My sister, who isn’t easily impressed by frivolous luxury products, took one sniff of the Arquiste Art Deco Velvet candle and exclaimed: “Oh, it smells like a very handsome man!” I believe this to be very close to the original premise of the scent – Art Deco Velvet is the candle version of The Architects Club, capturing a moment in a Mayfair bar in 1930s.

The description says: “A group of architects gather for cocktails at Mayfair’s smartest Art Deco smoking room. As they settle in the warm interior of dark woods, leather and velvet, London’s bright young things burst in, frosted martinis in hand, surrounded by a cloud of laughter, white smoke and fine vanilla.” I usually don’t care much for the stories behind perfumes, but Arquiste does them better than most and – crucially – one can see a connection between the narrative and the actual scent (this is far from common).

The reason I wasn’t crazy about The Architects Club as a fragrance was that while it does match the scene above, it’s much milder and less adventurous than I imagined. The same is true for the candle, but the softness works better for me in this format – it’s mostly a woody vanilla with some refined tobacco and leather notes. I’m not generally a vanilla person, but this is a lovely, very sophisticated take. The throw is great, but the scent never overwhelms.

If you think all this is well and good, but you’re interested in some proper smoke, leather and dark wood, try the Dark Galleon instead – the translation of the Nanban perfume into home fragrance. There are two other options, the unique Mexican Baroque (I suspect it’s inspired by Anima Dulcis, although it’s not specifically mentioned anywhere) and St Regis, a beautiful green floral. I found it very difficult to pick just one.

Despite my obsession with luxury candles, I’ve become a bit jaded, as everybody seems to be doing them these days. Still, I think the recent launches from Arquiste manage to stand out. The design is exquisite (the vessel is beautiful and there is a golden metal lid, very tastefully done), the fragrances interesting, the quality very good. Of course, for this price, one shouldn’t expect anything less. If you’re looking for a generous present for someone with a classically elegant, but not boring taste, these would make an excellent choice. Or if you yourself are in possession of such a taste and in need of a gift, give these a sniff.

I bought my candle at Senteurs d’Ailleurs in Brussels and you can get them online, too.