Review: Diptyque - Baies
Dyptique Baies 300g
Baies is a perennial classic and a gateway into designer candles.
Overview
Baies is a seminal candle and arguably Diptyque's most famous scent along with Figuier and Feu De Bois. It's even been dubbed the scent of Paris. But beyond being a namesake for the french house since the scent was launched in 1983, Baies is the perfect entry point into higher-end candles for a few reasons:
First is the scent. Baies is at once accessible and pleasantly noticeable without being overpowering. This is can be attributed to the balanced scent profile that discussed further on in the review.
Then there are the candle sizes that are readily available for this particular scent. You have the entire spectrum offered for Baies: from the mini-version (70g) all the way up to a large indoor size (1500g) which can suit a variety of particular needs. If you are just dipping your toes into luxury candles and don’t want to break the bank, their mini-version is a great entry point.
Lastly is the aesthetic appeal of the Diptyque brand. Diptyque's designs remain as timeless as when they launched their house in 1961. Their insignia carries an elegance that can live well beyond a candles lifetime.
Scent
While “Baies” translates to "Berries" from french, that isn't what first comes to mind — at least for me. What does Baies smell like? Scents are always very difficult to describe in words so always best to refer to a fragrance wheel as a framework.
At a high-level, the notes at the forefront of this fragrance are floral and fruity, but Baies is not powdery or sweet. The detailed notes give insight into how it is constructed:
Notes:
Summer roses
Blackcurrent leaves
Bulgarian Roses
The scent is a pleasant mix of floral and fruity, but it doesn't over-index on either family. It's a clean, balanced scent — the rose note takes a back seat to the blackcurrant. It should also be noted that despite the scent families, this definitely isn’t a "feminine" scent per se and can be appreciated by men and women alike.
The scent is also very distinct and once you’ve spent some time with it, you'll quickly recognize it in restaurants, boutiques and hotels.
Size
Baies comes in the following sizes:
Mini: 70g (30 hour burn time)
Standard: 190g (60 hour burn time)
Colored: 300g (90 hour burn time)
Large Indoor: 1500g (150 hour burn time)
To calculate your burn time for a candle, someone made this handy calculator with wax type as a variable. While this might be a hot take, I generally try and burn my candles for at least four hours per session (while checking in from time to time to track how it’s burning). Why? Because I’ve found that any less could lead to the part of wax surface to remain solid and eventually resulting in tunneling over time.
In practice, that means that the 300g candle that has 90 hours of burn time could be burned for approximately 22.5 times assuming 4 hours per session. If one does that once a week, that candle could last up to 6 months.
Throw:
For an overview of “throw” and other candle terminology, take a glance at Wax and Glass’s terminology guide.
As the guide describes, cold throw is the scent given off a candle when it is not lit. A candle with strong cold throw would be one that, when unboxed, would be noticeable in the room.
Hot throw on the other hand is the scent given off a candle when it is lit. Similarly, a candle with strong hot throw would one that when lit, fills the room up with the scent.
What’s important to note is that throw can be influenced my many factors — room size, candle size, burn time, etc.
Cold Throw:
In my experience with the 300g candle size in an average sized bedroom, Baies had a relatively low cold throw. That is to say, I didn’t pick-up the scent without the candle being lit. Note that that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Generally speaking, I have found that most luxury candles have lower cold throw than other scented candles because they steer clear of strong synthetic scents.
Hot Throw:
I found that has a medium to high hot throw. The scent fills the room perfectly but is subtle enough that it is not overpowering.
Summary:
In summary, for folks new to this seemingly pretentious world of luxury candles, Baies is a great way to see what all the fuss is about.
For the converted, I won't preach to the choir. Baies can be likened to a Cartier Tank, a Chanel Bag or a Ranger Rover. A perennial classic that will never go out of style.
The french house’s take on amber is warm, rich and rewarding.