Beauty Bible Loves: Perfumer H candle refills

We have to open by acknowledging tha Perfumer H’s beautiful, blown glass candles cost an arm and a leg, first time round. Created by glassblower Michael Ruh, these exquisite vessels are true collector’s items, which also happen to burn for around 60-80 hours – an impressive amount of time. (A smaller, apothecary-style candle is available in each of the fragrances, though – and more affordably so, with a good burn-time of 35 hours.)

Now, a while back, Jo remembered that maybe a decade ago, in the early days of Lyn Harris’s incarnation as Perfumer H (after years at the creative helm of her brand Miller Harris), she’d splashed out on one of the glass candles. Searched high and low for it. And then found it, prepping for Christmas, at the back of the vase cupboard.

She popped in to Perfumer H on Clifford Street (our favourite outpost of this perfume brand, which we wrote about here), and got herself a refill. MUCH more affordable – and most pleasing on the ‘waste-not-want-not’ front. With more than a dozen candles to choose from, you don’t have to get the same scent as a refill – though Jo did, with the SMOKE, which is all cosy winter nights, fireplaces and (yes) smokiness.

It was a tough choice, though, between that an INK – a fabulous evocation of ink on paper, with notes of cedarwood, frankincense, papyrus, vetiver and juniper – or maybe CHATEAU, originally created for a French wine estate called Château Leboscq, conjuring this unique setting with pines, oaks and vines, ruffled by sea breezes. (Vine fruit, green leaf, cedar and green leaf all feature in the blend.) You could definitely spent quite a happy sniffing session, checking out the whole collection (all of which come in individual shades of glass, for the large candles).

There is something deeply satisfying about investing in a precious vessel, and later getting a refill for it. Without getting all poncy, it speaks of a slower life and a time when objects were precious and valued.

And are we the only ones who think the world needs more of that?

Perfumer H Hand-blown Candles/from £170 for 325g – buy here

Perfumer H candle refills/from £85– buy here

Perfumer H candles/from £60 for 175g – buy here