When Cochine founder Kate Crofton-Atkins left London (and her job at L’Oréal) and moved to Saigon, she became obsessed with the streets abundantly draped with swags of jasmine, intoxicating the air with their scent and sparking the idea for a new fragrance house that would change her whole life…
Continuing our look at Jasmine as our ingredient of the month, this time we’re seeing exactly how it shaped Cochine’s inspiration, and Kate’s whole fragrant future. As a skincare and fragrance expert, Kate was already deeply in tune with her senses, but never until that fateful day visiting Saigon, had she been so fully immersed in a scent – the hypnotic, indolic romance of the jasmine flowers calling up something in her soul.
Describing how she was ‘instantly struck by the city’s unique style, elegance and romance,’ with the evocative inspiration of Saigon filling her head and leading with the idea that she wanted to create perfumes that brought to life this special place and unique moments shared there, Kate partnered with a fragrance house based in New York to bring the dream into a scented reality.
Spending over a year just sourcing the essential oils harvested from plants in Vietnam, Kate and the perfumers spent a further year blending the perfect combinations of these precious ingredients ‘…to reflect Saigon’s diverse flora and distinctive blend of Ambrée charm.’ Furthermore, the Cochine products themselves are all made within France and Vietnam to retain the original sensorial inspiration for this perfume house.
We’re thrilled to offer full sizes of the Cochine fragrances and home fragrance collections in our shop, and take a look at three of their scented delights featuring jasmine, below – each available as a fine fragrance, scented candle or home diffuser…
Cochine White Jasmine & Gardenia
White petals of jasmine, gardenia and peony combine to unfold an enchanting aura that is soft yet elegant. Jasmine thrives in the heat of southern Vietnam where the petals are handpicked after nightfall when their fragrance is most intense.
A scent that will sweep you away to white, tropical sandy shores. This exotic fragrance blends smooth, honeyed notes of frangipani with the hypnotic jasmine and delicate freshness of neroli.
Inspired by an evening walk through a Saigon garden, this many layered citrus-noir fragrance blends rich notes of wild fig, tuberose and night flowering jasmine with the freshness of bergamot, crisp vetiver and the warmth of cedarwood.
Though rightly famed in Brazil, it’s only recently we’ve been able to get our hands on the Granado Pharmácias fabulous collection of scented products here in the U.K. And we’re rejoicing that this heritage-rich house can now become beloved by British perfumistas, too…
The Granado Pharmácias story begins in the 1800s with the enterprising José Antonio Coxito Granado started selling his own natural remedies – which were all created from the plants, herbs and flowers José found growing in his home of Teresópolis, a stunning, mountainous region of Rio. From these humble beginnings, a whole business flourished, and it wasn’t long before the very first Granado retail establishment was secured in 1870.
Set amidst one of the most bustling, successful streets in Rio de Janeiro, it wonderfully remains their flagship store to this day (we love that connection to living history – so many similar buildings have been lost to be developed into flats, or simply knocked down). In addition to the medicinal remedies they’d begun supplying, the now blooming Granado Pharmácias started importing other products from Europe, ‘adapting their formulas to the standards and needs of Brazilians.
The quality and effectiveness of their offering soon made Granado one of the official pharmaceutical suppliers to the Royal Court. Through this connection, in 1880, Dom Pedro Il granted it the title of Official Pharmacy of the Brazilian Royal Family.’ With a royal seal of approval, the Pharmácias flourished even further – expanding their range while remaining true to their heritage – doubtless helped along by the fact this treasured house remained within the original family for three generations of their growth.
From selling natural remedies in the 1800s to a whole collection of fabulous fragrances and home scents, this proudly Portuguese house, so long adored in Brazil. Now, we’re thrilled their fragrant wares are available in the U.K. too…Sissi Freeman, Marketing Director of Granado, echoed our excitement, commenting:
‘After years of success in Paris, we are excited with the opportunity to launch in the UK market. Granado is a very traditional brand founded in Rio de Janeiro in 1870. Partnering with an iconic store such as Liberty for this next step in our international expansion, is a dream come true! After a period of lockdowns, we are thrilled to offer British consumers with our fresh take on fragrance and colorful creations, inspired by our heritage, Brazilian culture and ingredients.’
You can read more about the history of Grandao Pharmácias on our page dedicated to them, where you can also click on individual fragrances and learn about their ingredients, and the mood they were created to evoke. Your only problem then, of course, is to decide which one to try first…
Yes, candles for Summer – it’s a vibe! Forget thoughts of only saving scented candles for cosying up in Autumn and Winter (although, the British weather, lately, has reminded us of those seasons). Here’s our round-up of sumptuous candles to bring joy and light into your life for the rest of Summer, even when the weather isn’t playing along…
Conjuring visions of a blissful Summer evening spent in the garden, the heat of the sun dispersing as the sky becomes suffused with melting colours, and the scent of the blooms yields to the cooler night’s air. A heady haze of orange flower, rose and geranium meet fennel-flecked rockrose in this Summer stunner.
