Two of the four notes in Voluspa Forbidden Fig have nothing to do with a fig tree. The official list reads ripened fig, velvety musk, midnight rose, and fig leaf. The musk and the rose carry far more of the scent than most people realize, and that explains why so many replacements miss.
What customers say on Google
View on Google
The usual fix is to search for a fig candle and buy the first one with good reviews. Most fig candles are built around the green parts of the tree, like the leaf and the milky sap, so they come out sharp and grassy. Forbidden Fig is sweet and close to a perfume. A true match has to come from the notes around the fig, which is why the one fig candle among our hand-poured beeswax candles pairs its fig with black currant and a warm amber base.
What Forbidden Fig is made of, note by note
Start with the fig itself. Ripened fig smells jammy and soft, closer to the inside of a dried fig than to a green one picked off the branch. On its own it can read a little flat, so perfumers rarely let it stand alone.
The fig leaf adds the green. A crushed fig leaf smells sharp and slightly milky. That milky side is why many fig blends lean on a creamy, coconut-like note to round it out. In Forbidden Fig, the leaf sits behind the fruit and keeps the sweetness from turning sticky.
The midnight rose is the note most people never name but always notice. A dark rose smells deeper and more wine-like than a garden rose, and it pulls the whole candle toward perfume. Voluspa's own description adds plump wild berries and sweet nectar, which is where the dark, jammy feel comes from.
Velvety musk is the floor. Musk smells soft and warm, like clean skin or a sweater someone wore yesterday. It is the note that lingers after the flame goes out, and without it the fig would smell thin within minutes.
So the candle you want to replace is really a dark fruit perfume with a fig at its center. That one fact is the part most search results skip, and it is the reason the obvious fix keeps letting fans down.
Why the fig candle you bought to replace it smelled wrong
Fig candles mostly fall into two families. The first is the green family, built on the leaf and the sap of the tree. These smell fresh and outdoorsy, and next to Forbidden Fig they come across sharp and a little bitter.
The second family goes the other way. Here fig is one note in a sweet fruit blend, often paired with something herbal like olive. They can smell pleasant, but they lose the rose and the musk that give Forbidden Fig its depth.
Forbidden Fig sits between the two families. It has enough green to smell like a real fig and enough dark fruit and musk to smell like a perfume. Any candle that leans hard toward one side will feel off, even with the word fig printed on the label.
There is a second reason a replacement can fall flat, and it has to do with the burn. A fragrance blend has light notes that lift off first and heavy notes, like musk and amber, that need steady heat to come out. A candle that tunnels down the middle never melts enough wax to release the heavy notes, so you smell the top of the blend and little else.
This is where the wax and the wick matter as much as the scent. Beeswax has the highest melting point of any candle wax, so it melts slowly and burns longer. A wooden wick throws a wide, steady flame that spreads heat across the surface. On the 12 oz size, two wooden wicks melt the pool edge to edge, which gives the warm base notes room to open.
That leaves two things to check: the notes on the label, and how the candle will burn in your room. The notes come first, because no wick can add a note that was never in the jar.
The four notes a Forbidden Fig match has to carry
Work backward from Forbidden Fig and you get a short checklist. A candle that carries all four parts will feel familiar from the first evening. A candle that carries one will mostly remind you of what is missing.
- A real fig note. Fig has to be on the list, ideally with something green or creamy beside it to stand in for the leaf.
- A dark berry. Black currant or red currant does the job of Forbidden Fig's wild berries. It adds that jammy, slightly tart depth.
- A soft floral. Something has to play the midnight rose. A powdery note like orris or a rich one like jasmine pulls the blend toward perfume.
- A warm base. Amber or tonka bean stands in for velvety musk, the part that stays in the room after the flame is out.
Hold that list against any fig candle and the answer starts to sort itself out. The closest match puts fig beside black currant and a powdery floral, all sitting on a warm amber base.
