Not too sweet, please

Scented candles. Really fine ones. You can find in them in many homes these days as a replacement for some hideous product made by Glade air freshners or Pier 1 - gratefully, I might add. The trouble is, in many candle lines - too many and even the best ones - the scents tend toward the sickeningly sweet or overtly floral. If you were not a person inclined to find an overwhelming dose of stargazer lily appealing, why, you might nearly choke entering the room where such a candle had been placed and then ship yourself off to a short vaca in a hyperbaric chamber when you would much rather be on Turks.

A great scent can have to do with the highs and lows in the nose, combinations that are beautifully suited (I like Jo Malone's Pomegranate Noir with a touch of patchouli oil to go along - trust me here, patchouli is like anchovies - given a bad name by bad people who did bad things with it to the level of scent abuse.), and scents you associate with pleasant memories. A particular favorite of mine, owning to my childhood, was Caldrea's Rose and Tobacco, a scent they have discontinued, sadly.

However, I discovered another line of candles which realizes that heavier, more masculine scents can also be perfect in a home: Kobo Candles (web site "under construction"), whose deeply satisfying products are available through Burke Decor. My new favorites: Grapefruit and Tobacco and Leather and Mahogany are perfect if, say, the candle is intended for a gentlemans study or my living room or frankly that of anyone not wishing to pass out on the setee from a Lily of the Valley overdose.

Right now, shipping at Burke Decor for these items is free with a $50 purchase to the lower 48.