In 2015, The New York Times referred to Le Labo's Santal 33 fragrance as 'that perfume you smell everywhere.' It was an immediate cult classic among stylish millennials, embraced by the likes of Alexa Cheung, Justin Bieber, and Emma Roberts. Though the bubble has burst slightly on Santal 33 as a personal fragrance, the popularity of Santal 26 (Le Labo's home version of the scent) is still going strong.
Jennifer Lopez was an early adopter of the Le Labo home scent. She talks about her best candle with Marie Claire, explaining: 'There’s something about having it in a room that makes everything feel extra warm and cozy.' The Kit reports that she ordered several hundred Santal 26 candles per month when the fragrance was first released. It's easy to imagine the scent as a signature in Lopez's home: a mix of sandalwood, cardamom, iris, amber, cedar, and leather.
Although the candle technically emerged before the perfume, its continued popularity is evidence of the longevity of interior design trends over their fashion counterparts. We've spotted the large version of the candle, which comes in a huge concrete vessel, in the homes of Blake Lively and Taylor Swift. Though it's not inexpensive, the container allows JLo's preferred fragrance to function as both a scent and a decor object.
This hand-poured soy candle in a concrete vessel is perfect for acting as both decor item and candle. It is exactly like the one Blake Lively keeps in her entryway hallway, and would look just as striking on your console table.
If you want to scent your home like JLo but are interested in a lower price point, the smaller versions of the Santal 33 candle are a great option. Alternatively, clever perfumers, like the team at Salt & Stone have created similar scents with slightly different formulas.
This smaller version of the candle comes in a minimalist glass receptacle perfect for bringing brightness into your home
Santal 26 has never been cuter than in this votive set. This would be perfect for curating a signature scent in your home, because it would be easy to place a candle in three different rooms.
This santal and vetiver candle is similar to Le Labo's Santal 26 at a fraction of the cost. If you're interested in testing something out to see if these scents work for you, this could be a great gateway into woody aromatics.
If warm, woody fragrances are for you, then you just might want to scent your home like Jennifer Lopez with Santal 26.
