Q: What does a feminist smell like?

 

A: Whatever they want!

Stick these feminist Diptyque-parody candle labels to any candle you want. The easiest way to make one of these is to buy a candle in a plain glass jar, remove the label, and stick on one of these labels. Totally a good, quick option if you have candles that you like the jar and smell of, but don’t like the label. Another option is to pour your own candles, but if you’re short on time (like me right now), the store-bought candle is a great alternative. Read on for some tips on removing labels, plus my free printable replacements.

Even if you don’t realize it, you’ve probably seen a Diptyque candle. They always seem to be strewn about the home of the latest Instagram-It-girl, or decorating the bedroom of the chic couple in that scandalous drama you can’t stop watching. People say that they smell amazing, and last a long time, so maybe they don’t just buy them for the labels, but I’m not about to shell out that kind of money for a candle to find out.

When I saw this photo of a Feminist parody version, I knew I had to make my own. (As far as I know, that one isn’t for sale, and the commodification of feminism is problematic, anyway. Feminism is DIY.) I’m not a trained graphic designer, but I know enough Photoshop to make my own labels, so I got to work making some free printable ones to share.

After staring at a bunch of Diptyque candles, I couldn’t decide how to arrange the text on these, so I tried out three different designs. And then I couldn’t decide which one I liked the best, so I’m sharing all three, and you get to choose your favorite(s). Based on what worked for most of the candle jars I have, there are two different sizes, 2.5-inches tall and 3-inches-tall.

I’ll share a tutorial soon for pouring your own candles (or use my citronella candle tutorial), but until then, here’s the quick version in time for Mother’s Day–if you have a cool feminist mom, I bet she’d love one of these!

DIY Feminist Candles

Materials

Printable labels *Printable parody labels are provided for free for personal use only. Please do not distribute the files elsewhere.*
Printable white label paper sheets
Candles

Tools

Scissors
Ruler
Optional for label removal:
Hairdryer
Goo Gone
Dish soap

Steps

1. Remove the old label from the candle jar. There are two ways that may work to do this: Soak the label in water, or warm it with a hairdryer for about 30 seconds, and peel it off. One of my labels came right off with no residue after I heated it with a dryer, and the other came off but left residue I had to clean off with some Goo Gone and dish soap.

2. Print the labels onto label paper, and cut them out. My label paper said to use the “label” setting, but my printer didn’t have that, so I just used the matte paper setting, on highest quality. When I cut out my labels, I left a thin white border around the outermost black border.

3. Stick the labels to your candle jars!

P.S. If you like the marble and copper tray the candles are sitting on, here’s the tutorial for making your own.