A-Z glossary

This glossary collects the words used across our guides. Candle and scent terms come first in importance, but you will also find a few showbiz words from our drama stories and some llama vocabulary.

74 terms

A

Accord

A blend of several fragrance materials that smells like one new, single impression, such as a "leather accord". See scent notes.

Agarwood

The dark, resin-filled heartwood of Aquilaria trees, the source of oud. See oud, amber and bakhoor.

Alpaca

A smaller South American camelid related to the llama, raised mainly for its fine fiber. See llamas vs alpacas.

Amber

In perfumery, a warm, sweet, resinous accord, usually built from materials such as labdanum, vanilla and benzoin rather than fossil amber.

B

Bakhoor

Wood chips or blocks soaked in fragrant oils and resins and warmed over charcoal or an electric burner, a home-scenting tradition in the Arabian Peninsula.

Base note

The longest-lasting part of a fragrance, such as woods, musk, vanilla or amber.

Beeswax

Natural wax made by honeybees to build honeycomb. It burns slowly and has a light honey scent.

Blend

A candle wax mix, such as soy with coconut, used to balance hardness, scent throw and appearance.

Bloom

See frosting.

Box office

The ticket sales a film or show earns, often used as shorthand for its commercial success.

Burn time

The approximate number of hours a candle will burn over its life.

C

Camelid

The animal family that includes llamas, alpacas, guanacos, vicunas and camels.

Cameo

A brief appearance by a well-known person in a film, show or music video.

Carbon mushroom

A ball of carbon that forms on the tip of an overlong wick. Trim it off before relighting.

Cold throw

The scent of a candle when it is not lit. See cold throw and hot throw.

Container candle

A candle poured into and burned in a jar, tin or other vessel.

Cotton wick

The most common wick, made of braided or flat cotton fibers.

Cria

A baby llama or alpaca.

Curing

The resting period after pouring that lets wax set fully and fragrance settle in. See curing and fragrance load.

D

Diffuser

A device or reed set that spreads fragrance without a flame. See candles, diffusers and melts.

Dip-dyed

A candle colored only on the outside by dipping it into colored wax.

E

Encore

An extra song performed after a concert's main set, at the audience's request.

Essential oil

A concentrated plant extract, often steam-distilled, used in some fragranced products.

F

Flash point

The lowest temperature at which a fragrance oil gives off enough vapor to ignite briefly in air.

Fragrance family

A group of scents with a shared character, such as floral, woody, fresh or amber. See fragrance families.

Fragrance load

The amount of fragrance oil in a candle, given as a percentage of the wax weight.

Fragrance oil

A blend of natural and synthetic aroma materials made for candles, soaps and perfumes.

Frosting

White crystal patches that appear on soy and other plant waxes. Natural and harmless.

G

Gourmand

A fragrance family of edible-smelling scents such as vanilla, caramel, coffee and chocolate.

Guanaco

The wild South American camelid from which the llama was domesticated.

Guard llama

A llama kept with sheep, goats or alpacas to deter predators such as coyotes. See guard llamas.

H

Heart note

The middle part of a fragrance, which appears after the top notes fade. Also called a middle note.

Hot throw

The scent a candle releases while burning.

Hum

A soft sound llamas make to communicate, often when curious, tired or uneasy.

K

Kush

The resting position of a llama or camel, lying down with the legs folded underneath.

L

Label (record)

A company that records, releases and promotes music.

Lead-free wick

A wick without a lead core. Lead-core wicks were banned in the United States in 2003.

Lip-sync

Moving the lips to match recorded vocals instead of singing live.

M

Master recording

The original recording of a song, from which all copies are made. Ownership of masters is a frequent source of music-business disputes.

Melt pool

The layer of liquid wax around a burning wick.

Melts

Small scented wax pieces warmed in a burner without a wick.

Meme

An idea, image or phrase that spreads from person to person online, often changing as it goes.

Memory ring

The tendency of a candle to keep burning down to the depth and width of its earlier melt pools. See first burn and the memory ring.

Mushrooming

See carbon mushroom.

Musk

A soft, warm, skin-like base note. Modern musks are synthetic.

O

Olfactory fatigue

The way the nose stops noticing a smell after a few minutes of exposure.

Oud

A rich, woody fragrance material from agarwood, central to Arabian perfumery.

P

Paraffin

A wax made from petroleum, the most common candle wax since the late 1800s.

Pillar candle

A thick, free-standing candle made from firm wax. See container vs pillar.

Pyramid (fragrance)

The model that describes a fragrance as top, heart and base notes.

R

Rapeseed wax

A plant wax made from hydrogenated rapeseed oil, similar to soy.

Razzie

The Golden Raspberry Award, a parody award for the year's worst films.

Reed diffuser

Fragrance oil in a bottle with porous reeds that draw the oil up and release scent.

Remix

A new version of a recording, made by rearranging or adding to the original.

Royalty

A payment to songwriters, performers or rights holders each time their work is sold, streamed or played.

S

Sample

A piece of an existing recording reused in a new song, which normally needs permission from the rights holders.

Scent throw

How well a candle's fragrance spreads through a room.

Sillage

The trail of scent a fragrance leaves in the air.

Snuffer

A small metal cup on a handle used to put out a flame without blowing it.

Soot

Black carbon particles produced by a flame that is too big or flickering.

Soy wax

A soft plant wax made from hydrogenated soybean oil, common in container candles.

Spit

A llama's way of warning off rivals, usually other llamas, by launching stomach contents. See why llamas spit.

Streisand effect

When trying to hide or remove information online makes far more people notice it.

T

Taper

A tall, thin candle used in candleholders, often on dining tables.

Tealight

A small candle sold in its own metal or plastic cup.

Top note

The first impression of a fragrance, light and quick to fade, such as citrus or herbs.

Tunneling

When a candle burns straight down the middle and leaves a wall of unmelted wax. See fixing tunneling.

V

Vicuna

A small wild camelid of the Andes, the wild ancestor of the alpaca, famous for very fine fiber.

Viral

Spreading very quickly online through sharing.

Votive

A small candle designed to burn in a holder that catches the melted wax.

W

Wet spot

A patch where wax pulls away from the glass as it cools, making the jar look damp. Cosmetic only.

Wick trimmer

Scissors with an angled head made to cut wicks inside a jar.

Wood wick

A flat wooden strip used as a wick, known for its soft crackle.

Wool (llama)

Llama fiber, coarser than alpaca, used for rugs, ropes and outerwear.