This candle startup has a beautiful gifting and unboxing experience, making them foolproof as holiday gifts

Otherland is an up-and-coming startup lauded for its curation of beautifully packaged and fragranced candles.
You can customize the matchbox that comes with the candles, making it the perfect holiday gift for a loved one.
Candles can be purchased as a three-piece set for $89 or individually for $36 each. We've already bought a few for people in our own lives (and ourselves).

I know what you're thinking.

Does the world really need another fancy candle brand? Isn't that market saturated enough?

Well, yes, but hear us out — because we wouldn't be writing this article if we didn't think this particular company was doing something special.

Otherland, a relatively new startup, is making some of the most beautifully packaged and scented candles we've seen in a long time, and at a super affordable price point ($36 each) when compared to some of the luxury brands like Diptyque and Byredo. The soy and coconut wax base burns for 55 hours (a definite selling point if you ask me), and the candles can be bought in custom three packs ($89) or individually.

Once the art buyer for Ralph Lauren's stores and restaurants, Otherland founder Abigail Cook Stone has always known the importance that visuals play in our lives. Stone created this line of colorful candles with that in mind, understanding that even the smallest things, when well-crafted and beautiful, can bring so much delight and energy into our space.

In addition to their base offerings, Otherland cycles through its seasonal collections — and they never disappoint. The Manor House Weekend Collection is inspired by cool weekends in the countryside, full of sweet and fresh fragrances like corn, hay, lilies, and burnt maple. Its Gilded Holiday Collection is just as delightful. Think rich, smoky, sweet scents — the kind you may smell in a Narnian Christmas-tree forest.

When you open an Otherland candle, you're met with something so meticulously designed you'd think a jeweler was presenting you with a rare gem. Bright pops of color, be it from the summer collection's all-over color theme or the base collection's logo design, immediately grip you. And just as stunning as the packaging are the delicious fragrance combinations that are designed to transport you to "other lands."

The presentation experience, which, when you shop from the "gift" page includes the option of custom gold foil messaging on a set of matches, is what really sets these candles apart. There is such joy in the process of unwrapping, opening, smelling, and lighting them that we've already started gifting them to friends and family despite having just learned about them this week.

Check out all the scents Otherland has to offer below, including the holiday collection.

The Gilded Holiday collection

Otherland Gilded Holiday Collection three-pack, $89

The holiday collection is a fresh, woodsy collection of fragrances inspired by winter weather and late-night soirées. There are six distinct candles in the collection, and you can either choose three to make a set or purchase them individually.

You can also create a set of three from any of the other collections, all of which you can find here.