The world’s oldest candles. “The Great Candle,” a leather and bergamot-scented concoction in a hand blown mahogany & gold embellished case that retails for $615 burns for hundreds of hours, and is 6” tall – when you’re done with it, you have a really fancy vase. Or you can go for a $98 mini Fornasetti Gorgeous and a little creepy with the face of a famed opera singer on the front, Fornasetti candles are hand-decorated in Italy. In every scent from lavender to cedar to thyme. From $165 D.L. & Company Douglas Little – the “modern alchemist and purveyor of curious goods” who has designed holiday windows for Van Cleef – makes scalloped candles; a cult favorite that will make a whole house smell of hemlock, amber or rhubarb; the wax is so soft you can rub on radiator to make your whole house smell of the candle’s scent; put raw crystals in the shell when it’s burnt to its end. From $35 L'Objet Malachite A beautiful porcelain jar trimmed in hand-gilded 24-karot gold with the scent of champagne. Malachite is a stone of transformation and spiritual development, used to clears obstacles and aid as one attains goals. From $125 LAFCO Simple scented soy based candles kept in hand-blown glass vessels in fig, sea green, burnt orange, and sunflower yellow shades. Make lovely, saturated drinking glasses or mini vases. From $40 Diptyque The holiday collector’s edition is always stunning, and this year’s is no exception. Instead of having an ornament for every year, why not keep a collection of each year’s Diptyques? From $68 Astier de Villatte Each of 20 handmade candles evokes the scent of a different place around the world – from the orange blossom-scented Delphi to a sage Stockholm to the citrusy, spicy Hong Kong. From $83 Antica Farmacista Crisp, romantic Prosecco-scented candles in a gold lined clear case; perfect for a glass to serve some rather casual Prosecco in later. From $44 December |