Diptyque’s Citronnelle Candle Is Your Ticket to Living La Dolce Vita

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Diptyque is ready to send your senses on the Euro trip you deserve: Today, the luxury candle and fragrance label released its summer 2024 collection that features the fan-favorite Citronnelle candle that plunks you on the Mediterranean coast (and just so happens to keep pesky mosquitoes away from your alfresco setup). 

Diptyque’s Citronnelle candle made a splash in the brand’s summer collection last year, amassing over 10 million views on TikTok from olfactory experts and novices who shared rave reviews: Many cite nostalgic appeal for its classic citronella-inspired scent profile, while others call it a one-way ticket to La Dolce Vita lifestyle.

Candles don’t have active ingredients like skin care products, however it’s worth noting that the Citronnelle fragrance features a wallop of lemongrass — an ingredient that smells tangy and sweet to our noses, but sends mosquitoes skedaddling. While great in theory, many hardware store citronella candles feature artificial lemongrass notes that read overly sweet or slightly chemical. Diptyque’s, on the other hand, is balanced with notes of neroli, geranium, and orange blossom for balanced wafts you’ll want to sniff.

For its summer 2024 collection, which also sees the return of the cult-favorite Ilio perfume, Diptyque enlisted the help of French artist Alexandre Benjamin Navet. Navet, who’s also collaborated with luxury labels like Hermes, Cartier, and Van Cleef & Arpels, created bespoke illustrations of the Mediterranean coast that deck out the signature oval label and packaging.

Always curious to smell Diptyque’s newest candle launches, our editors received advance samples of the Citronnelle candle to test it out ahead of summer’s official kickoff. Read on for our testing review.

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Diptyque Citronnelle Candle Review — Editor Testing Notes

Growing up in the South, I’m accustomed to muggy summers spent wearing linen pants and sheer long-sleeve tees to keep bugs at bay — blame it on sweet blood or bad luck, but I’m always the first to start itching when the mosquitoes come out. Citronella candles were always a line of defense in my house, where we’d light a $10 option from the local Ace hardware to enjoy outdoor dinners bite-free. The scent is synonymous with outdoor entertaining on warm summer nights, but I’ve never smelled an iteration of the fragrance as sophisticated as Diptyque’s — it feels like it belongs in Dickie Greenleaf’s Atrani villa.

Sniff the candle straight out of the box, and you’ll notice that its primary lemongrass note comes out strong, delivering that tangy, slightly citrusy scent you know and love. But as Diptyque candles tend to do, it transforms once you light it, evolving into something far more interesting. The lemongrass notes meld with verbena and orange blossom for a citrusy-floral touch, while neroli provides the slightest touch of bitterness. Unlike many affordable citronella candles that read singularly citrusy, this one toes the line between a floral and citrus scent with a touch of spice once it’s burned for 30 minutes.

I tested Diptyque’s Citronelle candle in the three-piece limited-edition set for summer, which teams the tangy fragrance with votives of Diptyque’s warm, woodsy Cyprès and Figuier scents. What’s refreshing about this combination is that none of the candles read sweet — summer typically sees an uptick in fruity, gourmand fragrances — providing an earthier take on classic summer scents.

On top of the candle trio, the Diptyque Citronelle candle is available for purchase in a classic 150 gram candle and an extra large 1,500 gram candle in a sculptural stoneware vessel at Diptyque.com and Nordstrom.com. Our editors are ordering extras to share as hostess gifts this season, and we suggest you do the same — once this collection sells out, you’ll have to wait till next year for a potential restock.

Shop Diptyque’s Summer Collection

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Meet the Author

Claire Sullivan is the Senior Beauty and Lifestyle Commerce Editor for Footwear News and WWD, where she writes and edits beauty, fashion and lifestyle stories. She has over six years of experience as a writer and editor for national media outlets including Martha Stewart Living, Martha Stewart Weddings, InStyle, and Byrdie. She keeps her finger on the pulse of all things related to beauty and wellness, as well as the latest shopping trends and clothing brands. For this article, Sullivan tested Diptyque’s Citronnelle candle for one month.