Even though I’m pretty sure nothing can top Diptyque’s candle offerings I still try out other brands that look good or that offer scent types Diptyque does not carry.
Maison Martin Margiela’s Replica line was not of interest to me until I saw that three candles had been created to “mirror” their perfumes. I had in the past received samples of Beach Walk perfume that I didn’t even test out, but the candle really caught my eye. I purchased it, followed by the Lazy Sunday Morning candle, and then the Jazz Club candle.
At home, it took me a while to warm up to the Beach Walk candle. Perhaps I was hoping to find fault with it so it would not overtake my favorite ocean and beach candles from Diptyque (Old Montauk Highway and Beverly Hills (not really a beach candle, but makes me think of the Pacific Ocean)). I mentally criticized the size of the Replica candle, which is smaller than a standard Diptyque 190 g/ 6.5 oz candle, at 165 g/ 5.8 oz. I also didn’t particularly like the fabric label on the front, which was already shredding on my brand new Beach Walk candle, right out of its box. I also couldn’t stop focusing on the coconut smell that floats occasionally in the background while Beach Walk burns.
But during a second burn I started to take to it and looked forward to smelling it again for the following evening’s burn. Beach Walk’s notes are Bergamot, Pink Pepper, Lemon, Ylang Ylang, Transluzone, Coconut Milk, Heliotrope, Musk, Cedarwood, Benzoin. Rather unimaginatively, the fragrance is supposed to “transport you to the memory of an afternoon stroll along the ocean.” As opposed to the Thomas Maier / Diptyque collab. candles, Beach Walk is more of a typical beachy fragrance that doesn’t provide the complexities Maier includes in his candles that represent specific beaches or locations. But rest assured that Beach Walk is also not a cloying tropical scent you often find at places like Yankee Candle or in lesser quality perfumes. I would put Beach Walk in the same category as Bobbi Brown’s Beach fragrance, in that they are more typical smelling beach fragrances that would appeal to a person looking for something straightforward and summery. By the way, I’m not saying Bobbi Brown Beach (which is “designed with a lightly intoxicating blend of sand jasmine, sea spray, and mandarin”) and Beach Walk smell alike but that they are both fairly obvious beachy smells.
So I after all of that mental dissection, I still ended up enjoying the Beach Walk candle, and I’ll be keeping it in mind as an awesome gift for an appropriate occasion. I decided I also wanted to try Lazy Sunday Morning after my experience with Beach Walk, and when I saw great user reviews of the candle at Sephora.com. This fragrance contains notes of Aldehydes, Pear, Lily of the Valley, Iris, Rose Absolue, Orange Flower, White Musk, Indian Patchouli Oil, Ambrette Seeds Absolute. By the way, “Aldehydes” really doesn’t describe a kind of smell as much as the chemical and organic process that results in a smell. If that’s confusing, I’d say just ignore this note as you try to imagine the scent for yourself. By the way, that also goes for the “Transluzone” in the Beach Walk candle.
Lazy Sunday Morning sounds like it could be a fruity scent because of the “Pear” being so high up in the notes, but happily for me the final product isn’t fruity. In fact, as much as I doubted that I would like Lazy Sunday Morning, I ended up loving it completely and totally. It’s a very feminine scent, not at all subtle, but gentle. I don’t pick out individual floral notes when I burn the candle, but the aroma is heady and addictive.
I asked my husband to smell both Beach Walk and Lazy Sunday Morning candles. I commanded (gently of course), that he refrain from saying they smell like “old lady perfumes,” which seems to be his standard answer to my question about how anything fragrant smells. I put Lazy Sunday Morning under his nose first, and he didn’t say anything, even after I prodded. He was obviously trying to think of something to say that didn’t involve the word “perfume.” So I moved onto Beach Walk, and he commented that he liked it better than Lazy Sunday Morning. That’s the best I could get from him. I could tell he didn’t dislike Lazy Sunday Morning, but he certainly didn’t know how to describe the scent and I think he genuinely was thinking to himself, “hmm… this smells like a woman’s perfume.”
Anyhow, so after getting Lazy Sunday Morning, there was no question that I was going to buy Jazz Club, to complete the trio of Replica candles. Jazz Club is sold as a man’s (and woman’s, I guess) fragrance, and therefore I hoped I’d really like it since I tend to like the more woody and masculine scented candles. But unfortunately I was disappointed in both the smell and throw of Jazz Club. Taking the throw first, I expect quality candles to at minimum scent up my bedroom (without having the close the doors), and sometimes pervade the entire ground level of my home.
But here’s what happened. I unboxed Jazz Club and found myself disappointed that all I could smell was Vetiver. It blocked out and out shined all other scents in the candle. I figured the other notes would come out when burned. But instead I could barely smell the candle at all. The fragrance is supposedly composed of Pink Pepper, Primofiore Lemon, Neroli Oil, Rum Absolute, Clary Sage Oil, Java Vetiver Oil, Tobacco Leaf Absolute, Vanilla Bean, Styrax Resin notes. The fact that Pink Pepper and Lemon and Neroli are listed at the top of the notes really throws me off because I don’t smell them one bit. Not at all. For me, Jazz Club would definitely not be a candle I repurchase, even for a man. I can think of many Diptyque candles that offer the same level of vetiver and resin and that are way better in my mind. (Yes, Diptyque has a candle named Vetyver that would be a recommendation if you like that scent).
Before buying my first Replica candle, I’d read some critical reviews of the Replica perfumes. The negative reviews and critiques seem to be based around the simplicity of the notes or the lack of ingenuity in the Replica compositions. However I’m far from a perfume critic and therefore the critical or expert reception of these or any perfumes isn’t going to stop me from trying the candles done in the same scents. I just wanted to tell you that in case you had been reading reviews as well. I’d say ignore the perfume reviews and try out Beach Walk and Lazy Sunday Morning for yourself if you’re a luxe candle lover too.
But one final thought: I found that Replica candles burn faster than Diptyque candles. I would be surprised if Replicas burned for the actual 30 hours that is suggested in their descriptions! On the other hand, Diptyque candles always seem to last longer than is promised.
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Until then,
-JGG
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