If you’ve read even a tiny selection of my articles on this blog, you probably know I adore benzoin. My love affair with benzoin began with incense. Long ago, I bought benzoin-scented incense cones from a company that supplied incense to churches, and I enjoyed the benzoin fragrance so much I purchased Siam benzoin "tears" (appropriately named since a wounded tree produces the scented resin). I still heat benzoin tears in little tin cups on an electric burner to release their smoky-sweet aroma throughout my house.
Diptyque’s Benjoin candle is strongly scented; even its empty box (a month after purchase) is perfuming a large closet in my bedroom. Diptyque Benjoin is a simple benzoin perfume; it reminds me of Papier d’Arménie, and it also brings to mind Guerlain Bois d’Arménie (but with less complexity, of course). Unlit, Benjoin smells like vanilla bean liqueur aged in old wooden casks; lit, the candle produces balsamic-woody notes that complement the slightly smoky vanillic benzoin aroma. Benjoin is one of my favorite Diptyque candle scents, and I wish it would join the room spray line.
The Benjoin candle perfumes a large space and burns relatively cleanly if you keep the wick trimmed short. Diptyque candles always present a problem for me: an uneven burn. While my Cire Trudon Mademoiselle de La Vallière candle has burned perfectly in the year I’ve had it (it’s almost gone, alas), my Diptyque Benjoin candle is already producing unsightly ‘hills and valleys’ in the wax (and I’ve only burned it five times). Over the years, I’ve become a certified Diptyque Candle Surgeon — using chopsticks and tissues I’m able to even out the tops of Diptyque candles as they burn (and re-situate the always off-center wicks) and keep the insides of the glass containers clean and clear. (I’m betting most people don’t have the time or patience for such “work.”)
The limited edition Diptyque Benjoin candle burns for approximately 40-45 hours and costs $68. For buying information, see the listing for Diptyque under Perfume Houses.
Note: top images of paper cutout and styrax via Wikimedia Commons.
Kevin, have you smelled Francis Kurkdjian’s Cologne Pour le Soir? That’s rose honey and benzoin from Thailand, and does it smell wonderful! If you have, do you know how it compares to Guerlain’s Bois d’Armenie?
Violetnoir: haven’t smelled it yet…but SOON! Rose, honey and benzoin sounds sensational….
I’m wearing it for the first time today, and it is A M A Z I N G. And I, in my picky old age, don’t say that often. Kevin, you would love it. Do keep in mind that it’s extraordinarily subtle, so it won’t kick you pleasantly in the teeth the way that Bois d’Armenie (my benzoin HG) does.
I wish I could get me ahold of one of these Diptique Benjoin candles. You really know how to describe it to create strong lemming-like feelings, that’s for sure.
Oh, and I confess to intensive candle surgery myself. Another candle you turned me onto, l’Occitane’s le Rameau d’Or, is a glorious scent, but man oh man, it is really high maintenance. (Another confession that’s even more shameful: I quite enjoy messing about with warm wax.)
Robin: HAHA! fiddling with wax can be amusing I guess! … just wish these candle producers would get their act together! I’ve had good luck with multi-wick candles burning correctly….
The Kurkdijian sounds wonderful. I find the Guerlain difficult to wear . . . there is something medicinal or citronella-like about it. Is that typical of Benzoin because I don’t have a lot of experience with the smell of benzoin?
Kevin: I would be very frusterated by a poorly burning candle at that price no matter how divine the scent.
Minnie: to some, benzoin can have a medicinal “edge”…depends a lot on what it is mixed with in scent. And I’m about DONE with Diptyque candles…too much work. You’d think they would reconfigure their manufacturing process to get those wicks/wax right! I’ll stick with their perfumes and roomsprays in future.
Another candle surgeon! My partner thinks I’m nuts. I even have my candle first-aid kit: tweezers, spare wick (lest one burn out entirely before I’m willing to part with the candle), and various pokey thingies I’ve found to work when the tweezers won’t. If I’m paying more than $20 for a candle, it better last, dammit.
