Okay I know candles aren't technically a beauty product. But they lend fragrance to a room, which makes them a beauty product for your house. Also this is my blog and I will stretch the definition of any word I want. So let's talk candles! In high school I loved lady magazines, especially Vogue and Elle, and I was particularly addicted to profiles of rich fabulous women who shared their most-loved products. Back then I was naive and didn't realize that most of those women were actually spokesmodels for certain brands and therefore completely lying through their veneers. But anyway, every single glamorous woman was always on about her love of Diptyque candles. In high school I was something of a Baby Hippie (or I tried to be, anyway) and so mainly purchased candles from this woman named Starfeather who I'm convinced was/is a witch. All my candles were patchouli and ylang ylang and my parents complained but I think they should just be grateful I wasn't burning anything mind-altering if you know what I mean.
Alas, time marches on, boho becomes passe, and Baby Hippies become Wannabe It Girls. I'm fairly certain Starfeather closed her shop and I've never found a patchouli/ylang ylang candle that I loved in the intervening years. Nowadays I splurge far too frequently on Diptyque candles and spread them around my apartment like the fabulous magazine ladies. At $50 they aren't cheap but the fragrance payoff is intense and they last much longer than lower quality candles. In general when I take a Diptyque candle out of the box I'm hit by the fragrance immediately and I can actually just leave it to sit, unlit, for about two days and let it freshen my home that way.
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| Smells like cinnamon, luxury, and money |
In December the brand offers a range of Christmas scents. My favourite is Pin (pine, unsurprisingly, but I pronounce it Pie-ahn because it pisses off the snooty salesmen). It smells like my youth when I used to lie on the floor beneath the Christmas tree, counting the presents and inhaling the sharp woody smell. This is vital because nowadays my parents are the absolute worst at Christmas and always try to negotiate for a plastic tree. Apparently this is my fault because I never get home until about December 22nd, when all the good trees are gone, and no one was bothered enough to buy a tree until I started nagging them. Thank God for Diptyque candles and hefty glasses of red wine, I swear.
Now that the summer is here I'm all about the Gardenia and Tubereuse candles. Growing up I spent a lot of time in Hawaii and these candles remind me of the delicate Plumeria scents that I associate with island life. If Diptyque made candles that also smelled like coconut, hot sand, and saltwater I'm sure I could make my cheery little Irish apartment into a tropical paradise. But that might be a little too literal for me, so floral candles it is! I wish I could say that every time I visit the Diptyque concession at my local Brown Thomas I bring home a new scent...but that would be a complete lie. I return again and again to Gardenia, Tubereuse, and Canelle. I'm always eyeing Verveine and the other "Herbal" scents but what can I say? The heart wants what it wants.
Diptyque candles can be purchased at most department stores or online and do keep an eye out for seasonal offerings! At $50 for something you literally light on fire until it disappears it's definitely an indulgence, but I hope you agree that the soothing atmosphere and the Fancy Bitch Feeling (hereafter known as FBF) you get makes them well worth it. I haven't found my perfect bathtime candle yet, so watch this space.
How do you bring the spa atmosphere home? Should I revisit my youthful enthusiasm for patchouli? If they made candles marketed to men what would they smell like? Can we talk more about Starfeather and my Baby Hippie days? Share your thoughts!
xo Caitlin
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