Once upon a time there was wax… and it still is, to tell the truth! Candles have accompanied the history of men and women over the centuries. The children play with melting the wax on their fingers and solidifying it to look like monsters or, more simply, for the sake of manipulating that ductile and slippery compound. Hopeful youngsters fill tables and rooms with candles and candlesticks, exposing the buildings to the risk of fire (even if they were fireworks factories!). Many perfume companies engage in the creation of scented candles, which, once lit, release their fragrance intensely. Wow, the berry candle Black Baies di Diptyque tastes like wild berries when the flame flickers!
Scented candles: impossible to resist
"It's raining, it's raining, the cat doesn't move, the candle is lit". Sure, holding the snot to accompany your friend to your new flame is a bit irritating, but can we compare it to a sublime whirlpool surrounded by scented candles with olfactory notes matching those of bath salts? Or at a candlelight dinner, where "I see, I don't see and who knows what the after-dinner will be like"?
The mechanic or the driver, when they think of spark plugs, think of electrical devices that release sparks to trigger endothermic processes and would never want to have to resort to candles to do their job. Let us imagine the pilots of the early 900s getting out of their motor carriage and lighting (who knows how) the candle inside the lantern placed on the fenders: the Saigon by Pierre Guillaume or the Exit The King di Etat Libre d’Orange!
Then there are also those who worry about the possible toxicity of scented candles, especially the more paraffin ones. Given that beeswax does not contain disturbing chemical elements (not even during combustion), perfumers are also concerned with this aspect.
Scented candles warm the soul
Given the period leading up to the commemoration of All Saints, "if the flames of the candles / like stars shine / don't be frightened: they will warm you up", as I Gufi sang in the 60s. Maybe using one Wood Sage & Sea Salt di Jo Malone London, or another of her unusual fragrance combinations.
The more nostalgic (or those who get carried away by a slight pre-modern inspiration) could read a nice Tolstoy-style "brick" in the light of a Library di Byredo.
The nonconformist at all costs (the one ready to "stand against" to the end!) will light his freshly rolled cigarette in the flame of a scented candle secret oud di Carthusia, so as not to let his parents hear what he is smoking while he is disserting on Benedetto Croce's ideological positions regarding the twenty years.
The “accursed” will light up his “darkroom” with a Ebony di Culti Milano, searching for a hidden Africanness while practicing Corey Taylor growl/scream.
For those who never want to burn them, “because they are so beautiful”: you could even change them every now and then! Is this the definitive answer? Shall we light it? The Treccani dictionary describes the term candle as derived from the Latin verb candle, or “to be white, to shine”. It might be one of the few times the game is worth the candle…