For blissed-out moments of perfumed pondering you can do no better than to light this, sit back, relax, and let your thoughts wander where they will. Fragrant meanderings are via head-clearing verbena, calming clary sage and a late Summer’s breeze carrying drifts of bee-buzzed lavender and sun-warmed hay.
Evoking a Summer of exotic climes (or memories of them), all the lush floral scents that infuse the sun-filled streets and gardens of Saigon are packed within. Blooming as it warms, wafts of white petals – jasmine, gardenia and peony – combine to unfold an enchanting aura that is soft yet effortlessly elegant.
A sudden Summer downpour heralds a relief of emotions with that sudden release of freshness, a verdant awakening with wet trees, dripping foliage and the coolness of the air slicing through oppressive humidity. The luxuriant, renewed greenery of basil is garlanded by a gasp of spearmint; richly grounded in tonka.
Reflecting the top, heart and base notes of STORIES Nº.02 original fragrance, this candle trio are fragrant facets – inspired yet not identical, with some creative tweaks. Light one at a time or all at once for a memory-filled barefoot stroll through dewy grass, a drift of pipe smoke, the silvery ripples of a stream.
Repelling mosquitoes in the most deliciously opulent way, this candle will certainly attract welcome Summer visitors. Luminous lemongrass infuses its uplifting, soul-reviving scent into smile-garnering verbena, luscious neroli, and heady orange blossom. A delight at any time of day or night: the scent of Summer.
One of those candles whose scent is such exquisite quality you almost hesitate to light it, worry not: the fragrance will suffuse a room even unlit, and once the wick is alight, the sheer beauty of that LMR-bottled night-blooming jasmine (hand-picked near the Nile Delta) truly shines. Its gorgeousness is unsurpassed.
Like running headlong into a Summer’s meadow, this flower-filled candle is all the exuberance of a Summer fling in scented candle form (though will last far longer than many seasonally-transient relationships). It’s a whole field of blooms, plus snapped stems and crushed leaves adding verdancy. Joyous!
Scent Scaping (sometimes known as ‘fragrance zoning’) is THE fastest way to change-up the feel of your home this summer – think of it like layering your perfumes, but creating a unique ‘signature scent’ for your home, instead. We’ve got top tips from an interior design expert on exactly how to do this, and have selected the perfect perfumed candles and luxury diffusers from Cochine’s sublime collection, to achieve this scented bliss with ease…
As a renowned designer, lifestyle blogger and TV presenter, Maxine Brady is always in demand by glossy magazines and lifestyle-led TV shows. A huge fan of using scented candles – for shows such as Grand Designs, Kirsty’s Homemade Home, George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces and This Morning – Maxine explains the trend for scent-scaping our homes no matter the weather, really boomed during lockdown. Indeed, according to John Lewis, during the end of 2020 ‘the average online searches for home scents went up by 600%. For diffusers, the searches were up by over 1000%.’ Says Maxine:
‘It’s about using aroma and scents to zone our homes, either room by room or during differing times of the day. I like using a different fragrance in the morning to evening. I like decorating a home with candles and diffusers and arrange them much as I would art in a room, to bring them to life. I never think a room is finished until I put a candle on my sideboard… using home fragrance allows me to transfer from a work space feel to a more homely escape. It’s a very clever way to balance our mental health as well as making our homes smell beautiful.’
This ‘trend’ has continued with such an upward trajectory, to the point of becoming a perfumed ritual we can all welcome into our lifestyles. It’s not only those who continue to work from home (though there are many, many more companies seeing the sense of this) who are pushing the perfumed home product sales higher – there’s also been a dawning in our culture that candles aren’t really used for their light-giving properties anymore – it’s the ambience we seek. The way we can choose to immediately change-up the atmosphere of a space.
Kate Crofton-Atkins – founder of Cochine fragrance
It’s not all about candles, though. Reed diffuser sales are similarly off the chart, because people who are away from home, who want to continually scent an area, or perhaps have small children and are concerned about candles burning) love their ease of use, and that ‘unwrap it and forget it’ feeling. However, we promise you won’t be forgetting any of these – the fragrances are so incredible, they’ll give you pleasure every single time you waft past, or open your front door and think ‘ahhh, yes. I’m home!’
Maxine Says: ‘All these tips are ideal if you rent rather than own, because you’re unable to change wallpaper and paint, or sometimes even furnishings, you can make the space your own by stamping your personality with home scents…’
Maxine’s Styling Tip 1.Use your nose as well as your eyes to decorate your home. Perhaps a hallway is where you put a lovely diffuser to welcome your guests and having it smell gorgeous at all times? As a decorating tool, home scents are a really clever way to bring up & coming trends into your home without changing all the furnishings! Use complimentary coloured vessels to your wallpaper or furnishing colours. People are loving sharing #shellfies on social media.
