Asked often.
What is Désir?
Désir is a candle house from Gurgaon, India, that makes each candle only after it has been chosen, delivering to India and Australia, with the tagline "Candles for a more beautiful you". It makes ten hand-poured, refillable scented candles, each pairing one Indian raw material with one Australian one, composed in Grasse. Its website is desirlux.shop.
Is Désir a new brand?
The name is new; the candles are not. They were sold without a brand for years, first from a kitchen in Gurgaon, to friends and then to strangers, and later online, and more than 8,000 were sold on word of mouth, over many years, before the name Désir was introduced. Every candle is still made by hand, in small pots, with no machine in the room.
Are Désir candles handmade?
Yes, entirely. The wax is melted in small pots, the fragrance is added at a precise temperature, and the wick is set by hand. Each candle takes a day to make and two days to cure, and any candle that sets with a flaw is not sold.
Do you keep Désir candles in stock?
No. Nothing is made in advance. Every Désir is handcrafted upon request after you choose its form, fragrance, colour and vessel, and is created within three to five days before shipping. The wait is part of the object.
What is the difference between Désir Liquid and Désir Sand?
Désir Liquid is a hand-poured coconut and rapeseed wax candle in champagne glass. Désir Sand is granulated wax composed into the vessel in layers, so the surface is sculpted for you and changes with every burn. Any of the ten fragrances can be created in either form.
What is the First Hundred?
The first one hundred candles made under the Désir name. Each carries its number on a brass plate set into the marble lid and the founder's signature on the box, and is commissioned one at a time in the order requests arrive. When the hundredth is poured, the numbered plate is retired.
What is the surprise element in a Désir candle?
Every Désir arrives with a decorative element sculpted in wax and set on the candle's surface: one of ten shapes (the Flame, the Crescent, the Lotus, the Sun, the Wave, the Star, the Leaf, the Shell, the Feather and the Knot), each with a meaning. The customer does not choose it; the atelier chooses and seals it in the box.
What are Désir Éditions?
Limited releases. Each édition is a single fragrance poured into exactly ten numbered, signed bottles; it is never one of the Ten and is never reproduced. When the tenth bottle is claimed the édition closes and a new one begins. Édition 001 is Mousson d'Or: mitti attar from Kannauj with Tasmanian leatherwood honey.
Can I choose my own fragrance and wax?
Yes; nothing at Désir is pre-made. You choose the wax (soy, the coconut and rapeseed house blend, beeswax, or granulated sand) and compose the scent from a library of twenty-four raw materials, twelve from India and twelve from Australia: one for a single-note candle, two for a pairing, or leave the scent to the house. Each of the ten named Désirs is a mood with a suggested house pairing, not a fixed fragrance.
Can I return a Désir?
No, and we say so plainly: every Désir is made for one person after they choose it, so there is no shelf for it to go back to. Instead there is the First Light promise. Light it; if it does not move you, write within seven days and we send the Second Flame, a small pour of a composition we choose for you, at no cost, and compose your next scent free. To choose with confidence before you commission, the Discovery set offers five 12 g pours from the library, credited in full against your first commission.
Do you offer cash on delivery?
No. Because every Désir is handcrafted specifically for your order, creation begins once your order is confirmed, and your order is confirmed with payment. Payment is in full at commission for India (cards, UPI, net banking) and Australia (cards), by secure online payment.
How do you ship to Australia?
Every Désir is made in Gurgaon and shipped individually to Australia by express courier, tracked, in three to six days after creation. Prices in Australian dollars include shipping, duties and taxes.
What is Désir Haute?
The special edition, made by appointment: two names, Anjé Lume and Ajnelle. Each is composed with the client after a conversation and three trial pours, engraved with initials, signed and numbered, and presented by hand; twelve of each are made a year. Prices start at ₹8,800 / A$190 for Anjé Lume and ₹8,200 / A$175 for Ajnelle.
Where can I buy Désir candles?
Only at desirlux.shop. Désir is not sold in shops or through retailers anywhere; every candle is commissioned directly from the atelier and made for the person who ordered it. The site ships to India and Australia and shows prices in Indian rupees or Australian dollars depending on your region.
How much does a Désir candle cost?
The 260 g Signature is between ₹1,800 and ₹2,800 in India (A$30 to A$60 in Australia) depending on the Désir, inclusive of taxes. The 1.4 kg five-wick Grande is from ₹7,900 or A$165. Refills are ₹1,400 or A$28.
How long does a Désir candle burn?
The Signature burns for roughly 70 hours and the Grande for roughly 220 hours when the wick is kept trimmed to five millimetres and each burn lasts two to four hours.
What is the wax made of?
A coconut and rapeseed wax blend with no paraffin and no palm, carrying a 10% fragrance load. Wicks are unbleached cotton with no lead or zinc core.
Can I refill the vessel?
Yes. Every Signature vessel accepts a 260 g refill insert in any of the ten fragrances. Spent inserts can be returned for recycling in India and Australia.
Which Désir candle should I start with?
Bacio di Fuoco is the most loved and the most gifted. Désir, the eponymous candle, is the most versatile. For florals choose Ardore; for something dark choose Flamme Noire or Fuoco.
What do the candle names mean?
Each candle is named in French or Italian: Désir (desire), Bacio di Fuoco (kiss of fire), Ardore (burning passion), Lueur (soft glow), Peau de Soie (silk skin), Flamme Noire (black flame), Notte (night), Fuoco (fire), Braise (ember) and Seta (silk).