If candles were people, Diptyque’s Baies Candle would be the Queen of Candles and rule over all the candles in Candleland. I’ll save us all a lot of confusion and heartache and stop that metaphor there.

It is true though; this candle has bona fide icon status among beauty and home fragrance devotees. I’ve received a few as gifts and thank yous over the years and can personally attest to its chic loveliness. I can also personally attest to not knowing until just now that ‘baies’ means ‘berries’ in French. J’ai l’air tellement stupide!

The Baies contains a mix of roses and blackcurrant leaves, making it all at once fresh and sweet, earthy and playful. The French perfumers created its celebrated fragrance to capture the essence of a garden by the water and what’s better than a garden by the water? Nothing, that’s right.

Candles can be the kind of gift you to someone you don’t know very well, or a last-minute emergency gift when you haven’t had time to think of or shop for something more personal. But they can also be a beautiful, thoughtful gesture if given in the right context to the right person.

Give a Diptyque Baies Candle to someone you love, someone who could use a bit of spice and sophistication in their lives. Give one to yourself and fill your home with the scent of spring. And give one to me, I really want one. Joyeux Noël!

Words, Nadine von Cohen. Video, Duc Thinh Dong.