Maxine’s Styling Tip 2.Use aroma to mark the changing seasons. Fresher sunny scents in summer, and warmer woodier scents in colder seasons. Changing those scents and bringing them into your house really helps stop one day blending into another. According to John Lewis, the average online searches for home scents went up by 600%. For diffusers, the searches were up by over 1000% A candle is an instant pick me up when you need a treat.” Michelle: “I like to use home fragrance to enhance my mood or to change up my mood.”
Maxine’s Styling Tip 3.Create an indoor garden bringing the outdoors in. We know home plants have become incredibly important – the flow between spaces can be between your garden and indoors. Dot plants and succulents around a diffuser – reuse the containers when empty as plant pots or the diffusers as mini vases.
Styling Tip 4.Press the reset button with the power of scent. After a busy and stressful day, it can be hard to mark a line between weekdays and your weekends – reclaim your home and say the weekend starts now. Clear away work things, laptops from tables, shove the kids toys in a box and light a candle as a scene-setter and mood re-setter.
Cochine’s sumptuous fragrance creations are no longer only for skin – with their gorgeous, top quality home fragrance collection, they can now whisk us to exotic Saigon whenever the mood takes us (which will be often, you will discover…) from where this exciting perfume house takes its inspiration. With over 50 hours’ burn time, Cochine candles will gently infuse any room to create a delicately evocative and inspiring atmosphere. The Cochine diffusers, meanwhile, containing the finest essential oils, and will visually and aromatically give your room a unique and subtle elegance. They easily last you four months of continual use (and we find they last even longer if placed in cooler areas of your home and away from direct sunlight!) Close your eyes, breathe the exquisite notes – and you’re half-way there already.
Now, your only question remains, where will you find best to place these stunning, summery scents in your own home…?
This elegant candle evokes the lush floral scents that infuse the sun-filled streets and gardens of Saigon. White petals of jasmine, gardenia and peony combine to unfold an enchanting aura that is soft yet elegant.
Allow yourself to be carried away to soft white sands, brushed with the shade of Frangipani trees. Smooth, honeyed tones of frangipani are combined with the delicate freshness of neroli to create an idyll of blissful tranquillity in your home.
Capturing the delightful freshness of newly cut flowers, this candle has a light and delicate tone, combining top notes of rose and bergamot with hints of violet, rosewood and the scented orchid, Delentii.
Exclusively created with master perfumer, Maurice Roucel, this is the scent of exotic and unforgettable nights. Feminine, alluring and intriguing tuberose notes combine with rich leather and sandalwood in this intoxicating, utterly addictive fragrance.
The immediately uplifting and utterly unique scent of lime blossom is combined with calming, aqueously woody notes of water hyacinth to create an invigorating and fresh fragrance reminiscent of lazy afternoons on the banks of the Saigon River.
Combining the crisp scent of juniper with the sweet spiciness of ginger. Reminiscent of lush, green woods and exotic, evergreen mountains this uplifting scent has hints of clove, bergamot and patchouli blended with the freshness of eucalyptus.
With a new season unfurling on the breeze, tender leaves poking through (sometimes still frosted) soil and buds, well, budding; we’re joyously welcoming spring and using the opportunity to change-up the way we’re scenting our homes. We feel, since lockdown and with so many still Working From Home, that most of us now understand that candles certainly aren’t just for Christmas or the colder, darker months anymore.
Nowadays, we adore punctuating the hours by lighting differing scented candles to match the season (and our mood), and perfuming our homes with diffusers, incense and yes – even pot pourri is having an olfactory moment once again!
Here, we offer suggestions for how to layer your home fragrances, and point you toward some that feel so-right for right now – casting off the heavier, swaddling scents we’ve loved and lived with the last few months and getting ready for lighter, brighter perfumes wafting as we WFH…
How to Scent-Scape:
Expert Maxine Brady says: ‘Scent Scaping is an up and coming trend I’ve seen really grow the last few months. It’s about using aroma and scents to zone our homes, either room by room or during differing times of the day. I like using a different fragrance in the morning to evening. I like decorating a home with candles and diffusers, and arrange them much as I would art in a room, to bring them to life. I never think a room is finished until I put a candle on my sideboard.
Lately our homes have been our whole world – that’s a lot of pressure on our surroundings, and it’s hard to set boundaries, so using home fragrance allows me to transfer from a work space feel to a more homely escape. It’s a very clever way to balance our mental health as well as making our homes smell beautiful.’
Use your nose as well as your eyes to decorate your home. Perhaps a hallway is where you put a lovely diffuser to welcome your guests and having it smell gorgeous at all times? As a decorating tool, home scents are a really clever way to bring up & coming trends into your home without changing all the furnishings! Use complimentary coloured vessels to your wallpaper or furnishing colours. People are loving sharing #shellfies on social media.
