After decades of scented candle experimentation — low, medium and high (we’re talking price points) — I’ve come to realize the aromas inside a jar don’t always match the price tags. Many expensive candles smell cheap or ordinary and some inexpensively priced candles smell heavenly and high end. (And smelling cold wax in a boutique display candle won’t tell you how it will smell once lit.) Buying candles gobbles up money and you can end up feeling blessed or cursed when the moment of truth arrives and match flame hits wick.

Over the years, trial and error has led me back to two candle-making fragrance houses — Astier de Villatte and Trudon. I realized this recently when looking at a gorilla rack in my basement that holds my vases all the candle jars I’ve saved to repurpose. The number of Trudon and Astier de Villatte jars is astounding — and something to behold. (The old-style bubbly, clear-glass Astier de Villatte jars are not only good for holding flowers but are also great for cocktails — a colorful Negroni looks sensational inside those hand-blown vessels.)

I digress…

Today’s subject, Trudon’s Versailles candle, was given to me as a gift and it arrived close to my birthday — and it’s perfect. The blue color of the jar makes me think of a cloudless spring sky and the Versailles fragrance conjures the scented cut flowers that will one day (knock wood) fill the container.

Versailles has a creamy-tangy scent that combines the aromas of linden, peony (rose) and tuberose with an undertow of a silky herbal fragrance (the mint is NOT of the numbing, harsh toothpaste variety but is smooth and slightly sweet — remember, we’re at Versailles, not in a farmer’s rustic cottage garden).

Versailles’ florals, especially the rose-scented peony, become intense and liquor-y as the candle burns. The fragrance reminds me of a retro white floral perfume, not from pre-Revolution France, but from the mid-20^th century — surely there must be some moss in the blend (or is it the “upcycled oak wood?”)

When I first lit the Versailles candle in my home office, I was worried: it was burning two feet away from my nose and I didn’t smell a thing. But when I got up to go to the kitchen, I realized an adjoining bedroom, the hallway and living room were scented with Versailles — it has great throw.

TIP: The aroma of Trudon Versailles is very similar to The English Soap Company Kew Gardens Grapefruit & Lily fragrance (which I buy in soap form, but that’s also available in hand cream and hand/body wash).

Versailles has listed notes of peony, mint natural essence, thyme flower, rosemary natural essence, linden, tuberose absolute, honeysuckle, natural upcycled oak wood and blue iris.

Trudon Versailles candles come in many sizes (burn times are approximate): Petite (70g/20 hrs./$55); Classique (270g/60 hrs./$135); Intermède (800g/120 hrs./$330) and Grande (2.8kg/300 hrs./$690); Versailles also comes in Le Diffuseur* (350ml/4 mo./$250).

*Do comment if you’ve tried a Trudon diffuser!

Note: top image is detail from Portrait of Marie-Antoinette (1755–1793), dauphine by Joseph Duplessis via Wikimedia Commons.

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