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Browsing by category: home fragrance

Home Fragrance: A Farewell to Diptyque’s Roses Candle in Pink Glass

Posted by Kevin on 30 December 2006 21 Comments

Diptyque Rose candleThe year is almost over. For those lucky souls who live in the moment, or who look ahead with hope and excitement, this time of year can be joyous. I’m the sort who glances back at the about-to-end year, who thinks of the good things the year brought and the things it took away. For me, New Year’s Day is always a pensive time, but in my last post of 2006, I’d like to keep things light, or should I say pink, and eulogize a frivolous thing: a candle.

In a cursory, fifth-grade art class, my teacher asked me, out of the blue, that dull question: “Kevin, what’s your favorite color?” Always wanting to be precise, I felt time quickly pass as my mind hunted for the right answer. Was it tangerine orange? Grass green? Or the blue-purple of my nicest wool sweater? “What’s that blue called?” I thought, “Gentian?” Finally, my eyes rested on my friend Meredith’s knit cap. It was pink and I liked pink, and pink was pink, so I said, “Pink”. No one laughed, not even the boys; but the teacher said: “Pink is for girls”…

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Home fragrance report: Claus Porto Alface (Almond Oil) Scented Candle

Posted by Kevin on 27 December 2006 2 Comments

Claus Porto Alface almond candle

“While traveling the Silk Road between Asia and the Mediterranean, explorers ate almonds to maintain health. Thought to promote fertility, the Romans showered the bride and groom after a wedding with almonds.” (from the Claus Porto description of the Alface candle)

The almond tree (prunus dulcis) and its blossoms and fruit have had symbolic meaning for cultures in Asia (the tree’s native habitat), the Middle East and Europe. The long-lived tree represents endurance and the wish for a long life. The abundant, fragrant almond blossoms of late winter convey the promise of coming spring and proclaim the ability of the earth to renew itself. In China, white almond blossoms symbolize feminine beauty…

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Geodesis: new line of scented candles at La Creme Beauty

Posted by Robin on 14 December 2006 2 Comments

Geodesis fragrance candle, FiguierGeodesis is a new line of French candles at La Creme Beauty, "born from the idea of associating a fragrance with a region of the world."

Fragrances include Aloes, Ambre, Figuier (shown), Lavande, Lotus, Massoia, Oranger and Thé Noir. The candles are $34 for a 7.8 oz glass jar with a burn time of approximately 60 hours.

L'Artisan Aedes de Venustas Parfum d'Ambiance ~ home fragrance review

Posted by Kevin on 4 December 2006 9 Comments

L'Artisan Aedes des Venustas fragranceAedes de Venustas Parfum d’Ambiance (room fragrance) was created for the West Village perfume boutique by L’Artisan Parfumeur and perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. The Aedes de Venustas room spray harks back to earlier Duchaufour creations, Comme des Garçons Red Series Sequoia and Incense Series Kyoto and Avignon, the recent L'Artisan Dzongkha, and the wonderful Eau d’Italie perfumes.

Duchaufour is one of my favorite perfumers. I have owned thirteen of his scents and appreciate their originality, their quirks, their strange accent notes that prevent excessive “smoothness” and instant familiarity…

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Home fragrance: Papier d’Armenie

Posted by Kevin on 19 November 2006 16 Comments

Papier d'Armenie home fragrance

In the late 1800s, Auguste Ponsot, a Frenchman, traveled through Armenia and noticed that many people fragranced and disinfected their homes and businesses by burning benzoin (a resin produced by trees of the genus Styrax). Personal and public hygiene were hot topics at the time in France, and Ponsot felt Europeans, too, could benefit from burning benzoin at home. Realizing most ‘modern’ European families would not go to the trouble of burning raw benzoin, he sought the help of a pharmacist, Henri Rivier, to come up with an easy way to burn the resin.

Rivier dissolved raw benzoin in 90% alcohol, added some “secret” aromatics to the mixture, and soaked paper in the sweetly scented liquid. The paper was put through a saline bath to make it burn slowly. This fragrant paper was then burned and its smoke scented and cleansed the air. The new product was called Papier d’Arménie and became popular immediately. It has been produced for over 120 years in the Paris suburb of Montrouge…

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