On May 14, 1664, during the famous seven-day party called Les Plaisirs de l’Ile Enchantée that celebrated the inauguration of Louis XIV’s grand Versailles building project, the “scents of ambergris, rosewater and jasmine melded with the acrid fumes of gunpowder as fireworks swooped great arabesques of intertwining ‘Ls’ across the sky for Louise and her lover, King Louis XIV of France.”* Louise was Louise de La Vallière (1644-1710), the provincial, blond and blue-eyed, rather “simple” 20-year-old mistress of Louis XIV — and the inspiration for Cire Trudon’s Mademoiselle de La Vallière candle. Louise became Louis’ mistress in 1661, and she was eventually given the titles of Duchesse de Vaujours and maîtresse en titre; she bore the king four children.
The Cire Trudon candle works was founded in Paris in 1643 (just a year before the Versailles fête) and provided candles to the court of Louis XIV (and still provides candles — and candle-making expertise — to churches like the Église Saint-Roch in Paris and companies such as Hermès, Cartier, Dior, and Guerlain).
The creative force behind Cire Trudon’s perfumed candles is Ramdane Touhami who says, “Cire Trudon does not make perfumes, but creates smells". It’s rare that I come across an entire line of perfumes, soaps, or candles and think: “I want EVERYTHING!” but that’s how I felt when I smelled the Cire Trudon line of candles at Barneys New York. Before I realized it, I had $225 worth of candles in my hands (three candles). I ended up buying only what I “needed” for my home — one candle for the guest bedroom. I chose Mademoiselle de La Vallière.
Since Cire Trudon aims to re-create the smells of places (the moon!, cloisters, Cuba, Versailles and an Indian apothecary to name just a few), I wondered what aromas would be used to represent Mademoiselle de La Vallière — a woman I had read about in Lisa Hilton’s interesting book Athénaïs: The Life of Louis XIV’s Mistress, The Real Queen of France. Athénaïs de Montespan, Louise de La Vallière’s successor in Louis XIV’s bed, said cruel things about Louise; Athénaïs made fun of Louise’s timidity and even her limp (one leg was shorter than the other), called Louise a dullard, a simpleton, and said Louise didn’t love her children enough. But what of the scents of Louise’s realm?
Hilton describes 17th century Paris as “the dirtiest city in France, and probably in Europe; it could be smelled from two miles outside the city gates….” Perfumes were used to make life more bearable and to stifle gags…and worse…as one encountered the foul smells of the city. Madame de Sévigné described Louise as “The Dew”…“that little violet which hid itself under the grass….”* Since Cire Trudon mentions tuberose above all other notes in the Mademoiselle de La Vallière candle, it was funny to come across a reference to tuberoses and Louise in Hilton’s book. While in labor with Louis’ illegitimate child, Louise was “accidentally” seen by the Queen who asked disingenuously why Louise looked so pale. Louise blamed her appearance and queasiness on the powerfully scented tuberoses in her room. (The Queen left the apartment and Louise’s baby was delivered and whisked away before the Queen would notice it.) There is no ‘violet’ or ‘dew’ in the Mademoiselle de La Vallière candle, no rosewater or ambergris or gunpowder either — the heady aroma arising from the hot wax smells like the scents you’d encounter when entering a cold, marble room in winter and being surprised by the smells of fresh-cut branches and fragrant bouquets of spring and summer flowers brought in from greenhouses. The fragrance is “startling” and wonderful with its mix of vibrant “green” galbanum and its saucy bouquet of tuberoses, jasmine and orange blossoms (other notes include bergamot, ylang-ylang, musk, cistus and benzoin). The garden-loving Louise would be pleased.
What happened to the abandoned Louise? She retreated to a Carmelite convent in the Rue St. Jacques, Paris, in 1674, used up at age 30, and became Sister Louise de la Miséricorde. Sister Louise lived the rest of her life, 36 more years, in the convent — shoeless, mostly silent and living off alms. (Smell the Cire Trudon Carmélite candle for a hint of damp, mossy convent walls.)
Cire Trudon candles are contained in heavy green-amber Italian glass tumblers and are made with vegetal wax that contains no petrochemicals or heavy metals (the wicks are cotton). The candles burn cleanly for 70-80 hours and have excellent throw.
I want to try all the Cire Trudon candles so I may take advantage of the Coffrets Trudon ($145) containing three small candles that burn for 20-30 hours each; the coffrets are available in Odeurs Royales (Mademoiselle de La Vallière, Trianon, Roi Soleil); Odeurs Impériales (L’Admirable, Spiritus Sancti, Empire); and Odeurs Spatiales par Philippe Parreno (Odeur de L’Espace, Odeur de Lune, Odeur de Mars). I’d love to see La grande bougie (the big candle) — it weighs in at almost SEVEN POUNDS and comes in any Cire Trudon fragrance.
Cire Trudon candles are $75 (9.5 oz.) and are available at Barneys New York and Aedes de Venustas; there is also a Cire Trudon store in Paris at 78 rue de Seine, + 33 (0) 1 43 26 46 50.
