The Diptyque Sapin candle is a limited-edition holiday scent, released every year around Halloween, and it is a delight.
This is one of my favorite Diptyque candles: piney, resin-y, Christmas tree-y, and the perfect companion to the wood-fire smokiness of Feu de Bois. The candle evolves slightly every year, with different packaging, scent, and occasionally governing concept (see Sapin de Nuit, Sapin de Lumière, etc., below), but in all these versions it remains a superior candle for the holidays.
The only reason it’s not on my list of the best Diptyque candles is because it’s only available for a brief period every year: If you’re reading this during the holiday season and you want your space to immediately feel like Christmas, Sapin is for you.
Diptyque Sapin Candle: 2026 Edition
Every year both the scent and the packaging are different — some years more than others. I find the 2026 edition quite similar to 2025, which I thought of as a down-the-middle version of Sapin: rich Christmas tree.
Some years the smokiness comes forward, other years the pine qualities — for both 2026 and 2025, the pine notes predominated for me, which is as I like .
The 2026 visual experience comes courtesy of animator Jean-Simon Roch, who’s filled Diptyque’s “Enchanted Forest” with wooden trees and woodland creatures (reindeer, bunnies, etc).
Diptyque Sapin Candle: A Historical Perspective
The Sapin candle has appeared annually since 2007, and in each edition, the scent has changed every so slightly:
| Year | French name | English name | Notes | Collection | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Epicéa | Spruce | Cedar, birch bark | ||
| 2008 | Pin Sylvestre | Scott’s Pine | Resin | The Basile Collection | |
| 2009 | Sapin | Pine Tree | Cedar, eucalyptus, patchouli | ||
| 2010 | Pin | Pine | Eucalyptus, galbanum, cedar | ||
| 2011 | Epinette | Spruce Tree | Siberian pine, eucalyptus, balsam fir | ||
| 2012 | Sapin Doré | Oriental Spruce | Eucalyptus, Siberian pine, Moroccan artemisia | Arabian Nights | |
| 2013 | Ecorce de Pin | Pine Bark | Siberian pine, cedar, hinoki | Les Fêtes des Lumières | |
| 2014 | Résine | Resin | Canadian balsam fir, menthol | A Winter in Watercolor | |
| 2015 | Sapin | Pine Tree | Cedar, mandarin zest | La Jongle Imaginaire | |
| 2016 | Le Roi Sapin | The Festive Fir Tree | Cedar, patchouli | Une Nuit Chez Diptyque | |
| 2017 | Forêt Givrée | Frosted Forest | Hinoki, mint | Les Constellations | |
| 2018 | Sapin de Lumière | Pine Tree of Light | Balsam fir, cedar | La Légende du Nord | Shop |
| 2019 | Pin Protecteur | Protective Pine | Siberian pine, cedar, herbs | Porte Bonheur | Shop |
| 2020 | Sapin de Nuit | Moonlit Fir | Eucalyptus, rosemary, peppermint | Les Animaux Merveilleux | Shop |
| 2021 | Sapin | Pine Tree | Pine needles, resin | Shop | |
| 2022 | Sapin | Pine Tree | Mountain pine, mimosa | Diptyque’s Map of Stars | Shop |
| 2023 | Sapin | Pine Tree | Pine, resin, cedar | Dancing Flames | Shop |
| 2024 | Sapin | Pine Tree | Pine, resin, cedar | Festive Felt Delicatessen | Shop |
| 2025 | Sapin | Pine Tree | Siberian fir, balsam fir, cedar, moss | Une Nuit de Cire et d’Or | Shop |
| 2026 | Sapin | Pine Tree | Pine, resin, cedar, moss | La Forêt Enchantée de Diptyque | Shop |
A controversial choice? Perhaps. But Sapin de Nuit is Diptyque’s premier pine tree candle.
It’s best understood in the context of Sapin, the brand’s holiday-standard pine tree candle scent.
Sapin — the word means “fir tree” in French, as in the “sapin de Noël,” or Christmas tree — is typically part of the brand’s three-candle, seasonally available holiday set, released every year in late October or early November.
In 2024, the holiday set included Sapin, Étoile (with notes of rose, sandalwood, mimosa, and iris), and Friandise (gingerbread, cinnamon, candied orange peel, and vanilla); in 2023, the holiday set included Sapin, Étincelles (“a festively detailed candle that envelops the end of the year in a comforting scent that blends the smell of a wood fire with delicious notes of coffee and chocolate”), and Neige (“a candle that diffuses a soft harmony of heliotrope and white musks in a cosmic shimmer”). In 2022: It was Sapin, Coton, and Délice.
You see a pattern here involving Sapin. Every year it’s a little different — but the 2020 holiday collection was truly special. With illustrations by Ugo Gattoni, the three-piece set came in red, green, and blue translucent vessels, with images that “recount a Christmas fairytale—a swan, a stag and a lion crossing Paris on Christmas Eve.” The three fragrances: Ambre Plume (cinnamon and orange), Fleur Majesté (roses, spices, and cinnamon) and, finally, and best of all, Sapin de Nuit, Moonlit Fir.
Sapin de Nuit is a lighter, more refined version of Sapin, though they are both based on a pine tree scent — officially, Sapin de Nuit is inspired by the moonlit forests of Canada and Siberia, with notes of eucalyptus, rosemary and peppermint. Sapin is like breathing deeply from a fir tree; Sapin de Nuit is like breathing in the winter air from a nearby lake, then gliding away on your ice skates.
The Next-Best Diptyque Pine Candle Is Sapin (And It’s Still Great)
Sapin is still a terrific candle, if you, like I, love a piney scent. I do find it to be a heavy and dense, so I usually limit my burn to 15 minutes or so — otherwise it can be overwhelming. At a certain point I find it starts to transition into Feu de Bois territory — not just a pine tree but a pine log, if you know what I mean. Of the three, I would prioritize the top Diptyque pine candle range thusly: Sapin de Nuit, Feu de Bois, and then Sapin, which I think is a solid mixture of the two. It’s a lovely, strong, holiday-time candle, and if, for example, you’re skipping a Christmas tree one season, it could make a solid replacement. (By the way, all three of these candles are included on our list of Diptyque’s best candles for winter.)
It’s also worth noting that while the Sapin design changes every year, it usually comes in a really beautiful vessel — typically in green and gold:
In terms of getting ahold of one of these, outside of the holiday season: Though it’s harder to find than Sapin, Sapin de Nuit shows up regularly on eBay and other resellers, as well as intermittently on Diptyque’s Archives sales. Ditto Sapin itself, which is easier to find and in stores from October(ish) through late December(ish) every year.
Two final notes:
- If you’re looking for a less expensive pine candle than Diptyque’s Sapin, there are tons of recs on Reddit for the Frazier Fir.
- And Diptyque had another big revision of Sapin in 2018, called Sapin de Lumière — I bet I would love it, since it’s Sapin with a healthy dose of cedar, but I haven’t smelled it yet. Will update once I do!
