Most citronella candles smell like a hardware store's idea of summer. You light them because you have to, not because you want to. They work, sort of, but they turn your beautiful patio evening into something that smells vaguely medicinal and entirely unpleasant.
Broken Top's Lemon Citronella candle fixes this problem. It is a citronella candle that you would actually choose to burn even if there were no bugs within a hundred miles.
How It Actually Smells
The trick is the lemon. Instead of letting citronella run the show unchecked, Broken Top leads with fresh lemon and bright citrus notes. That is what you smell first - clean, zesty, genuinely pleasant lemon. The citronella sits in the middle, present enough to do its job but balanced by the citrus so it never becomes that sharp, chemical-adjacent smell you associate with cheap outdoor candles. The base finishes with green leaf, keeping everything natural and grounded.
It smells like a summer evening on a patio surrounded by lemon trees. With the added bonus that mosquitoes will not want to join you.
Functional Fragrance Done Right
Here is what matters - it actually works as a bug deterrent. Citronella is one of the most well-studied natural insect repellents, and burning it in candle form creates a scent barrier that most flying insects avoid. The strong throw on this candle means it covers a real area, not just the six inches around the flame.
But unlike most functional candles, this one does not ask you to sacrifice ambiance. You can set it on a patio table during a dinner party and it adds to the atmosphere rather than detracting from it. Guests will comment on how nice it smells, not ask why there is a citronella bucket on the table.
When and Where to Burn It
This is a summer candle, specifically an outdoor summer candle. Patios, decks, porches, picnic tables, camping sites. Anywhere you want to sit outside after sundown without getting eaten alive.
It also works inside as a bright citrus candle if you just like the way it smells. The lemon-forward profile is pleasant enough to burn in a kitchen or living room during the warmer months.
Light it about 20 minutes before you plan to sit down outside. Give it time to build up a scent presence in the area. The throw is strong - Broken Top designed this one to perform outdoors where the scent dissipates faster.
If you are putting together a full outdoor entertaining setup, pair this with good food, string lights, and you have a summer evening that actually works the way you imagined it.
How It Compares
Lemon Cello is the closest relative in the Broken Top lineup - it shares that bright lemon character but goes sweeter with sugar and vanilla. Lemon Citronella is the more practical sibling. Less dessert, more function.
Among outdoor candles in general, this is one of the best we have found. Most brands treat citronella as a necessary evil and do not bother making it smell good. Broken Top treats it as a design challenge and actually solves it.
The Details
9oz soy candle. About 50 hours of burn time. 100% U.S.-grown soybean wax with cotton-core wicks. Vegan, phthalate-free, paraben-free. Hand-poured in Bend, Oregon. $26.
Pick one up from our home fragrance collection before your next barbecue. Or stop by the shop on Soquel Ave in Santa Cruz to smell it first - book a free scent flight and we will help you find the right candle for every room (and every patio).