Affluent Detritus

Talking frivolous nonsense while the world burns

Candles May 24, 2023

Candle club #2

It’s time for a late spring/early summer meeting of candle club! Candle club is like the Babysitters Club only we’re all adults who are allowed to have candy in our rooms and there are no children involved; we just talk about candles. In the olden days, we just called this a blog post with an active comment thread. Let me Kristy Thomas this meeting into existence by sharing the candles currently hovering at the top of my Candles I Want to Smell list, aka Candles I’m Considering Buying Blind Even Though I Promised Myself I’d Stop Doing That. I’m no longer a 20-something ending a wild night by making questionable interpersonal choices but I am constantly one bad day away from acting out and buying any of these babies:

Snap, the Boy Smells bell pepper candle: I’m the peeping eyes emoji about all three of the Boy Smells’ new Farm to Candle line but this one sounds most exciting to me. I love a fresh vegetal scent. My current favorites of this genre are Beauty Pie Reves d’Eze, which sounds a lot like Boy Smells Herbaceous and smells like the misted herbs at the grocery store (is it weird to want to be the misted cozy herbs in the grocery store?), and this Cilantro candle I found on Etsy, which smells exactly like cilantro. This is rare because for some reason everyone wants to make cilantro dance with a fruit. Just let cilantro shine, you cowards! Anyway. I am dying to smell this bell pepper candle and Sir Candleman’s most recent review only fanned those flames. (You follow Sir Candleman, right? He is the most charming person on Instagram and even though we seem to prefer different scent profiles, he is always a delight.)

LAFCO Celery Thyme candle: I think this was highlighted on the Candle Delirium Instagram account recently. I keep going back to read its description: Crisp notes of fresh cucumber evolve into a heart of tart celery seed. Bright star anise, mixed with crushed thyme leaves and purple basil, invite a spicy green finish. All I know is that when you chop celery it makes the kitchen smell SO GOOD and then just tastes like crunchy water. I mean, I like celery soda, so I think I’d like this candle? Am I going to spend $75 to find that out? Not while sober!

Thomas Keller x Joya Per Se candle: My candle homie Risha mentioned how she was considering buying this candle and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. I’ve never been to a Thomas Keller restaurant; this is probably the closest I’ll get. I’m afraid of that jasmine in the list because I hate jasmine BUT there are fifteen other notes in that profile AND Joya does the best collabs in the world AND I’ve never been let down by one of their candles yet! And I have to admit that a few other scents I love include jasmine in the profile and I don’t notice it! This is like years ago when I told my friend Jay I’d never had an egg salad sandwich before because “what if it’s too eggy” and he said “Too eggy? It has eggs in it. I can hold your hand while you eat it if you want.” Do I really need to spend $60 to relive that proud moment of my life?

Has anyone smelled any of these candles? What candles are on your drunk dial list? Please go wild in the comments, this is a safe space.

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  1. Marianne

    May 24, 2023 at 5:11 pm

    Currently I am three glasses of rose away from buying Overose Croissant (does not smell like a croissant at all but does smell mysteriously DELICIOUS) and Vacation’s Well-Tipped Pool Boy, which smells like what you want summer to smell like.

    1. Sarah

      May 24, 2023 at 5:39 pm

      Ooh have you actually smelled Overose Croissant? I’ve always wondered. I am forever intrigued by Vacation; I’ll probably break down and try the candles this summer

      1. Marianne

        May 24, 2023 at 7:33 pm

        Yes! I smelled both in person (at someone’s home or I would have just bought them). The croissant candle is hard to pin down but very alluring. Vacation smells great and is a decent price point, I do t love the tall skinny vessel or the font really but the scent is great.

        1. sarahbrown

          May 25, 2023 at 7:20 am

          I’m dying to know what alluring mysterious scent the Croissant candle has now. I have to find and smell!

          1. Marianne

            May 25, 2023 at 11:59 am

            Overose has a 30% off sale now! So it’s on its way to me. It’s just…warm and lightly sweet and a little toasty and buttery, but not full on BAKED GOOD.

  2. Kate

    May 24, 2023 at 5:35 pm

    I’m in Houston, close to Kuhl Linscomb, a store that has probably 1,000 sq. ft. of floor space just for candles and usually has everything from Boy Smells and LAFCO. Sounds like I need to do a reporting trip. Personally, I need to get a grip and burn the Diptyque Artichaut that I bought on eBay at a BIG markup. Now that I’ve talked about it with my internet candle friends (TM), I guess I have to do it! It’s been languishing in my candle cabinet while I wrestle with the part of my brain that also compels me to purchase 12 cans of Trader Joe’s Step Up to the Snack Bar snack mix in December and then shriek every time someone in my family dares to open one.

    1. Sarah

      May 24, 2023 at 5:42 pm

      Kate, you have to go and report back! Life is too short to hoard the candle, but I feel you on the Trader Joe’s snacks.

