Cire Trudon is not a conventional house of home fragrance. They do not, like many brands, create candles that represent one smell, like rose or oud, or even combinations of such notes. No, Cire Trudon tell stories through wax, smoke and glass. They are a brand that allow you to fill your home with the scent of the cold stone walls from a Carmelite convent or fresh mint from the mountains of ancient tribes. Cire Trudon are not a typical brand and their many scented offerings are anything but ordinary, in fact they are rather extraordinary!

This Spring, Cire Trudon have twisted their narrative ever so slightly with their Les Belles Matières collection. Starting with three scented candles, which are housed in the most eye-catching of blue jars, Cire Trudon promise a “geographic odyssey” with this new collection, which takes one on a journey to three exotic destinations by way of iconic ingredients, covering not only a number of air miles but also three of the most familiar olfactory genres: florals, woods and fruits. The three scents are Tadine (New-Caledonia by way of sandalwood), Reggio (Calabria via citrus) and Maduraï, the focus of today’s review, which is all about “the splendour of Indian Jasmine”.

I’ve never been to India but you don’t have to do much convincing to get me on board with a white floral so the prospect of an jasmine sambac by the bucket load is an easy sell. Maduraï tells the tale of the flower’s many uses, whether they be in tea, as floral garlands or in perfumery. Maduraï is an ode to jasmine in its full glory and unexpectedly, it’s rather glorious.