Are Bougie Candles Like diptyque Worth the Splurge?

I’ve been on a semi buying streak lately, specifically for candles and workout gear, but let’s focus on the candles this time around.

I’m going to dive in to a couple of the bougie candles I’ve bought recently and/or would repurchase, check out which ones I chose.

I’ve realized a lot in the last couple weeks about smells, and that is that everyone is completely different. Scents are so intimate and so personal, so take this with a grain of salt because this will NOT be the exact scenario for you. Take a look back at perfumes, and scents that I enjoy to really understand my preferred scent profile.

In no particular order here are 5 bougie candles I can speak to:

1. Malin and Goetz x Kith – $55 – Kith exclusive, buy for your sneakhead/hype friend/boyfriend and they’ll love. I’m sad to report that Matt was putting his work laptop down on the coffee table and accidentally pushed this off and it shattered. I’m in mourning for this candle, I even have the body wash to match because I love it that much. This is more of a clean, crisp, citrus smell. It’s more of a traditional men’s clean cologne smell, but without the nose hair stings. Only downfall with this is that I immediately had tunneling on my candle (may be user error,) and it wasn’t as strong as I hoped it would be. Also, if you burned this too long the wax that cooled seemed to turn a darker color than the rest. I really loved this, but prob wouldn’t repurchase – much better body wash scent than candle.
2. Rukske Hiroko – $60 – when I worked at Petit Trois my favorite part of the day was going into the bathroom because they had this candle, and Aesop hand soap. I googled for months trying to figure out what this candle was once I left the job there. Finally one day I came across the Petit Trois collab and immediately ordered the Hiroko. Now, guess what… I have this in my bathroom. Rukske candles come in such a beautiful black glass jar, and packaging is beautiful and minimal. Even the name is engraved in the glass, no stickers here, which is so sleek and sexy. This is woody, musky, with a little bit of citrus. If you don’t like patchouli I don’t know how much you’ll like this. It’s not super patchouli-y, but a bit. Only weird thing about these candles are that the flames go SO HIGH. Keep out of reach of legit anything. Multiple jars broke while I worked at Petit Trois, so make sure to trim the wick and don’t leave it burning too long.
3. Rukske Petit Trois No. 2 – $65 – funny enough, Matt and I bought these candles on the same day and they showed up together. He bought this for obvious reasons, I used to work there, but I really love this one. We leave it in the bedroom, and I think the cedarwood/vetiver combo makes this super deep and sensual. Way stronger than the Hiroko.
4. diptyque Mimosa – $65 – my first ever diptyque candle, guys! I know, I know… why didn’t you just buy Baies? I just didn’t want to get the same one as everyone else, I wanted to read the scents and pick off that and not be swayed by everyone else. I may have effed up. It’s not that I don’t like this. I think this is a particular scent. Mimosa is nice, but it’s more of your grandma’s linen closet vibes. It actually takes me back to my grandma’s bathroom with the breeze coming in from the window and I love how reminiscent it is, but not sure other people would feel the same. A little too powdery, baby-ish for a lot of people I think.
5. diptyque Feu de Bois – $65 – holy shit. If you like a warm, unisex scent this is the one. It definitely smells like burnt firewood, but with a twist of musk. This is perfect for a cloudy, rainy day. Perfect for Fall/Winter vibes as well. This smells the way scotch taste. Deep, woody, strong (very strong,) and masculine. It’s masculine in the way Replica By the Fireside is, not in a shower gel way. I’ve never smelled anything like this. Caution: this is strong, if you have a small apartment you might need to move it around. Also weird thing is it looks more grey/green than grey/purple/tan that most product pictures show.
6. diptyque Baies – my next purchase, literally putting it in the cart as I write this! I’ll update you guys, but I will say that it’s the one people have recommended to me the most, and the one I see all over Instagram and in magazines the most.

So, in closing, yes… yes, bougie candles are 100% worth it in my opinion. I know that you’re quite literally burning through money, but I at least know they are good quality and not made of a bunch of synthetic stuff. I can tell the difference between these and Bath & Body Works for example, and I feel like you get a richer scent and packaging definitely makes the experience feel more luxurious. Make sure to trim your wick though!

Featured Photo by Viktor Nikolaienko on Unsplash