Candles
Scented candles from independent makers, most of them poured in plant-based waxes such as organic soy, and matches to light them.
Read our guide: Home Fragrance & Objects
Olivia Fragrances' four candles, from Reine de Joie to Gris Étoile, are hand-poured in small batches in Italy: 220 g of vegetable wax for about 45 hours. Apothisoeurs makes its candles with ECOCERT-certified plant wax and a cotton wick, and the 200 g size burns for 50 hours; Cedar & Pepper is made in northern France, as is Iris and Amber. The Ripple candle by o cactuu has a wick of reclaimed wood and comes in four scents, from Wet Garden to Amber, and four ceramic colours; its 240 g of wax burns for 45 to 50 hours, and once it has burned away, the cup can serve as a vase. Asteh's Santo, Sado and Baso ceremonial candles come in steel vessels with a lid and burn for 60 hours each, and OCTAEVO's Apollo and Janus matches light them.
By scent: Reine de Joie is tuberose on vanilla and sandalwood, Les fleurs du Jardin orange blossom and ylang ylang on tonka and amber, Âme Orientale tobacco, heliotrope and cloves on woods and amber, and Gris Étoile fig and spice on cedar and musk. Apothisoeurs' Cedar & Pepper opens on green leaves and pepper, Iris and Amber on orange and lemon; Green Foliage & Smoked Wood opens on eucalyptus and settles into vanilla and tonka. Asteh's Baso smells of pine and eucalyptus, Sado of green tea and cyclamen, and Santo of palo santo and orris.
The first time you light a candle, let the wax melt right to the edge so that it burns evenly; with the Ripple, this takes at least 90 minutes. Trim the wick to 5 mm before each use, burn for no more than four hours at a time and stop when about 1 cm of wax is left.
