favorite fall candles. But just know, we’ve got your back with our third party certified all-natural and non-toxic fall scented candles! 

Roasted Chestnut and Orchard Lane are made with all natural ingredients like beeswax, coconut oil, essential oils and a wooden wick. That’s it! We put everything on an ingredient list for you so there’s no fear when it comes to what’s in your candle! 

This fall you can enjoy Roasted Chestnut, with a calming scent featuring notes of lemon, ginger, nutmeg, ho-wood, and vanilla that brings the nutty warmth of fall into your home. Our other new arrival Orchard Lane takes you away to picking fruit in an orchard and enjoying the scent of a crisp fall afternoon with a masterful blend of essential oils: tangerine, pink grapefruit, ho-wood, and patchouli.

Fall scents are most notably characterized by spice, such as cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and other similar spices, like our fan-favorites that are returning: Cinnamon Orange Clove, Spiced Latte, Citrus Peel & Pine, Pumpkin Pie, and Warm Flannel.

 Until candles and air fresheners are required to have their ingredients disclosed on their labels, the only way to play it safe is with, companies that are independently certified as safe and nontoxic through third party verification like MADE SAFE® 

We’ve carefully selected all of the ingredients in our candles and only work with trusted suppliers. Our candles are simple: they’re made from hand-crafted beeswax and coconut oil, 100% pure essential oils and plant extracts, and untreated wooden wicks. No synthetic fragrances, no petroleum byproducts, and no toxins. Better yet, Fontana candles were the first to be MADE SAFE certified back in 2019!

Shop our collection of non-toxic fall and winter holiday candles to find the perfect scent for your home or gift for a loved one!