Introducing Muse, a candle by Frances Loom
Two things you might now know about me are that I'm a super smeller (I have a hard time finding candles and scents I like, but always on the hunt), and I live for Matt's morning flat-whites. They're delicious coffee beans, a little bit of chocolate, lots of frothy oat milk, made every morning without fail (yep, he's a keeper!) and brought to me in bed. We combined my love of scents with my morning coffee ritual, and Muse was born.
The scents I’m always attracted to are fresh, clean, light, and airy. I appreciate other fragrances on other people or in other homes, but heavy, smoky, leathery, patchouli, palo santo – those kinds of smells are just too strong for me. There has to be some complexity too, and a gourmand element. Kind of like coffee and fresh flowers, or citrus with vanilla. A blend of not-too-sweet, not-too-spicy. Matt calls me Goldilocks – it has to be just right.
Anywhooo, this story actually began with the vessel, rather than the fragrance of the candle. Since I cherish our morning coffee ritual so much, over the past few years, I’ve been collecting really beautiful coffee cups. When I came across this particular ceramicist, my first thought was how amazing it would be if he could create something big enough to fit an eight-ounce flat white. Fortunately, he was up for it, so we went back and forth coming up with a new design and eventually landed on this - perfectly proportioned, such a pleasing shape to hold in your hands, and with an oversized lip to sip from.
The candle was the second thought - everyone loves the idea of reusing the vessels their candles come in, but the vessel itself often feels like an afterthought. For Muse, we worked backward – starting with the permanent object you’ll get years of use out of, and adding a delicious candle to make it extra special. You can treat yourself or gift a loved one a really nice candle. Enjoy it while it burns, then thoroughly wash the vessel out, and you're left with one of the greatest coffee cups you’ll ever own.
Now for the all-important scent! Around the same time of designing the coffee cup, I found out my very favorite candle was being discontinued. There are a few candles I love, but this was my absolute go-to scent (it got me thinking about why it’s always the favorite that happens to be the one they stop making?? Argh). So I thought it would be fun to make my own; to know exactly what ingredients go into it, and never have to worry about not being able to get hold of one again. The idea of making a custom scent was also appealing because I'm fussy and always on the hunt for yummy smells. Funny enough, it's ended up being quite different from my original inspo, but to me it's even better!
The goddess vibe is what brings it all together; the relief of Aphrodite’s head on the cup and the sweet, juicy fragrance of the candle. Aphrodite is the Goddess of both love and beauty, and has associations with pleasure and desire. To me, few things feel more pleasurable than treasured rituals, small acts of love, nostalgic scents, and beautiful things.
So, what does Muse smell like? It smells sweet and fresh, with juicy top notes of mostly blackcurrant with a hint of bergamot. The sweetness is balanced by a touch of tomato leaf, and a smidge of rose for roundness. It’s light and yummy but not sickly sweet or overpowering.
The MUSE candle is available now!
There are only 100 of these limited edition candles, so be quick to snap one up before I stockpile them for my own home!