Use aroma to mark the changing seasons. Fresher sunny scents in summer, and warmer woodier scents in colder seasons. Changing those scents and bringing them into your house really helps stop one day blending into another. According to John Lewis, the average online searches for home scents went up by 600%. For diffusers, the searches were up by over 1000% A candle is an instant pick me up when you need a treat.” Michelle: “I like to use home fragrance to enhance my mood or to change up my mood.”
Create an indoor garden bringing the outdoors in. We know home plants have become incredibly important – the flow between spaces can be between your garden and indoors. Dot plants and succulents around a diffuser – reuse the containers when empty as plant pots or the diffusers as mini vases.
Press the reset button with the power of scent. After a busy and stressful day, it can be hard to mark a line between weekdays and your weekends – reclaim your home and say the weekend starts now. Clear away work things, laptops from tables, shove the kids toys in a box and light a candle as a scene-setter and mood re-setter.
Maxine Says: ‘All these tips are ideal if you rent rather than own, because you’re unable to change wallpaper and paint, or sometimes even furnishings, you can make the space your own by stamping your personality with home scents…’
Spring showers are, of course, a feature of the weather this season, but Cloudburst is inspired by the mountainside after a summer storm, when the rain clouds part and strong sunshine lances through, stirring up a heavy mist of fragrance. In this haze, notes from our herb garden mingle with fresh citrus from our lemon and lime trees, along with the signature fragrances of the wild mountainside. We’ve always thought of this as a sister fragrance to First Light; in First Light it’s all clarity and freshness, whereas Cloudburst seems older and wiser – but just as beautiful.
We have a long history with wisteria, from the flower-festooned walls in Granada on our first wedding anniversary to the wisteria we tried to grow in a pot next to our front door in England. But now (finally!) we have it growing abundantly in our garden here in Spain and it’s a divine scent that says ‘home’ to us. Wisteria is a stunning, one-of-a-kind fragrance anywhere, but when it’s flowering in pure mountain air, the beauty of its perfume is life-affirming.
StoriesNo.1was the transformative beginning of founder Tonya’s healing journey through scent and travel, telling ‘the uplifting story of sorrow transformed into beauty, of the dark yielding to the light.’ So, woodiness and amber swoons with swirling blossom notes on a breeze. A limited edition, sustainably made, scented candle trio, inspired by the individual top, heart and base notes of STORIES Nº.01 Eau de Parfum – reflecting the top, heart and base notes of STORIES Nº.01 fragrance; inspired yet not identical, with some creative tweaks.
For 02, Tonya reached further back in her fragrant memories to recollections of her own childhood, evoking joyful days spent in her grandfather’s garden. ‘In the greenhouse, rose bushes stood among orange trees, on which blossom and fruit grew in tandem,’ Tonya recalls, with pots of patchouli lining the patio, which she had the sensation and scent memory of rubbing the leaves on to her wrists. In this trio, you will discover plumes of perfumed garden memories which bring the outdoors in so, so beautifully.
We’re currently being wowed by the new Floral Street Home Fragrance Collection – a vibrant range of uplifting candles and diffusers for instant pops of mood-changing colour, with similarly striking scents. What’s more, in a live-streamed launch event with founder Michelle Feeney and celebrity interior stylist, designer & TV presenter, Maxine Brady, we learned the BEST tips on the new trend for ‘Scent-Scaping’ your home…
London-based niche fragrance house Floral Streethave certainly been blooming since their launch in 2017. With shelves-full of awards (the current count is twenty!) and stocked around the world, including the mega global beauty retailer, Sephora; their contemporary and fully-sustainable fragrances have met with acclaim wherever the scented seeds (so to speak) have been scattered.
Now, your home can smell just as glorious with the newly-launched Floral Street Home Fragrance collection. Spanning White Florals, Rose Garden, Urban Bloom and Night Bloom, the timing couldn’t be better. Home fragrance sales having rocketed since pandemic lockdowns, when we’ve been forced to spend more time than ever stuck in one space. And the wonderful thing about fragrance is its power to enhance your mood, encourage a feeling of wellness or even shift your focus when you desperately need to feel ‘somewhere else’ for a while.
Designed to uplift and revuive the senses and transform the space of your home, the range includes gorgeous candles (£34) and diffusers (£34) so that you can ‘bloom wherever you are’. Apart from ‘Scent-Scaping’ with a perfectly perfumed ambience, the collection has sustainability at its heart. All the Floral Street Home Collection products are made from natural cotton wicks, soy, and vegan oil. Hand-poured in the UK, each product is also free from alcohol, presented in reusable glass bottles, and responsibly sourced.
