The smell is somewhat reminiscent of certain men's deodorants that use sandalwood scent. However, it is more subtle and fairly pleasant. In general these candles have staying power. The scent lingers faintly for awhile so they do not need to be burned very often. I have a mini-candle I use near the cat's litter box and it works nicely to mask the pervasive smell without being too cloying (it is a different scent, the citrus-based candle). Overall, I've been satisfied with all of the 5-6 candles I have I received.