I took a much-needed mini vacation this month with my husband. We spent a week in San Francisco visiting family and friends. I’ve been a die-hard Diptyque fan so the Diptyque Store on Maiden Lane was on my list of must-see places. The store featured the new Diptyque Electric Diffuser (quite impressive) which will accomodate a small selection of scents in 34 boulevard st germain, Figuier, Baies, Amber and Feu de Bois. Both my husband and I were seriously tempted.
The Maiden Lane boutique is a small intimate store. It has a warm slightly rustic-library feel with the wood shelves and decor. The store is split into an upper and lower level creating a home-like feel. The combination of all the scents was so incredible. I wished I could take the entire store and transport it into my own home. I learned so much from the Diptyque staff on each of the different categories of scents – they were incredibly friendly and patient with all our questions as we asked about each candle. I’ve since developed quite a long wish list of items to try in the future. Due to our traveling situation I limited myself to 2 items (since we didn’t want to check any luggage) and purchased two of the Boutique Exclusives in Mousses (forest-moss) and Tilleul (linden tree). If you have a chance to visit one of the boutiques I highly recommend it. The store Diptyque reps are incredibly helpful and knowledgeable. The stores themselves are decorated so beautifully – I felt inspired to up the game in our own house decoration-wise with subtle candle accents.
Mini 2.4 oz candles shown below all lined up ($28 each):
Have you been to a Diptyque Boutique? I normally purchase my candles from Nordstrom or Barneys but fell completely in love with the Diptyque store. What are your favorite Diptyque items?
This year I’ve started to venture beyond my go-to staples and explore more home fragrance scents from a variety of brands. My two latest discoveries from Diptyque include Violette and the new Genevrier candles ($60 each for 6.5 oz, approximately 60 hours burn time). Both are very different from what I’m normally drawn to but my husband has great taste when it comes to home fragrance so I asked him to help me pick out a few at our local Nordstrom. I’ve burned both separately so far and love them both. They make beautiful accent pieces around the home.
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Violette
is a soft but warm-smelling floral. I’m always drawn to violet scents
but whenever I test them, they turn quite powdery on me (not in a good
way). Diptyque Violette is more like a true floral and has a subtle
sweet quality that is quite soothing and soft. I’m not a huge fan of
florals but this one was recommended by so many readers I knew I had to
check it out. I think it is quite lovely. The scent is soft but still
quite strong with good throw. If you don’t like florals though you most
likely won’t like this one – it’s a true floral.
Violette pictured with the Diptyque wick trimmer and matches, both were gift with purchases during the last Nordstrom Anniversary Sale
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Genevrier is one of two new releases from Diptyque. I thought I would prefer Noisetier (hazelnut) but ended up loving Genevrier (juniper) instead.
Genevrier is a woody green kind of scent. It smells just like juniper
with a forest-like feel. It’s not quite as green as Henri Bendel’s White
Spruce (usually released during the holiday). Genevrier has a more
earthy quality with a slight mix of a mint. It feels very clean and
fresh smelling. The scent strength is medium. It is definitely a
fall-holiday scent. In Southern California it’s still warm but as the
weather cools I think this one will be perfect.
I usually purchase my Diptyque at Nordstrom and Barneys but the brand is also available at a number of Diptyque Boutiques and other retailers worldwide.
What are your favorite home fragrances? Do you like candles, diffusers or sprays?
I’m always on the hunt for good storage containers and trays for home decor. Finding simple makeup storage to fit my needs is a challenge since I’m particular about size and the way things look. I’ve found the best makeup storage tools are sometimes recycled items. I love using Diptyque candles after they are finished burning to store brushes, flowers and pens. See my other posts on recycling Diptyque candle jars here and here. Two more ideas are recycling Bottega Louie macaron boxes and the small Diptyque candle jars.
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Bottega Louie is one of my favorite restaurants in LA. (See my feature on Styled Notes about this restaurant.) They have amazing macarons and other pastries that they sell in the prettiest boxes. The small macaron box is too pretty to throw away – I’ve had several sitting in my house and found they are good for storing facial cotton. Right now I’m using Chanel Le Coton pads, but the boxes also fit Shiseido and CVS cotton rounds as well. I don’t always recycle boxes because they aren’t always aesthetically pleasing but the Bottega Louie boxes are dainty enough to re-use. Turn the lid upside down and voila! You now have a cotton-holder.
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The regular sized Diptyque candles make for lovely pen holders. You’ve seen them many times on this blog holding pens, makeup pencils, brushes, sugar etc. I wasn’t sure if I could re-use the small 2.4 oz size but turns out they fit q-tips perfectly. See my how-to on cleaning out the wax here. Note there are many ways to clean out the wax, I prefer the linked method because it keeps the candle label-sticker in tact.
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Side by side you see they are quite compact and keep things organized:
For size comparison, here is the 2.4 oz candle vs the regular 6.5 oz candle next to the Bottega Louie box. All are well sized to hold a decent amount of items, but not so big that they will take up a lot of counter space.
Do you recycle items to store your makeup or makeup tools? I’d love to hear about your tips!
By popular request, here is a simple step-by-step guide to cleaning candle jars so you can recycle and reuse them as decorative containers. This will work for most candles. My favorites to re-use are Diptyque and Henri Bendel mainly because the jars are sturdy and even if there is a slight burn on the sides, the glass is strong enough so it doesn’t leave burn marks (most of the time). I like the way Henri Bendel candles are simple and clean looking. For Diptyque, I love the oval stickers and the fact that heat from the flames doesn’t change the color or make them peel.