As a renowned designer, lifestyle blogger and TV presenter, Maxine was the perfect partner for Floral Street during the launch of their new home fragrance collection of candles and diffusers. A huge fan of using scented candles for shows such as Grand Designs, Kirsty’s Homemade Home, George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces and This Morning – Maxine revealed that, according to John Lewis, during the end of 2020 and the first half of this year, ‘the average online searches for home scents went up by 600%. For diffusers, the searches were up by over 1000%.’
Now, we’re delighted to share with you some of the brilliant styling tips and practical advice Michelle and Maxine gave us about making your home a scented sanctuary…
Michelle Feeney: ‘We want to encourage people to bloom where they are, blossom in their home environment. In the last year our homes have become our work places, office as well as the places we live, so I think we’ve all discovered how important it is to scent our homes accordingly. The Floral Street Home Collection includes some amazing new home fragrance products, and the candles are up to 14% fragrance oi,l which means they really fill the room!’
Maxine Brady: ‘Scent Scaping is an up and coming trend I’ve seen really grow the last few months. It’s about using aroma and scents to zone our homes, either room by room or during differing times of the day. I like using a different fragrance in the morning to evening. I like decorating a home with candles and diffusers, and arrange them much as I would art in a room, to bring them to life. I never think a room is finished until I put a candle on my sideboard. Lately our homes have been our whole world – that’s a lot of pressure on our surroundings, and it’s hard to set boundaries, so using home fragrance allows me to transfer from a work space feel to a more homely escape. It’s a very clever way to balance our mental health as well as making our homes smell beautiful.’
Maxine’s Styling Tip 1.Use your nose as well as your eyes to decorate your home. Perhaps a hallway is where you put a lovely diffuser to welcome your guests and having it smell gorgeous at all times? As a decorating tool, home scents are a really clever way to bring up & coming trends into your home without changing all the furnishings! Use complimentary coloured vessels to your wallpaper or furnishing colours. People are loving sharing #shellfies on social media.
Maxine’s Styling Tip 2.Use aroma to mark the changing seasons. Fresher sunny scents in summer, and warmer woodier scents in colder seasons. Changing those scents and bringing them into your house really helps stop one day blending into another. According to John Lewis, the average online searches for home scents went up by 600%. For diffusers, the searches were up by over 1000% A candle is an instant pick me up when you need a treat.” Michelle: “I like to use home fragrance to enhance my mood or to change up my mood.”
Maxine’s Styling Tip 3.Create an indoor garden bringing the outdoors in. We know home plants have become incredibly important – the flow between spaces can be between your garden and indoors. Dot plants and succulents around a diffuser – reuse the containers when empty as plant pots or the diffusers as mini vases.
Styling Tip 4.Press the reset button with the power of scent. After a busy and stressful day, it can be hard to mark a line between weekdays and your weekends – reclaim your home and say the weekend starts now. Clear away work things, laptops from tables, shove the kids toys in a box and light a candle as a scene-setter and mood re-setter.
Maxine Says: ‘All these tips are ideal if you rent rather than own, because you’re unable to change wallpaper and paint, or sometimes even furnishings, you can make the space your own by stamping your personality with home scents…’
We absolutely love the idea of ‘Scent-Scaping’ our rooms, and shall be dotting appropriately perfumed candles and diffusers amidst the potted plants forthwith!
Scented candles have helped us stay (mostly) sane this year. A bold statement, but when we’ve spent more time than ever at home – working, raising families, interacting with partners or house-mates on a 24 hour basis or simply trying to get through the day alone – it’s been an easy way to instantly change a space, a vibe, with fragrance.
And it seems we’re not alone in this perfumed passion. Sales of fragranced candles, along with ‘premium food’ have been one of the mood-markers of 2020.
As The Guardian newspaper recently commented, ‘cold weather and coronavirus restrictions encourage Britons to hunker down for winter,’ reporting that what we’re been turning to are ways of making ourselves feels better, hence: ‘Sales of scented candles, potpourri and essential oils for diffusers jumped 29% in October, according to the research group Kantar.’
It makes sense. Candles can help us feel calm – not only for the scent, but focusing on the flickering flame awhile. They bring a feeling of warmth and comfort, a cosiness that’s been sorely needed as the temperatures in the U.K. plummeted and the darkness drew in. We’ve gone from tropical exoticism in the bathroom to torrid sensuality in the bedroom (or the kitchen, why not?). We’re using zingy scents to get us going in the morning, soothing smells to help us wind down of an evening, and traversing the world through our noses all the many, many hours in-between.
Because good grief, how we’ve longed for ‘newness’ – and the act of lighting a scented candle can genuinely shake you out of the doldrums!
Quite apart from how fabulous some of the containers look, and how good quality candles can contiunue to scent a room even unlit; they also make thoughtful gifts. But personally, we’re doing the ‘one for you, one for me’ rule with the following selection of some of our favourites to stock up on. Which will you give, and which are you coveting for yourself, we wonder…?