Miss K: A woman after my own heart! I have tweezers too…and tiny scissors…and I even buy little tin cups with wicks to make baby candles if wax remains after the burn is over in the big candle. HA!
By the way, I was reading an old article by you this morning–perfume insults or something like that. (Hopefully your pug has not endured any further insults.) So great! We need to have a “best of” NST retrospective some time.
P.S. Kevin: I also love incense, but am overwhelmed with the selection on the internet and with no idea what is quality and what is not. Any suggestions?
Minnie: you can browse my home fragrance reviews to see brands I really like…I buy lots of Japanese incense.
If you’re looking for something really robust and animalic, tibetan incense will do the trick. Be warned though. A little can go a long way.
norjunma: yes, it can smoke you out of the house…maybe the equivalent of smoking a pack of cigarettes!
Minnie, just FYI, I highly recommend the (incredibly large) Nippon Kodo line of incense, as well as Shoyeido line (which has several more traditional sandalwood and agarwood based varieties).
wonderful! I’m going to take both Kevin’s suggestion and yours and look for some good incense….can’t have any cat-enticing open flames, bet I could get away with smoldering incense .
wow, a general outing of candle surgeons! I’m not alone! All my friends (and family) complain when I’m fiddling around with badly-mannered wax & wicks
Ahem. Yep.
But I have to say, I don’t use them anymore, since my 5 yr old wild child was born. Hopefully in another couple of years she’ll be tame enough that I don’t have to worry anymore, but in the meantime…no candles for me.
Boojum: my cat singed a tail once…and learned his lesson!
LOL! The singed cat tail is when I stopped burning candles! The thought of a flaming cat running hysterically through the house setting everything in its path on fire terrifies me!
Ditto (well, except flaming child)… or even (more likely) her just knocking it over and walking off.
And that’s why I don’t burn candles anymore…my silly poinsetta eating (no more houseplants either), candle investigating cat…..she just can’t learn! So no more candles…….she ran over and jumped up on my bead desk one time while I was using the bench torch….holy cow, singed cat!!! She came just close enough to the flame to take a bit of fur off the side of her face, I stiff-elbowed her to the side (quite roughly) dropped my mandrel (molten glass leaves a real nice blackened spot), cut the gas, all while making sure my cat wasn’t on fire. Oh and I was screaming through the entire episode…..Maxie hasn’t been on the bead desk since. In fact, as soon as I turn on the oxygen concentrator, Maxie decides to spend some quality time in the basement….where there’s no torches or screaming.
Daisy: GOODNESS…at least she learned ONE lesson…poor thing.
Looking back: I’m sure it would seem almost comical. At the time I thought my cat was going to be badly burned —she literally jumped right between me and the flame—and a minor bench torch is seriously hot! Scared me silly! I never let the cats on my bead table EVER ….she is just a) not the smartest cat and b) got to be right near me all the time! But yeah, I think she learned a lesson –more from the screaming than anything but at least she gives that area a wide berth now.
Dog-lover here, feeling absurdly smug!
my dog is sitting here nodding and snickering.
Bee: so happy to see we’re all “coming clean” with our candle surgeries.
Oh my…I’ve been lusting after those Cire Trudon candles but haven’t sprung for one yet. My husband is still recovering from the Antica Farmacista room spray (Santorini, it’s nice!), sniffing around and rolling his eyes…
Suzanne: with the Cire Trudons…it TOO hard to pick only one!
I really want this one, it’s gorgeous to both smell and to look at! I also really liked the Roasted Chestnut one in the red jar.
I’ve not had many troubles with Dipyque candles but any candles that burn unevenly I just pop into a warm oven and let the top layer of wax melt and level out again.
Abyss! aren’t YOU smart! But the Diptyque has a metal decoration on it so I’m afraid to do that.
What a great idea, Abyss!
