The Ritual Master This article and video are not sponsored
One of my greatest pleasures come wintertime, is lighting my candles.
And for Christmas, I go all out. The scented ones create the perfect ambiance for reading or just enjoying a cup of tea in the evening, and there are so many ones to choose from.
This year, I tried 3 different ones, that tell the same story from different perspectives. As much as I love the smell of winter spices in baking, when it comes to home fragrances I prefer more earthy scents.
Zara Home have a Christmas edition with delicious scents this year, and the Chimney candle got my eye. Cedar wood and birch notes make a canvas for the musk and leather tones that give it a slight oriental feel. The inspiration of evenings by the fire, wrapped up in a luxurious blanket, the perfect candle for a book like A gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles.
The French brand Nature & Découvertes is a pioneer in the market of wellbeing and slow living. Their home fragrances are always inspiring, even more so for the Holiday season. And this year, with their White Fir range, Sapin Blanc, I feel spoiled. Their candles always smell like a real walk in nature, and this one is almost as raw as the smell of a real christmas tree. Fir needles, fresh resin and morning frost. An honest scent of winter, no embellishments, no blending notes, just the smell of the forest. A candle for a book like Harari’s Sapiens.
In the heart of Provence, in the south of France, the olfactory inspiration is abundant. So when I walk into a Durance shop, I know not to expect anything, instead let myself be surprised. Their winter collection is a beauty, and as always, the call of the forest is the one I hear clearest. I went for the big, wood wick version, of their Under the pine tree scent. It’s a more curated woody fragrance, with subtle notes of moss and lichen, that compliment the pine needles and a more oriental, aged resin that blends everything together. The most elegant of the three, I would read a book like Persian Letters by Montesquieu.
You may not find these exact candles where you live, but I hope I’ve inspired you to find your perfect Christmas candle to enjoy this season.