Ruth Mastenbroek Ancient Frankincense £55 for
Cosy as toasting your toes by a roaring fire, this is one to light, snuggle up on the sofa and read something unashamedly soothing with. Or kick back with a frivolously festive film. The warmth of frankincense, precious resins of myrrh and labdanum are tickled by pink pepper up top and swaddled in rich patchouli in the base. Aromatic notes of cypress and pine, meanwhile, remind us of walks through the woods – wrapped up in your favourite coat, savouring the frosty freshness of the air. Sublime!
(PS: Get your hands on a mini size of either Ancient Frankincense or the Rebel County candle as part of our sumptuous Indulgence Discovery Box, for £36 / £32 for VIPs)
Boujee Bougies Queen Jam £55 for 220g
Outrageously jam-y, this sashays up with bucket loads of berries – raspberries and bilberries, to be precise – and oodles of rose petals; that unctious stickiness shot through with flashes of tart green to prevent it being sickly. Olfiction perfumer Pia Long has created a stunning evocation of a Finnish preserve that feels equal parts grown up glam and giggle-inducing frolics. Check out their entire range via the super cute mini candles for £25 (buy one of each and you’ll get one free as part of their launch offer, while stocks last!)
Floral Street Sunshine Bloom £28 for 200g
A welcome shaft of sunlight for the duller days, this scented candle keeping the memory of summer vibes alive with luminescent notes of jasmine, creamy fig leaf (which smells like being on holiday – close your eyes and you can almost feel the sunshine, hear the waves…). Meanwhile, wild orchid, black pepper, incense and salted musks manage to be both delicious and vibrant. This is a solar scent that truly sparkles and recalibrates: a fragrant re-set for the mind, if you will.
La Montaña Siesta: £39 for 220g
We don’t know about you, but getting absolutely anything done right now seems to sap twice the amount of energy as usual. We could all dearly do with a daily siesta, but not all of us can make that space in our day. This candle cossets with lavender, juniper and thyme – an herbaceous breeze from a garden as you ‘close your eyes and imagine yourself drowsing on a hot afternoon, gently swinging in a hammock in the shade of a tree, with the crickets chirruping, and the sun-baked fragrances of the countryside lulling you to sleep.’ Oh we’re SO there…
Tom Daxon White Narcissus: £25 for 185g
A winter’s walk captured in fragrant form, here, with a bouquet of white flowers – gloriously heady narcissus and hyacinth – and the snapped-stalked freshness of galbanum and green violet leaf, which manages to temper the otherwise fabulously blowsy floralcy. Tendrils of cardamom-infused smoke drift drowsily through the cold, still air as gaiac wood and cedar smoulder on the shady vetiver base. One to gift those who are about done with cinnamon and eggnog and are checking the weather forecast, hourly, for the first signs of spring. That’d be us, then.
Scented candles have become a staple for many a home these past few months – establishing a sense of calm or uplifting spirits when we may have felt rather trapped indoors – and affirming the long established massive rise in sales of fragranced candles year ’round…
It seems practically a century ago, now, but in 2018 it was reported that the U.K. ‘candle economy’ was already worth £1.9bn. With some online retailers recently reporting that sales of scented candles over the Covid-19 lockdown period have massively spiked, Emma Fishwick, account manager of consumer trend monitors, NPD UK Beauty, said that this proves ‘…how important home comforts are to us. We have seen from our data that consumers are increasingly turning to self-care to improve wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic. People are utilising scents to create a calming ambiance while confined at home during this period of uncertainty.’
Many of us will be missing out on a summer holiday abroad this year, too, as travel restrictions continue, and so we’re going to focus on the positive changes we can make to ensure our homes feel even more welcome, or sending lovely scented gifts to friends we miss. And we feel sure we wont be alone in stocking up further on some of these beautifully evocative, so-summer-y scented candles that guarantee to let the sunshine in…
Inspired by Empress Eugenie’s historic, sun-drenched Corsican villa, this wafts forth a grove of salt-tinged lemon trees, ripe figs and smooth cedar.
Cire Trudon Cyrnos candle £74.95
Buy it at harrods.com
Their best-selling fragrance has been transformed into a candle, so now you can fill your home with the luminious floral bouquet of Turkish rose garlanded with crisp lily of the valley and beautifully powdery peonies.
Acqua di Parma teamed with California-based La DoubleJ for this limited edition Arancia di Capri candle, transporting us directly to the Italian Med via sparkling, cardamom-speckled citrus.
Acqua di Parma + La DoubleJ Arancia di Capri candle £60
Buy it at ladoublej.com
Escape to tropical climes with the scent of Madagascan ylang-ylang, Moroccan jasmine, rose and heavenly frangipani for intimate summer evenings (or whenever you just want to unwind).
Sana Jardin Revolution de la Fleur candle £48
Buy it at sanajardin.com
A stroll along an English coastal resport on a sunny day is perfectly evoked with banks of windswept wild flowers, lush countryside grassiness and slightly spicy undertones to warm your cockles as the sun sets over the sea.
