Cire Trudon

Cire Trudon, a venerable candlemaking business that began dipping its wicks in 1643, became the official wax supplier to the royal court in 1713, fashioning scented candles for Marie Antoinette and later for Napoleon. In recent years, though, while the fashion world raved about Diptyque, Cire Trudon kept a somewhat lower profile, providing classic candles for Parisian churches instead. But in 2007 the brand underwent a major revamp at the hands of renegade stylist and self-designated “serial entrepreneur” Ramdane Touhami, who redesigned the boutique and supervised the creation of twelve new fragrances, including Carmelite (“the scent of old stone walls in the shade of cloisters and convents”) and Calabre, a heady mix of incense, myrrh, musk and amber. Trudon’s new candles caused a big buzz, and fashionistas flocked.  Special boxed sets—Odeurs Royales and Odeurs Impériales—include three miniature candles, and the intriguingly named Boules Pouantes (“stink bombs” in English) are designed to perfume the atmosphere outdoors when thrown on the ground.

78 rue de Seine, 6th, 01.43.26.46.50. website

Originally published in the January 2009 issue of France Today; updated in December 2012