Byredo
Swedish minimalism with a perfumer’s nose
Ben Gorham built Byredo on the idea that a fragrance house could look like a design studio. The candles are the purest expression of that: stark, unfussy vessels wrapped around some of the most interesting scent compositions in the category.
The Byredo review
Byredo was founded in Stockholm in 2006 by Ben Gorham, a former basketball player with no formal perfumery training, which turned out to be an advantage. Working with perfumers Olivia Giacobetti and Jérôme Epinette, he built a house style that treats fragrance as memory and abstraction rather than as a list of notes. The candles carry that sensibility directly.
Visually the range is the most disciplined on this list. Coloured glass in muted, slightly unusual tones, a single line of type, nothing else. It is the candle for an interior where everything has already been edited down, and it sits comfortably in a room where a gold crest or a printed oval would feel like too much.
The compositions reward attention. Bibliothèque layers plum, peach and violet over patchouli and leather to evoke old books, and it does so without tipping into pastiche. Tree House is resinous and cold in a way few candles attempt. Burn quality is very good rather than exceptional, and as with most of the field the glass is not refillable, which holds the sustainability score down.
Signature scents
- Bibliothèque
- Tree House
- Burning Rose
- Bohemian Vanilla
- Cotton Poplin
The verdict
What we like
- Distinctive compositions that avoid generic note stacks
- The most disciplined visual identity in the category
- Excellent cold throw straight out of the box
- Coloured glass works well in minimalist rooms
- Fragrances also available as perfume for layering
Worth knowing
- Expensive for a 240g single-wick candle
- Scent throw is moderate in larger open-plan rooms
- Vessels are not refillable