Voluspa Candles: The Scents Worth Burning First

Voluspa Candles: The Scents Worth Burning First

Voluspa is a California fragrance house that began in a Costa Mesa kitchen in 1999 and still makes its candles in Irvine. I love how seriously it takes the glass, the wax and the idea that every room needs its own scent.

Collage of campaign images, textures and rituals that capture the Voluspa mood

A scent house that started in a kitchen

I like fragrance brands that have a point of view beyond the name of a scent. Voluspa began in a Costa Mesa kitchen in 1999, when Troy Arntsen and Traci started making candles by hand. Arntsen trained as an industrial engineer before the fragrance business found him, and the name comes from an Old Norse poem about beauty rising out of chaos. Their own story is worth a read if you like a brand with a little mythology.

 

Arntsen is now president, and the candles are still made in Irvine. The coconut wax blend, the hand-set wicks and the decorative glass make the object as much a part of the idea as the smell, which is how I think of home fragrance at its best. The line has since stretched to diffusers, room sprays and perfumes.

 

I think of the collection as a scent wardrobe: green and garden-like, warm and creamy, airy or woodsy, each one with a different room in mind.

A hand lighting a large amber glass candle in a warm living room

A scent for every room and mood

Voluspa reads best to me as a set of moods, not one candle personality. The Spiced Pumpkin Latte 5.5oz Small Jar Candle leans gourmand, all pumpkin, coconut and cinnamon, and the small jar is where I would start on a side table. The California Summers Large Jar Candle is brighter, with sea salt, warm vanilla and teakwood. The Tomato Trellis 18oz Large Jar is green and herbal and made for kitchen smells, while the Santal Vanille 5 Wick Hearth Candle is the one for a big living room and a long evening.

 

The Nude Effect Eau De Parfum and the Ombre Aura Eau De Parfum Travel Spray take the line onto skin. The Gingerbread Chalet 2.5oz Boxed Pedestal Ornament and the Holiday Advent Calendar Gift Set are the easy seasonal gestures.

 

Picture a late dinner where the Tomato Trellis stays in the kitchen and the Santal Vanille waits in the living room. What I would skip is burning two loud scents in rooms that open onto each other. Choose the scent and the room first, then the size of the jar.

A lit red glass candle beside tomatoes and a hand at a kitchen counter
Reed diffuser among evergreen branches and warm wood in a softly lit room
Close detail of a blue textured candle vessel against a stone table and woven backdrop

Fragrance as part of the room

What I enjoy about Voluspa is that a candle is both a fragrance and an object. The scent notes are specific enough to help me picture a room, from green herbs near the stove to vanilla and wood in the evening, and the glass adds color and texture to a shelf. I would begin with a small jar if I am unsure, then keep the scent that makes the room feel more like mine. Although I suspect I would end up buying a second one.