Review: Diptyque Damascena, Centifolia Rose Candles & Eau Rose Hair Mist 🌹🕯❤️

I wasn’t going to do a review of my new Diptyque Candles as Paris wrote up a great review with some amazing photos to boot, but then I thought I would because these are my very first Diptyque candles and I wanted to share my experience with you 😊 Plus, I also got a hair mist which is worth reviewing!

Diptyque is a French brand that has been making luxury candles since 1963. When I was younger, I wouldn’t have spent a lot of money on candles because you use them up so quickly and what student has hundreds of dollars to burn?!? Literally lol! 🔥 I also would read about famous people in magazines travelling with Diptyque candles in order to make hotel rooms feel like ‘home’. I thought (and still do) that is totally wanky, so you won’t find me doing that 😂🤣 but I do appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into products like this now and am lucky enough to splurge on something that is totally unnecessary from time to time.

Diptyque always releases a candle for Valentines day. They are always rather sweet and floral, which suits this time of year. I almost bought last years candle, ‘Rose Delight’, however I had the chance to smell it in-store and it was waaaay too sweet for my liking (it was a play on the dessert ‘Turkish delight’ and hence was a marshmallow, rose essence based scent).  This year when I saw that they had released two candles that are also rose scented but more true to two specific rose varieties, I thought they would be perfect for me! I love rose scented things generally but I like it when there is a small twist on the generic rose scent. To keep it fresh and interesting – you feel me??? 🥰 So I dived in and asked my boyfriend to buy me one of the candles for my birthday, without having smelt them in store 😧 I know risky… but I had read Paris’ review and wasn’t paying for it myself so I was feeling adventurous LOL! As you can then guess, I loved the first candle that arrived (Centifolia) so I quickly ordered the second candle (Damascena) and the Rose hair mist. I’m happy to report that I love all three products and will give you my thoughts on each below!

Centifolia (limited edition)

Cultivated in the Grasse region of France since the 16th century, the Centifolia rose is also called the May rose for the month in which it is harvested. It comes by its Latin name (centum=one hundred + folio=leaf) because of its profusion of petals, said to number one hundred. This lush feature inspired the candle’s container design and package illustration. To fully experience its scent, one must go into a field of roses at dawn in May, just before the harvest… Beautifully housed in edgy, colourful packaging designed by French artist Jeanne Detallante.The Centifolia candle may be lit alone or with the Damascena candle from the same collection.

Pierre-Joseph REDOUTÉ

Apparently this is the first time that the Centifolia Rose has been used in perfumery. Isn’t that strange??? I wonder why… maybe you need a lot of roses to extract even a teeny tiny amount of scented oil? Who knows, but this fact does make the Centifolia candle a bit special! 🌹🌟 It has peppery blackcurrant base notes. These base notes bring out the ‘freshness’ of the rose scent. It’s light and airy, but distinctively rosey nonetheless. If you inhale the scent of the candle (big deep breathe!) you will smell the peppery blackcurrant notes! Despite being light and airy to a large degree, when I unpacked the candle and left it in my room (not yet lit/burned) and I came back to my room a few hours later and I could smell the candle from it’s cardboard box! I had just removed the plastic wrapping from the box. I’m really happy about that because you know a decent amount of oil/perfume has been added to the candle (it’s 8-12% of concentrated perfume apparently, depending on the candle scent). The candles aren’t massive – 190g – but they should burn for up to 60 hours which is impressive.

I love that this years candles aren’t in a clear jar with just a sticker on the glass…. but rather the glass has a matte vivid colour and the brand logo is embossed into the glass. The print on the glass (that goes all around the candle) represents the outline of the rose that was used in the candle (so for Centifolia it’s the shape of the Centifolia rose petals). That’s pretty cool and makes these candles more special 😊

Damascena (limited edition)

The Damascena rose is also called the Damask rose in honor of its place of origin. According to folklore, it was brought to Europe during the Crusades, as its name refers to its origin of the city of Damascus. Its dense and luxurious flowers inspired the candle’s container design and package illustration.A rich, intoxicating ode to the Damask rose, softly layered with syrupy notes to fill the home with a generous, heady fragrance that perfectly captures the wild rose in every facet.The Damascena candle may be lit alone or with the Centifolia candle from the same collection.

Old illustration of Rosa damascena. Created by P. R. Redoute, published on Les Roses, Imp. Firmin Didot, Paris, 1817-24

Damascena is based on the scent of the Damask rose. It is a rose used commonly in perfumery because of it’s an exceptionally fragrant rose. It’s used in cosmetics and perfumery very often because of it’s strong fragrant qualities. It’s probably the typical ‘rose scent’ we would all recognise and expect to find in rose scented products. The base of the Damascena candle is honey. It’s a heavier scent than the Centifolia candle, but it’s not sickly sweet IMO.

Introducing Rosa damascenaThe damask rose is a hybrid between the Rosa gallica and Rosa Phoenicia/Rosa moschata or possibly Rosa fedtschenkoana 1. While the rose is supposed to have originated near the Caucasus Mountains, Rosa damascena is thought to have been developed in Damascus in Syria.Although the birthplace of the damask rose is in West Asia, with the spread of the Ottoman Empire into Eastern Europe, rose cultivation became popular in Bulgaria 2. Today the flower is mainly cultivated in Turkey, Bulgaria and Morocco. This is why it is also known as the Turkish rose or Bulgarian rose. These countries are also the leading manufacturers and exporters of rose oil 3. Source: https://www.griffinandrow.com/our-ingredients/damask-rose/

I can see why you could burn both candles at the same time as they definitely compliment & balance each other. In a large space, burning them together would certainly fill the room superbly with the scent of roses, but for a small bedroom (like mine) I would burn them one at a time so it isn’t overkill.

