Q: My girlfriend loves scented candles, but I find them cloying. Do you know of any that are scented—but not overly so? I can’t have my apartment reeking of roses, black currant, or vanilla.

A: After a poker game at my house, when the place is stinking of Cohibas, Aqua Velva, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, I always light my Iris candle from Santa Maria Novella to clear the air. It cost me a C-note, but it lasts months and can restore a civil ambience within minutes. I have found a reverse correlation between candle stinkiness and price. Dearer candles are generally more subtle, scintillating, and effective. The excellent Diptyque brand has candles in such manly fragrances as New Mown Hay, which will leave you smelling like a cowboy; the woodsmanly Firewood; the artisanal Oak; the janitorial Waxed Wood; and Cuir, pronounced queer. But don’t worry: That’s French for “leather,” a very he-man scent indeed. (Candles begin at $48.) I’m also a fan of L’Occitane and its metal containers, which hold candles in such fragrances as Green Tea and the fresh Clementine ($16 for the travel size, which is handy for the uncertainty of hotel life, to $38). For the determinedly groovy, A.P.C. sells scented candles in such flavas as Toumbac, based on tobacco, for the excellent price of $30. I’m still waiting for Napalm in the Morning.

June 2005

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