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For me, there is just something so serene about lighting a candle. It’s that instantaneous signpost of slowing – where the world suddenly just pacifies, and all is restful. In that gentle repose, it’s a marriage of all the small things; the strike of the match, the ochre glow, a gentle flicker, the warmth, and of course, the scent. A good candle may look pretty, but a great candle is arbitrated by its scent.
Esoteric ingredients, and the complexity of their accord, take a candle from pedestrian to resplendent, in just one burn. Of course, each nose treats scent differently; whilst freshly plucked or powdery soft please some, rich ouds and heady tobaccos delight others. But, the best scents are usually proffered with a sense of irony, paradoxical in their alchemy, a marriage of the absurd and different which diffuses a most memorable fragrance.
Winter not only calls for the cocooning of oneself in fuzzy mohair and fleecy cashmere, but in fragrance and luxurious light. And whilst winter scent tends to skew towards the woody and warming, there’s a new batch of candles set to spice up your home (quite literally) with their clever and composite personality. In the waxy afterglow, pour yourself a hot peppermint tea (or red wine, for the impish) and indulge in the slow burn of these seven scents. Time to get lit (we had to).
Cire Trudon Les Belles Matières Tadine
The latest offering from the oldest Candlemaker in the world (1643, under the reign of Louis XIV), Cire Trudon travels back to the origins of rarefied perfumes with Tadine. A geographic odyssey, the scent delves into the rich sandalwood of New Caledonia, and counterpoises it with cardamom and guaiac wood. If it was good enough for Marie Antoinette and Napoleon B…
Cire Trudon Les Belles Matières Tadine, $135. SHOP NOW
Masion Balzac 2067AD
Trust revolutionary Elise Pioch Balzac to proffer a phantasmic fragrance of a flower that doesn’t yet exist, or may never. The scent of a speculative future flower – the first hybrid rose after ‘La France’ – is cultivated some 200 years earlier. Devoid of any actual rose, notes include muscari, lilac and orris. One for the scent sage.
Masion Balzac 2067AD, $69. SHOP NOW
Byredo Safran Candle
As its name would suggest, Byredo’s soon-to-be-released candle is an olfactive trip to an olden spice rack. A matured perspective on childhood memories, its perfume is one of sweet bakery treats and winters past, with spicy notes of saffron and black pepper at its core, mellowing to dark amber and creamy vanilla. A fragrant heart of violet and labdanum and the Byredo fantasy is complete.
Byredo Safran Candle, $84. Available at Mecca Cosmetica from July 4.
Floris London Limited Edition Rose & Oud Scented Candle
For the rose lover with a subversive side, light this way. This limited edition candle wraps opulent oriental rose around the boldness of oud, cinnamon and clove. Calming cedar wood, renowned for its relaxing properties rounds out the fragrance, with musks and smooth sandalwood. A complex rose blend which riffs on the East.
Floris London Limited Edition Rose & Oud Scented Candle, $99. Shop Now
Fornasetti Fogile Scented Candle
Almost too pretty to burn, the renowned Milanese house of Fornasetti swerve from their typical aesthetic (the beguiling Lina Cavalieri nowhere to be seen) and present a candle very different in its artful articulation. Whilst its ceramic shell bears intricate leaves in shades of slate blue and grey, its perfume is distinctly green. Cultivating viridescent Italian herbs and foliage, it peaks with a fresh cocktail of ivy, cypress and cedarwood. A jolt of green in the grey of winter.
Fornasetti Fogile Scented Candle, $262. Shop Now
L’Artisan Parfumeur Mûre Sauvage Candle
A new flame in the Australian market, L’Artisan Parfumeur bring their niche nose down under and we’re forever thankful. Heady and gentlemanly, the Mure Sauvage unfurls with an amber accord and balmy notes are underscored with vanilla, tonka beans, benzoin and incense. It radiates all the warmth you need.
L’Artisan Parfumeur Mûre Sauvage Candle, $99. Shop Now
Joya Affumicata Scented Candle
This beautifully kooky rendition of fragrance is the latest wick from Brooklyn-based design studio, Joya. Exclusive to Net-a-Porter, the candle is housed in a special edition, sculpted porcelain vessel, with faded gilded lettering and topped with a weighty brass horse. The ‘Affumicata’ scent is a warming blend of Brazilian pepper, saddle leather and brushed suede, rounded out with musky notes of hay, charred oak and sandalwood. We’re completely giddy for this.
Joya Affumicata scented candle, $182.70. Shop Now