I thought picking a favourite would be easy, Centifolia is fresher and more complex, yet Damscena is nostalgic and truly floral. Fans of rose scents will appreciate both. I think they make amazing gifts because they are certainly quite fancy! I am really happy to own both and am super happy that I waited (even subconsciously) for this years Valentines release ❤️🌹

Burning them will be a bit painful, but they are here to be enjoyed and they will get wasted if you leave them sitting somewhere for years. Diptyque sell ceramic candle lids that help preserve your candles scent, but they seem to be super hard to find atm and Mecca doesn’t have them in stock. They are a really good idea as you want to look after such expensive goodies. As soon as I get my hands on them I will give you the details.

Candle Care

1. On first burn, ensure that the candle is left to burn until the entire top area of wax is melted, this may take a few hours but will ensure an even burn and help stop tunnelling.

2. After blowing out the candle, re-centre and straighten the wick to ensure an even burn next time. 

3. Before re-lighting, trim the wick to ¼ inch in length, this will allow a slower burn and help avoid black smoke marks around the edge of the vessel.

Each candle costs $105 from Mecca Cosmetica (for the 190g sized candle) but you can also get smaller sizes if paying that much hurts your wallet too much… the 70g candle costs $56 Australian dollars. Just note that the larger candles give you more value for your money. There is a duo pack of the two smaller sized Centifolia and Damascena candles, but I can’t find them online atm. You should definitely still be able to find them at Mecca Cosmetica boutiques however.

Eau Rose Hair Mist 🌹💦 (limited edition)

The Eau Rose Hair Mist is based on the permanent original ‘rose’ scent found in the Diptyque line (there’s a candle, perfume, shower gel, soap etc.). It’s not a new scent per se, but they’ve packaged up the hair mist along with some other products (hand cream, face oil, soap, drawer liners etc) in the logos of this years limited edition rose collection. For the hair mist, it was only the box that had the Centifolia candle colours and print, but I don’t mind this. The glass bottle of the hair mist itself is frosted and has the same label and print as the permanent Eau Rose collection.

Refine your beauty transparently…Light and delicate, this hair mist leaves an almost undetectable but intensely scented veil of fragrance on the hair. Enriched with nourishing, protective camellia oil, it is a product that both perfumes and beautifies. With its lightness, it also offers a new score for the Eau Rose composition, which becomes vibrant and zesty, subtly elevated by a fresh, spicy note. After washing your hair, rinse it with cold water to strengthen the capillary fibres. This will help your hair more effectively absorb the hair mist.

This is another product that I ordered blindly, without smelling it first lol I probably should stop doing that…. I thought this rose scent being the a permanent fragrance in the line, would be quite heavy like the scent of the Damascena candle. In the hair mist at least, it isn’t heavy in the slightest! There is a citrus note in there somewhere (maybe orange or grapefruit?) which lifts the scent beautifully. I also wouldn’t call it ‘spicy’ myself, but rather gently woody. It’s still rosey – but not an ‘old lady’ potpourri type rosey lol I love that it’s more sophisticated than a standard one dimensional rose oil and isn’t so sweet and floral that it could offend people (say, in a work environment).

The instructions for using the hair mist is interesting, i.e. rinsing your hair in cold water (after washing) and spraying your hair when damp. I imagine that the hair mist would cling to damp hair strands more intensely, but the problem is if you use hair styling products or leave in conditioner because all of those other products contain fragrances which would either muddle or cover up the Eau Rose scent. So I don’t take the advice of the brand, but rather use it as a ‘finishing’ product for my hair – just like how you use perfume on your body right before going out, as the last step of your ‘routine’. It’s hard to smell the perfume in my hair myself but it does linger beautifully for hours in your strands.

I love hair mists! I think they are so underrated and are definitely as special as using a seriously expensive perfume on your skin, without the price tag of a regular perfume.  You can use regular perfume in your hair of course (another great trick and tip!) but hair mists tend to be gentler on your hair by containing oils which balance out the alcohol used to make the perfume. In this case Diptyque have used Camellia oil.

I am also very happy with this purchase! The 30ml hair mist comes in at $70 and would also make a beautiful gift for a loved one.

I think I can say that I am impressed with the brand (first impressions for what its worth) and will continue to check out their new collections and permanent line of candles. What also draws me to the Diptyque brand is the logos of their products and brand. To me the fonts and graphics are kinda Medieval in character (don’t burst my bubble ok…) and I really love this! Maybe it’s because I love history and it’s a bit different, but in any case I love packaging of their products! Apparently they also do mega-sized candles but I don’t know if these are available in Aus. I also wouldn’t want to see it’s price tag, so I will pretend they don’t exist… 🤣🤣🤣

It is totally up to you to decide if you can splurge on something from the Diptyque line. There are sooo many good quality candles out there now, made by smaller artisan brands, that you really don’t need to spend money on Diptyque candles if you don’t feel you can or should. Keep this in mind because the pressure to ‘keep up’ with social media and luxury brands gets ridiculous.

Have you splurged on Diptyque candles before? Would you??? Let me know in the comments below!

Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

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