candles and home scents: 9 posts

Since many of my readers are avid tea drinkers, I decided to start my 2023 holiday gift guide with a selection of my favorite tea stores. Once I made my list, I thought of adding a section about my recent coffee discovery. Finally, I finished my list with a few scented candles, focusing on the tea and coffee scents. I hope that this guide will inspire you, and of course, I look forward to your suggestions.

Ippodo Tea

Ippodo Tea is a family-run company founded in 1717. Although its roots are in Kyoto, Ippodo stores can be found all over Japan and even abroad. Their matcha is some of the best I’ve tasted, especially Seiun and Sayaka. They offer a selection of classical teas and their website makes it easy to find the right tea for you. If you’re new to Japanese tea, it’s a good place to start.

Website: Global and US & Canada.

Thés du Japon

My ikebana teacher recommended this store to me and gave me a sample of one of their teas. I first spend several days engrossed into their blog that describes different Japanese tea cultivars and growing regions. The store was founded by two Frenchmen, one of whom, Florent Weugue, is a certified Japanese tea sommelier. The teas I’ve ordered were spectacular, and as I’m writing this post, I’m drinking Sencha from Kawane, Moto-Fujikawa, Shizu-7132 cultivar. It has a gorgeous scent of sakura blossoms, with a toasted almond nuance.

Website: thes-du-japon.com. First-time buyers receive a code for a discount. My order was delivered by UPS and the transaction was smooth.

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I started this morning with a stroll through a bluebell forest, continued to a Japanese peony orchard, and got lost in an Italian garden before falling asleep in a cypress grove somewhere in Greece. I never left my room. I only changed home fragrances.  Perfumes uplift our mood, satisfy wanderlust and inspire daydreams, and selecting the right scents for the interior achieves the same effect.

Floris’s Hyacinth & Bluebell Room Fragrance is inspired by its iconic Bluebell fragrance, with a stronger emphasis on green, earthy notes.  It lingers gently and makes the space feel brighter and fresher. If I close my eyes, I can envision the vivid blue of wild hyacinths and the rustle of trees in their springtime verdancy.

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I have a weakness for scented candles and the autumn-winter season brings many temptations. L’Artisan Parfumeur’s collection, for instance, offers plenty of reverie-inspiring options from  jasmine (Souffle de Jasmin) to saffron (Voyage à Constantinople) and more. The candles burn cleanly, without smoke or soot, and the scent lingers for a few hours in the air. These days I’m lighting Brise de Mimosa whenever I crave sunshine and verve. This candle is redolent of mimosa branches, green leaves, and violet flowers. The aroma of mimosa is delicate and complex, but Brise de Mimosa captures it well; it only takes a few minutes to fill my room with the scent of Provence.

If not mimosa, then I choose to festoon my room with the garlands of violets by lighting Molton Brown’s Exquisite Vanilla & Violet Flower candle.  True to its name, it smells of violet bonbon and fresh flowers and green notes make it airy. The lavender-tinted glass makes it a charming decorative item.

Another elegant option is Midi Eternel from the niche perfume house of Sulékó. Based in Paris, Sulékó draws on the French perfume traditions and the Slavic heritage of its founder, Anastasia Sokolow. The perfume collection, for instance, was inspired by the Russian fairy tales, but the candle is a tribute to the south of France and its heady aromas. The main accent is green, with a touch of myrtle, rosemary, and pine needles for brightness. The salty nuance that becomes obvious the longer the candle burns evokes the scents of sea breeze and driftwood. Midi Eternel has a rejuvenating, crisp fragrance, perfect for those who prefer their room scents unsweetened.

Byredo’s Tree House candle is similarly polished. The main chord includes cedarwood, sandalwood, and hay, with allspice and myrrh adding darker, warmer layers. It was inspired by the creations of the Japanese wood master Takashi Kobayashi and his tree houses. Byredo’s idea captures the aromas of polished woods in a candle form. Even after the candle is snuffed out, the peppery, balsamic scent floats in the air, evoking glistening wood shavings in different shades of amber.

Pro tip: To make any candle release its scents evenly, burn it for no longer than two hours at the time and trim the wick on regular basis. It will delight you longer and keep its scent until the last drop of wax.

What are your favorite candles and home scents?

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

When my mother travels, she packs with her a votive candle in her favorite scent, rose, violet or mimosa. A familiar scent makes even the blandest hotel room feel cozier and brighter. I started following her example some years ago. Should one want to select from the range of excellent scented candles, the choice these days is overwhelming. So, in my new FT column, The Art of Candles, I’ve selected my current favorites.

Here is one, for instance.

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This spring, in addition to Caligna, L’Artisan Parfumeur will add two new candles to its Grasse Collection: Le Printemps (spring) and L’Été (summer).

Le Printemps (spring)

Inspired by spring in Grasse, this candle blends laurel, rosemary, lentisk and thyme, and accents the herbs with spicy star anise.

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