Home has truly taken centre stage this year, becoming our new workplace, entertainment hub and sanctuary from the craziness of the outside world. Despite the disruption to the retail industry, IKEA recently unveiled its long-awaited collaboration with Ben Gorham of Byredo, the renowned Stockholm-based perfume house.
Three years in the making, this affordable limited edition collection of 13 scented candles explores the emotions, memories and comfort associated with our homes. Appropriately named OSYNLIG – ‘invisible’ in Swedish – it considers scent as a form of design that cannot be seen but has the power to transform.
Each candle is poured into a stunning ceramic pot glazed with an ombre effect in two colours chosen to best reflect the mood of the scent and blend naturally with its surroundings. The triangle motif is not only a cool design feature but it represents how we smell perfume, from the vibrant opening top notes through to the rounded heart and the long-lasting base notes.
The candles come in three different sizes, so you can mix and match a few scents or invest in a statement piece. There’s the cute travel-size mini (£5), the classic with the addition of a stylish ceramic lid (£9) and the maxi statement candle with four wicks (£25).
The carefully-composed fragrances have three different bases – fresh, floral and woody – and they are all surprisingly layered and complex. To make them even more interesting, burn a few candles at the same time to experiment and create a personalised scent, as recommended by the creator.
I managed to get my hands on three candles in each size from the IKEA Greenwich store, but they’re so fabulous I’m tempted to try a few more on my next visit. In the mini size, I went for Fig & Cypress from the fresh family. It has a clean, uplifting scent with notes of verdant ripe figs, bright spring daffodils and a touch of earthiness from the cypress.
I’m guessing everyone has bought IKEA’s classic vanilla candle at some point in their lives, but Gorham’s Sandalwood & Vanilla candle takes it to the next level. It’s sophisticated and sultry with a hint of powdery incense, evoking the romance of a dusty old Parisian library. It also reminds me of Byredo’s alluring Bal d’Afrique perfume.
The most impactful candle for me is the sweet, spicy Tobacco & Honey, as it’s just so intense and luxurious. It floods the room with an intoxicating blend of smoky tobacco leaves, heady vanilla, roasted coffee and sticky cinnamon buns (so very IKEA). It also has a robust note of Scotch, like drinking a Penicillin cocktail in a dimly-lit cocktail bar.
Some of the other tempting fragrances include Rose & Raspberry, Cassis & Freesia, Tea Leaves & Verbena, Lilac & Amber and Swedish Birch & Juniper.
The IKEA x Byredo OSYNLIG candles are so gorgeous and covetable that you’ll want to collect them all and repurpose them afterwards. With travel off the agenda for a while, why not add a touch of Swedish style to your home to lighten up the chilly winter months?
The Byredo OSYNLIG candles are priced from £5 to £25 and are available now in most IKEA stores for a limited time only.
Images courtesy of IKEA
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