For its first store in Los Angeles — and largest ever — Byredo pulled out all the stops. The Swedish lifestyle brand settled on Melrose Avenue for its newest boutique which opened as during Frieze LA. With a picturesque minimal interior, the new store is a piece of art itself.
Byredo’s founder and creative director Ben Gorham worked closely with the Swedish architecture firm Halleroed to create a serene atmosphere. Combining elements of Scandinavian minimalism with a West Coast cool, which the brand refers to as ‘warm Modernism’ in a statement, the airy interior manages to effortlessly marry the visual appeal of an art gallery with the comfort of someone’s house on the hills. Natural materials like hard oak, elder, and American walnut are used alongside aluminum metal accents with pops of color to fully achieve this rustic-industrial effect. In addition to carrying the brand’s popular candles, scents, and other items, the store will also showcase artwork from a roster of artists and collaborators, and host a variety of events to further establish a sense of community.
Byredo is open now at 8920 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90069.
World’s oldest candlemaker (and one we love for holiday gifting,) Cire Trudon debuts six holiday-themed candles this year each in a silver leaf-applied glass. Sparkling with magnetic reflections and luminous surfaces, the inside of the glass is hand applied with silver leaves in a random manner. One the glass is prepared, the candles are filled with Abd el Kader’s silvery-white, Ernesto’s enigmatic black, Fir’s deep metallic blue, Nazareth’s magnetic red, Gabriel’s iridescent khaki, and Hupo’s golden amber solutions. The Christmas Nativity candles form a family of complementary scents, cozy feelings, and a tad bit of magical atmosphere. It only helps to watch the candle making process above with its swoon-worthy hypnotical effect.
Cire Trudon’s Christmas Collection is available at Trudon.com.
Louis Vuitton has partnered with (RED) non-profit for the launch of a candle, the profits of which will be directly donated to the Global Fund to fight AIDS.
The organization founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver in 2006 chose the to partner with the brand as the ultimate creative genius. For the product, Louis Vuitton house Master Perfumer Jacques Cavallier Belletrud was asked to create the finest quality scent. The ultimate olfactory piece offers an embrace with sweet peony, pepper, and floral notes. This sensual candle inspires a sense of love, freedom, warmth, and purity. The final piece was then designed by Marc Newson with a hand-cast, white ceramic flacon and leather handle for portability. The wick and the cover are coated with a vibrate matte red resembling that of (RED).
The Louis Vuitton I (RED) candle will be available on October 9, at Louis Vuitton stores worldwide and online.
Finishing school and entering the workforce means embracing the next chapter of life which typically involves more bills and fewer summers off. Here’s a list of items sure to make the transition from student to regular person is swift and painless.
Byredo Eleventh Hour
This distinct scent is touted as the “last fragrance on Earth,” ironically rendering it the perfect first (and last) fragrance for those ready for something more sophisticated.
Byredo Eleventh Hour 50 ML Eau de Parfum, $165, BYREDO. Available online now at Byredo.com.
Jose Cuervo 40th Anniversary Special
A special anniversary bottle of tequila is the perfect way to celebrate (and forget) decades of schooling.
The latest development in the movie-watching experience: New York City-based production agency A24 (of recent critical hits like Lady Bird and mid90s) reached out to fragrance designer Frederick Bouchardy of Joya with a simple yet innovative idea: create a line of scented candles inspired by six classic Hollywood film categories.
The candles tell the stories of Horror, Western, Thriller, Noir, Adventure, and Musical genres, designed to stand alone as well as a cohesive group. “There are things that carry through the whole collection: a couple kinds of geranium; ambers and patchouli and dank woody things… The candles have signature complementary elements,” Bouchardy said in a statement.
With scent descriptions like, “Horror: Leathery. Dank. Not Unsettling, but not settling…” or “Noir: Velvety. Dark. A little spicy. Like rose jam,” the flavors are complex, intelligent, and most of all, sensuous. Seeing how cinematic technology has come as far as it has, smell has yet to make its way into the experience… until now. Each candle comes encased in a thick-lipped glass vessel with glossy black finishing and each aroma is labeled with a color and a number to distinguish the six variations.
The candles are available online now at A24 and Joya, as well as at the Joya studio in Brooklyn.
Dior, La Mer, Balmain, oh my! Why not gift someone (or yourself) a gift a month ahead of the Holidays instead to give them 24 days of petit surprises. Advent Calendars are back from your childhood with a mini-makeover, a luxury touch of beauty products, perfume, and only the best chocolate this season.
DIOR
Oh to be in Paris for the holidays, precisely 30 Avenue Montaigne.. at the Hose of Dior, of course. Every year the flagship store host some of the city’s most impressive light decorations and this year Dior also transfers the magical facade onto its annual advent calendar. Find your own cadeux behind the 24 windows of Dior.
What better way to try on all the scents from your favorite cologne brand than an advents calendar. The discovery scent from Atelier Cologne is the perfect way to headstart your festive mood starting on December 1st.
Delivered directly from Boulevard Saint-Germain, Dyptique’s compilation of magical treasure boxes includes everyone’s favorite mini-versions of the brand’s iconic candles, fragrances, and body care products. Pst… there’s a 25th surprise too in there.
If it’s good enough for the Queen herself, it’s good for us. The Royal Warrant holder’s advent calendar this year includes a collection of body care (some even rum-soaked,) candles and even Christmas tree decorations.
