These Stinky Star Wars Candles Are the Perfect Gift for the Fan in Your Life

What if candles captured the world's stinkiest scents instead of the most beautiful ones?

That's the weird idea behind Numskull's Star Wars new candle sets, with fragrances representing the worst aromas in the Star Wars universe. When I heard about them, I knew I had to reach out and see if I could sniff them for myself. Numskull was kind enough to send me the collector's edition of the A New Hope candle set, and I did just that.

The Product

There are three sets of candles in Numskull's official Star Wars line, each consisting of five candles inspired by different foul-smelling objects from each film from the original trilogy. Each consists of a small candle in a squared glass container with a shiny sticker label.

The sets are available with just the candles for $24.99, or in collectors editions with a special base for $34.99. I received the A New Hope set including Bantha Milk, Wookiee, Trash Compactor, X-Wing Cockpit and Cantina scents.

The candles for The Empire Strikes Back include Inside of a Tauntaun, Millenium Falcon, Yoda's Cooking Pot, Han Solo in Carbonite and Lightsaber Duel, while the Return of the Jedi candles smell like Rancor, Sarlacc Pit, Jabba's Palace, Ewok and Death Star Destroyed.

 

The Experience

While I was fascinated by the scent choices in these candle sets, it didn't mean much until I could actually smell them. As I opened the box, I was pretty overwhelmed by the combination of powerful scents. I don't even like walking in front of a Yankee Candle store at the mall because the scents are too much, but this went above and beyond that because of the strange aromas.

Careful not to disturb anyone else in my office, I grabbed the box and brought it into a small room where the scents wouldn't offend too many people before I took them and lit them all one by one.

 

Bantha Milk

Of the five candles in the box, this was probably closest to a traditional candle scent. At first sniff, it would smell like a classically sweet vanilla candle or even like red licorice, before a hint of stinky musk would also hit my nostrils.

When I lit the candle, it amplified both scents, though the wild, perfumy smell became more pleasant. I didn't like the smell so much before fire touched the wick (I'm not a fan of vanilla candles either), but the lit candle smelled just fine, and I even think it did an oddly good job at emulating the milk of a smelly barn animal.

I also appreciated that it was light blue in color, because all milk in the Star Wars universe is a bizarre shade of blue for some reason. Refreshing!

(Star Wars: The Last Jedi via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

 

Wookiee

I was expecting the worst when I got to the Wookiee candle. I imagined it would smell a little bit like wet dog, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out its real scent.

This might have been my favorite of the bunch. It had even more musk to it than the previous candle, but blended with the forest-y smell of pine, I thought it worked beautifully. This is actually a candle I would burn without worrying about getting any dirty looks from passersby. Chewie would be proud.

(Star Wars: A New Hope via 20th Century Fox)

 

Trash Compactor

It's not a stretch to say that "trash compactor" is inherently the grossest smell in the set. No one wants to smell like the inside of a wet, stinky trash compactor—particularly if it has a giant beast lurking inside it.

(Star Wars: A New Hope via 20th Century Fox)

Thankfully, I found that the candle wasn't that horrible. Unlit, the scent was extremely hard to place, like a lot of sharply strong smells competing at once for my attention. It didn't feel like they included any non-candle smells, but it somehow did have a garbage-like aura, like a hodgepodge of pungent stuff.

Lit, the scent morphed. A sweet and floral fragrance rose above the rest, leaving just a hint of that signature smelly trash smell. I swear it sounds worse than it is.

 

X-Wing Cockpit

The inside of a real X-Wing cockpit would probably reek of metal, plastic and sweat from a pilot fighting for their dear life. This candle leans hard into the plasticy aspect, smelling like gasoline or a synthetic part straight out of a factory. It's not entirely unpleasant, but also not something I'd choose to smell up a room.

Once I lit the candle, it smelled less like a  new car and more like a lightly sweet vanilla. The scent definitely became more palatable, and even though it still smelled like plastic fresh off the press, it definitely smelled clean, too.

(Star Wars: A New Hope via 20th Century Fox)

 

Cantina

When I hear the word "cantina" I don't initially associate it with bad smells, but after imagining the Mos Eisley Cantina, I could imagine why it'd smell horrible. I Obi-Wan doesn't call it a "wretched hive of scum and villainy" for nothing.

(Star Wars: A New Hope via 20th Century Fox)

I found this to be the least overtly powerful of the smells—or maybe since it the last one in my scent test, I was already acclimated to bizarre aromas. After everything else, it smelled downright muted. Like many of the other candles, it had a strong musk, but there were fruity and floral notes on top of it. While it consisted of many smells, these worked better together to not be offensive to the nose. It had a clean small, distorted slightly by musk, like a super stinky version of a linen candle. It's another candle that I think I could burn without anyone knowing it was supposed to smell "bad."

 

 

 

Bottom Line

Though every candle in the set is pretty smelly in its own way, not a single one made me plug my nose and run in the other direction. Each one smelled even better when I lit it up, and when I displayed them all in a line, I was surprised that they all managed to work together to create a scent I didn't hate.

The price isn't too bad, either. I've seen a single fancy candle retail for $60 or more, so I find a $25 or $35 set of five mini candles super reasonable. While they might not smell as good as other candles, they're definitely unique—and super fun to sniff out for big Star Wars fans. Though some may hate the smells, others might love them—and they look really cute on display in their case.

 

Need more gift ideas for your favorite Star Wars fan? Click HERE for subtle Star Wars accessories that will allow you to fangirl on the DL.