Are your scented candles burning too fast, or creating that dreaded ‘tunnel’ (or ‘core’ to give it the correct name) of doom, where the wax only melts in the middlle and traps the wick? We’ve all exclaimed profanities and desperately dug around with nail-files to try and save them, but we just watched a BRILLIANT Instagram video that solves these woes with ease…
Lesley Sparks (hello, nominative determinism anyone?!) is also known as ‘The Alchemistress‘ – an independent maker and purveyor of the most beautiful perfumed candles. And she has got tips and tricks up her scented sleeve to make sure your candles perform to their best and (most importantly) ultimately to save your hard-earned money.
You can watch the instructive ‘How To’ on her IGTV channel, and afterwards, if you find yourself casting your eye critically over your previous burning performance (and general lazy lack of candle maintenance) then you’re in great company, as that’s exactly what we did, too. For shame!
Looking around The Perfume Society home-office, we suddenly realised that we already owned one The Alchemistress candles, in fact (look, we have quite a few scented candles, okay? It’s not a problem, we can stop any time we like… we just don’t ever want to). It’s called Persian Nights – a smouldering mix of sultry spices, featuring cardamon, black pepper, orange, ginger, coriander, patchouli, cinnamon and cedarwood – and has us dreaming of more exotic climes, and when we can next travel there, every time we light it.
…And now, of course, having watched Ms. Sparks’ instructional video, all our candles will be burning more brightly from now on. We hope you find it just as helpful as we have!
What with the continuing global pandemic and all, we’re spending so much extra time at home, now, trying to find little nooks to transform into sudden workplaces, and perhaps even somewhere to relax and wind-down awhile (wouldn’t that be nice?) We’re here to help, with ideas of how to use fragrance to make your home a fragrant haven…
You may not be aware of it, but scent plays an important, subliminal part in how we define a space. On a large scale, you’ll have noticed that supermarkets pump out fresh baking smells to entice you to the back of the shop, and spas smell gloriously relaxing the moment you step inside; but you can use the same principles to shape your own home into individually fragranced areas.
Have a look at some of these ideas to keep you alert, refreshed, comforted and soothed….
Tip: Use uplifting scents in your designated work-space – be that the spare room, a corner of the siting room with a fold-out table or even with your laptop balanced on your knees (which is less than ideal, we know!) Keep them fresh, invigorating and aromatically stimulating to keep you alert.
Try: Diffusing rosemary oil in an aromatherapy oil burner, or soaking a ceramic disc (or cotton wool, inside a pomander) and tying with a ribbon to your radiator, or near where you’re working. Far from being ‘an old wive’s tale’, rosemary has now been scientifically proven to aid memory retention and clarity of mind. Something we could all do with right now, eh?
Buy: La Montaña First Light Candle, £36
An immediately mood-altering scent gently welcomes you to a new day, while herbaceous mountain breezes get to work on un-beffudling (is that a word? It is now) your brain. Much needed at Nightingale Towers, I can tell you! Plus £5 from every sale will be donated to the National Emergencies Trust Coronavirus Appeal.
La Montaña founder, Cassandra Hall, explains why she chose rosemary as inspiration for their first candle: ‘On our mountain, at first light, there’s a heavenly fragrance in the air. Before anyone starts an engine, or lights a fire, the air is clear, and still, and silent. The first breath of the day carries the perfume of wild mountain herbs: fennel, rosemary, mountain pepper and intoxicating rock rose. The alchemy of the fragrances, blended naturally on the breeze, weaves a magical spell.’
Tip: Transform your kitchen into a more intimate setting – if you’re lucky enough to have room for a table, or are finding yourself in there far more these days (cooking up a storm with leftovers, maybe whipping up a cocktail or three…), banish the clincal cleaning-product smells or foodie wafts, and pretend you’re in a romantic restaurant. (Do take the bins out, though.)
Try: Growing fragrant herbs in pretty pots on the windowsill, or bringing in some fresh flowers to enjoy their scent while you toil over the stove. Do make sure they’re strongly scented enough to smell over the competing scent of cooking, though. Or simply cook a cake with vanilla and spices to ensure hours of ‘Mmmm!’ (Added bonus: cake.)
Buy: Miller Harris Rendezvous Tabac Candle, £45
You might not think of a ‘tobacco’ scented candle as an obvious choice for the kitchen, but bear with me. This one’s inspired by the romantic brasseries of Saint-Germain, and makes your kitchen (or anywhere!) feel cosy, welcoming, somewhere to willingly linger, not *have* to be.
The Cuban cascarilla oil and pimento berries tingle their way to a heart of velvety sage and cool drifts of pine against the cosiest background of creamy tonka bean and Malay patchouli. Even if it’s once a week, treat yourself to a proper tablecloth, linen napkins, ‘the best’ china or glasses and polished silverware. It feels extra fancy, so maybe even consider wearing your best pyjamas while planning your next meal out-out.
