'Tis a strange day when Marie Antoinette's candle maker meets Joey Ramone. Yet the esteemed French candle company Cire Trudonhas opened its first boutique outside of Paris at Bond and Bowery -across from the city's landmarked Joey Ramone Place. As it turns out,though, location is not relevant much: Stepping into Cire Trudon is tobe transported. Rustic wood plank floors, antiques and aged mirrorsevoke the Galerie des Glaces at Versailles, and each sublime heady scent carries you to another world.

The leather and tobacco overtones in Trudon's Ernestocandle, for instance, whisk us to a sun-drenched hotel in Havana,Revolutionary gunsmoke and cigars hanging heavy in the air. With Balmoral,we find ourselves in a quiet meadow after rainfall, the scents of soiland wet ferns rising with the mist. Every Trudon candle has a story andinimitable fragrance, crafted with an all natural wax paste and cottoncandlewick, then poured into a mouth-blown glass decorated with thecompany's golden arms.

Beyond the 22 blended candles, Bond's Cire Trudon carries single scents, various cierges camées (pillar candles adorned with cameos), bustes de cire (moldedwax busts honoring historical French figures), room sprays and stinkbombs (best suited for the outdoors and "perfume terrorists," saysCreative Director Ramdane Touhami). Beautiful Frenchbric-a-brac is mixed among candelabras, snuffers and lanterns for sale.It's an enchanting little shop, bringing new light to the world'soldest candle maker.

Cire Trudon
54 Bond Street
(212) 677-1200
ciretrudon.com

Photos by Rebecca Prusinowski