Now Hot: $500 Candles

The Wall Street Journal declares that the market for luxury candles is one of this year's holiday winners. People are scooping them up as gifts or indulging themselves, thinking nothing of dropping $50, $100, or even, in the case of a particular candle from Cire Trudon of France, close to $500. What makes them so expensive? It's a little like pricey wines, with descriptions of scents "steeped in earth notes of vetiver and temple incense," and explanations about the proper blending of wax and fragrance.

A quote from a marketing exec at one company might be worth bearing in mind, however: "It's not to say that a more expensive fragrance makes for a better scent experience, but it makes for a great story." (More candles stories.)