Perfumes live on the body; candles live in the room. Moving a particular scent from liquid fragrance to solid wax changes everything: how intense it can seem, how it diffuses, how long it endures, even what it means. At their best, candles from top-tier houses don’t just evoke the fragrances on which they’re based; they bring their own personalities and leave their own impressions. At the same time, when it comes to candles, it can be all too easy to phone it in: fragrance + wax + glass + logo = margin.

Here are four examples of candles from some of the best in the business. Each is built on a luxury fragrance that you may already know and appreciate.

Acqua di Parma’s most famous fragrances may be their Colonia line, but I’ve long been partial to their Blu Mediterraneo fragrances: light, fresh, citrus-forward, and never failing to evoke the Italian coast in summer. They’re all excellent, but if I were looking for a fragrance to make the transition from skin to smoke, I’d first think of Fico di Amalfi, with notes of grapefruit, bergamot, citron, lemon, fig nectar, jasmine, pink pepper, fig tree, cedar, and benzoin. A 200 gram candle is 75 € in a glass jar, or you can splurge for the Candela Chapeau, including 1,600 gram and 330 gram candles in glazed ceramic, for 750 €. (Note: Acqua di Parma doesn’t have official pricing for all their products in the US. You may be able to find them at retailers.)

Alone on this list, Christian Dior is a maison de grand luxe, not known first for their fragrances, but serious about them. They don’t describe the notes of Ambre Nuit beyond amber and Damascus rose, but according to Fragrantica, people who like this fragrance also like Oud Satin Mood, Grand Soir, and Baccarat Rouge 540, all from Maison Francis Kurkdjian. Make of that what you will. $155 / 130 € for an 8.8 oz / 250 gram candle.

Guerlain’s L’Art et La Matière line of candles is more like a system than a product catalog, and that’s a good thing. Choose a candle and a jar, then with subsequent purchases, you can change out the candle as you like. It’s a nice touch that improves sustainability.

With notes of Calabrian bergamot, bergamot leaf, guaiac wood, and amber, Bergamote Fantastico is a good choice to make the transition across categories. $165 / 139 € for the 7.7 oz / 220 gram candle + jar, then $90 / 75 € for candle refills.

I’m glad Maison Francis Kurkdjian came last in alphabetical order, because in retrospect, ending up here seems inevitable. Baccarat Rouge 540 is their iconic fragrance, with notes of saffron, jasmine, amberwood, ambergris, hedione,¹ fir resin, cedar, sugar, ambroxan, and oakmoss. It’s ubiquitous, recognizable, controversial, and still dominant more than a decade after originally being launched for Baccarat’s 250th anniversary in 2014. As a candle, it’s $125 / 115 € for 10.6 oz / 300 grams.

A candle based on a luxury fragrance isn’t simply a more domestic version of the same idea. A perfume tells us how a scent behaves on the body, warmed by skin and carried by movement. The candle asks whether that same idea has enough presence and depth to hold a room.

I wouldn’t assume that if you like a particular fragrance, you’ll like that same scent in candle form. But I wouldn’t not assume it, either. Only you can decide. Each of the four candles above gives you the opportunity to find out for yourself.