I am loving all the candle surgery comments! In my opinion, anything that costs SEVENTY DOLLARS shouldn’t be THAT high maintenance! I do hate uncentered wicks and also when there’s a lot of unburned wax left at the bottom of a yummy candle.
Thanks for this review, Kevin. I’d love one of these because I find the glass designs beautiful. At this price though, it’s not gonna happen.
Joe: I bet just a few of your sample orders would finance a candle! HAHA! I could NOT resist, sorry!
Yes… as we ascertained a couple of weeks ago, I’ve prioritized smelling terrific over spending time returning to the cultural wonder of Barcelona.
Joe: it’s decided, you’re taking a TRIP and buying a CANDLE in 2010. Enough with the perfume…you have enough to smell good for years…and it’s easier to tour Barcelona when you can still walk/breathe!
Joe, for the left over wax that can’t possibly go to waste, I get cheap tealights, the cheaper the better, and you’ll find that the tealight can be easily poped out of the metal shell. The wick will also come out easily. I melt the scented wax, pour into metal holder, pop in the wick and voilà!! New scented tealight!
And yes, MEA CULPA I also spend waaaaay to much time grooming my candles.
Plat: I do the same…an excellent tip.
Oh, I really want one of these. Unfortunately we just don’t do candles anymore since we got this cat. There is no surface he won’t leap on to investigate… and I remember once a friend’s cat singed all the whiskers off one side getting too close to a candle. Maybe I could get it and just set it out unburned. Or wait and see if they will eventually do a room spray.
Janice: I’m hoping for a roomspray but I doubt it will happen…they’ve already downsized their sprays.
Candles are a pain. I have an old Bois Ciré candle (from before they decided to save money and cut down on the amount of scent), which I only burned once for a little while and wish I never had: it now looks a mess. I bought an Armani Privé Bois d’Encens candle last year (at a discount). I’m currently selling it. Let someone else bother with it! Life’s too short.
Bela: yes, Life’s too short for such shenanigans…and I LOVE the microwave idea oulined above…easier than my “surgery” for sure! I’m trying it on my next candle.
PS: did NOT mean to say “microwave”!
OVEN is what I meant ! (Don’t put a candle in the microwave due to the metallic wick apparatus at the base of all wicks) And to continue further…I tried the oven method of evening out a candle top and had disastrous results even with a 150 degree F oven…the wax melted completely, QUICKLY, and the wick was completely submerged and floating about. I had to redo the entire candle….
lol, i also love a smooth surface. to keep it smooth, i like to put the glass into a warm oven, mostly after baking some bread, the rest heat warms up the wax enough to smooth it out.
Prism: even more than a smooth surface: seeing the wick flicker/flame thru the nice glass…something you cannot do with a sloppy-A## candle with wax riding up the sides! HA!
Oh! So glad you reviewed this. It smelled sublime in the store. But my favorite was the Marrons Grilles candle (red container). I had a discount coupon, so I splurged on one. I haven’t burned it yet, but when I do, you can be sure I’ll be monitoring its precious wick and wax with great care! Thanks for the tips!
Jessica: a timely post for your purchase!
Good review, Kevin. I totally get the fussing with candles bit. I like playing in the warm wax, and recently had to really fiddle with two D.L. and Co. candles I bought from the Memoires of a Geisha line. They were *extremely* expensive, but even with my efforts to get an even burn, I ended up with a lot of leftover wax.
For those that have a fireplace, I’ve been told you can melt the leftover fragranced wax, dip pinecones in it a few times to build up a nice amount of wax, then pop them in as lovely fragranced kindling to help build the fire and perfume the room.
Another solution for left-over wax is one of those tart warmers. I have a nice little electric one with a broad shallow bowl, so I always scoop out leftover wax and plop it in to enjoy the fragrance once more. You can even flip the chunk of wax to use the fragrance oil that may have settled on the bottom of the warmer, and you don’t have to fuss with open flame. My Siamese likes to stare into candles (must be lingering Egyptian temple cat-ness; she loves staring into light and fire) but she is cautious enough to always keep her distance. She’s a bit aloof that way.
