DashDividers_1_500x100 |

I never thought I’d use the word “luxury” to describe cleaning products. In fact, tidying up my apartment is one of my least luxurious obligations. However, one does not mention the famed, status-defining Parisian parfumerie Diptyque without sprinkling opulent adjectives into their sentence like bacon bits in a Cobb salad. So, you can understand the cognitive dissonance that clouded my brain as I held the brand’s debut — you guessed it — luxury cleaning product collection La Droguerie in my glove-adorned hands.

The entire line consists of an odor-removing Diptyque candle, dishwashing liquid, a dish brush, a multi-surface cleaner, a scented ceramic for fabric, some leather and wood lotion, and handy product refills. When it arrived, the package’s aroma (I received everything minus the dishwashing liquid, dish brush, and refills) transported me to an enchanted forest comprised of lush coniferous trees, fresh lavender sprigs, and unusual yet complementary tangerines. But fragrant does not equal effective, so I placed my skeptic hat atop my head and put all four home cleaning goods up against my apartment.

Despite its vast offerings of perfumes, scented jewelry, body care, home decor, and more, Diptyque is most famous for its aesthetic, deliciously potent candles. One can usually recognize the brand by smell before sight — and those jumbled black serif letters trapped inside that stark white squoval label are iconic. With La Droguerie we can now take those famed candles and use them to clean our toilets.

According to Diptyque representatives, the new home cleaning goods combine “effectiveness with respect for the environment” as well as “style with subtle fragrances.” The Multi-Purpose Cleaner, for example, cleanses with vinegar but leaves a lovely trail of lavender, cedar, and fig notes upon drying. There is also a literal candle in the mix that removes odors with, per its on-site description, “technology that targets and eliminates the molecules responsible for unpleasant odors.” As for the rest of the line, you’ll find a fragrant ceramic for fabric that repels moths while showering your clothes in sexy aromas, a citrus dishwashing liquid crafted to cut through grease, and, lastly, some nourishing beeswax lotion for all things leather and wood. Select items are Ecocert-certified and feature refillable packaging.

As for my critique criteria, I decided that a cleaning product priced on the market for over $10 and residing on Diptyque’s fancy shelves should be three things: fragrant, functional, and fabulous. By “fragrant” I mean unique, compelling, and lovely smelling but not nauseating or… odd (some smells just do not signify cleanliness like, let’s say, a sugary fruity scent). “Functional” is self-explanatory — does it do as it is advertised? And finally, “fabulous” because I can only imagine someone viewing the price tag and scoffing, “For $40 that spray better do my laundry!” or something along those cheesy lines. So those formulas ought to work some serious magic.