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Red Flower African Lily candle: home fragrance report

Posted by Pia on 13 May 2007 6 Comments

Red Flower African Lily candleDuring our recent cold spell and rain-storms here in the Northeast, I felt a craving for a rich, comforting scent to bring some depth, light and warmth into my surroundings. I wandered around sniffing my half burnt candles trying to decide which to light, but nothing quite seemed to resonate. My all-time favorite blustery weather candle, Mure Sauvage by L'Artisan, was all finished, and I was about to give up my search when I came across an unopened box — African Lily by Red Flower.

I had bought several Red Flower candles over the holidays to give as gifts, but ended up with a surplus that I intended to squirrel away for future gifts. I sniffed the sealed package cautiously, and thought — yes, that's lily. No subtlety there. It reminded me of a great big bunch of stargazer lilies, with their unique, seductive and sometimes overpowering fragrance. I hopped online, still debating whether I should indulge my curiosity or not. The Red Flower website describes the African Lily as an 'alluring and abundant nile-spiced flower' and the impact as 'sensual, like hundreds of fluttering untamed lilies'. The essential oils listed are iris absolute, vanilla bean, clove leaf, and african lily.

The iris was too much for me to resist and so I opened the box, unceremoniously dumped the white dried flower petals which top the candle into a dish and lit the candle. As I watched the rain streak down my window and the wind howl outside, a slow, luxurious warmth began to unfurl itself in my room and started to wind its way up the staircase and into the rest of the house. In less than 15 minutes, the throw was oustanding. I was wondering if the fragrance would be overly sweet — I do like lilies, but I thought I might tire of it after a while. Thankfully, that has not yet been the case, as the clove emerges quite soon after the lily and provides a dry, spicy counterpoint to the opulent sweetness.

The vanilla is also detectable, rounding out the blend with precisely that tone of comfort and warmth I had been seeking. Unfortunately I was not able to detect the iris absolute other than perhaps as a tinge of powdery dusting on the clove, but I suspect it does contribute to the candle's delightful blend even if not immediately recognizable (by me) as its own note.

The African Lily (agapanthus africanus) is not actually part of the Lily (Lilium) family, so it has no relation to Stargazers or other true lilies. I thought that was rather interesting, as I would have certainly claimed there was a strong scent resemblance. I have never smelled an African Lily and so I can not say how close this scent is to the flower it is named after. It is, nonetheless, one of the more gorgeous floral candles I have ever had the pleasure of burning, and the scent stays strong, steady and true while the candle itself burns well and clean. And happily the weather here has since improved greatly, but the African Lily candle smells no less delightful on a warm balmy evening than it did on a cold blustery one.

The Red Flower African Lily candle is available at beautyhabit, drugstore and redflower. The 6 oz candle is $34.

See also: Kevin's review of Red Flower Chinese Marigold; Victoria's review of Red Flower Indian Jasmine.

Filed Under: home fragrance
Tagged With: candle, red flower

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6 Comments

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  1. Anonymous says:
    13 May 2007 at 7:35 pm

    A local store has these candles and whenever I visit I pick this one up, but invariably put it down again. Next time I think I will take it to the register. Great review.

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  2. Anonymous says:
    13 May 2007 at 9:33 pm

    I purchased this candle as a gift for a friend and she loved it…I have their Blood Orange and North American Lilac candles and adore those scents, too. In general, I really like the whole Red Flower line, and also have several of their lotions and shower gels. Good stuff, usually very true to the natural fragrances.

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  3. Anonymous says:
    13 May 2007 at 11:20 pm

    Thanks Merlot. If you like heady florals, I think you will enjoy it!

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  4. Anonymous says:
    13 May 2007 at 11:22 pm

    Oh no…The Lilac was one of the other candles I had squirreled away….now I'm going to want to try that one too! (And it's so seasonally appropriate! lol). I agree…I love the way they stay close to the natural scents, and I enjoy their products. I've tried some body products as well–the Hammam line and Japan line–love the way they are packed with natural fragrances.

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  5. Anonymous says:
    14 May 2007 at 11:28 pm

    Oooh! do try the lilac and tell us!

    I'm shopping around for a springy candle right now, but have never run across Red Flower before. I have a lilac candle from Pacifica which is nice, but doesn't have much throw at all. Right now I'm eyeing Archipelago's Monagram Line (“I” for Iris & Sweet Pea, & “K” for Key Lime & Bergamot).

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  6. Anonymous says:
    15 May 2007 at 9:39 am

    LOL…now you REALLY are tempting me to open that box (so much for Christmas gifts for next year!)….

    You may want to read the other Red Flower reviews here on the blog–reactions are a bit mixed, depending on the scent. This lily definitely gets a thumbs up from me, but despite popular opinion, I was less than overwhelmed by their blood orange candle. You could perhaps start by purchasing a travel size (I believe they are about $12) and then see how you like it–they do have a nice array of natural scents to chose from.

    Kevin just reviewed the Monogram line not too long ago…so you may want to also check that out!

    Otherwise, on spring scents….I'm trying to get my paws on the Sweet Pea candle by diptyque (my mother got one, ahem, for mother's day, now if I can just 'borrow' it?) but I can imagine it would be a great springtime scent. Otherwise, late/spring early summer, Tilleuls au Vent (Linden Blossom) by L'Artisan is exquisite–albeit pricey. Smells just like the linden tree in a nearby park!

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