Japanese cypress and toasted sesame. On paper, it sounds like it shouldn't work. One is a temple wood, clean and meditative. The other belongs in a kitchen. But Dilo's Hinoki Sesame is one of those rare combinations where two unexpected ingredients create something entirely new - warm, nutty, contemplative, and unlike anything else in their lineup.
This is the most unique scent in Dilo's Elsewhere collection. While the other Elsewhere fragrances - Palo Santo, Desert Kush, Cactus Flower - are recognizable desert archetypes, Hinoki Sesame comes from a different place entirely. It's Japanese-inspired in a way that feels authentic rather than borrowed. If you're interested in what hinoki actually is and why it's so popular in fragrance right now, we've got a deeper dive on that.
The Scent, Note by Note
The candle and perfume build this scent differently, but the core character is consistent.
In the candle, bergamot and lemon peel open things up with brightness. Sea salt, incense smoke, and sesame seeds form the complex middle - that's where the nuttiness and the meditative quality live. The base grounds everything in hinoki, red cedar, and musk. The overall impression is walking into a Japanese bathhouse: pale wood, warm steam, and something lightly toasted in the air.
The incense cones and perfume simplify the pyramid. Hinoki cypress and sesame lead, with cedarwood and nutmeg in the middle and sandalwood and amber underneath. It's more direct - less layered than the candle, more concentrated.
The Products
Like the other Elsewhere scents, Hinoki Sesame comes in four formats. Each one gives you a different relationship with the fragrance.
8.5oz Candle (Elsewhere Collection) - $32
The best way to experience this scent. Hand-poured soy wax, 45 hours of burn time, medium to strong throw. The candle format gives the complex note structure room to unfold - you'll catch different layers at different points during the burn. The bergamot lifts at the beginning, the sesame warms up in the middle, and the hinoki base lingers after you blow it out.
This is the Hinoki Sesame product that smells like the perfume, according to Dilo, and they're right. The throw fills a room beautifully without overwhelming it.
4.5oz Candle (Elsewhere Collection) - $20
The smaller version. Burns for 25-30 hours with a medium throw. If you love the scent but need it for a bathroom, bedroom, or any room where the full 8.5oz would be too much, this is the right size. It's also a smart first purchase if you're not sure how you feel about a sesame note in a candle - $20 answers that question definitively.
Incense Cones - $20
Approximately 25 cones, 15-20 minutes per cone. The incense strips the scent down to its essentials: hinoki cypress, sesame, cedarwood, nutmeg, sandalwood, amber. It's more direct and concentrated than the candle. The smoke adds a layer of depth that makes the hinoki feel even more like a temple experience.
These are excellent for meditation or yoga. The nutty warmth of sesame combined with the calm of hinoki creates an atmosphere that's grounding without being heavy. Light one, sit down, breathe.
Elsewhere Perfume (15ml) - $35
Hinoki Sesame as a personal fragrance. Concentrated perfume oil, alcohol-free, applied with a dropper. A drop on each wrist and you carry this scent with you all day. The projection is intimate - close to the skin, catching you off guard throughout the day when you move your hands.
Wearing hinoki and sesame is a conversation starter. People will ask what you're wearing, and the answer is always interesting. It's not a scent anyone can place on first smell, which is part of the appeal.
Why This Scent Works
The genius of Hinoki Sesame is the tension between the two main ingredients. Hinoki is cool, clean, and austere - a scent associated with purity and stillness. Sesame is warm, toasted, and earthy - a scent associated with cooking and comfort. Together they create something that's meditative and cozy at the same time.
It reads as gender-neutral in the truest sense. There's nothing about it that skews traditionally masculine or feminine. It just smells like a calm, interesting space.
If you've been exploring woody candle scents and want something that goes beyond cedar and sandalwood, Hinoki Sesame is the next step. And if you've been curious about Japanese-inspired fragrance but find straight hinoki too austere on its own, the sesame note here adds the warmth that makes it livable.
Where to Start
The 4.5oz candle is the safest entry point for a scent this unusual. Twenty dollars, and you'll know within the first burn whether Hinoki Sesame is for you. Most people who try it become converts - it's one of those scents that grows on you and then becomes indispensable.
If you're already a hinoki fan, go straight to the 8.5oz candle or the perfume. You'll love what the sesame adds.
Shop Hinoki Sesame and the full Elsewhere collection for local pickup. Or book a scent flight at our Santa Cruz fragrance bar and experience this scent in person - it's one of those that really needs to be smelled to be understood.