  3. Beth

    May 24, 2023 at 7:51 pm

    I was just gifted Boy Smells Gardener and I’m sad about how the florals overpower the scent of tomato leaves, so I appreciate the list you’ve got your eye on, because I’m really craving some springy, herby smells. If anyone has recs for a tomato candle that actually smells like tomato, please share. I’d also love a bergamot that doesn’t smell like toilet cleaner. Am I asking too much? Top of my “one day I’ll do it” list would be Rain, Lichen, or Peat from Field Day Apothecary.

    1. Risha

      May 25, 2023 at 6:23 am

      You’re not asking too much Beth, and if you ever find that elusive bergemot I’d like to hear about it. In the meantime, you may want to try Flamingo Estate’s Tomato candle. I’m not a tomato candle officianado, (in fact, this my only tomato candle), but it’s strictly tomato and vine, and it’s lovely. They’ve managed to capture the humidity of the earthy green stems in this scent.

      1. sarahbrown

        May 25, 2023 at 7:30 am

        I really want to get another Flamingo Estate candle and it’s going to be either Tomato or Rosemary!

      2. Beth

        May 25, 2023 at 10:36 am

        Thank you, Risha, for that validation! 🙂 I will check out the tomato candle from Flamingo Estate and if I ever find that good good bergamot I will run right back here to let you know!

    2. sarahbrown

      May 25, 2023 at 7:26 am

      Beth, there are a few straight tomato candles I liked! KOBO’s Wild Tomato Vine is nice, plus it comes in a package that you can plant and it will actually grow tomatoes! Carriere Freres Tomato is the big fancy favorite; I’ve smelled but never owned or burned. https://carrierefreres.com/us_en/candles-home-fragrances/scented-candles/tomato-candle.html

      1. Beth

        May 25, 2023 at 10:37 am

        Thanks, Sarah! The kids would love using the packaging to plant seeds!

    3. Kate

      May 25, 2023 at 10:15 am

      For a tomato candle, I really like the Jonathan Adler version. Everyone who comes over while it’s burning comments on how nice it is AND it’s usually around $20-25 on Amazon. It burns really evenly and seems to last forever.

      1. Beth

        May 25, 2023 at 10:38 am

        Noted! Thanks, Kate!

      2. sarahbrown

        May 25, 2023 at 11:46 am

        Oh good call! I really like the Jonathan Adler Earl Grey and Champagne as well. Only buy it on Amazon or on sale, but it’s in such a cute vessel.

    4. Liz

      May 25, 2023 at 11:09 am

      The Trader Joe’s Tomato Vine candle is unbelievable but I think it was spring only and sold out. Anyone know who makes it?

      1. sarahbrown

        May 25, 2023 at 11:47 am

        You know, if anyone wants this, I bought it and burned it once but it’s TOO strong for me. It smells good but it knocks me off my feet!

      2. Jennifer

        June 3, 2023 at 8:51 pm

        I LOVE a tomato candle but found the Trader Joe’s one too floral. I love the Flamingo Estate one but didn’t think it had much of a throw – perhaps I had an old one (is that a thing?). I just bought one from Anthropologie and have high hopes for it.

    5. Aileen Rubio

      May 25, 2023 at 3:27 pm

      I’ve had horrendous luck with basil or forest/trail candles smelling like bathroom cleaner 😭. Truly stomach turning

      1. sarahbrown

        May 26, 2023 at 7:15 am

        This is all too real. “Forest” often just smells like Abercrombie cologne which, let’s be honest, is one scent away from industrial cleaner.

    6. Risha

      May 26, 2023 at 6:37 am

      Ya! 🙂 Please do, Beth. And thank you for turning me on to Field Day Apothecary. Hadn’t heard of them before, and the scents you listed sounds soo nice. Added to my list.

  4. jana

    May 24, 2023 at 9:04 pm

    I bought a few of the Burke&Hare candles (my teen daughter was weirded out by my buying goth candles) and I can already tell that Memento Mori is going to be a repeat purchase. Pink Moon is a nice and inoffensive but also nondescript floral. Haven’t burned 1994 yet but am v much looking forward. I know you were eyeing Memento Mori, so here’s my endorsement: it is the absolute best petrichor I’ve ever smelled outside of, you know, actually getting caught in a sudden downpour while cutting through the cemetery. It smells just like rain on warm earth and concrete, plus a burst of green leafy mossy goodness. So good.

    1. sarahbrown

      May 25, 2023 at 7:27 am

      I bought a few more from them (The Moon and Saint Valentine) and regretted both. I wish I’d just gone with Memento Mori now!

    2. Beth

      May 25, 2023 at 10:39 am

      Um, sold!

