Trend’s Favourite Candle Smells Like a Tomato

When BAZAAR editors spot a vogue second within the making, we won’t preserve it to ourselves. What follows is a transcript of a Slack dialog between senior vogue editor Tara Gonzalez and vogue commerce editor Halie LeSavage discussing an surprising vogue pattern that does not actually contain vogue in any respect: one delectable designer candle that smells like everybody’s favourite misunderstood fruit.

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Tara Gonzalez, senior vogue editor: I didn’t perceive the entire ‘tomato woman’ summer season verbiage till I smelled the Loewe tomato candle. It smelled like working by means of a tomato backyard. Typing that out feels so apparent: After all a tomato candle smells like tomatoes! However there’s one thing so recent and nostalgic about it that I can not put my finger on.

I do know you are not the largest fan of tomatoes your self, so how did you’re feeling about this summer season being such a giant second for the fruit?

Halie LeSavage, vogue commerce editor: Actually…I assumed there was a glitch in TikTok’s often meticulous algorithm after I turned one of many 6.1 million viewers of the “Tomato woman” hashtag. I am a choosy eater and a pickier shopper who despises tomatoes. (I can not actually clarify it; it is simply not a taste I take pleasure in!) Strawberries, cherries, and bananas, and their manifestations on clothes from Dauphinette, Mom, and Puppets & Puppets, are extra my vibe. I might get behind the concept of a sun-soaked, Mediterranean summer season spent gardening and consuming al fresco that “tomato woman summer season” apparently covers; I simply wished it revolved round what I think about actual fruit.

That stated, when Loewe’s tomato candle arrived at your desk in all its pink ceramic glory, I might see why it had develop into a social media phenomenon. It is exhausting describing a scent with out sounding just like the again of a fragrance bottle, however Loewe actually appeared to bottle the essence of choosing a tomato straight off the vine at 3 P.M. in a sunny, secluded backyard. It is earthy and…sturdy? I’ve spoken to a whole lot of tastemakers through the years who swear by Loewe’s candles, however I used to be nonetheless somewhat shocked {that a} model higher identified for surrealist runway collections and insiders’ favourite raffia baggage had created such a selected (and delectable) scent. And, that the scent was so robust that it wafted by means of the closed field and into the air between our desks.

TG: I do know! I keep in mind after I first noticed the candle it was as a result of individuals on TikTok had been looking for dupes of the scent to no avail. It was truly refreshing seeing a subset of the web obsessive about chasing knock-off variations of issues all agree that there was one thing particular concerning the unique.

And I used to be skeptical at first too! I truly love tomatoes however they’re not one thing I actually cease and odor. Earlier than I obtained this candle, I’m truly not even positive if I might have instructed you what a tomato smelled like. It’s actually exhausting to explain now, even after I’ve spent a handful of hours burning the candle in my condo. The scent itself jogs my memory of my boyfriend’s household’s home in Cape Cod as a result of there is a backyard with recent tomatoes.

I believe I like the candle a lot as a result of it jogs my memory much less of the particular fruit and extra of the concept of summer season. And I believe that is on the crux of the attraction of tomato candles and shirts with tomatoes on them and tomato woman summer season normally. It is escapist! Which can also be what I take into consideration Loewe normally. Every little thing Jonathan Anderson does jogs my memory of turning into any individual else, elsewhere…and even simply reworking into one thing else solely, like a blossoming anthurium or a glitching pixel.

HL: Or a juicy citrus? Loewe launched an orange blossom candle initially of July that’s my private obsession. It has the identical fresh-picked, earthy undertones because the tomato candle, however a scent profile that leans extra floral and citrus. After burning it in my lounge for just some minutes, my total condo smells like an orange grove—and this is not the footstool-sized model.

What I discover funniest about these candles is how enmeshed these candles are within the vogue world with out being an precise vogue merchandise. I believe each vogue particular person has a favourite Loewe scent and a corresponding ceramic holder to show of their house. Once I interview stylists and designers for Bazaar‘s Fortunate 13 column, there is a fifty-fifty likelihood Loewe candles will get a reputation drop. But a report from Lyst got here out just a few weeks in the past crowning Loewe because the no.1 designer model on this planet—with out saying a phrase about these candles!

At this charge, the Loewe scents are as integral to the model as their Paula’s Ibiza collabs and Puzzle baggage. (Admittedly, most individuals I do know advocate the Marihuana scent.) They’re universally interesting but there are particular variations that talk to particular individuals.

TG: It’s true that the entire chicest individuals I do know have stated Loewe candles make the perfect reward. And in contrast to different expensive candles, you’ll be able to completely reuse the ceramic it is available in as a cup or a vase and it doesn’t in any respect seem like it as soon as housed a candle until you recognize it did.

However again to the tomato scent that began this entire dialog! I preserve eager about how persons are calling this the “Summer time of Girlhood” with everybody getting enthusiastic about Barbie, The Summer time I Turned Fairly, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour…..and I believe tomato woman summer season and this scent additionally exemplify that. There’s nothing inherently girly about tomatoes however there’s something female and beautiful and gentle about getting so enthusiastic about one thing so easy. Which is likely one of the best pleasures of girlhood, for my part. Are tomatoes…feminist?! Perhaps!