The candles have been flowing (glowing?!) in for next March’s Beauty Shortlist Awards – this is one of my favourite categories to judge, aside from skincare and aromatherapy. It’s not easy to make the perfect candle. Throw, wick, ingredients, burn factor, scent…there’s so much more than meets the nose. Speaking of which, two of my favourite candle makers are florist and scent creator extraordinaire Timothy Dunn (www.timothydunnlondon.com) and Jo Malone, whose Jo Loves www.joloves.com 3-layer candles are beyond works of art, she’s a fragrance alchemist!
Here are four I think are pretty special (along with some wax melts and one of my favourite reed diffusers).
Which candle(s) are you burning and loving this month? Share them with us on Instagram.com/beautyshortlist @BEAUTYSHORTLIST
L to R:
LA MONTANA’S FIRST LIGHT CANDLE, an homage to that early morning mountain herb scent when you open your window on a summer’s morning in Spain and look out across the valley. India Knight likes this one too.
Scent notes: fennel, bergamot, rosemary, mountain pepper, and rockrose, made from natural wax.
£35/over 40 hrs burn time at lamontana.co.uk
PETITS RITUELS PROVENCE CANDLE Let me quickly just say if you are into wax melts and love citrus scents you need to try their Orange Gourmande wax melt £10 – it’s beyond description (!) The first time I tried it I was hooked. #instantgoodmood
It’s so uplifting and almost mouthwatering, a geranium/orange combo bursting with good cheer, like freshly a peeled orange with a slightly more sophisticated twist.
The PROVENCE CANDLE is a soothing South of France-inspired blend with Rose Geranium, Ylang Ylang and Lavender and the wax is soy. £35/40hrs at PetitsRituels.com
Petits Rituels candles are NEW at Lovelula.com too
PRISMOLOGIE’s INDIGO MASSAGE CANDLE with aromatic Oud
Prismologie fascinates me, it’s one of the most original brands I’ve come across in more than ten years covering new brand launches.
There are 6 collections: Clarity (white), Confidence (yellow), Comfort (pink), Serenity (green), Vigour (red) and Stillness (indigo).
This is the Indigo (Stillness) candle, made from soy and beeswax, which turns into a meltingly calming wild mango and coconut massage oil. (Massage candles are a “thing” now – we’ll be seeing more of them next year).
This candle’s throw is really good. It’s a grounding, quite masculine scent (because of the oud) but there’s more to it. I’m pretty taken by this one! It scented the bedroom and the scent lingered for a bit even after I’d extinguished it. A brilliant gift for your man, incidentally. It’s super-calming. This is the one to burn while you unplug from the brazen bling of Christmas on the sofa with a new book, cup of tea, cosy throw and the log fire crackling away as the winter sun sets and the sky turns black velvet.
£55 at Space.NK (but it’s sold out!) so head over to Prismologie.com instead.
NEOM ORGANICS
The candle in the main pic is the Tranquillity blend, one of Neom’s two new Intensive Skin Treatment (massage) candles, £36. It comes in a pretty – and big – box and I’d say it’s subtler than the other products in their Tranquillity range (the blend is English Lavender, Sweet Basil and Jasmine and the Tranquillity Reed Diffuser is gorgeous.
I bought it last Christmas, then when it almost ran out I bought the refill with 6 sticks and just used the refill alone in another room – good tip! The Refills are just £20).
For an all out modern twist on the Christmas Orange theme, NEOM’s 3-wick Christmas Wish candle is probably up there at the top of my Christmas candle list. The Mandarin, Cinnamon and Tonka Bean blend is a bit different and it just seems to burns away happily, hour after hour – it’ll see you through Christmas into 2016!
The CHRISTMAS WISH limited edition (sparkling gold-dotted glass holder) is £49.95 (3-wick) while the 3-wick Tranquillity Candle is £45.