As the nights draw in and winter comes close it’s time to settle down with a candle and a cup of cocoa. You can’t do much better than Frankincense and Rosewood by Mocan London if you want your house to smell autumn ready and cosy.

The brand

Mocan London are a lovely, artisanal candle company who design their scents with natural scenes in mind – be that a garden in Kent or a forest in Scotland the fragrances are transportive and full-bodied. Added to that the brand is unfussy and easy to navigate, the fragrances do what they say they will, filling your home with a powerful throw and gloriously luxurious fragrance.

Mocan specialise in candles and candles alone (at least at the moment) so you know you are in the hands of a brand who are doing what they love and doing it well.

The packaging

The glass vessel that the Mocan candles come in is simple and functional with a single paper label. One wick burns their 40+ hour candle and the vessel is topped off by a bamboo-type lid with a rubber seal, allowing the fragrance to be securely moved even if it is semi-liquid (don’t do that unless you have to though!). The Mocan candle we received was wrapped in tissue paper and then shipped in a cardboard box – there wasn’t a lot of cellophane or plastic adorning the item.

Listed notes

Rosewood, frankincense, agarwood, caramel, whisky, opoponax.

The scent

It’s appropriate that rosewood features in the name of this candle as it is certainly the thing which you will smell first and foremost. Powdery, rosy and both floral and woody, it gets the candle off to a pleasing start. There is something about combining powdery and rosy facets which makes me think of talcum powder and whilst there is a whisper of this, it is kept in check by the deeper woody and resinous elements.

The resins are the next thing you notice and, if anything, I wanted more of them in the mix as they are so attractive and enticing. Unctuous and smokey, they give that warm and cosy glow that makes your house feel especially snuggly at this time of year.

I didn’t get a lot of the whisky or caramel in the mix, but there is a whisper of sweetness that I could detect, nothing too sickly, just adding an extra layer of something in the background.

Overall I found the scent fairly unfussy yet pleasing and it made my house smell cosy without being overpowering, even though the scent itself is quite gutsy. The scent does have a rosiness to it which is very classically appealing, but it keeps it on the woodier side so it feels robust and not too flowery.

The throw

The throw from this candle is really good. You only have to burn it for 30-60 minutes before the whole room is nicely scented. Any longer and the whole floor of your house will smell delightful. The enjoyment begins almost as soon as you light the wick, and lingers even after the candle is extinguished. Many much bigger brands haven’t got the throw nailed down as well as Mocan have, and they should take note – this is how it should be done!

The verdict

This is a powerful candle for people who really want to scent their homes quickly and beautifully. The powdery tone of the scent makes it appropriate for something like a bedroom or a boudoir in particular. It’s a nice candle to burn when you are getting ready to go out, or when you are having a relaxing night in at home with a glass of wine and your beau.

Some minimal tunnelling was noted when the candle was left to burn for a while, but it was minimal enough for us to feel picky even noting it! The wick also seemed quite fragile and would easily break when being trimmed so take care with that. Again, very minor issues though.

Buy it

Rosewood and Frankincense is available from the Mocan web boutique where the 40+ hour burn time candle is priced at £35.

We were kindly gifted a sample candle by the brand, with no strings attached. Our thanks to them.