The scents of all things spice and pine make my Christmas candles my favourite.
Diptyque tapered dining candles, £20 each, diptyqueparis.com/en_uk
I love the scent of a candle and especially this time of year. Before any Christmas decorations get up, I light a Christmas candle. The simple lighting of one flame will bring back all of the feelings and memories from yuletide. All arguments, stress, late gifts, and other worries are banished to the shade. Everything is filled with warmth, kindness, and hope that springs eternal. So if you’re looking for some similar fragrant vibes, here are my favourites (from top)…
- Diptyque Feu de Bois tapered dining candles in grey (£20, diptyqueparis.com/en_uk) are elegant and atmospheric. The wonderful fragrance summons ideas of loved ones around the hearth – even if you live in an all-mod-cons, fireplace-free home.
- Goutal Une Forêt d’Or (£49, harveynichols.com) is seriously luxey stuff housed in a case of gold with red wreath detailing. It has a fir-tree-in-the-crisp-outdoors feeling, with an uplifting element of orange added.
- Acqua di Parma Notte di Stelle fragrance – housed in a limited-edition candle with an Emilio Pucci design (£72, acquadiparma.com) – has pine at its centre. But with warm, spicy clove added, as well as birchwood, it’s a cosier feel – more indoors with decorated trees and a roaring fire. Plus, in the true spirit of giving, a donation from each sale will go to Save the Children’s Rewrite the Future campaign.
- Boy Smells Broken Rosary candle (£45, pre-order at cultbeauty.co.uk) offers a slightly rebellious option. With cedar, rosewater and cinnamon, it’s a different take on a church-like smell that’s modern but still wonderfully evocative.
- Maison Francis Kurkdjian Mon Beau Sapin (£60, lessenteurs.com) delivers Christmas cheer aplenty with one strike of a match. If you consider that it translates as ‘my beautiful fir tree’ you can probably intuit the warm and welcoming wood notes that are very ‘come all ye faithful’. Francis Kurkdjian has been named the Dior fragrance’s new In-House nose.
- Space NK Shimmering Spice (£26, spacenk.com) has become a classic festive delight. It’s a deep and enveloping mix of cinnamon, cedar and all things spice – think mulled wine and cosiness – and comes in a clear jar with a gold art-deco-style design.
- Frédéric Malle’s Joyeux Noel candle is one I always come back to – but this year there’s both bad and good news. The fragrance is not making an appearance in wax form, but from tomorrow you can get it as a Perfume Gun (think room spray) instead (£120, fredericmalle.co.uk). For me, it’s not the same as I like a Christmas flame, but it’s still one of the best Christmassy smells out there.