Tip: Turn your living room into a place of scented sanctuary with opulent florals – somewhere to chill out in style while binge-watching your favourite shows, to browse your favourite magazines (including The Scented Letter, obvs) or catch-up with friends on a phone call.
Try: Find local flower deliveries at flowersfromthefarm.co.uk and fill a vase with deeply-scented flowers to cheer you (and anyone who walks past your house) up every time you see and smell them, or using a vintage jug for a fragrant display, surrounded by candles, in the fireplace.
Buy: Sana Jardin Jaipur Chant candle, £48
Opulent with real Indian tuberose essential oil, Moroccan jasmine and French narcisse with a twist of Italian lemon, this exquisite scent is redolent of exotic climes and will absolutely fill your space with floral beauty (even if you can’t get any flowers delivered, or want something longer-lasting).
Sana Jardin founder, founder Amy Christiansen Si-Ahmed, was inspired to create this scent after taking part in a Hindu devotional ceremony, where tuberose flower garlands are exchanged and play a symbolic role, connoting love, deep emotion and sensitivity. In this fragrance, the flower is given added vibrancy with Morroccan jasmine, narcisse and musk, resulting in a stunning sunshine-filled scent that will enhance your home at any time of year (and whatever the weather is doing outside).
Tip: Taking a candlelit bath with a fragrant oil while listening to soothing music is self-care you deserve. It’s difficult enough to unwind at the end of the day, when your muscles are knotted with tension from, you know, worrying about the global pandemic on top of everything else…
Try: Using a muscle-relaxing bath essence that also scents your entire house with gorgeously aromatic wafts. Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax Bath & Shower Oil is a best-seller for a reason: it works. Soothing sandalwood, camomile and grounding vetivert will sort you out.
Buy: diptyque Paris En Fleur small candle, £30
Petite enough to be placed bath-side while you soak, this is an evocative scent to carry you away with dreams of being impossibly Parisian chic. The first Chypre for the house, a flurry of fruity rose petals merge with deeply resinous patchouli – relaxing and quite a lot sexy, all at once…
For this celebration of Paris, diptyque drew its creative inspiration from the rose and its thousand scents, such as the roses of the Bagatelle gardens or the Marché aux fleurs. To adorn the scent, they worked with the artist and friend of diptyque, Pierre Marie. Together, they created a decoration inspired by Art Nouveau, like a lattice bedecked with flowers on which roses intertwine with metallised foliage.
Tip: If you’re likely to nod off, a lit candle’s not ideal for the bedroom, but there’s a fabulous range of fragranced reed-diffusers available now. Why not change up your sleeping space with a luxurious scent and pretend you’re in a hotel (maybe change the sheets, too…)
Try: Not everyone loves lavender (yes it’s beautifully soothing, but only if you like the smell!) so surround yourself in bed with scents you adore – something that makes you stop a moment to breathe in and appreciate it better. You’ll actually feel your shoulders drop as you close your eyes.
Buy: Ruth Mastenbroek Firedance Diffuser, £30
We absolutely love this for the bedroom (or boudoir) because it feels like a 5-star scent even if your space doesn’t quite live up. It’s incredibly long-lasting (so excellent value – we’re talking months of scented contentment, here) and smells utterly unique. Divinely smoky rose smoulders beguilingly on the rich, woody base, and if your bedtime routine’s not exactly petal-scattered sheets and romance, you can dare to dream!
Rejoicing in a moment of true contentment was perfumer Ruth Mastenbroek’s muse for this so-sultry modern interpretation of the classic rose perfume, as exotic leather dances in surprise harmony with the main character – smouldering Damask rose. Set against a warming backdrop of oudh and patchouli, a shining amber note radiates in this scent which is perfect for anywhere in the home (especially anywhere you’d like to smoulder, yourself…)
However you’re coping (or otherwise) with re-arranging your house/routine/life in this current climate of uncertainty, while filling your home with designated scented spaces might not magically make everything better – I absolutely guarantee that it WILL help.
If you don’t happen to live in a mansion with a wing for every member of the household, or spare rooms that can be converted into handy separate office spaces – it’s essential to divide up what space you do have into areas that feel like passing from one phase of the day into another, that split up the many roles you may be juggling – for your own sanity, not merely a pleasant perfume to smell. And home fragrance is the easiest way of doing that, subliminally. It genuinely can change an atmosphere instantly, and, therefore, your mood/how your day rolls out.
We’re living through times we’d never imagined, that nobody knows how ‘best’ to deal with. So treating yourself to a little scented luxury is important – perhaps more now than ever before. You’re worth looking after, too, you know…
Acqua di Parma teamed with California-based La DoubleJ for this limited edition Arancia di Capri candle, transporting us directly to the Italian Med via sparkling, cardamom-speckled citrus.
