The most popular Diptyque candle is clear: It’s Baies.
Also known as “The Carrie Bradshaw Candle” (after style director Jess Willis added it to Carrie’s home accessories mélange in Sex and the City season four), Baies is an icon, beloved of celebrities, smelling of blackcurrants and roses.
“Baies” means “berries” in French. I would argue that it does not smell like berries at all. It does smell exactly like the Votivo Red Currant candle, though I cannot which came first, or which was the dupe, if either. In any case, the more important note is that these are both terrible smells.
Most Diptyque fans love Baies. I am in the minority who absolutely cannot stand it. It’s the only Diptyque candle I’ve bought and not finished burning. Friend, I left it above the mailbox and let one of my neighbors make the mistake of bringing it home. Baies, in my opinion, is strong, acrid, and overwhelming. It looks as stylish as all Diptyque candles, and if you have a spare $235, you can pick one up in a stylish black vessel.
But all in all: Baies is both the most popular Diptyque candle, and among the worst. If you’ve been thinking about Baies, here are some alternatives. (Unless of course you want the straight dupe: Votivo Red Currant.)
You Can Skip Baies — But You Want Another Most Popular Diptyque Candle
Feu de Bois is nearly as iconic as Baies.
These two candles are nothing alike scent-wise: Baies is a prototypical summer candle, with a fruity/juicy smell, and Feu de Bois is autumn emblemized. If “All Too Well” was a candle, it would be Feu de Bois.
Imagine your coziest winter cabin, on the shore of Lake Michigan, and inside a roaring fire. Feu de Bois smells even better than that cabin.
As many times as someone’s asked me to name my favorite Diptyque candle, I’ve always chosen this one. It’s an icon, and it’s perfect.
You Can Skip Baies — But You Want Another Perfect Summer Fragrance
The answer: Jasmin.
Summer flowers are at their best when they’re most overwhelming — like walking past a lilac bush on a warm June night.
Jasmin is warm, envelopping, overwhelming — it’s like walking into a memory of a best-ever summer evening.
You Can Skip Baies — But Want Something Super Strong
Baies gets a lot of things wrong — but intensity of scent is not among them. Clearly that’s part of its popularity: Light for 30 minutes and your space will smell of red currants all day long. It’s strong and unmistakable. (It is also unpleasant lol.)
Both of the candles above are super strong, but I would argue the strongest among the rest of them is Ambre.
Many Diptyque candles are strong — I’ll add Sapin to that list. But none really coat the room, if you know what I mean, better than Ambre, which is a heady, sultry, ultra-romantic scent. If you’re shopping for Valentine’s Day, you can do better.
Ambre’s the only Diptyque candle that I’ve smelled a day after I burned it.
You Can Skip Baies — But Want a Celebrity Favorite
There’s no answer but Figuier, beloved of Meghan Markle and Victoria Beckham. I personally don’t love it! And Kate Hudson is on the record as preferring Eucalyptus, which I like more. But Figuier
