It’s the Winter Olympics! So far, we’ve seen teenagers wake up late and win gold medals, skiiers on treacherous slopes manage to cross the finish line, women’s hockey trumping the men in the excitement stakes and many more.
Figure Skating, as always, has no less drama, with costume malfunctions costing points, historical feats being performed, the whole world watching and wondering if this will be the time that Canadian Ice Dancers Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue finally, publicly, admit their love for each other, and redemption stories all around (#NathanChen2022).
Tomorrow, a new ladies champion will be crowned, and it’s always everyone’s favorite competition. Who will win the gold, the elegant Evgenia Medvedeva or the athletically gifted Alina Zagitova? Will Mirai Nagasu, the first American woman to perform a Triple Axel in Olympic competition sneak in for the Bronze? While we’re waiting, find out which figure skater you are based on your favorite luxury candle.
If you like D.S. & Durga’s Diesel, you are…Tonya Harding
Described as “Animalic,” and with notes of vinyl, diesel smoke and earth-dirt, this offering by the young, Brooklyn-based brand is unexpectedly addictive. The description doesn’t sound too appealing, but one whiff of its scent sends the olfactory senses tingling while simultaneously confused and wanting for more.
If this candle was a female figure skater, it would be Tonya Harding. Tonya herself probably smells like vinyl, diesel smoke and earth-dirt, and her skating looks like it would be hard to accept but just one look at her triple axel and plucky attitude despite multiple factors holding her down, it’s no wonder her skating was so compelling to watch, even if everything about her demeanor said otherwise. Whether or not you believe she was actually behind the plot to hurt Nancy Kerrigan’s knee, it’s hard not to applaud her picking herself up and relatively succeeding on her current redemption tour.
You hopefully didn’t mastermind the sabotage of someone you don’t like, but you probably have the same can-do attitude and no one can hold you down.
If you like Diptyque’s Figuer, you are…Michelle Kwan
Everyone’s favorite first luxury candle is Dyptique, and Figuier is usally everyone’s first favorite from the brand. The warmth and fresshness of the scent of fig leaves and milky sap is a comforting, enveloping hug in a room. And then eventually you’ll move on to other candles, and Baies might be your flavor of the month, but no one ever quite forgets Figuier.
Just the same, everyone’s first favorite figure skater is Michelle Kwan. Even if you got into the sport now, you’ll watch old clips and marvel at her artistry, at the sheer joy her spirals bought. Even years, decades after the fact, you’ll still wish she won the Olympics over her competitors. And then you’ll watch her Fields of Gold exhibition at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, after a heartbreaking competition where she won the bronze medal, and cry (like I am, while I write this article and rewatch the exhibition). And today you’ll follow her on Instagram and marvel at the kind of person she turned out to be.
You have the same gregarious personality, and everyone wants to be your friend. Maybe your life hasn’t quite turned out the way you expected, but you keep at it, everyone can’t help but cheer you on.
If You Like Jo Malone London’s Wild Fig & Cassis, you are Kim Yuna
Jo Malone London’s Wild Fig & Cassis is a classic from the beloved British fragrance and candle brand. It’s clean, inoffensive and makes for a pleasant smell in every room, an air of classic elegance that everyone enjoys. It has a rivalry with Lime Basil & Mandarin about which JML candle is the best, and it has passionate fans in candle forums (yes, they exist) that will defend it to the death.
If this is your ultimate choice, you are Yuna Kim. She had amazing performance skills, a combination of technical elements and artistry, and any thing she did, like a triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop combination looked effortless, like she woke up one day and decided to do it. She achieved everything she did with the entire country of South Korea breathing down her neck, and a rivalry for the ages with Mao Asada. When she went back to compete in the Sochi Olympics, she seemed more tired, more run down but her beautiful skating won everyone’s hearts again, if not the gold, which caused a minor fissure in the Korean peninsula as netizens raised up a storm. She did all of that, while campaigning for her country to host the Olympics, and she is a very big reason as to why South Korea succeded.
Everything you do, you do it remarkably, from childhood to adulthood. You also have a host of pressures around you, from family and work, but you shrug it off, and say, “ok.” And then you succeed, because failure was never an option.
If you like Le Labo’s Santal 26 Candle, you are Evgenia Medvedeva
Just like the ubiquitous Santal 33 fragrance, the candle version inspires a mild hysteria among those who smell it for the first time. The Barney’s website describes it as “an aristocratic fragrance that will fill your space with refined personality,” which sounds just about right. In all the cool New York stores, Santal 26 is the candle of choice, its heady scent making customers wanting to buy more.
If you pick this, this means you are Evgenia Medvedeva. Evgenia came onto the scene hot on the heels of Adelina Sotnikova’s ball busting, controversial (depending who you speak with) Gold medal winning performance at the Sochi Olympics. If they switched, people would probably have an easier time agreeing that Evgenia would’ve deserved it, and tomorrow, she has a legitimate chance to win her own Gold medal. Her only real competition is her training partner, 15 year-old wonderkid Alina Zagitova, who exploded into everyone’s conciousness when Evgenia had an ankle injury last year. Zagitova can do the tricks, and performs a backloaded program to get all the points, while defenders of Medvedeva’s calmer style say they prefer Evgenia’s more artistically-inclined performance. Zagitova fans say Medvedeva is too boring, that Zagitova is the future of the sport. Either way, it will be a battle for the ages. In her spare time, Evgenia loves listening to Korean boyband EXO and watching anime, which means all the fans of those things love her too.
Right now, you’re young and on top of your game. Everyone loves you. Sometimes people say you’re too boring, that you need to be more outrageous and step out of your shell, but you don’t really care because people will always like you anyway.
