Diptyque makes a new sablier to savor time and scent
Rushing is no good,” an old proverb takes so many words to say. We think it’s particularly inevitable today, but try telling that to your grandma who once had to make meals for a husband and seven children, from scratch, without Google to assist her, without Uber to drive her, without a microwave to stick the night’s leftovers into. Yet you never see her rush. If there’s anything we deserve for getting through the day — and perhaps one thing that will make us less frantic, more focused, and therefore, less in a hurry all the time — it’s to pause, take a breath and leisurely pass the time, at least an hour a day.
Diptyque, makers of slow-burning, luxuriously scented candles, agrees with this philosophy. The French are masters at slow living. And the brand, once a little shop of curiosities on 34 boulevard Saint Germain, has through its candles, soaps, perfumes and home scents, allowed us a taste of what that’s like. Sure, it’s 38 degrees in Manila, but yes, we will light that Baies candle before bedtime. It signals the beginning of “me” time, tells us to start winding down, breathing more deeply, getting ready for bed. Diptyque’s latest creation takes this ritual a notch further.
Enter the Sablier, or the hourglass diffuser. It’s not the first time the brand made one, but this latest version is decidedly more indulgent. “We created the first hourglass diffuser in 2012. It took five years for our creative team with a new design. This new product is a real improvement in terms of intensity and technical functionality. There is a huge difference now with the new hourglass; you definitely can smell the scent even in a big room,” says Juliette Gras, Diptyque area manager for Asia.
The sablier is a long glass form adorned with a perforated gilded metal sheath. It’s a vessel for scents, one for each classic Diptyque scent: 34 St. Germain, Baies, Figuier, Gingembre, Orange Flower and Roses. “These are the classic scents. Baies is our best-seller, 34 St. Germain is part of our DNA, Fig is very popular as well. Ginger, there is a nice story about it. You can’t have it in candles because it’s not chemically possible. Today, nobody has been able to do so. That’s why it’s interesting to have this scent in the cold diffusion process. My favorite is the 34 because it’s very particular. You cannot find this scent anywhere else,” Grass says.
It is made of colored glass in green, yellow, orange or smoky black, a different one for every scent. Simply turning it over initiates the process of filling a room with scent, by way of cold diffusion. The sablier — an hourglass — takes 60 minutes to completely transfer the scent from one vessel to the other. That’s 60 minutes of “me” time, or prep time before guests arrive, whichever use you prefer. It’s ideal for small spaces less than 20 square meters, but can also be used in larger areas since the scent diffuses up to three to four meters from the sablier. Place it in a corner, a window, or by a fan to optimize fragrance diffusion. Use feng shui — where would you put an object with elements of metal, water, earth and symbolic fire-by-association? Anywhere you want.
During the launch, Diptyque collaborated with Rustan’s Home and five individuals known for their distinct personal styles in creating suggested spaces for the sablier. These were entrepreneur and designer Anton Barretto, interior designer Tessa Alindogan, lifestyle and travel editor Mia Borromeo, interior designer Marissa Alejandro Lopa, and designers Ivy and Cynthia Almario. Each created a unique space for their assigned scents, all cozy, inviting and picture-perfect like the Diptyque sablier.
It’s not a necessity, but neither is rushing. Stop and smell the roses, or the baies, or the ginger. It’s an hour a day you get to take back.
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Diptyque is available at Rustan’s and Diptyque boutiques in Greenbelt 5 Ayala Center and Bonifacio High Street Central Square.