* Athénaïs: The Life of Louis XIV’s Mistress, The Real Queen of France, by Lisa Hilton, 2002, Little, Brown and Company. Quotes are from pps. 5-6, 164-165 and 53 respectively.
Oh Kevin, tres bon, this was a fun little french history lesson, merci. I would love to smell all of these candles…
Hermès, Cartier and Guerlain have candles??? Where and what are these? I know there are candles in the Dior Homme fragrance range, but have never seen candles from those other brands.
BTW Kevin, I'm guessing Cire Trudon trumps Jo Malone candles?
Great history lesson, Kevin! Awesome article, as always, You just made my day today! I wanna try these candles too!:))
My, Kevin, you've got me wanting to read that book now! What a fascinating piece. I sniffed the Cire Trudon range at Liberty's in London, and was quite surprised and impressed – the one that smells of the Moon is genuinely weird.
helenviolette: hope they're nearby so you can sniff them.
eminere: I couldn't tell from the Cire Trudon catalogue but perhaps the candles they make for those companies are for in-house, in-shop use…the Cire Trudon range is BIG…and includes pilar candles, etc. Perhaps those shops just burn Cire Trudon candles for ambiance. Maybe someone else can tel us….
ANd yes, Cire Trudon trumps Jo Malone for me.
Thanks Iris…it was a fun article to write.
VanillaGirl: the moon candle was one of the three I held in my hands…and I guess there's an outer space and Mars one too! Kerosine was a note in moon…and I love the scent of fuels.
These really sound nice – I'd love to sniff all of them. (And what an interesting review.)
Speaking of FUEL…I just accidentally broke a sample of DK FUEL all over a bunch of other samples I received. DANG! Everything smelled like…well SCOTCH! Luckily my boss didn't pass thru my dept or he would have thought all of the associates were drinking. Well when I got home….really AWESOME drydown in the envelope I put the samples in.
Back on topic…what wonderful articles you provide for your audience. Bravo!
Always loved candles, incence, etc. I can still remember the smell of burning orange peels the owner of the house I grew up in burned to perfume her flat…the smell of incense in the Catholic Church where I was an altar server…and the jasmine incence my parents burned to disguise some other burning leaves…lol.
I've not had the pleasure of sniffing this wonderful line but your review has def sparked my curiousity.
Can't afford anymore fancy candles for the time being. I still have my Aedes de Venustas candle.
Right now I'm burning my Etro Messe de Minuit candle…very cheaply acquired on the bay.
Merry Christmas Kev!
Thanks C…I think it's BEST FOR YOU NOT TO SMELL THESE…I know you are WEAK!
Thanks damselfly…Cire Trudon keeps adding to the line…ah…too much temptation.
Kevin, The holidays are upon us, and it's a good time to thank you for the time and energy you put into the blog. Your history lessons are such a treat. Reading your posts is like a little vacation in the middle of a stressful day. Thank you.
These candles sound dreamy. Have you ever seen any from this house or any other fine candle makers at a Nieman Marcus outlet? I'll check next time I get to one. Sounds like a good “after xmas” sale find. Best wishes for happy and healthy holiday season.
Thank you, Kevin! I haven't gotten into candles – yet. Samples have been my 'gateway' into fragrance so I guess I'll have to try these! What a nice article, too. I just finished a novel about Louise de la V., “Mistress of the Sun” by Sandra Gulland, so I was so surprised to see this! (I give the book a B+, a little breathless in parts). Have a nice hoiday and I always enjoy your articles!
Pearlymom: thank you … I'm Neiman Marcus-less here (till 2009)…but I don't think they carry these candles. Happy Holidays!
FC&G: you're welcome, and if you are not into candles…perhaps AVOIDING these is best (candles are just another perfumista expense after all, aren't they? HA!)
Nice article, Kevin — I love all the historical background of houses like this, and the fact that they're still operating after centuries (also terrific to learn that in multicultural modern France, the “creative force” of this prerevolutionary enterprise is apparently of North African origin).
Sadly, $75 candles are a bit out of my range. Even Diptyque pushes it. Voluspa and Pacifica are more my speed, but these certainly sound divine.
Happy Holidays and New Year to you.
Have a great holiday, Joe!
I tried two candles from this brand including the Mademoiselle de la Valliere and was extremely disappointed with them. Whilst they are beautifully presented in a handblown green glass with gold label, neither fragrance was particularly pleasing or strong, and the throw was almost non-existant. Not acceptable for a £45 candle. I would not recommend these to anybody.
nellynst: sorry to hear that! the two I tried (this one) and Chandernagor both were highly perfumed…in fact I was “asked” at home to please keep them in a box when not burning them!
A bit late to the party but I also had a Cire Trudon (L’Admirable) and it had no throw whatsoever. I was very disappointed and like nellyst, would not recommend them to anyone.
It is a shame because I think the alleged notes would be very appealing to smell.
I’m obsessed with candles, and I’ve been making my way through the Cire collection and always enjoy reading what others think of them. This is the best candle review I’ve ever read, and I’m so psyched to see this site is still active and to see what else is on here. The context/history around this scent you described is making me enjoy the candle even more. Thank you!
backdrifter: Welcome to the blog…and thanks for your kind words. Cire Trudon takes a LOT of my candle dollars!