The best candles that smell like Voluspa Forbidden Fig, ranked
We ranked these by the checklist, from the candle that carries all four parts down to the ones that carry the fig alone. Our two picks sit at the top because they hold the most of what makes Forbidden Fig smell the way it does.
1. MBur Touch Grass: the closest match to Forbidden Fig
Picture the spot on the shelf where your Voluspa jar used to sit, the one that made the living room smell finished when friends walked in. Our Touch Grass beeswax candle with fig and black currant is the one we would put there.
Notes: Fig, Black currant, Galbanum, Coconut, Davana, Cedarwood, Amber, Orris, Tonka bean.
Standout feature: it checks all four boxes. Fig leads, and the notes around it rebuild the rest of the Forbidden Fig shape.
Galbanum is a green plant resin with a bitter, just-snapped-stem smell. Paired with coconut, it rebuilds the milky green of a fig leaf. Davana is an herb oil with a soft, dried-fruit edge that pushes the fig toward ripe.
Black currant brings the dark berry. Orris, the dried root of the iris, smells powdery and a little like violet, and it plays the part the midnight rose plays in Forbidden Fig. Amber and tonka bean sit underneath with dry cedarwood, holding the warmth where Forbidden Fig keeps its musk.
Best for: the living room or any shared space where you want sweet fig and dark fruit filling the room.
Size and price: for a living room you light most nights, choose the 12 oz size. Its two wooden wicks melt the pool across the whole jar, and it burns 80+ hours, at $65.
Wax: 100% beeswax | Wick: wooden, two on the 12 oz | Fragrance: phthalate-free | Burn time: 80+ hours (12 oz), 40 hours (5 oz) | Dyes: none
Every jar is hand poured in New York City. The wooden wicks crackle softly as they burn, and beeswax gives off a warm light that sits closest to natural sunlight.
2. MBur Retail Therapy: the darker, sweeter side of Forbidden Fig
Some fans love Forbidden Fig most an hour after lighting it, when the berries and the rose have taken over and the green has faded. If that is the stage you miss, our Retail Therapy beeswax candle with black currant and jasmine lives right there.
Notes: Red Currant, Black Currant, Jasmine, Peach, Black Tea, Amber, Anise, Tonka Bean.
Standout feature: two currants together give a deeper, jammier berry than either one alone. Jasmine fills the floral role with a richer bloom, and peach adds the sweet nectar Voluspa describes.
Black tea keeps all that sweetness dry, so it never turns syrupy. Amber and tonka bean give the warm base. There is no fig note, which is why it ranks second, and also why it suits a room where you want the sweet side from the first minute.
Best for: a bedroom or a reading corner, where you want the drydown of Forbidden Fig without the green.
Size and price: for a bedroom or a room you use a few evenings a week, the 5 oz size fits. It has one wooden wick and burns 40 hours, at $32.
Wax: 100% beeswax | Wick: wooden, one on the 5 oz | Fragrance: phthalate-free | Burn time: 40 hours (5 oz), 80+ hours (12 oz) | Dyes: none
One verified buyer described how it carries across a room:
"I burn it in my room and my living room and it fills my space SOOOOO nicely... Theres nothing I hate more than a candle that can't fill the room and baby this is NOT that. This candle permeates every corner of the room."
Verified buyer
3. Diptyque Figuier: the green fig tree
Diptyque's fig candle has been a reference point for fig lovers for years. Its profile centers on the tree itself, from the leaves down to the milky sap.
It ticks the fig box and sits firmly in the green family described above. Forbidden Fig fans who reach for it tend to find the green they expected and miss the dark berry and the musk. Touch Grass carries that same green line through galbanum and coconut, then layers the fruit and the warm base on top.
Style: fresh, green, outdoorsy.
4. Paddywax Fig & Olive: fig with an herbal edge
Paddywax is a widely sold candle brand with a broad scent library. Its fig candle pairs sweet fig with herbal olive and green wood, a Mediterranean take that reads more kitchen garden than evening perfume.
