I was at an academic conference and trying to avoid someone who was looking for me, so I ducked into one of the hotel shops. I found myself confronted by walls of candles. There were lots of Archipelago, some LAFCO…and tons of Diptyque candles. Diptyque was a line that I’d never had much interest in: the candles don’t look that interesting online and they’re a bit more expensive than the candles I usually buy. However, I wasn’t interested in trying any of the Archipelagos, the LAFCOs are enormous, and I don’t really like enormous candles…and I was really much more charmed by the appearance of the Diptyque candles when I saw them in person. So, I grabbed the Opoponax candle–and I’m glad I did.
The black and white box and label on the candle really are elegant, and I was surprised by how much I liked the look of the candle. Drawing attention to the name of the scent instead of the name of the company on the label is a choice that I like and it makes me more comfortable about having the candle on display (I hate labels and vessels that loudly trump the label). The candle performed well and required very little maintenance. The wax is smooth and appealing, and the wick has a good thickness to it that makes it easy to trim, etc. This candle also has a LOT of throw. There is a ton of scent in the candle; you can see little rivulets of scent flowing the wax when you burn the candle and then let it cool. As for the scent, this is lovely. Opoponax is a resinous note, like frankincense and myrrh, but it almost never smells churchy. Opoponax smells more like thick smoke, and this candle can really create a resinous, smoky-smelling fog sensation (not an actual fog or actual smoke, of course) in a small space. There’s something else here to warm up the opoponax just a little bit more (myrrh?) and that makes this a great fall/autumn candle.
Despite all the things I like about this candle, I can’t put it in my upper echelons for two reasons: first, it has a lovely scent profile, but not a really complex one. Second, even though the candle ended up being a better value than I suspected it would be at first, I still think it’s a little expensive for what you get. However, if money is not really an object, go ahead and fill up on Diptyque to your heart’s content!
3.5/5
