Candle Wax: Soy vs Paraffin

There has been much debate over the “best” wax for candles. 

Generally speaking, the more luxury candle brands tend to use soy wax, or blends of it in their candle making. This could be due to the perception that soy wax is somehow superior, (being “natural”) but also due to its appearance: soy wax has a creamy opaque texture, whereas paraffin is whiter and slightly translucent. Soy candles tend to burn slower than paraffin ones and require a higher percentage of fragrance to create a good scent – therefore are usually more expensive to produce.

However, to put arguments to rest The National Candle Association has provided the following statements:

• All waxes are primarily hydrocarbons, whether of animal, vegetable, or petroleum origin. The chemical composition of all candle making waxes is similar, and all candle waxes burn in the same manner.
• No specific type of wax or wax blend is considered 'best' for candle making. All waxes - when provided in high-quality format - have been shown to burn cleanly, safely and in the same manner.
• No candle wax has ever been shown to be toxic or harmful to human health.
• There is no such thing as a soot-free wax.

It is often claimed that soy wax is better because it is 'more natural' and 'less harmful to the environment' than paraffin. However this is a misnomer!

Paraffin is a by-product of the petroleum industry, therefore something that already exists and is made use of - so no additional harm to the environment there.

Also the processes to harvest soy and convert into wax uses petroleum in various capacities (vehicles used to harvest, transport, etc.) so really the so-called 'eco-friendly' nature of soy is questionable. 

Some people claim allergies to paraffin-based candles and this may be true, however it is more likely the allergy is caused by a particular fragrance composition rather than the wax.

Really, it is down to personal preference.  That is not to say that all candles are of equal quality. You can get poor quality of either waxes, so you want to still ensure whether you are buying candles with soy or paraffin that they are still of a good value.

Have you had good or bad experiences with either paraffin or soy candles? Please leave a comment - I would love to hear your thoughts :-)

Fragrance Profile - 'Marilyn'

Well, the inspiration for this fragrance speaks for itself.

I created this artwork especially for my mum, turning the epitome of Hollywood icons into a Bollywood empress. When transforming her initially I had her with a brown hair but it just didn’t sit right! So, she remains the blonde bombshell but with a decidedly ethnic persona.

“I am involved in a freedom ride protesting the loss of the minority rights belonging to the few remaining earthbound stars. All we demanded was our right to twinkle.” - Marilyn Monroe

TOP: Bergamot, Orange Flower, Star Anise
MID: White Jasmine, Peach, Pink Pepper, Nutmeg
BASE: Musk, Coffee, Vanilla, Cedarwood

An enchanting combination of white jasmine, sweet orange flower and pink pepper creates an aroma of soft, honeyed nectar.

This is an intoxicatingly feminine fragrance. You can almost envision a flirty, powdery pink mist in the air as it is burning. Like walking into a room wearing rose-tinted glasses, it will instantly indulge and set an aura of romance and delight before you.

Fragrance Profile - 'Lulu'

When going through the fragrance selection and development process, this one actually surprised me. Usually a huge fan of sweet, heady, oriental fragrances I was taken aback by how much I loved this scent even though it was incredibly fresh and floral. It has a real verdant quality and the Moroccan mint overtones add a hint of sophistication as well as a suggestion of the exotic.

My ‘Lulu’ artwork is based on an old hollywood image of the silent movie star Louise Brooks - the instigator of the ‘bob’ haircut and arguably the original “flapper girl”.

The fragrance inspired from this artwork reflects the luxuriant rose background and cool tone, together with the wonderful air of sophistication exuding from that 1920s/30s glamour. 

TOP NOTES: Orange, Freesia, Green Leaf, Mint

MIDDLE NOTES: Tuberose, Peony, Lily, Spices

BASE NOTES: Musk, Vanilla, Vetiver, Amber, Wood

"I never gave anything away without wishing I had kept it; nor kept it without wishing I had given it away." - Louise Brooks

It is a beautiful bouquet of blossoming freesia and tuberose, with a wonderfully airy accent of leafy mint. I can think of no better way to describe it other than how I imagine Nick Caraway’s flower-filled cottage to smell in that scene from Baz Luhrman’s Great Gatsby…

Honestly the scent will have you sitting right in the middle of that room - together with the mysterious millionaire amongst a plethora of lavish floral adornments, listening to the misty backdrop of pouring rain outside the window.

Fragrance Profile - Mata Hari

For today’s fragrance profile I feel it is important to detail a bit about the history of the character who inspired the fragrance.

‘Mata Hari’ is Malay for ‘sun’ or literally “eye of the day”.

