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Post by Kypriotha on Feb 25, 2022 13:02:26 GMT 10
Duel Wield Studios and Briarwick candles have an official range of Tortall candles. I'm amused by the concept, though I don't love some of the descriptions of the scents ("Grassy Tilting Fields", "the Nightmarket", plus a whole bunch of borderline fetishisation of the Copper Isles/Carthak/Bazhir). My favourite description is from Numair's candle: "Sparkling Magic". I think it lends itself to many jokes - "it's only The Gift if it's from the City of the Gods, otherwise it's just Sparkling Magic"? (The University of Carthak would rightly hate that one.) Anyone else have any thoughts on the range?
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Post by devilinthedetails on Feb 26, 2022 1:20:15 GMT 10
I had stumbled across these on Etsy before and been tempted to by them (because how could I not be tempted by something Tortall related?) but always managed to resist the temptation on the grounds that I hardly ever light candles so really it'd be a waste of money for me. But I know a lot of people are into candles, especially when they do something relaxing like reading, so I think for those people this could be a really cool line of products, and I imagine for those who do light candles while they read, it could be super neat to have a Tortall themed scented candle burning while they re-read their favorite Tortall series. That thought makes me all warm and cozy even though I am not a candle person, so how exciting it must be for people who actually are into candles.
It's an interesting concept. It does get me thinking about how the various places in the Tortall universe might smell, which is not always something I think about when reading the books. I'm more likely to think about it when writing fanfic because I am actively trying to engage readers' senses. And it is interesting to me that most of the character scents are really more inspired by the smells of places they had been than by anything else. So really to me it does feel more like the scents of places than the smells of people, despite the names of a majority of the candles.
I do agree there is some exoticization and fetishization of the Copper Isles, Carthak, and the Bazhir going on, and that's unfortunate.
Thoughts on individual smells follow:
Alanna-Red ginger, citrus, and spice sounds like it would smell really good to be honest. And I do like that it is red ginger like her hair, haha.
Alianne-Cinnamon, pomegranate, and nectarines sounds like a great smell combination. Alianne isn't a favorite character of mine, but her candle sounds like it would smell quite awesome.
Beka-the smell of apple tarts might make me hungry. Could be a nice seasonal fall scent.
Daine-wild blackberries, lemon blossom, and sunlit forest. Sounds like a soothing nature smell.
George-mahogany wood and spice with mysterious cologne. Definitely seems like a quite "masculine" scent, which I suppose is fitting for George. Do like the description about it pairing perfectly with the Alanna candle, lol.
Keladry-grassy tilting field (so really just grass), lemon verbena, and a hint of wildflowers. Can't say I'm too excited about this scent even if Kel is one of my favorite characters. This just seems kind of generic apart from the titling yard mention. Like I don't really know why she'd be associated with lemon or wildflowers. Just seems like they didn't put as much thought into her scent as they did some of the others. And it seems kind of strange that other characters get to have the places they travel/visit integrated into their scents, but Kel really doesn't. Like she spends a bulk of her childhood in the Yamani Islands and clearly connects with the Yamani culture (it does shape her as a person in deeper ways than Bazhir culture shapes Alanna, for example) but there isn't really a nod to the Yamani Islands in her smell, and that's kind of disappointing to me. Not gonna lie. I just really think they could have done a better job coming up with this scent. But there I've ranted enough. Time to move on now.
King Jon-Desert sands, subtle cologne, and sweet blackberries. This sounds like this would smell really good, my friends. Definitely would be on my shortlist to buy if I did make a purchase. I love me some King Jon apparently.
Numair-amber, pomegranate, spice, and sparkling magic (whatever that smells like haha). Sounds like it would smell good but be quite similar to Alianne's scent so if I were making a purchase, I'd probably get one or the other, not both. Unless I was really obsessed with candles.
Tortall-just smells like evergreen and campfires if I am reading the description right. Sounds kind of boring and uninspired to be honest and wouldn't really make me think much of Tortall at all if I didn't know it was supposed to be a Tortall scent. Tortall just must smell really bland compared to the Copper Isles and Carthak I guess.
So those are my thoughts. Seems like a cool idea overall and maybe if it is successful they could expand the range of candles offered. That might be neat to see.
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Post by wordy on Feb 27, 2022 19:13:21 GMT 10
Kind of disappointed they missed their opportunity to name Alanna's candle the Burning-Brightly One. The labels do look pretty, though, and I'll have to have a closer look at them all when I have a moment.
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Post by devilinthedetails on Feb 28, 2022 1:34:28 GMT 10
Kind of disappointed they missed their opportunity to name Alanna's candle the Burning-Brightly One. The labels do look pretty, though, and I'll have to have a closer look at them all when I have a moment. The Burning Brightly One. I didn't even think of that, but that would've been awesome!
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Post by Kypriotha on Feb 28, 2022 15:18:27 GMT 10
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Post by Tamari on Mar 9, 2022 8:09:57 GMT 10
I do use indie candles and wax melts but have not tried these yet. I do wish there had been some more thought put into some of them. You could do some really cool things with Kel and country-specific scents that these seem to miss the mark on. But maybe there will be some more scents released in the future!
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