  5. Nicole

    May 25, 2023 at 12:20 am

    I mentioned to you in a comment, but I walked into the Delano hotel in Vegas and immediately said ‘What is that smell?’. In delight. In a Vegas hotel. There is a day and night scent- I liked them both but went with Day. If they weren’t $48/ each, I would have bought both. It burns subtly, so you’re not overpowering the house with scent (my personal nightmare). Also, wow, I haven’t made a blog comment in like 15 years ;).

    1. sarahbrown

      May 25, 2023 at 7:33 am

      I love the idea of hotels selling their own candle. I’m not a fan of the actual Hotel Lobby brand candles but I’ve been to a few that sold unique scents and wish I’d bought both after. And someone messaged me like a year ago about the St. Regis Room Fragrance spray – I’ve had the tab open on my phone ever since but never pulled the trigger because it’s $85.

  6. kfan

    May 25, 2023 at 6:53 am

    I would like someone (not me) to buy and review the Homesick Yankee Stadium candle (Top Note: Milkshake, Churro
    Mid Notes: Cement, Brown Sugar, TonkaBase Notes: Leather Mit, Red Clay). I can’t read about it without throwing up a little in my mouth but granted I’m not a huge baseball fan.

    1. sarahbrown

      May 25, 2023 at 7:29 am

      MILKSHAKE? CEMENT? Ok, I kind of have to find this now. I wish I could walk into a Yankee candle store without gagging!

    2. Meg

      May 25, 2023 at 8:31 am

      This kind of seems like it should be my burden, though clearly overall these are deranged: https://homesick.com/collections/mlb-collection

      1. kfan

        May 25, 2023 at 8:34 am

        maybe you take the national league, zan takes the american? share the burdge

  7. Risha

    May 25, 2023 at 7:10 am

    These all sound so tempting Sarah! As you know, I’ve been torn between trying a few Joya/Thomas Keller candles (Per Se, La Calenda, Ad Hoc); the new Trudon, Tuileries; or holding out for a sale at Flamingo Estate (I’ve decided I want all their scents). La Calenda and Tuileries feel like risky blind-buys, so the irresponsible, experience-hungry teenager inside me says yes, while rest of me says no. I have a tealight sample of Lafco’s Celery/Thyme candle and it’s really nice. I’m traveling at the moment so I may need to report back with better intel once I can sniff it again in person, but I can say that just last week I pulled it out of the cupboard, smelled it and immediately started looking on Lafco’s site to see if they offered it in 6.5oz size so I could buy it, which unfortunately they don’t, so I didn’t. As I recall, it smelled fresh, light, and celery-soda-esque, with a bit of cucumber, basil, and tyme floating through (so pretty true to its notes). My nose hasn’t picked up any of the spicy business they’re alluding to in the description, but the tea-light might be too small for the full range of notes to come through as robustly as they would in the gonga 15.5oz size. I’d say spring for their tea-light sampler and give it a whiff (I think you can try 3 scents for $20) and if you do, let me know what else you decide to try!

    1. sarahbrown

      May 25, 2023 at 7:34 am

      Thank you for this intel Risha, you’ve now fully convinced me to buy this candle/ask for it for my birthday next month.

      1. Risha

        May 29, 2023 at 9:58 am

        Hey Sarah, I’m back home and I pulled out that celery/thyme candle and wanted to offer my thoughts now that I can actually smell it in person. The good news is that this scent is pretty true to its description. The sad news is that it doesn’t smell like fresh celery—I went so far as to stick my nose into a leafy celery stalk I pulled out of my fridge for comparison. So if that’s the note you’re after I don’t think this is it. It is, however, a fresh, bright, herb garden scent. They’ve emphasized celery *seed rather than fresh celery, and the cucumber note is strong, which makes it perfect for spring but less celery-esque than you might be hoping for. Now that I can smell it in person my nose is picking up the spicy element in the purple basil that I didn’t previously recall and a hint of aniseed too. I suspect this spicy note would become much more pronounced in a full-sized burn. The herbs are beautiful and come through loud and clear, so it feels like a great choice for spring, but it’s certainly herbaceous rather than vegetal. I’m so sorry if this news comes as a disappointment in light of my initial response, I just don’t want to steer you wrong! If you’d like further details let me know! xx

  8. Aileen Rubio

    May 25, 2023 at 3:25 pm

    I’ve been SO interested in the Thomas Keller candles but haven’t blind bought/blind requested one yet because
    1. The price
    2. Lots of scary/iffy notes in those blends!

    More reasonably, I’ve been lusting after the French Baguette and Blackberry + Arugula candles by 1820 House.

    I also want a bay leaf candle and have been eyeing the one by Carriere Freres. Someday…

    1. sarahbrown

      May 25, 2023 at 4:02 pm

      I like the sound of blackberry and arugula, that’s a new combo! I’ve never tried 1820 House candles before.

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