The Nesting Instinct — New NEST Fragrances Pumpkin Chai Candle

When dried leaves in sunset orange, cardinal red, mulberry, and mustard yellow are scattered on the ground, making crunching sounds underneath our boot-clad feet, our aromatic palettes, too, begin to change. We yearn for the season’s culinary treats, hearty, steaming meals and indulgent desserts like butter pecan pie, hot cocoa, chai tea, and pumpkin pie.

The right candle, one that replicates the enticing scent of these seasonal desserts but gives them a sexiness that surpasses the kitchen space, will add a sense of coziness to your home, like a quaint fireplace or a soft quilt. The key, then, is striking the right balance between sweet and tart, saccharine and spicy. A pumpkin candle with excessive buttery, sugary and milky undertones might overwhelm the senses, making you feel like you’re participating in a pie eating contest. But if the pumpkin notes harmonize with a chorus of spices, you can create a fragrance with the right amount of kick.

The special-edition NEST Fragrances Pumpkin Chai candle, developed by Laura Slatkin, fuses a sweet wild pumpkin note with spicy Masala chai, cardamom, ginger and cinnamon notes. Though the pumpkin note dominates all others, like the Diana Ross of the fragrance blend, the chai and cardamom notes imbue it with a Spice Route-worthy sultriness. If you could take Starbucks’ Pumpkin  Spice Latte and translate it into a scented candle, the end result would be similar to this one.

Adding to the effect, the candle is made of a toasted orange wax and housed in a translucent brown glass container. When the candle is lit, the glass looks slightly frosted, like it’s speckled with dots of cinnamon. The visual and aromatic effect is warm, comforting and oh so inviting.

NEST Fragrances Pumpkin Chai Candle, $32. Available at Neiman Marcus, NeimanMarcus.com, and specialty stores nationwide.