Once again, a drool-worthy holiday candle collection from Diptyque. At left, Pin (“fresh and familiar, green and resinous, the scent of pine needles and a hint of patchouli”); at right, Orange Épicée (“With its emblematic note of sour orange with a mix of essences of winter spices: Indian ginger, star anise from China, clove”). Not shown is Oliban, in blue…
Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor…
— Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven”
The home fragrance company Paddywax recently launched its Library Collection, a suite of five scents inspired by authors. Needless to say, I couldn’t resist the idea of these literary-olfactory tributes, so I ordered a few. The Edgar Allan Poe candle was ostensibly a gift for my husband, who is a longtime Poe admirer. However, he’s really not all that interested in fragrance (despite my best efforts), so I’ve been the one basking in its glow and its scent, not to mention its clever packaging (labels that look like bookplates, and a travel tin, shown below, that could be used to hold small desk items when the candle is gone).
Paddywax’s Edgar Allan Poe fragrance is a blend of “cardamom, absynthe, and sandalwood,” and it turns out to be a warm, sweetish, spicy-woody scent that suits a late-autumn evening in a darkening room…
Here are a few more companies donating proceeds in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. If you missed part 1, you can find it here.
A Perfume Organic is donating 20% of all October purchases to Susan G Komen For The Cure…
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month…here are a few companies offering “shop for the cure” items:
From Melange Perfumes, the Floral Notes Palette with four solid perfumes to wear alone or layer (Jasmine & Neroli, Casablanca Lily & Tuberose, Japanese Tea Rose & Sakura and Frangipani & Gardenia). $28, with 20% going to the National Breast Cancer Foundation…
I love incense, but during the last few years, when I burn incense inside the house, the smoke causes me to have sore throats, red eyes…and sneezing cats. I still enjoy incense, but in less “traditional” ways: I burn it outside — on the deck or in the garden; I place open boxes of incense into trunks, closets and cabinets where the sticks and cones scent the spaces for years; I wear incense powders and perfumes; and I burn incense-scented candles.
When it comes to perfumed candles, I mostly buy “French.” Diptyque makes up for its troubles with manufacture (off-center wicks, wax that does not burn evenly) by producing candles in a variety of interesting scents — and the last several Diptyque candles I’ve bought have been generously perfumed. Cire Trudon offers gorgeous scented candles (using perfume-quality fragrances) inside lovely green or red hand-blown glass jars (no phony — “sprayed-on” — colors for their glass containers!)
I thought Cire Trudon made the ultimate candles till I ordered some Astier de Villatte candles from Paris. If I were standing between a crate of Cire Trudon candles and a crate of Astier de Villatte candles and was told: “Choose one crate!” I’d probably pass out from rapid back-and-forth head movements…