Article: Flamed perfumes
by Emilie Veillon | collages: Nausicaa Board
OPerhaps we've all already come across the vanilla or chocolate version that closes the long maze of corridors in an Ikea store. Or smelled at a friend's house a rarity found in one of the chic bazaars of Paris, London or New York. Everyone is looking for their scented candle. And this trail now extends to all spheres of the market: from Zara's home collections to the luxurious cases of major brands such as
such as Dior or Louis Vuitton, through to the most natural versions like those from Jardin des Monts or the cutting-edge creations of Cire Trudon and Baobab Collection.
Sometimes a decorative object or a fragrant masterpiece depending on the quality of the manufacturing process and the ingredients that compose them, these candles follow the same paths as the olfactory families of skin perfumes. Woody for the living room. Floral for the kitchen. Musky for the bedroom. Or the other way around. A great mix of scents that varies with the seasons and moods. Because these ambient flames are said to have relaxing properties. The power to color our interiors with the atmosphere of a chalet where a fireplace crackles, a field of centifolia roses under the May sun, or a rain-soaked fir forest.
INTERIOR COMFORT
The greatest perfumers have made it their playground. Like Jacques Cavallier-Belletrud, who last year created four scented candles, L'Air du Jardin, Ile Blanche, Feuilles d'Or, and Dehors Il Neige, for Louis Vuitton. They come in ceramics, designed by Marc Newson, that can be transported from one room to another thanks to their leather handles, hand-stitched in the house's workshops. "Everyone wants a piece of luxury in their home. A bag is for going out. An item of clothing is for getting ready. The designer candle is a guarantee of the brand's good taste, allowing refinement to enter one's daily well-being," analyzes Alberto Morillas, a master perfumer who works for major brands through Firmenich.
According to him, the success of scented candles goes hand in hand with the rise of diffusing scents in homes, shops, corporate offices, and hotels over the past ten years. Room fragrances play a role in the feeling of indoor comfort, and even in the desire to consume or buy. "As long as it remains subtle and limited to certain spaces," he cautions. "There is nothing more intrusive than an overly perfumed jewelry store or a hotel that diffuses its olfactory imprint in all its rooms and restaurant in addition to the lobby. The advantage of a candle lies in the control of the emanation. You can extinguish it after two or three hours, while it fills the room with its fragrance."
According to the memory of this creator, who created more than 500 fragrances, the first scented candles that made a lasting impression – inspired by the potpourris so dear to the British – were developed in France in the 1960s. “Rigaud candles were in all the chic living rooms of the time, with their two silver cups that were placed one on top of the other.
The object was as important as its smell.Viviane and Mario Rigaud, in their Parisian boutique with its boudoir atmosphere, had developed a soft wax formula whose main characteristic is to reveal the richness of the natural extracts that make up Rigaud perfumes,” he continues.
Their first creation, the Cyprès candle, dark green in color, in a mouth-blown glass, was quickly exported to the White House during the time of Jacqueline Kennedy. In the 1970s, other candles followed – Cythère, Tournesol, Gardénia, making the front page of decoration magazines. Now distributed in more than 30 countries worldwide, the Rigaud collection is
has remained a benchmark for connoisseurs and exceptional residences. This is evidenced by a list of prestigious clients, such as Prince Albert of Monaco, Prince Charles of England, the Vatican and even the Quai d'Orsay.
EMOTIONAL CANDLES
The other French pioneer of the genre is Diptyque. This chic bazaar in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris, where three scented candles attracted attention in 1963 – Hawthorn, Cinnamon, and Tea. Since the 2000s, nearly half a million pieces have been produced each year in thematic scents: floral, woody, spicy, fruity, and herbaceous. “Diptyque has always created emotional candles that appeal to the epicurean elite. The fig tree really smells like the tree. It's not simple, because behind the flame lies a whole technique to ensure optimal combustion and diffusion,” continues Alberto Morillas, who founded the artisanal scented candle brand Mizensir with his wife in 1999, now run by their daughter Véronique.
Fueled by subtle fragrances even in his home in Vandœuvres, the nose had gotten into the habit of creating his own scented waxes. During a dinner at the Morillas', Patrick Firmenich – then head of the Geneva company specializing in the creation of aromas and perfumes – and his wife marveled at the olfactory ambiance that reigned there. "Very visionary, he suggested I create a candle as a corporate gift for the following Christmas. It was such a success that we started selling them. This is how Mizensir was born, a play on words for wax casting, a nod to the British noble title," relates the founder, who has developed around a hundred references, handmade in a Geneva workshop. Among them, a candle has just been designed by the perfumer for Le Temps. Profits from sales will be donated to the NGO Race for Water, which fights to preserve the oceans.
THE MAGAZINE OF TIME 12/10/19
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