Posted by Robin
on
6 December 2011
Our series of holiday gift posts continues; today we’re covering home fragrances of all sorts. If you missed them, here are links to part 1 (scented body products), part 2 (travel sizes & coffrets) and part 3 (more travel sizes & coffrets). Coming up next: men’s fragrances.
The 2011 holiday collection from Diptyque: Epinette in green (“Echoing the aromatic freshness of its needles and the resinuous notes of its pine cones, the Spruce Tree candle promises a wintry runaway in the depths of the wood.”; in 3 sizes $32-$275) or Perdigone in red (“Concentrate of warm and fruity notes around a spiced plum that deliciously perfumes the house. Absolutely comforting in the depths of winter.”; in 2 sizes $32-68)…
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Posted by Kevin
on
23 November 2011
It’s the season for holiday candles. I, for one, am tired of the usual pine and pomander (fruit-and-spice) offerings, so I’ve decided to review a candle that qualifies as “festive” without being a cliché: Astier de Villatte Naples.
When Astier de Villatte decided to honor Napoli with a candle, they had many scent options: the sea (Bay of Naples), the volcano (imagine the incense/smoky notes of Vesuvius); or the pizza (tomato leaf, basil, olive, rosemary).* Instead, Astier de Villatte choose Italian pastry as inspiration; unexpected, but it works.
When I was in Napoli a few years back, I ate like a hog: cappuccino and strawberry tarts for breakfast, an entire pizza or big bowl of pasta for lunch (as for dinners — they were almost “endless,” but in a good way). At tea time each day, I got into the habit of “snacking” at the old Gran Caffè Gambrinus (where the likes of Oscar Wilde, Gabriele D’Annunzio, and, yes, the always-famished Luciano Pavarotti, have sipped and chewed over the last hundred years). There are less expensive, and friendlier, places to take tea, coffee or cocktails than Gambrinus but the pastries are delicious, the café is gorgeous, and if you sit outside, you’ll see the glories of Napoli walk by — animal and human…
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Posted by Jessica
on
25 September 2011
I’ve occasionally paused in a high-end department store — usually on the way to the fragrance department — to admire the creations of Fornasetti. It would be easy, I think, to become addicted to Fornasetti’s world of ceramics and other home décor items, all embellished with witty designs that draw on a vocabulary of classical architecture, celestial bodies, playing cards, keyholes, and (most famously) the face of opera singer Lina Cavalieri, featured in hundreds of “themes and variations.” It’s a whimsical, almost Surrealist, visual style that filters Victorian imagery through a 1960s sensibility.
Fornasetti licensed the Fornasetti Profumi line just a year ago, and this venture seems like a smart fit for the brand. This collection encompasses various home-fragrance devices: scented candles, incense sticks, room spray, and ingenious three-way ceramic diffusers that can be adjusted to hold incense, perfumed oil, or scented crystals. It also has an impressive pedigree. The actual fragrance, named Otto, was developed by perfumer Olivier Polge. The candles, housed in Italian-crafted ceramic containers, are a wax blend manufactured by Cire Trudon, and the incense (the main subject of this review) is made by Nippon Kodo…
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Posted by Robin
on
15 September 2011
French niche line Diptyque has launched a new collection, Les Invités du Trente-Quatre, comprising three limited edition items in connection with their 50th anniversary…
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Posted by Robin
on
25 June 2011
A limited edition candle, conceived by the late Tobias Wong and inspired by the New York Times:
The scent of the candle is newsy…
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