Opulent Infusions Advent Calendar, Molton Brown, $250
NUXE
Every Frenchman swears by Nuxe’s Huile Prodigeuse and just for that, the brand’s entire holiday gift-set is a minefield of French beauty secrets. Plus there’s tea inside too.
You’re guaranteed 12 days of flawless skin and radiance with the luxury skincare brand’s seasonal offerings. Each of the treatments is infused with cell-renewing Miracle Borth and the brand’s secret ingredient of flow-boosting luminosity.
From the God of Chocolate himself all the way in Brussels, we’d forgo any gift for a set of Marcolini’s chocolate. Indulge your sweet-tooth before the holidays even start.
Travel into this holiday season with a mini-case of Kiehl’s skincare featuring cleansers, face masks, serums, moisturizers, and more. Remember, no matter what the holidays bring your skin will still look its best.
Another year and yet you’re still not celebrating in Provence. Instead, L’Occitaine brings you a box of whims designed by the imagination and designs of Castelbajac. Your Advent Calendar is now also a work of art, literally.
Satisfy your chocolate craving with the Maison du Chocolate world of delicacies wrapped in a Holiday Dreamland Box ornate with magical animals and snow activities.
Balmain Beauty is the couture of skincare products. Spoil yourself with the brand’s best-selling hair care products. Pst…a great travel sized option before you head out for the holidays.
One of a kind collectible calendar, the Jo Malone edition is surely the most coveted. Wrapped in a sparkly bow, the box holds everything you will need for your glamorous holiday season.
With only 500 pieces available worldwide, the Italian beauty brand evokes 25 days of seasons greetings from the fragrant island of Capri. The compilation features both mini-sized and full-sized pieces from Carthusia’s longstanding collection.
Plunge into your holiday glow with Kaufmann’s seasons best and maybe then you’ll book a trip to her Austrian retreat house as well. With the brand’s dedication to nature, quality, and sustainability, your skin will not only look great but also isn’t hurting the environment.
Moët & Chandon celebrated their 3rd annual Film Festival at Metrograph Theater this past Wednesday with popcorn, bubbles, and 60-second short films. If you couldn’t make the even, no worries, just pour yourself a glass of Moët & Chandon Rosé and revisit the winning films here. But if you’d still like to watch a prestigious film that just came out or a favorite oldie, head over to Lower East Side’s Metrograph Theater. This unique space is a 1920’s original movie theater turned into a chic movie screening space and steak-tartare-eating location. Sounds like date night! Don’t forget the bubbles!
Gibson & Dehn is an all-American floral business from Saratoga Springs, New York that decided to celebrate their 125th anniversary with the creation of six affordable candles and diffusers. The scents are as tender as possible too when the experts of florals take helm. White Tea & Cedar in particular is the least floral and almost gin-tonic-like of the six with nodes of white tea, cedar, sandalwood, amber and even cilantro and lemon.
Add to your calendar: May 1st Primo’s opens in Tribeca offering an Art-Deco space, midnight pasta, and martinis. Ever since Odeon became an institution of late hours and endless vino, Primo’s is ready to challenge those concepts in a new location. See you there!
Nearly 1000 of NYC’s finest dressed in their best last night to join Brooks Brothers at their 200th anniversary at Jazz at Lincoln Center for a formal concert and afterparty. Brooks Brothers is officially older than the Grand Central, Statue of Liberty, and even the Eiffel Tower, but that also means that they’ve been around long enough to host one of New York’s most memorable nights. Post Jazz at Lincoln Center, Brooks Brothers transformed Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola into a gilded speakeasy where the guests danced off their tuxes and swung around in their Zac Posen-exclusives.
For her third album, the Android gets as close to Earth and the results are stunning. Dirty Computer, Janelle Monáe’s highly anticipated album comes out today, accompanied by a 45-minute visual feature (see above). The record–made partially in collaboration with the late Prince–is a breathtaking R&B journey that is already a strong contender for best album of the year. Buy it, stream it, and enjoy being transported into Monáe’s latest fantasy world–lord knows it’s better than here.
The Standard Highline, a luxury boutique hotel located in New York City’s Meat-Packing District, debuts a new candle collaboration with well-known fragrance house Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Established in 2009 with a focus on territory free and delicate fragrances, the olfactive brand’s release is an homage to three iconic cities, New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, that speaks volumes to the intense passion both brands share for sensual creations of luxurious caliber. This limited collection features three candles that are encircled with each city’s specific landmarks and skyline. Debuting in three lush colors—navy, blue, and red—the collection is the picture-perfect way to brighten any office or home with a light, fragrant warmth.
The Standard x Maison Francis Kurkdjian candles are available exclusively at the Standard Shops, 444 W 13th St, New York, NY 10014.
Unless you are of European royalty—and if so, hi!—chances are you haven’t heard of Cire Trudon. Even though the candle makers have been around for decades—officially established as the Maison de Cire Trudon in Paris in 1643, they are literally the oldest wax-producing factory to date—their scents have been kept close to their chests; saved for royal courts (Louis XIV; Queen Marie-Thérèse) and holy churches. Fortunately now—and perfect for the holidays—these sacred scents are available for your own private palaces: whether to set the mood in a way that only expensive candles can, or to switch out that old Diptyque glass with something new. Available in three seasonal scents, each candle comes in a champagne bucket shaped, artisan crafted glass from Vinci, Italy, adorned with Maison de Cire Trudon’s historic emblem.
Maison de Cire Trudon’s seasonal collection ranges from $85 to $510, depending on size, and is available at ciretrudon.com.
