Loads of manly candle ideas for the man cave, bachelor pad, family room or anywhere a masculine touch is desired…decoratively speaking of course.

Whether it's embellishing or designing a unique fragrance that will appeal to the male species, you could easily create an entire line of masculine candles in a number of styles to sell or give as gifts.

You can man-up your candles with Fragrance, Embellishments or Styles and here are just a few ideas*:

Fragrance:

One of the simplest and surefire ways to create a manly candle is by choosing a masculine scent. You can't go wrong with a sexy cologne fragrance. Both men and women appreciate a nice masculine scent around the house. There are many designer-type fragrance oils available. If you make and sell candles, you can get creative by giving your candle a manly name. You don't have to call the candle by the fragrance oils’ name. Get creative and name them something unique and appealing to both sexes. For instance, I make a candle using Tommy Type cologne fragrance oil but I call the candle "Just Plain Sexy". This name almost always gets a customer to pick up the candle and take a sniff for curiosities’ sake.

Aside from sexy cologne type fragrances, you can find fragrance oils for almost any scent you can think of. There’s beer, BBQ, campfire, bacon, leather, grass and dirt scented fragrances, just to name a few. I’ve tried several of these fragrances; some are true to their name, and some require quite a bit of imagination before you can smell the suggested smell.

You could come up with your own unique scent by blending different fragrances together. I blend fragrances of Sage, Leather, Sandalwood and a touch of Dirt and call it "Hey Cowboy". Of course, the label has photos of some well-worn cowboy boots to drive home the idea. Leather and Black Amber make up my “Rattlesnake Hide” candle with a printed rattlesnake pattern for the wrap.

Just remember - if you decide to do some fragrance blending, don’t forget to document your fragrance formulas in case you create a winner! Keep in mind - guys like beachy and fresh fragrances too so don't limit your ideas to perceived manly or masculine fragrances only.

Embellishments:

Other ways to man-up a candle is to wrap your containers in leather or suede. Perhaps a strip of sand paper would appeal to the handyman. Photos of sports cars, motorcycles, tools, guitars, pianos, wild animals, woodlands, a cabin on the lake, flames or camouflage designs are ideas that come to mind. Many of these themes are available in preprinted papers in the scrap booking section of craft and hobby stores. You can create your own wrap labels with photos that you copy onto paper. With some of these artistic applications, you may not even need to come up with a name for your candles, just add the fragrance name to the bottom of your candles along with the warning label.

Maybe you like to think a little outside of the box. What about wrapping a candle with a dog collar with spikes or skulls Depending on the guy, you could use the gem-loaded collars too. Is he in to music? String up some drilled guitar picks using old guitar strings. Maybe he’s a motor head. String up nuts, bolts, washers or a single spark plug. For a Fisherman you could use bobbers, lures, fly ties or an old fishing license.

You could use these same embellishment ideas on plain pillars that you make or purchase as well.




Styles:

Maybe novelty beer candles are more his style. Achieve this look by trying your hand at using gel wax in a glass beer mug and top it with a little whipped wax for a frosty head.

Perhaps a vintage sand-candle will take him back in time and remind him of the good old days. Using a tub of damp sand and a small bowl to make an impression in the sand is a simple way to create a mold for making sand candles.

Pouring candles into recycled tin cans or purchased tins are simple man-up ideas too.

Just using a wood wick can instantly achieve a more manly appearance to your candles.

As you can see, whatever he’s into you can create candles to suit his style. Just think it, picture it, smell it and create it. Guys like candles too and these ideas will make yours a hit.

*Just to make sure I’m PC…All of the above mentioned ideas are perfectly wonderful for females and do not necessarily only appeal to males. Additionally, there may be males (and females) that do not find any of these ideas appealing. These are merely suggestions and ideas to spark your own creativity. Peace-out and smile.