Luxe Candles
OK, so hear us out – despite what your boyfriend might tell you, candles are not for emergencies only. There’s something awesomely decadent about a luxury candle. The feeling of lighting a wick and burning fine fragrance throughout your apartment, either while taking a bath, reading in bed, or masking that smell of not having cleaned your apartment for two weeks.
It’s not often that we really splash out and splurge on ourselves, but there’s something about buying a candle that feels totally nurturing. We read somewhere that watching fire helps heal the soul, so we figure lighting a candle is the next best thing. And the subtle fragrance has a way of bringing us back into the present moment, creating that sense of calm we all crave.
So we figure you can spend $35 on a yoga class, or you can throw a few extra few dollars at it and get that same sense of mindfulness (and it’s a whole lot less excruciating than an hour of backbends and warrior poses). And bonus points, cost per light is virtually nothing.
So we’ve rounded up the best luxury brands you need to know about. Click through to read on.
Spotted in the homes of most of the people profiled on THE FILE, Diptyque is the most ubiquitous luxury candle brand in the homes of most fashion girls. A legendary maker of luxury scented candles and fine fragrances, Baies, Figuier and Tilleul are just a few of our favourites. Our pick is Figuier, based off the famous philosykos scent – fig leaves, wood and white cedar – it comes from the woody family but it has a light fruity quality about it that leaves us wanting to drench ourselves in it.
Oh la la, we love these fine candles, and they smell as good as they look. Made in Paris, developed by two Australian creatives Hayley Bonham and Nadia Rosa – Maison D’Amore just gets us. Making life simple, they have two fragrances to chose from (Amen to that!).One intense, smokey, masculine (hint, us) Feuille de Tabac – with notes of tobacco, cinnamon and vanilla it’s sexy and mysterious. The other (just as exquisite) is a sweet floral, Fleur & Rhubarbe – with notes of jasmine, rose and peony. We recommend getting both – they look right at home with everything on the mantle piece.
Nothing says bespoke, won’t-smell-like-anything-else like Le Labo. The complete non conformists when it comes to fragrance, these guys have created some of the most coveted fragrances around – Santal 33 being one of them (and again, another cult among the fashion set).
Take one look at it’s founder Ben Gorham and you can begin to imagine what Byredo’s collection of fragrances might be like. Byredo is a fashionable, cult bespoke fragrance house responsible for some of our favourite scents; Gypsy Water, Rose of No Man’s Land and Sunday Cologne. Our favourite candle? Baudelaire – with notes of black pepper, hyacinth, incense, leather and black amber … this fragrance is as sexy as it’s founder.
Handcrafted and working with the finest perfumers, Lumira’s latest collection – Collezione Bianca – is inspired by the American minimalist Ellsworth Kelly. Sirocco is our favourite of the bunch. Leathery, spicy and sweet – it smells light and fresh (is our current candle of choice for THE FILE HQ).
For those of you not yet acquainted, Piero Fornasetti is a Milan based Italian artist known for emblazoning design objects with imagery. And we’re pretty pumped candles now form part of the design house’s repertoire. Our favourite? The Flora scented candle, featuring Fornasetti’s iconic design of the mythical fertility goddess ‘Flora’. This is an elegant white floral bouquet inspired by the flowers that surround the Fornasetti’s house in Milan. It’s ridiculously good. And when you buy this, you’re buying a piece of art. Our current obsession.
