Tag: paris

I’ve never been much into candles. I remember back in high school, I received a gift of some cinnamon-y glitter vanilla candle that my friend absolutely loved and I never quite got into it. It sat in the corner of my room more of an air freshener and piece of decor; I never got to burning it for whatever reason.
Some many years later, after a few house warming parties later of which the hostess kept many a pleasant smelling candles burning throughout their new place, my interest in candles was piqued.
I’ll admit, I didn’t know where to begin. I remember inhaling the scents of yankee candles which were nice but … not exactly to my liking.

While at a dinner gathering held by one exceptionally classy friend and his wife (which included caviar amuse bouche), a stop at their restroom had me using an amazingly fragranced hand soap, among the soft glow and light wifts of a simple glass candle burning by the counter. Wiping my clean hands on a exceptionally soft hand towel, and making mental notes of brands to search up later for personal use, I went back out to socialize.
Returning home after that delicious meal and nursing an additional glass of wine by my laptop, I searched up these two brands (I’ll admit I was a bit shocked at the price) and browsed with an arched eyebrow at what luxury living might look like.

Note: up until that point, I grew up in a household that taught me the value of money and being economical. We always purchased things on sale, or in bulk when on sale. So a $36 Maison Louis Marie candle or the $65 Suede Byredo hand soap was just a different world to me.



Quite a while passed till I actually purchased my first candle. A few more house parties later where lovely scented candles burned, a musty smelling house (not for lack of cleaning), and a small influx of cash finally had me making a purchase.
I’m the type of person who values quality over quantity, so I didn’t really have a monetary budget. I googled up articles and researched in depth all the best candles people raged about. The brand Diptyque came up many times.
In the past, I’ve stopped by a few of their sample sales but always came out empty handed (later realizing all the good scents were already gone and that I’m not a a fan of the spicy, woody, musky smells).
All my research prompted me to go in person to their Soho location. After slight pause (I have slight anxiety from luxury good sales associates eying you up and labeling your worth), I stepped in the store for a sniff test of their best selling Baies candle.
I hated it.
The ‘cold throw’ was way too sweet for my liking. Now you might ask what’s a cold throw? Is there a hot throw?
– A ‘Cold Throw’ is the scent a candle gives off before you burn it.
– A ‘Hot Throw’ is the scent a candle exudes as you burn it.

Back to the story though… I was determined to spend something that day so I tried sniffing a few other scents. Now, I’ve never been a fan of overly floral scents since they often come paired with the gross powdery smell I associate with grandmas. (I’m not about to be labeled a grandma!) But lo and behold, after test sniffing their Roses scent, I was sold. I remember holding it to my nose and being super surprised at how their candle artisans were able to grab the fresh smell of roses (no powdery grandma smells at all!).
And that was how I made my first luxury candle purchase.
Went home, didn’t burn it for a few days- did some more research on how to properly burn a candle as not to waste a single drop of that luxury fragranced wax.
Did more extensive research and learned what candle tunneling was and how to prevent this with trimming candle wicks upon every burn to 1.4 inch. Learned about wicks and that mushrooming effect from burning was due to excess carbon etc etc. I learned alot- also google really is amazing isn’t it?

Anyways, back to Diptyque.
Earlier this month, Diptyque released a limited edition series featuring their Roses scent, among a few new pieces: Litchi, Chamomile, Artichoke.
I’ve browsed through a few other limited editon pieces over the years but always passed on purchasing. The candle designs were just meh. This time though, I cound’t help myself. Their box design and fragrance list just sang in harmony for me. Couple with a special limited edition mini Roses gift and free samples over $176? Who could say no? (I mean I did cringe a little when seeing the final price on my credit card statement).
I’ve yet to burn these babies, and I’ve heard rumors that this set does tend to tunnel… I hope my research on anti tunneling techniques will be put to good use if this is indeed true. The packaging is just perfect and so so pretty. I’m one to keep and burn candles on special occasions, so my original Roses candle has lasted me the whole year. These guys will be sure to last just as long, so I don’t regret my purchases at all. Besides, 2021 has been a bit rough on everyone. The whole ‘You think the pandemic might be over? Pysch! Here’s omicron for you! ‘ and all that. It’s nice to treat yourself every now and then. Burn a nice candle, open a bottle of wine, inhale a nice scent as you watch a scary Netflix series at home. Its a vibe.

Side story that also went into me purchasing and continuing to purchase Diptyque:
Part of my trial and error on tunneling was based off of another gifted tin candle…
While I was burning this gifted tin candle (some sort of linen scent), C who lives with me who has a very keen nose always complained about how bad this candle smelled.
A few days post burning my first Diptyque Roses candle, C made a remark that they loved this candle. ‘This new candle is great and the other one really sucks.’ Living with C, and knowing praises come few and far between especially when it comes to smells had me thinking, of course you would like the Diptyque candle. And of course it had to be the expensive one you like.
Just a nod to all the times we go shopping without looking at price tags, seeing something we like and it always turns out to be the most expensive items on the rack. What can I say, we have a taste for expensive things. I can’t help it. Neither can C.