It was the stage name taken by Margreet Zelle Macleod, an exotic dancer and courtesan who was executed under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I.

Born in the Netherlands, she moved to Indonesia to start a family but with the dissolution of her marriage then moved to Paris and remained in Europe for the rest of her life.

She began to earn fame as an exotic dancer, posing as an Indonesian princess of priestly Hindu birth, professing a background in the art of sacred Indian dance since childhood. This story of cultural ambiguity fascinated me, and I was inspired to create an artwork based on an iconic image of her as part of ‘The Empress Collection’.

She was known for elaborately exotic, asian-inspired, heavily bejewelled costumes - all photos of which were in black and white. So, it was incredibly exciting for me to bring them to life through colour, pattern and embellishments.

Her career went into decline after 1912 and she subsequently became a successful courtesan. She had relationships with many high-ranking officials in influential positions, and it was the movements related to this part of her life that caused her to come under scrutiny as an alleged spy and double agent.

In 1917 she was convicted and executed, accused of spying for Germany and consequently causing the deaths of at least 50,000 soldiers. Supposedly secret ink (incriminating evidence at the time) was found in her room, which she contended was part of her make-up. 

To many, although by no means considered an ‘innocent’ woman, she remains an unfortunate scapegoat, sentenced as much for her curious profession as for her apparent crimes. 

If anyone is interested in learning more about her history, there is a detailed account here. Her extremely colourful life story is fascinating, brimming with intrigue and an almost incredulous account of a woman who is now synonymous with the idea of a femme fatale. 

“My dance is a sacred poem in which each movement is a word and whose every word is underlined by music”

In keeping with Mata Hari’s mysterious background, the corresponding scent in our candle collection is wonderfully complicated and almost impossible to decipher.

TOP NOTES: Crisp Green, Citrus, Fruity

MIDDLE NOTES: Fig, Aquatic, Caviar, Salty

BASE NOTES: Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Musk

A combination of surprising notes, the result is an unpredictable fragrance that seems to smell different each time you light it. Breezy aquatic notes balance a combination of fruity berries and musk with woody undertones. It smells freshly modern and stately timeless all at the same time, while maintaining an unmistakably alluring quality.

Congratulations to the winner of this fragrance who entered our giveaway via instagram - Rosie Whetstone!

Our fourth and final giveaway is taking place this week and Friday (18th July) is the deadline, so make sure you enter! Entries via twitter or instagram @tara_sofia - it's a great and exclusive chance to experience one of our signature luxury fragrances. 

'Sofia' - Fragrance Profile

Hello fellow fragrance-obsessed friends ☺

So much time has gone into developing my fragrances that I wanted to explain a bit about each one and what it means to me.

As I have mentioned before, my debut collection of scents are completely unique to the world of home fragrance - each being directly inspired by an original Tara Sofia artwork of the same name. 

Being named “ Tara” (meaning “star” in Hindu) serves as an homage to my Indian heritage, and perhaps an indicator of my love of all things resplendent. This coupled with a middle name taken after one of Italy’s most iconic superstars, was the inspiration for the first piece in the collection...

‘Sofia’ sees the epitome of Italian glitterati turned into an extravagantly-jewelled cultural hybrid. It is this wonderfully indulgent theme of opulence and exotic mixology that inspired me to create a home fragrance collection in the first place. Why should the artwork be confined to the canvas? With a fragranced candle the artwork can leap off the walls and be ‘alive’ within air around us. We can actually smell art!

The ‘Sofia’ scent is warm, spicy and intoxicating. The majestic aroma of wild fig is richly enhanced with seductive hints of luxurious amber and warm cinnamon. I love how unusual this fragrance is, and how all the notes mysteriously unfold as it burns. 

TOP NOTES: Green Leaf, Wild Fig, Raspberry

MIDDLE NOTES: Cinnamon, Aniseed, Clove, Ginger

BASE NOTES: Cedarwood, Amber, Vanilla, Caramel, Patchouli

As the scent saturates the air, feel yourself immediately transported to a sumptuous Indian palace; Vibrantly coloured fabrics bathed in gorgeously hazy sunshine, accented by wonderfully peppery aromas.

Experience it for yourself: The Empress Collection - 'Sofia'

Don't forget...

Next week is your last chance to enter our exclusive giveaway to celebrate the launch of the collection. Make sure you follow us on twitter (@tara_sofia) and instagram (@tara_sofia) to enter.

Tara Sofia Perfumed Candles – 'The Empress Collection' | Now Available!

