At Humankind, we make dual-layered candles, like getting two scoops of different ice cream in one cup. Take our bestseller Pistachio Cream and Japanese Milk Bread candle. The green top layer is Pistachio Cream; the brown bottom layer is Japanese Milk Bread.
When you first encounter the candle, you'll smell only the Pistachio Cream. But as you light it, you'll move through three scent stages: first the Pistachio Cream, then a mix of both, and finally just. the Pistachio Milk Bread.
As a chronic candle lover (before I started Humankind), I used to buy candles that lasted forever - but I always got tired of the same scent hours after burning. I also didn't have much shelf space in for a whole lineup of different candles. That's where the idea came from: two complementary scents in one vessel.
Dual layered (or 2in1 candles) do exist - brands like Jo Malone, or Glade have done them - but rarely as part of their main lineup. The reason being is that they're incredibly labour-intensive.
Most candle require just one pour: melted wax is scented, poured into the vessel, and cured (a fancy word for solidified). Those candles only take one hour. Humankind Candles requires two pours, two cures, and 2-3 hours per candle.
We can take the Pistachio Cream JPM candle as an example. The first pour is the Japanese Milk Bread, has to cure completely before I can add the Pistachio Layer. If I poured both layers too soon, they'd mix into a single scent. Once that first layer hardens, I pour the second, and that has to cure too. It's a slower process but it's what makes Humankind candles so special!