The Balmain x Trudon Collab Has Landed

Get lit like Olivier Rousteing.
The Balmain x Trudon Collab Has Landed
If there is one thing that 2020 has inspired, it's the desire for escape. Actually fleeing, however, is more difficult than ever. Enter Olivier Rousteing’s no-fail solution: Cire Trudon candles. The creative director of Balmain regularly sets the mood by sparking the French brand’s Ernesto bougie—a spicy blend of bergamot, patchouli, leather, and tobacco—before sketching his next collection for the iconic fashion house.

“When I start to work and draw, I have two obsessions: First I put on some music and then I light some candles,” says Rousteing of this rather “symbolic” act. “The flame represents warmth, intimacy, and protection. When I light a candle it helps me create and it’s a means of escape.” Whether you’re dreaming up couture looks for the catwalk or moonlighting as a second-grade teacher while trapped at home with your kids, surrounding yourself with scent is one way to whisk your senses far away from reality. (The other option at the moment is a stiff drink.)

As Rousteing notes, lighting a Cire Trudon candle is akin to “[Marcel] Proust’s madeleine,” the shell-shaped mini cake that supposedly inspired the author’s prolific novel, Remembrance of Things Past. While we can’t promise that the new Balmain x Trudon collaboration will result in literary greatness, it certainly does smell divine. Perfumer Emilie Bouge gave Rousteing’s signature scent a floral twist by adding black rose to the masculine mix of cedarwood, musk, and cigar notes. “Balmain is associated with daring femininity and glamour,” explains Rousteing. “So, we wanted to maintain the strong scent of Ernesto but also include this feeling of femininity that is so specific to Balmain.”

Housed in an exclusive glass jar striped with black lacquer and gilded by hand with gold leaf, you’ll want to save this striking vessel long after you’ve burned through the wax inside. While this candle is still alive and well, however, consider the flame a constant reminder that brighter times are ahead.

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Written by Amber Kallor
Images provided by Trudon

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