Juliette Has Gun candles are the small, bold candle line from a perfume house known for attitude, with three fragrances that each tell a short story.
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Juliette Has a Gun was launched in 2006 by Romano Ricci. The Gun is a metaphor for the perfume – a weapon of seduction or simple accessory of bluff – and symbolizes the liberation of women towards men. Sometimes with a taste for revenge… But the concept is also influenced by romanticism. A modern version where reinventing couples and femininity is a constant quest.
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She wanted to be loved by you… and she was. Marilyn Monroe personified Glamour with her alluring beauty and voluptuous curves. But Marilyn was more that a ‘50’s sex goddess. She dominated the age of movie stars to become, without question, the most famous woman of the 20th century. With it’s powdery lipstick note, this candle is dedicated to her, so that she can live with us a little longer.
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A perfume house that lights candles
Romano Ricci launched the house in 2006, and the name is a playful metaphor. When I talk about the Juliette Has Gun candles, I mean a house that treats scent as a statement more than as a decoration.
Most shoppers know the perfumes, and the candles feel like a natural next step. They are poured into silver containers with the story of each fragrance printed on the side, so the jar is half the experience.
The Juliette Has Gun candles arrived as a new line of three, and each one has its own story. Juliette Has Gun candles are best judged one at a time.
Three candles, three moods
Lucifer is a bonfire scent. Where other smoky candles focus on damp ashes or on the wood itself, this one is about the smoke billowing from a big outdoor fire. If you like campfire evenings, it is the one for you.
Marilyn is the lipstick candle, clean and youthful, never aged or powdery, with the lipstick note as the whole point. Mary Jane is the most daring of the trio, a simple scent built around the idea of hashish. I would test it before gifting it.
Compared with other smoky candles, I find Lucifer the most open air of the group. It is a good reminder that smoke is not one smell, and that the Juliette Has Gun candles chose to work on one corner of it.
Three scents is a small range, which makes the Juliette Has Gun candles easy to compare. Smell all three if you can.
How to shop a concept candle
Candles built on a story are fun, but they ask you to trust the writer. My advice is to read the story, then ask yourself what it should smell like, and see whether the real thing agrees. The mismatch is where the fun is.
A concept candle is also a conversation piece. When guests ask what is burning, you get to tell them. The price and burn time matter too, and the maker lists about 50 hours for $58.
Even if you never buy one, the Juliette Has Gun candles are worth a sniff for the concept alone.
Where the Juliette Has Gun candles fit in your collection
I think of the Juliette Has Gun candles as accents, not everyday burners. They suit a mantel, a bar cart or a bathroom shelf, and they look striking in the silver vessel. If you want a big, comfortable scent for the whole house, a gentler candle will serve you better.
For other bold, smoky and tobacco led scents, read Tabak or Not Tabac. For another house that tells a story with its candles, Jo Loves by Jo Malone is a short read.
The Wikipedia biography of Marilyn Monroe is useful background for the Marilyn candle.
If you have to pick one of the Juliette Has Gun candles for a gift, Marilyn is the safest, and Lucifer suits anyone who loves woodsmoke. Tell me which of the Juliette Has Gun candles you would light first.
Header photo: Clive Varley from Blackpool, Britain, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
