Scented Candles I Have Loved…

Get into scented candles!

I love a nice scented candle; especially at this time of year.  Since they make exquisite gifts, I’ve been fortunate to have received many over the years, and will now pass six of my faves along to you.  With some of these priced at well over $100, you won’t find these on the shelves at your local drug store (unless you live at Wynn Las Vegas).  But when it’s all about setting the perfect mood, sometimes you’ve just gotta say “Burn baby, burn!”
 

Teck and Tonka by Esteban

 1.  My friend Billy Erb is one of the great aesthetes, so when Bill alerted me to the French incense house of Esteban, and more specifically, their enthralling fragrance, Teck & Tonka (having learned about it, himself, during a weekend at the country home of Todd Oldham), I got on it, tout de suite!  The sexy scent transports me to a spice bazaar in Marrakech, with woodsy notes mixed with hints of sandalwood, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.  It’s now Jacob’s favorite scent and I always have some of their Japanese incense burning when he’s in town (it’s way cheaper than the candles, though the candles are available with refillable inserts).  Las Vegans can stock-up on Teck & Tonka at Unika Home.
 

John Galliano for Diptyque

2.  I had no idea that couturier John Galliano had done a candle for Diptyque until I received one as a gift from PAPER Magazine honchos Kim Hastreiter and David Hershkovitz at a time when it was unavailable outside of New York and Paris.  I kept it in a cabinet, saving it for the proverbial “rainy day” and whenever I opened the door I caught a whiff of this woodsy yet wet scent that was part smoky bark, part damp leather, part vanilla musk and just a hint of iris.  Once I found that it was carried at Neiman Marcus, I gave in and lit that sucker up!  It is rumored that Galliano took two years to approve the scent, and I think it was time well spent.
 

The Scent of Style by Patricia Field

3.  Patricia Field’s signature candle The Scent of Style is a lot like the woman and her eponymous boutique; confident, vibrant, fascinating, sophisticated, and heady. It balances the pungent and the subtle with notes of red currant and fresh berries, filling the room with fragrances. And, to deliver that stylish wit, the glass has Pat's signature logo on one side, and short quips of Runway Slang on the other. Available online at www.PatriciaField.com, The Scent of Style candle provides just the right ambiance for watching reruns of Sex and the City or the new season of Ugly Betty!
 

4.  The candle that to me just radiates the scent of “chic” would have to be the L’Artisan Parfumeur Bottega Veneta Intreccio No. 1 Luxury Candle.  Given to me as a present by my girl, Trina Pascal (one of the chicest gals I know), it combines notes of wood and leather, and actually reminds me of a sitting-room on the Upper Eastside or Pacific Heights.  Able to carry its scent across the room in a clean manner without being overwhelming is a neat trick.  The reusable sleeve in Bottega Veneta’s signature intrecciato leather is just downright fabulous.  It (like the entire BV collection) is the perfect gift for the individual for whom style outweighs labels. 
 

Rasā Meditation Candle by Donna D'Cruz

5.  When Donna D’Cruz gave me some of the candles from her Rasā collection, I thought “Oh great.  More candles.”  Then, I got home and lit one, and before the first had even burned through, I was online ordering more.  My favorite is the Rasā Meditation Candle which combines frankincense and patchouli for feelings of balance and grounding.  The combination elicits a deep meditative sense of tranquility.  It’s as though they’ve found a way to deliver Xanax by smell!  These ayurvedic aromatherapy candles are made from 100% essential oils and pack a profound olfactory wallop. 
 

Bois Florentin by Alberto Morillas for deGrisogono

6.  The first time I caught a whiff of deGrisogono’s Bois Florentin candle I was intoxicated by its headiness.  That famed Andalusian “nose” Alberto Morillas (the man behind storied scent factory, Mizensir, aka “the Queen of scented candles”) had been asked by haute joaillier and horologist Fawaz Gruosi to conceive the luxurious perfumed concoction to be the signature scent of his collection – well, it just made sense.  And what does this rare and elusive candle named for the woods around the jeweler’s childhood home of Florence smell like?  The closest I can estimate is Casablanca lilies wrapped in money.