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I love Byredo perfumes, I love their minimal aesthetics and their delicious and luxurious perfumes … but I haven’t find the courage to spend 127€ for 50ml yet. A dear friend gave me their textile perfume for fabrics, I just love it but I use it only on special occasions.

Fortunately, our dear Ikea takes care of us: the OSYNLIG scented candle collection developed in collaboration with Ben Gorham, the founder of Byredo, has finally arrived in stores! Ikea makes the sophisticated and refined fragrances typical of the brand accessible to all.
I tested the fragrances in preview last year during Ikea’s Democratic Design Days in Sweden, but I was very curious to see what the candles would be like.
The collection was created to stimulate the sense of smell, a sense strongly connected with memories and emotions.

“Whenever we develop something at Ikea, we start from the democratic design formula. All products must have the right shape, the right quality, the right impact on the planet and, an essential factor, the right price for the consumer.” James Futcher, Ikea Creative Leader

OSYNLIG in Swedish it means “invisible”. Perfumes have the power to transport us elsewhere:

The olfactory bulb, the part of the brain that perceives smells, is closely linked to our emotional system and is able to evoke memories and emotions in an instant.

The idea with which Ben Gorham created Byredo was precisely this: to translate memories and emotions into perfumes, starting with the very first fragrance he created for the launch of Byredo, inspired by his memory of his father’s perfume.

READ MORE: “16 CANDLES AND HOME FRAGRANCES THAT WILL TAKE US AROUND THE WORLD STAYING AT HOME”

The creation of a collection of scented candles brings the home to the center of our world, an even more current perception in a moment like this we are experiencing:

“The house is not just a functional and practical space, but the place where we get together with our family and friends, a place where we build memories.” Ben Gorham

Invisible design is the one that goes beyond functionality but which is fundamental to complete the home, such as lighting and atmosphere, and to create the welcoming environment we want.

The OSYNLIG collection is composed of 13 fragrances born from researches and home visits around the world (the way Ikea – like other companies – investigates and discovers real needs).

Everyone identifies his home with a perfume, create the right fragrances is very important in order to give people the opportunity to identify themselves, to rediscover memories and emotions. The fragrances are also designed to be mixed: two or three candles together will create very personal scents.

Ikea and Ben had great care in the selection of the basic ingredients but aesthetics were not forgotten: the candles are contained in ceramic jars with lids, perfect to be reused when finished in other ways such as pen holders, vases, cups… Looking at the photos of the advertising campaign, do you also feel a 70s vibe from grandmother’s house between textiles and mirrors? Speaking of mirrors, I tell you, a new trend is coming: did you also notice them in the film of the new Zara Home campaign with Charlotte Gainsbourg?

The ceramic of the containers is hand decorated in two colors chosen by Ben Gorham to represent the ingredients used. The imprinted triangle alludes to the olfactory pyramid, the way in which perfumes are described with a combination of top notes, which are perceived first, heart notes, which arrive later and last longer, and, at the base of the triangle, the bottom notes, those that persist for the entire duration of the fragrance.

The 13 fragrances are divided between fresh, floral and woody:

Fresch fragrances: tea leaves and verbena, cassis and freesia, pomegranate and amber, basil and mint, fig and cypress.
Floral fragrances: cotton and apple blossoms, peach blossoms and bamboo, lilac and amber, rose and raspberry.
Woody fragrances: Swedish birch and juniper, firewood and spices, sandalwood and vanilla, tobacco and honey.

The OSYNLIG collection is available in Ikea store and on-line (cm 10×11 €9,95). Some fragrances are also available in mini (cm 7×8 €6) and maxi format (with three wicks, cm 11×21 €25) perfect gift ideas!