It ticks the fig box as well. The herbal olive pulls it away from the rose and musk that define Forbidden Fig, so it lands in a different mood. For the Forbidden Fig mood itself, Touch Grass stays the pick.
Style: herbal, Mediterranean, savory-sweet.
Side by side: how each candle lines up with Forbidden Fig
| Candle | Checklist boxes it carries | Scent style |
|---|---|---|
| MBur Touch Grass | All four: fig, black currant, orris, amber and tonka bean | Ripe fig in dark fruit, green edge, warm base |
| MBur Retail Therapy | Three: red and black currant, jasmine, amber and tonka bean | Jammy, floral, sweet with a dry tea finish |
| Diptyque Figuier | One: fig | Green fig tree, leaf and sap |
| Paddywax Fig & Olive | One: fig | Fig with herbal olive and green wood |
The pattern holds across every row. The more of the four parts a candle carries, the closer it comes to the room you remember.
Before you switch: the questions that come up
"But Forbidden Fig has a rose in it."
Touch Grass handles the rose through orris, which gives the same soft, powdery lift a dark rose gives a perfume. If you want the floral louder and the fig quieter, that is the moment to choose Retail Therapy, where jasmine sits right at the center.
"But my living room is big and open."
That is exactly the room the 12 oz Touch Grass is for. Two wooden wicks melt a wider pool than one wick can, and a wider pool releases more of the blend into the air. Set it near the middle of the room and away from drafts, so the flame stays steady and the scent spreads evenly.
"But the last one I tried smelled great in the jar and faded once lit."
That usually traces back to the first burn. Let a new candle burn until the melted wax reaches the edge of the jar, so it never starts to tunnel. Before each later burn, trim the charred tip of the wooden wick, and keep each burn under four hours so the flame stays clean and even.
Fig candle FAQ
Does Touch Grass smell exactly like Voluspa Forbidden Fig?
Touch Grass shares Forbidden Fig's shape: ripe fig with dark berry and a soft floral, over a warm base. The individual notes differ, so it smells like its own candle with a familiar feel. Most fans notice the fig and black currant first, then the orris and amber as the Touch Grass candle warms up.
How long does a beeswax fig candle actually burn?
MBur candles burn 40 hours in the 5 oz size and 80+ hours in the 12 oz size. Beeswax has the highest melting point of any candle wax, so it burns down slower than softer waxes. Every candle in our beeswax candle collection comes in both sizes.
Is Touch Grass too green for a bedroom?
The green notes settle as the candle warms, and the amber and tonka bean take over the room. If you want the sweeter side from the very first minute, Retail Therapy skips the green and goes straight to dark berries and jasmine.
What should I look for on the label of a fig candle?
Check the notes against the four-part checklist first. Then check the build: 100% beeswax, a wooden wick, phthalate-free fragrance, and no chemical dye. Every candle in our hand-poured beeswax collection meets all of those and is poured in New York City.
Our pick: Touch Grass, in the 12 oz size
Forbidden Fig is a dark fruit perfume with a fig at its center, and the closest match carries that whole shape. Touch Grass is the only candle on this list that puts fig beside black currant and orris, all over a warm amber base.
Put it in the living room, where the fig and the dark fruit can fill the space the way your old jar did. Two wooden wicks melt the beeswax edge to edge, and the 12 oz size burns 80+ hours, so it is the candle you can light every evening without thinking twice.
One verified buyer summed up how the line tends to land:
"They smell up a WHOLE room during the burn & even a while after blowing them out. I won't buy other candles anymore, they're just that good"
Verified buyer
If your Forbidden Fig is down to its last inch, order now so the new candle reaches you before the old one goes out.
Get Touch Grass in the 12 oz size for your living room, because it is the fig candle that fills a room the way Forbidden Fig did.
Related reading