After an arduous few months I am excited and incredibly proud to unveil my brand new debut candle collection in all of its glory...

 

Each of the 4 scents are directly inspired by a particular artwork in my collection, which sees iconic women turned into extraordinarily jewelled, cultural hybrids.

A LOT of work went into these as I wanted them to be truly luxurious home accessories – conveying the idea that you can indulge in something as small as a scented candle but the impact it can have your living space is huge. I wanted to create a collection of candles that offered so much more than other brands, so here is how they do that:

♥ The dazzling, champagne-gold metallic finish on the glass is created using a unique process, meaning no two vessels are ever the same. So in essentially they are works of art in themselves, and look visually stunning when lit as the flame delicately flickers through the pattern in the glass.

♥ Each candle contains the maximum percentage of fragrance possible in order to ensure an optimum scent throw without compromising the burn quality. They contain double the average percentage of fragrance, placing them among the most perfumed candles in the world.

After seemingly endless fragrance options and blends, I deliberately picked fragrances that had naturally strong notes in them – to really convey an idea of opulence. This also means they are capable of scenting large rooms effortlessly, giving off a wonderfully intoxicating aroma. 

♥ A genuine ‘Tara Sofia’ candle is easily identified by its beautifully embossed nameplate.
Made from 100% copper, the nameplate is intricately embossed with the signature logo, and individually hand-applied.

The candles are now available to purchase at www.tarasofia.com. Let me know what you think!

Be sure to follow us on twitter and instagram (@tara_sofia), where we are having a giveaway each week for a month to celebrate the launch. It’s an opportunity to win one of each of the 4 amazing scents, so make sure you enter :-)

Please don't forget to subscribe - will be featuring fragrance profiles on each of the 4 amazing scents in the next few blogs.

Grasse - the perfume captial of the world

A few weeks ago I visited the town of Grasse in the South of France – a veritable mecca for a fragrance junkie like myself. It is considered to be the world capital of perfume and did not disappoint!

Historically Grasse was known for leather tanning during the middle ages, however the unpleasant smell of the leather was not exactly desirable amongst the glove-wearing gentry. Galimard, a tanner in Grasse came up with the ingenious idea of scented leather gloves, an idea which quickly spread amongst high society, thus giving Grasse its worldwide reputation.

Why is Grasse so special? Partly due to its geographical situation in the hills. It has a unique climate which is perfect for growing flowers such as lavender, myrtle, jasmine, rose, orange blossom and wild mimosa – amongst some of the most expensive essences.

There are 3 major perfume houses which have been in Grasse for hundreds of years – Galimard, Molinard and Fragonard. As we were limited on time, we only visited one of the smaller museums: the Fragonard Perfumery. It has 2 properties in Grasse and we visited the modern one just outside the town centre. 

 

We had a short tour which showed us various aspects of the perfume process –from extracting floral essences to highlighting how fragrance is a true art form. People qualified as “Noses” formulate fragrances, and there are only around 50 qualified Noses in the world. To qualify they must apply for a course (only eligible to those who show a natural aptitude) and then study for 10 years. Noses work for various fragrance houses to create and blend – leaving ‘recipes’ for the factories to follow in producing them.

 

 

For more information visit www.fragonard.com – there are some lovely sections detailing the history of perfume and also the various techniques.

Like any good tour, we ended in the gift shop!  However this wasn’t your usual gift-shop experience. Our tour guide took us to a counter full of perfumes (cue my heart racing) and we spent a good half an hour spraying and sniffing, whilst learning how different fragrances suit different people. “This fragrance is good for blondes” the guide asserted… how does that work??

The make-up of our skin is different according to our colouring and our skin reacts differently to the different families of scent. Meaning the same perfume can smell totally different from person to person.

The best part about visiting Fragonard (& Grasse in general) is that you are able to buy quality perfumes direct from the factory, at a fraction of the usual retail cost. They maintain the importance of the fragrance itself rather than the packaging. You really feel like you are getting down to the true nature of a perfume, completely unaffected by its branding or supposed fashion-status. If you have a good nose you might even be able to decipher familiar scents that usually appear under luxury brand names.

Their Parfum comes in simple gold bottles - specially designed to keep the scents ‘good’ for 7 years. I am the type of person who could literally stand in a perfume department for HOURS smelling everything so I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I was to be let loose in there! It goes without saying that I came away with quite a few to add to my collection and I pretty much had to be dragged out on my heels.

For anyone visiting the French Riviera I would definitely recommend you take a trip to Grasse and experience the true essence of fragrance. If you weren’t obsessed before, you will be after.