Boy Smells Hinoki Fantôme Candle | 50 Hour Long Burning Candles | All Natural Coconut & Beeswax Candles | Luxury Candles & Scented Candles for Home (8.5 oz)

Bought it as a gift for a friend, and the packaging came completely wrecked, and so did the candle (it was pretty dangerous with the glass broken! Would love for the seller to get in touch with me, i'll need a replacement.

I LOVE a well done hinoki candle. This one is not that. And yet, it’s *everything*. Last fall, I was searching for my seasonal scent and stumbled upon Hinoki Fantôme. At the time, I hadn’t ever tried any Boy Smells products, but the glowing reviews of this candle swayed me into ordering it, scent unsmelled. Ngl… when I got it, I was disgusted. I immediately made it my designated bathroom candle, the one I require my husband to light after he uses the toilet. Mostly because the smell was so overpowering, I trusted it could even overpower his, well, you know. 🤢 The top note, in my opinion, is smoke. Straight up smoke. Not necessarily bad smoke, but as a former cigarette smoker turned hypocrite, I find the smell of any type of smoke disgusting. While there is a note of hinoki somewhere in there, I think that’s more like the “phantom” aspect. The candle itself burned well without tunneling, releasing a strange, smoky essence into the air throughout all of October, and I wasn’t particularly upset when it was finally done. Then a peculiar thing happened. I kept the fully burned out candle, then just a jar, and placed it back in its box (that I kept because I’m a millennial and we have a weird fascination with hoarding boxes), and left it in the bottom of my dresser. All throughout winter, I’d get a fantôme whiff of its smoky remnants here and there, until one day, I realized how much I missed that scent and was craving to smell it again. This hinoki fantome candle has now become quintessential autumn for me, after just one love-hate-filled October. So I’m sitting here in July with a new one lit, just another of those basic witches waiting for the first leaf to fall. Suffice it to say, I love Boy Smells. I now realize that I was uncultured before this candle came into my life. It’s expertly formulated to not smell like anything candle you’ve ever tried, yet still has a cozy nostalgic quality. The scent throws across a room before you even light it, and yet it’s not exactly overpowering. It doesn’t need to rely on those sickly sweet chemicals often attributed to grocery store candle brands that make you gag to make a statement. And it’s why I am now obsessed with Boy Smells.

I find the scent of this candle to be intoxicating and captivating, but it probably isn't for everyone. It's extremely smoky, resinous and pungent, and gives a strong sense of breathing in the fumes of a burning campfire. The notes mention pear but I don't detect any hint of fruitiness or sweetness-- but it doesn't need that, in my opinion. I keep this candle on my desk and whenever a breeze floats by, the candle's scent wafts towards me and washes over me. It's sublime.

I like nice scents and I like candles, so I tend to buy candles at a discount. The rare times I've splurged on a pricier candle, I haven't been impressed enough to keep purchasing it vs a random candle I find at Marshalls. I decided to try out Boy Smells Hinoki Fantome because I heard good things about the scent. It is, unfortunately, better than any old random candle. It's wonderful! The big thing for me is it fills our open concept living room/dining room when either burned or melted with a candle warmer. I mostly buy soy-based candles, and maybe it's the coconut + soy wax mixture, but this candle throw its scent farther and more noticeably than the candles I typically buy. The scent itself is lightly sweet and earthy (and not cloyingly so). I wasn't sure I liked the scent when I smelled the candle by itself, but when it disperses with burning or melting, it's subtle and complex. I'll be buying again and I'm mad about it.

Smells amazing, candle wick is WAY off center center, leading to uneven burns.