Tools needed:
Hot running water, paper towels and a flat-edged spoon (I prefer spoons because they are safer to use) … and of course a finished candle! The spoon below is a hot chocolate spoon from Crate and Barrel from several years ago.
Step 1: Make sure your finished candle has finished cooling. Take the spoon and carve or scoop out any wax. The hard edges make the wax easier to scoop from the bottom corners where the sides meet the base. Work around the candle in a carving motion around the sides and then on the bottom. Depending on the candle, room temperature, how much you’ve burned, you may find some waxes more stubborn than others. Having remnants is ok, we will remove in the next few steps.
Step 2: Take a paper towel and wipe down any excess burnt pieces and wax. A stiffer paper towel will help pick up some of the wax you scraped off. If it doesn’t come completely clean, not to worry. Most of the cleaning has to be done in a series steps where the jar gets progressively cleaner.
Step 3: If stubborn wax remains, fill the jar with hot water. Make sure it’s not too hot (definitely not boiling). If the heat is too high it can crack the glass. Let it sit for 30 seconds to soften the glass. Note that you can re-arrange any of the steps. I like to scrape, wipe and then fill with water to remove as much wax and burnt edge remnants as possible before adding water to soften the excess.
Step 4: Now that the warm/hot water has softened the waxes on the sides, repeat the cleaning process with a paper towel to wipe the inside completely clean. The wax should glide off easily and adhere to the paper towel. If there’s still wax remaining, repeat the above steps by adding hot water for an additional 30 seconds to soften wax and wipe clean again.
Now your candles are cleaned and ready to use for decoration!
There are a number of different ways to clean out your candle jars. This is just one I’ve found works. Some recommend freezing the jars to help the wax pop out. I haven’t tried it – if you have I’d love to hear how it worked for you. For me, I tend to leave things in the freezer and forget about them. Also using the method listed above is faster for me rather than having to wait for the jars to cool/freeze in the freezer. Others recommend pouring boiling water to soften and remove the wax – I personally wouldn’t recommend boiling water since the glass might not be strong enough to sustain the shock in different temperatures.
Diptyque has collaborated with Minä Perhonen to release new special-edition candles inspired by poems written by Akira Minagawa. There are three scents each encased in a beautifully designed white brushed glass jar. The three Diptyque Minä candles are Joie, Ciel and Infini ($65 each). The scents are lighter than most Diptyque candles are. I wasn’t quite sure how these would burn since I’m not typically a fan of airy florals when it comes to home fragrance but am happy to report they burn quite beautifully – both individually, or all three at the same time.
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Joie is a floral described as “a fresh floral fragrance, bucolic and delicate, with dewy and aromatic notes.” It’s a lovely fresh soft floral, not overpowering. It almost has that baby-skin feeling to the scent due to the delicate nature. It’s both refreshing and soothing.
Ciel is classified as an herbal scent described as “ice vapor, iris powder, sweet dew, an enveloping and nostalgic fragrance.” To me this doesn’t quite fit the herbal category. It’s a soft airy fragrance with a hint of licorice. This one is calming.
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Infini is described as woody, “recalls an association of woods, incense, and spices, for a mystic fragrance.” There is a green-ness to this scent. It reminds me of GAP’s heaven and dream scents (from the 90s) mixed together. It has an earthy but fresh linen-like feel.
Some decor and desktop photos of each candle, they make lovely accent pieces for the home. I love re-using the jars for brush or pen holders after they finish burning.
I found mine at Nordstrom (gift with purchase going on online) and also spotted them at Barneys NY in Beverly Hills. I love each one, although my favorite is Joie. These are limited-edition, if you can get to your local Diptyque store or counter soon to smell in person I recommend it.
Currently obsessed with Diptyque. I love that the Diptyque room sprays are making a comeback. I found three at my local Nordstrom and decided to start with Baies ($65 for 3.4 oz). I’ve been a huge fan of the Baies Candle and was curious to see how the Room Spray compared. Both are similar with the mix of roses and blackcurrant leaves (floral but not too floral, sweet but not too sweet). The Baies Room Spray is quite a bit sweeter with the blackcurrant more prominent. I spritz rooms with just one spritz to fill the entire room. Lasting power is quite good – it lingers for several hours.
Two new candle discoveries include the Feullie de Lavande (a mini gift with purchase) and the new Diptyque Minä collection in Joie, Infini and Ciel ($65 each, spotted in stores at Nordstrom and Barneys NY Beverly Hills, online at Nordstrom.com and Diptyque.com). The new candles were created by minä perhonen and the house of diptyque inspired by poems written by Akira Minagawa. The candles are cased in a semi-transparent white glass with beautiful designs. More details on each to come as I open them and start to burn. The first one I’ve opened is Joie which is a fresh floral, I will write more about it in the upcoming days.
Finally I’m obsessed with Bottega Louie Macarons. I’ve never been to Paris to try the real french macarons but I hear Bottega Louie makes ones closest to the ones in Paris. My favorites are Vanilla and Earl Grey. If you go to LA, I highly recommend you visit Bottega Louie for a treat. Click over to Styled Notes to see a detailed feature on Bottega Louie.
