There’s an easy way of preventing that last-minute candle present purchase from slipping from the I-couldn’t-think-of-anything-else category into the frankly-very-cool category: D.S. & Durga. Born out of the maker-movement of the late-2000s, couple David and Kavi Moltz set up their niche fragrance brand in Brooklyn (where else?) and named it D.S & Durga. David (Seth) is the nose and Kavi (aka. Durga) is the brains behind the beautiful, pared-back bottle designs – smooth, cylindrical shapes with simple graphical fonts.

Wearing a D.S. & Durga fragrance is a bit like trotting around town with a cooler, more well-read friend in tow: these are perfumes that make cultural references to music, art and literature, they are cerebral iterations of atmosphere (a transistor radio playing in a Mumbai suburb, the workshop of a violin maker, the smell of the Pixies playing on an August day). Which is why we could hardly contain ourselves when the brand launched a candle collection, available at Liberty. Encased in peachy pink glass with thick printed, minimal labels the three scents avoid the gimmicky seasonal candle pitfalls by remaining chic and simple with no gold leaf in sight. The candles come in three signature fragrances and use ingredients to create a throw that far surpasses many three-wick competitors (the room is filled with these wistful scents with just over an hour’s burn).

‘85 Diesel is a flashy fast-car fragrance, it smells like leather interiors adrenaline and burning fuel, with notes of saffron, earth dirt, vinyl and white violet. Whereas, Spirit Lamp takes an altogether softer turn, evoking a meeting with a psychic in some chintz-filled parlour room, let it guide you with notes of peach water, petit grain and bohea tea. And lastly Portable Fireplace does exactly what is says on the tin, creating the scent of burning fireplace embers with resin, smoke and cedar wood. It's a fireplace for those without one, or for those with one but who dislike all the maintenance.

D.S. & Durga candles, 200g for £58, are available at Liberty.