Heritage
A house, in its own words
Candles & Oud began in England with a stated ambition to establish a fragrance house centred on distinctive scent compositions. The company was founded in 2019 and later appears in the public record as CANDLES AND OUD LTD. Its London connection is concrete rather than merely geographic: the company’s listed address is Kemp House, 160 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX. The house developed its identity around oud and amber-led fragrance, materials that carry long histories in perfumery and ritual culture. The name also reflects the brand’s wider work in scented candles, extending a fragrance concept into the home environment. Publicly available material gives little detail about individual founders, early collections, or later milestones, so the safest account is one built around the confirmed founding year, registered location, and the titles of its early scent range. The catalogue includes compositions dated from 2021 and 2022, indicating that its visible product history developed during the house’s first few years. Rather than presenting oud as a simple trend, Candles & Oud frames the material as the starting point for warm, expressive fragrance compositions. Candles & Oud’s stated creative ambition is to make fragrances that feel distinctive and leave a strong impression. That idea appears across the house’s descriptions of powerful scent, expressive oud blends, and aromatic experiences for the home. The approach places emphasis on presence and atmosphere rather than understated minimalism. Oud supplies a deep woody foundation, while amber introduces sweetness, warmth, and a sense of glow. The house’s naming choices reinforce this direction: Vanilla & Amber, Sylvan Amber, and Amber & Lemon combine familiar aromatic references with richer, resinous notes. Sophistique, Casablanca, Ambition, Adventure, and The Duchess give some compositions a more character-led identity. Its product language also suggests that fragrance should affect the mood of a space, something especially relevant to a house that makes both perfume and scented candles. This is a clear creative position, but the available sources do not identify a named perfumer, disclose concentration standards, or provide a detailed formulation manifesto. Candles & Oud can therefore be understood through its materials and range rather than through a documented school of perfumery.