The legends at Gelato Messina have been branching out from the gelato game over these last few months. Not content with experimenting with cookie pies, Nutella cookie pies, and most recently, warm, custard-filled brioche snails, Messina has now dared to tread where no gelato shop has dared tread before: into the precise and finicky art of perfumed candle-making.
With a little help from the expert creators at Australian homewares label Maison Balzac, the Messina Creative Department Restaurant in Darlinghurst – the one where you can tuck into the most elaborate of eight-course degustations – has come up with a limited edition set of two candles, in two, decadent aromas: Miel d’Hiver and Miel d’Ete, which respectively mean 'winter honey' and 'summer honey' in French. The Miel d'Hiver has smoky top notes with thyme and lemon, while palo santo (meaning 'holy wood') makes up the base along with the bright, clean scents of peru balsam and tonka bean. The Miel d'Ete aims to mimic the fragrance of flowers pollinated in the summer, and contains floral scents like hyacinth, jasmine, and orris, with an earthy musk and patchouli base.
The candles rushed out of stores on their first drop in July – but they're back again. You can grab them in large (300g, $69) or small sizes (55g, $29) at Maison Balzac or select stores in Sydney and Melbourne including Rosebery, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills, Bondi, Tramsheds and Fitzroy.
