Flickers with a plot twist: Imaginary Authors lights up Anthropologie

If you think cola belongs in a glass, not a candle, we might be about to argue. Imaginary Authors has slipped a discovery set into Anthropologie, and the three scents are cheeky enough to tempt even the perfume-first crowd.

• Cherry Groove: a cherry cola riff. Cola in wax can veer into syrupy diner nostalgia or land as that satisfying velvet fizz. If they nailed the effervescence and spice, this could be the rare cherry that behaves like an adult. My kitchen is already auditioning it in my mind.

• Shake Shake Shake: vanilla, heavy cream, malt. We do not need another vanilla candle, we need a vanilla with texture. Malt adds that toasty halo that keeps gourmands from feeling flat. If your winter lineup has gone stale, this one sounds like the reset button.

• Spin Me Round: grapefruit, buttery magnolia, Lily of the Valley. Citrus and creamy florals do a flirtatious push and pull, sharp then soft. Magnolia can go waxy in the best way, and muguet brings the crystalline lift. This reads as the sunny room you keep chasing all February.

Practicalities, because romance lives next to receipts. The set is three votive-ish candles at roughly 20 hours each for $54, so about 60 hours total. There is also a single larger candle at about 30 hours for $44. Cost per burn hour tells a story too: the trio comes in around 90 cents an hour, the single near $1.47. If you are sampling moods or gifting, the set is the smarter play. If you already know you want to live inside one scent, the solo jar makes sense.

What I like here is the attitude. Imaginary Authors built its fan base on narrative perfumes, and that storytelling energy translates neatly to home scent. Cola made grown up, vanilla with malted muscle, grapefruit softened by magnolia and muguet. Nothing feels timid. If you are candle-weary, this trio looks like a tidy way to recalibrate your nose without committing to a 70-hour monolith.

File under small flames with big opinions. And yes, I am starting with Cherry Groove.