Nest Fragrances Rose Noir & Oud Three Wick Candle Review

I fell in love with Nest Fragrances the first time I lit one of their candles and the scent permeated my nose.  If you aren't familiar with Nest, they are a high end fragrance company that manufacturers home fragrances like candles and wood diffuses along with a selection of women's perfumes.  Their scents are unique and very pleasant, not your run of the mill Bath and Body Works basic vanilla, cinnamon or fakey cologne scent and Yankee Candle isn't even in the same universe as Nest Fragrances.

The company is owned by Laura Slatkin.  Yes, she is the wife of Harry Slatkin that owns the Homeworx candle line.

January of 2019 really seemed to be uneventful with new home fragrance releases.  Yes, Yankee Candle released their scent of the year (yawn) and Homeworx released and re-released a few selections for spring, but other than that, not much was going on.  I was on a Nest candle ordering spree and stumbled on this new release, Rose Noir & Oud.  It instantly drew me in to the candle thinking about the combination of oud and rose.  Yum.

If you aren't familiar with oud, let me give you a quick run down of what this scent is because of its rarity, expense and misunderstanding of where this fragrance comes from.  It is one of the rarest and most expensive scents on the planet.  It is the resin that agar trees produce when they become infected with a particular type of mold.  It can sell for up to $30,000.00 per kilogram depending on how pure it is.  It has a very musky, unique scent that people either love or hate.  There really is no middle ground with oud.  I personally love it and that's the short version of this rare and expensive scent ingredient and what it really is.    

The scent notes on this candle are listed as:

• rose de mai
• smoky oud
• incense
• black leather
• patchouli

The combination sounds deep, woodsy and very masculine to me.  Yes, rose can be masculine if it is done correctly to BE masculine.  The million dollar question is... does this candle deliver?  We are definitely going to find out.

I ordered the 21.1oz three wick version from Sephora for $68.00.  Why not the three wick?  Go big or stay home.  I want the full experience of these Nest candles and the 8oz. Sahara Spice that I just finished simply left me wanting more because it performed so well and the scent was amazing.

Sephora needs to improve their packaging of these candles for shipping because the box on this one was damaged.  If I were giving it as a gift, I would have been quite annoyed by this.  As it is, I'm not that concerned but we will see if it happens again.  On a side note, it did arrive within a few days but I do have their flash shipping service because of how often I order things from them.

The cold smell on this candle is enchanting and alluring.  This is one that you will want to completely and deeply inhale the scent on.  As the air and ingredients enter your nose, you will get a defined separation of the layers of scent in this candle.  

This candle on cold smell is a beautiful balance of the coolness of the rose de mai appearing first followed by the warmth of the oud and as I continue to inhale the scent, the patchouli follows with a small bite to the nose.  I don't get the leather on cold smell but as we all know, the scent on a candle usually changes once we light it.

The one scent note that puzzles me on this one is the incense.  Incense within itself can be a variety of fragrances so I'm not sure where its place is in this candle.  My guess at this point before burning it would be the presence of the essence of incense and not actual incense.  The scent texture as it enters the nose.

The container that this candle is poured into is the classic Nest container.  I do really appreciate these thick glass vessels.  They are very well made and substantial but I wouldn't expect anything less than that from Nest.  The frosted stripe pattern is simple and simple is good with these candles because the scent speaks for them.  They are elegant and will match just about any decor from minimalist to modern.  The only thing about this brand, is that I wish they made lids that would fit the three wick candles.  Currently they only offer a lid for the 8oz one wick.

Now we can get into the burn and scent performance of the Nest Rose Noir & Oud candle.

I am holding this candle to a higher standard than I do cheaper brands since Nest is marketed as a luxe candle brand.  For $68.00, I expect a stellar performance but we'll see if it delivers.

This candle was placed on the bookcase in the odd hallway for the first burn, for filming the burn video and taking the photos for this review.  I am able to get a really good idea on the scent release when I burn a candle there.

Within one hour, the candle was completely pooled out.  One hour.

The scent was drifting through the house.  I could smell it on and off in the office but when I got up to go into the hallway, it was everywhere.  It had went into the living room and literally wrapped around into the dining room.  It wasn't subtle either, it was immediately detectable when I passed through the doorway from the kitchen into the dining room.

I allowed this candle to burn for three hours the first time and the performance was definitely worthy of the price tag.

The second burn was on the bookcase at the other end of my ridiculous hallway.  Again I gave it a three hour burn.  The scent traveled throughout the hallway and was detectable in all of the rooms that have doorways into the hallway.  These rooms include the kitchen, the office, two bedrooms and the living room again.

In other words, I burned the candle in a different location and it scented the entire floor of the house with the exception of one room.  That was impressive.

For the third and forth burns, I took it into the dining room.  I wanted to know exactly how far the scent goes with this one.  I don't think I really have to tell you again that this candle is impressive when it comes to scent release.  It has no problems at all letting go of the oils and giving you exactly what you have paid for.

I have to also add that this candle is not a fast burner.  Each location that I burned it had no real air movement to interfere with this burn time.  Considering at the 15 hour mark it wasn't down as far as a lot of candles are at that point, this one will provide many hours of pleasurable scent and ambiance for you.

The scent when burning is quite a bit different than it is on cold smell.  The rose is there but it is cut by the rich and woody smell of the oud.  The patchouli still makes an appearance as an undertone that compliments the woody oud quite nicely.  We finally have identified the incense and my suspicions were correct.  It gives the scent texture and a bit of a smoky smell.  Not smoky like when wood is burning but a soft smoky texture.  The black leather does make an appearance but it is very subtle.  Like an undertone.  It adds a bit of an aftertaste in scent that is rich, supple and beautiful.

To me, the scent while burning this candle is a trip into masculine richness.  Not monetary richness but the rich essence of masculinity itself.    It is a very pleasant smell and there is a lot of it.  It sparks no memories for me so to me this is a truly unique scent that I love and enjoy very much.

As a final note, my house is not open concept.  All of the rooms are closed off from each other and only accessible through doorways.  As I said earlier, this candle did well at scenting multiple rooms and in an area that isn't open concept, that says a lot about the quality of a candle.

My Final Thoughts on Rose Noir & Oud and Will I Buy it Again?

I do think this candle is quite nice.  It burns very well and the scent release is excellent but I think that is because there is adequate scent oils added to the wax and it completely pools out within an hour which says a lot about Nest Rose Noir & Oud.

Yes, this candle does have a larger price tag than many other candle brands, but it is a luxury brand and it does provide a luxury performance.  It's the difference between purchasing a Bath & Body Works body spray and purchasing Chanel perfume.  There is a noticeable difference between the two in both price and quality.  You really do get what you pay for with this one.

In other words, if you want quality, you will get it with this candle.

As far as purchasing this candle again, absolutely.  Without hesitation.  It delivers a great performance in everything that I want and expect from a scented candle and the scent is very unique when it is burning.  It isn't a fast burner either which means it will last a significant amount of time.  To me the $68.00 price tag is definitely worth it and I will be purchasing this one on a regular basis.

You can see my YouTube review in this video...

If you are interested in this candle, you can purchase it on Amazon here, or directly from Nest Fragrances here.

Have you ever burned a Nest candle?  More specifically, have you ever burned the Rose Noir & Oud candle?  If so, share you experience with it in the comments below.