Candle Care Guide | How to Use & Care for Your Candle

Fig. i · The trim

Part One · Before every burn

Trim the wick to five millimetres

Always before lighting, never after. A short wick is the whole quiet secret

A long wick burns tall, hot, and fast. It throws smoke, blackens the vessel, and — worst — burns off the top notes of the fragrance before they ever reach the room. Five millimetres is the number. Clean, sharp scissors; cut flat; tip the trimmings out. Repeat before every single burn, including the second one tonight

WhenBefore every
burn, always

Length5 mm,
no more

ToolSharp scissors
or a wick trimmer

If the flame is taller than your thumbnail, it's too long. Put it out and trim it

Fig. ii · The pool

Part Two · The first burn

Burn for two hours
the first time

The first pool sets the memory of every burn that follows

T he wax has a memory. On the first burn, wait until the pool has melted edge to edge of the vessel — usually a little under two hours. This prevents tunnelling: the narrow crater that forms when short burns train the wax to only melt the centre. Done right, every later burn begins where the last one left off, and the candle gives all of its fifty-two hours

First burn2 hours,
uninterrupted

SubsequentUntil a full
liquid edge

Max session4 hours
at a time

"Light it the first time when you have an evening, not a minute"

Fig. iii · The settle

Part Three · After extinguishing

Let the wax settle,
uncovered

The candle keeps working for an hour after you stop looking

P ut the flame out with a snuffer or the back of a spoon — blowing scatters wax and kicks up soot. Don't move the vessel while the pool is liquid; a knocked pool sets crooked and burns crooked forever after. Leave it somewhere still. The residual heat keeps releasing fragrance for another forty minutes or so; that is where the base notes live, and where the room really earns its evening

ExtinguishSnuffer,
not breath

ThenDon't move
a liquid pool

FragranceContinues
~40 minutes

The quiet hour after is the reason we make the candle at all

Fig. iv · The vessel, after

Part Four · After the 52nd hour

Keep the vessel

Each one is hand-turned and meant to outlive the candle

W hen there's about a centimetre of wax left, stop burning — any shorter and the flame can overheat the vessel. Freeze for twenty minutes, then lift out the remaining wax with a butter knife. Warm water and a touch of unscented soap; dry with a linen cloth. The ash cup was turned by hand in Segovia; no two are exactly alike. It will want a second life. Ours hold pencils, matches, a small bunch of wildflowers, salt

Stop at1 cm
of wax

Clean withWarm water,
mild soap

GiveThe vessel
a second life

A vessel worth keeping is the other half of the thing you bought

When things go wrong

Eight common questions

My candle has tunnelled down the centre.

Almost always the first burn was too short. The wax learns. Try burning for three to four hours next time, wrapping loosely in foil with a small vent if needed — the whole surface should slowly re-level itself back to edge

The flame is flickering and smoking.

Trim the wick — 5mm, always. Also check the candle isn't near a draft: an open window, an air-con vent, a fan. A candle wants still air

Black soot on the vessel rim.

Wick too long. Extinguish, let cool, trim back to 5mm, and wipe the rim with a dry cloth. It won't stain permanently if caught early

The scent is fainter than expected.

A candle needs a 20-minute head start to fill a room. Also: smaller rooms throw better than open-plan spaces. If you light Lyre in a 40m² living-dining, consider two, one at each end

The wax has an uneven or frosted surface.

Pure. Natural wax — especially coconut and apricot blends — recrystallises with temperature swings. It burns identically. A few minutes of gentle flame polishes it smooth again

The wick won't stay lit.

The pool has probably drowned the wick. Pour off a little of the melted wax into a tissue, let the wick dry, and relight

A crack in the vessel.

Stop using it and write to us. Our ash cups are hand-turned, not infallible; we'll replace it. Never keep burning in a cracked vessel — the wax can weep and the heat concentrates unevenly

An evening by the hour

Phoebus No. 03 — Lyre · 52 hrs