Diptyque holds its flickering candle-head high, and this top shelf exercise in wax and glass and light and fragrance almost achieves the value of its $70 price point. I was skeptical, because, well, it’s a goddamn candle. But it’s a godamn good one, and the scent of ‘Feu de Bois’ – also called Wood Fire, is the perfect fall and winter fragrance – elements of smoke and incense and forest combine for a deliciously cozy effect just as the temperatures turn down and the skies turn gray.
Silly truth be told, Taron Egerton is the one who convinced me to try this candle. He claimed it was what Elton John was burning during a visit, and he said it was the most amazing thing in the world. Now, I wouldn’t say that I trust Elton John’s taste – I adore it for him, and God knows I love a sparkly tiara, but for the home I tend to veer away from the ostentatious, contrary to popular and misguided belief. When it comes to candles, however, Elton was absolutely correct. Taron was right too, as this one is exquisite, and practically worth the $70 price tag.
Still, I had doubts. On a dreary morning, I crept up to the attic and lit it from a box of long-stemmed matches. (If you’re going to be fancy, be fucking fancy!) Some say candles, like cigarettes, are better when lit from a match rather than a lighter. Now that is taking things too far into the bullshit territory, but it’s not a horrible notion in the stupid world of the supercilious. As I lit this exorbitant candle, I felt as foolish as I felt fancy – and neither was entirely unwelcome.
After an hour of letting it burn (and for that first burn always keep your candle lit until all the wax on the top layer is melted, to avoid tunneling) I returned to the attic to find that this little glass votive had filled the space with a gorgeous fragrance, as if some elegantly-wrinkled piece of burnt firewood had crumbled and let out a puff of glorious ash-like cologne, then drifted away in a forest of pine trees.
Was it worth the cost? Did it smell that good? Yes and no – if you treated it as I did, making each burning an event and exercise in pampering, of heightened experience to treat yourself when we all need to be treated, then yes. Absolutely. I won’t light this one every night until it burns out in a week or so. It will be brought out for those special days and nights when I need a little extra self-care, or when I simply want to remember a certain moment.
If, however, you just want a fire-like woodsy scent in a candle, and one that doesn’t break the bank, then no, this probably isn’t worth it for you. There’s a solution for that, however, and a semi-secret substitution can be found in the ‘Woodfire’ candle by Illume – same approximation of scent, cozy and smoky and woodsy, but at less than half the price. (I found some at Whole Foods Market when I was there last.)
Of course, if you’re looking for Christmas gifts for me, a number of these have been added to my Amazon Wish List. ‘Tis almost the damn season!