“Unlit, Benjoin smells like vanilla bean liqueur aged in old wooden casks.” May I just say I’m swooning?
I never buy any candle more expensive than Pier One’s stash. I just can’t justify the expense to myself. I’m just enjoying myself vicariously here.
Mals: hey, if you can justify another bottle of perfume you can justify JUST ONE expensive candle…right?!
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO… I banish thee back to the credit card purgatory thou camest from!
Just a few days ago I added up what I spend on samples/ decants/ bottles during the fourth quarter: eek. Almost as bad as the rest of the year, even though I tried to keep it under $100. You may stop laughing now. It’s all Joe’s fault. And Daisy’s. And Abigail’s (Ismellthereforeiam and posh peasant)…
Okay, okay, it’s my fault. But that means no candle.
My fault? how could it possibly be MY fault? oh wait….I did send you emails that said things like “hey, you know about the coupon for (fill in the blank) ?? ” um yeah, I guess that was me…..
I’m just a helpful sort !
Absolute Scent: ha…my orange-and-white male tabby studiously ignores all flames…eyes are averted. Perhaps there’s some lingering ‘animal sacrifice’-ness in his mind!
A candle saleslady rep for cuir tudon told me to let the candles burn for three hours first time…thereafter no problem…maybe that would work with all candles?
HKMom: I don’t see why that would to anything but take away three hours from the candle’s life! HA! Just make sure to nip the wick to 1/4 in. the first time before burning….
well thanks for that….
i love the diptique benjoin candle!!! but at the moment have a khiels ambre candle which is gorgeous (it burns with hills but nice looking ones and the glass is frosted anyrate)
Hi Kevin. I found some great, cheap incense candles in a gift shop in scotland recently and have been keeping an eye out for similar ones in London. And can I find any?!? I see that Dyptique do a John Galliano and a limited edition Encens one (from 2007?) But I was wondering if you, or anyone else who posts here, knows of a cheaper brand of nice incense candles to recommend? (I’m not one for burning incense sticks, but found some incense-scented paper strips in Liberty’s that sounded lovely. I think by Kurkdijian? I didn’t check the price though…….)
Blimunda: don’t know any incense candles AT ALL right off the top of my head…in the States the lower-priced candles often come in foody scents or fruit/florals, not rich woods/incense.
I dont burn the Dyptique candles, i just buy for the label and its beautiful-frenchy mess.
This sounds lovely. And if resembles bois d`armenie, I`d love it. Bois d`Armenie is the most expensive and refined fragrance of my collection. I like because it`s scent is subtle but remains with you during all day, like a gold perfumed aura of something ligthly incensy, lightly sweet and wood, with the right amount of spices and balsamic notes. It`s perfect and I got very angry with luca turin when he partly trashed it on it`s review =/
Rick: Bois d’Arménie is a favorite of mine too. And don’t get mad at Turin…think of all the scents he loves that YOU hate! HA!
I wanted to share this candle I found online at Anthropologie – they are adorable and the fragrances sound so interesting. Plus they are on sale!
If my link doesn’t work, they are the “English Eccentrics” candles at anthropolgie.com
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=993164&navAction=jump&search=true&parentid=SEARCH_RESULTS
Odonata: Tea with the Queen (violets and Darjeeling tea) sounds great…I’ve never seen these at my local Anthropologie stores though. At 20 bucks the price is right….
I just bought this (it was love at first sniff), and while I adore it, I am terrified of the maintenance involved in enjoying it.
I have tried to keep the wick centered so that it burns evenly, but I have a lots of problems with candles either burning a hole down to the bottom while the sides remain high, or overtrimming so that it floods the wick. Ugh. Thanks for the tips, anyway.
In case any candle surgeons come back today by chance… Beautyhabit has a deal through the 15th, while supplies last: buy 2 Diptyque candles and receive a free wick trimmer or candle stand.