The Magic of Scent: Inside the Collections of Hearth Witch & Co
by Aaliyah Smith
@interntaristocrat
"I'm a very literary-minded person," Kaitlin Drozdik tells me, settling into a conversation that feels less like an interview and more like two fragrance-obsessed friends catching up. "I love literature. I partially went to school for writing. So to me, there's always a story involved."
That storytelling instinct is the whole engine behind Hearth Witch Home Co, the candle brand Kaitlin launched in 2023 after a decade in corporate marketing left her, in her words, "very adrift." She wanted something that was undeniably hers — something no one could take from her, no matter what else was happening in her life. What she landed on was a brand built at the intersection of two things she'd never really let herself combine before: her love of ritual, and her decade of creative instinct.
Hearth Witch Home Co didn't start as a business plan , but with Kaitlin's mom and grandmother in the kitchen, making things from what they had on hand. That's the foundation the brand sits on, and it shows. Kaitlin has multiple chronic illnesses, and part of what pushed her toward candle-making was realizing that a lot of what she was burning in her own home wasn't doing her any favors. So she got hands-on. She'd already picked up candle making as a pandemic hobby back in 2020, and eventually that "well, I actually know how to do this" moment turned into a full-blown brand built on scent as both comfort and craft.
Ritual isn't a marketing angle for Kaitlin, it's the genuine way she runs her days. Incense burning before she sits down to work. Color theory and scent theory woven into her process. Actual, physical touch-grass breaks from an otherwise very online, e-commerce-driven business. "You have to kind of live it yourself," she says, "if you want to be a part of creating those rituals for people."
Ask Kaitlin how a candle comes together and you'll get something closer to a character breakdown than a product brief. Every scent starts one of two ways: either she already knows the story she wants to tell and hunts for the fragrance that matches it, or she falls in love with a combination first and has to figure out what it's trying to say.
Her character-inspired collections — Interview with the Vampire, Coven, and of course, Practical Magic — are full-on character studies. Take Louis from Interview with the Vampire: rosewood, amber, and leather, built around the idea of "New Orleans Louis" — impeccably dressed, wandering the Quarter at night, mysterious in a way you can practically smell. The whole method is a character study: What's this person's vibe? What's their journey? What would they smell like themselves?
If you want to see Kaitlin light up, ask her about Practical Magic. She was four years old when the movie came out, grew up on it, and devoured Alice Hoffman's original novels along the way — and it shows in how deep the collection goes.
"I think the book definitely informed a little bit more," she explains, "just because with the movie, in my opinion, all of the books individually could be their own limited series." The character candles in particular lean on the novels for their nuance — especially the prequel that dives into the aunts as younger women. But a few pieces pull straight from the film: No Body No Crime nods to one specific unforgettable scene, and Midnight Margaritas captures a moment that became iconic in its own right.
What was supposed to be a short-term, seasonal drop has become the brand's signature — a genuine year-round line with regulars who buy on a rolling basis, each with their own go-to scent that's basically become their home's signature. Kaitlin sees the appeal as bigger than nostalgia for nostalgia's sake: it's about the comfort, community, and unapologetic weirdness that Practical Magic — and that whole late-90s/early-2000s era — represented, especially for women and queer communities looking for a little more softness in a harder moment.
The signature Practical Magic candle itself is built to unfold. It opens earthy and herbal, with Katarini tobacco (a Greek varietal with a natural clove-like edge) revealing itself slowly instead of hitting all at once. "I want people to have that experience of it that feels like the human experience," Kaitlin says, "and it feels like you coming home to yourself." Tall order for a candle, but that's exactly the point.
One of the most interesting things Kaitlin talks about is the difference between homes that feel decorated and homes that feel collected — and how fragrance, more than any object, does that emotional work. Her advice: don't ask "what's the right scent," ask "what's the energy in this room." Warm cinnamon notes for a kitchen that needs to feel like the heart of the home. Tobacco, oud, or citrus for an office where you need to stay sharp. Something aquatic for the bathroom. It's less about trends and more about matching scent to the version of yourself you want to be in that space — which, if you think about it, is exactly what perfume has always done too.
Kaitlin isn't slowing down. Up next: body oils, a project she took her time with because of her own skin sensitivities — a blend of avocado, argan, jojoba, coconut, and rose hip oil that can double as everyday moisturizer or an intention ritual. Incense is in testing. And for anyone who's been waiting — yes, a Queen of the Damned candle is coming, timed to the next season of Interview with the Vampire.
If this is your first time hearing about Hearth Witch Home Co, Kaitlin's own recommendation for newcomers depends on your scent profile — floral, earthy, gourmand, or ( in my personal preference) something more skin-close and pheromone-adjacent (her words: "not weird at all").
Shop the full collection — including Practical Magic and the Interview with the Vampire line — and keep an eye out for the upcoming body oils and incense drops on Instagram:
Instagram:@hearthwitchshop
Whether you're a longtime witch or just someone who wants their apartment to smell like a Alice Hoffman novel, there's a scent in this lineup with your name, or your favorite character's, on it.
