Bath & Body Works is one of the most popular personal care product brands in the US, and can be found in nearly every mall. The brand is known for their soaps and candles, which they describe as having "luxurious fragrances."
But what's actually in Bath & Body Works products? Do they contain any chemicals that are known to be harmful? Are there healthier alternatives? And what ingredients should health-conscious consumers look out for?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in two of Bath & Body Works' most popular products (scented candles and perfume) to give our take on whether or not they're bad for you.
We'll also suggest alternatives that we consider to be healthier.
Ingredient Analysis — Scented Candle
The ingredients in Bath & Body Works Fresh Amalfi Lemon Scented Candle are shown below:
Fragrance is included, and fragranced, wax-melted candles were shown to significantly increase indoor air pollution in a 2025 medical review.
Benzyl benzoate is a synthetic preservative which can be an irritant, as we discussed in our Mane n Tail Shampoo review article.
Limonene and linalool are fragrance ingredients, the former of which was shown in a clinical trial published in the Journal of Toxicology & Environmental Health to decrease lung capacity when inhaled over hours.
Overall, we consider Bath & Body Works' scented candles to be bad for you, and we consider the entire category of scented candles with traditional fragrance ingredients to be bad for you.
Ingredient Analysis — Perfume
The ingredients in Bath & Body Works Velvet Sugar Perfume are shown below:
Fragrance is the first-listed active ingredient, and we explained in the previous Ingredient Analysis section why we consider inhaled fragrance to be unhealthy.
Yellow 5 is a synthetic dye that "may cause allergies or asthma or breathing symptoms if inhaled" according to PubChem.
Limonene has been described by PubChem as a "dermatologic irritant and allergen," as we documented in our article analyzing is Glossier Perfume clean.
Overall, we consider Bath & Body Works perfume to be bad for you.
Medical Professional on Scented Candles
A doctor of osteopathy (DO) and YouTube creator named "Doctor Mike" has a video on the toxicity of scented candles with nearly two million views:
What are Healthier Alternatives?
Essential Oils
We consider essential oils (with a diffuser) to be a significantly healthier option than wax candles.
A 2014 medical review on essential oil aromatherapy for sleep analyzed data from 15 clinical trials on the topic, and reported no toxicity concerns.
Essential oil inhalation is also clinically shown to support immune function, depending on the oils used, as we documented in our Burst Bars reviews article.
Scented Soaps
We consider naturally-scented soaps to be a much healthier alternative than fragranced perfumes.
Brands like Dr. Bronner's use essential oils and other natural ingredients like organic jojoba oil and vitamin E which leave a naturally "fresh" smell without the toxicity concerns.
