In 1963, two years after Desmond Knox-Leet, Christiane Montadre-Gautrot and Yves Coueslant opened their little shop at 34 boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris, the three friends started making scented candles. Diptyque's own history says the candle had been a purely practical item until then, and that in their hands it became a decorative and sensory object. I like that sentence. It explains why a candle can sit on a shelf like a small piece of art.

The look is the oval label with its dancing black letters, a visual code the brand describes as riddles to decipher. Harper's Bazaar traces the oval to Egyptian cartouches and poetic calligrams. Baies, the blackcurrant and rose candle, is the one most people picture, and Figuier, the fig, has its own loyal following. This Diptyque candle dupe edit is not about the original at all. It is a set of candles, sprays and diffusers from other labels that share the idea: a clean glass vessel, a simple label, and a scent you can name in one breath.

Start with the fig candles, because fig is where I would begin. Sappho Fig from Flamingo Estate comes in olive-green glass with a plain white label, and it smells of a Greek-island fig tree. Apotheke's Fig & Olive Leaf is a matte white tumbler with juicy fig, olive leaf and white jasmine. Bon Parfumeur's Candle 01 is clear glass with a numbered square label, fig leaf with basil and mint, and Trudon's Figuerie is deep green glass with a gold crest, fresh green against deep wood. Amen's Picasso Figue in white porcelain is the one I would put on a bookshelf.

My practical tip for October: set the candle where you can see the label from the sofa, and let it burn long enough on the first light to melt all the way to the edge.

The Baies story is the right place to begin. Diptyque's CEO describes it as the tart, invigorating aroma of blackcurrants with the delicate, elegant scent of roses, and that pairing is the one these candles borrow. None of them claim to smell exactly like it. They are built on berry and rose, so think of them as the same family.

Jo Malone London's Blackberry & Bay is deep, tart blackberry with green bay leaf in a cream glass jar with a silver lid, and I would reach for it first if you want the berry side. Voluspa's Berry Chantilly Japonica is a pink embossed jar with freshly picked berries, and its Rose Otto leans on Rosa Damascena and Bulgarian rose. Maison Francis Kurkdjian's À la rose, in pale pink glass with a gold-framed label, is all Damascena and Centifolia roses. Lancôme's Storm & Roses has a round gold medallion and an electric rose-after-rain note.

Here is the test I would run in the shop: look at the label before you smell anything. A border or a medallion should sit straight and sharp, because the label is what sells the look at a glance. Then lift the lid and decide whether the berry or the rose arrives first. The best ones hold both.

What I would skip: the Trish McEvoy blueberry vanilla in black glass is lovely, but it is sweet and dark, so it is a different mood from a fresh berry and rose candle.

Feu de Bois, the wood fire candle, is the one I think of when the first cold evening arrives, and this is the season for it. Diptyque's candles are known for room-filling scent, helped by what Harper's Bazaar calls a custom blend of up to eight types of wax. That is the detail to look for in a woody look-alike: a scent that reaches across the room.

Voluspa's Burning Woods has an oval gold-ringed label on black glass, with cedar and Himalayan juniper, which is the nearest to the oval idea here. Apotheke's Charcoal is matte black with cedarwood, sandalwood and smoky embers. Tom Ford's Ébène Fumé is amber glass with palo santo and fiery ebony wood, and Byredo's Tree House mixes cedar, bamboo, sandalwood and guaiac wood. Boy Smells Hard Wood is black pepper, worn leather and cedar with a mauve label, and Matière Première's Encens Oman is square black glass with smoky incense.

Picture a knit sweater, bare legs and boots on the sofa, with one of these on the coffee table. Black and amber glass looks best in a room with warm light. Check that the wick sits straight in the middle of the jar, since a centered wick melts the wax evenly.

What I would skip: English Oak from Jo Malone London is a lovely green wood, but it is a forest scent, not a smoky one.

Diptyque also makes room sprays, and the same brand spirit shows in the bottle: a clear label, a simple cap, a scent named after a place or a plant. A spray is the quick version. It suits a rented room, a hallway or a desk where a flame is a bad idea.

Byredo's Bibliothèque is paper, wood, leather and vanilla in a black glass bottle with a white label. Apotheke's Charcoal is a matte black square bottle with the same smoky cedarwood and sandalwood as its candle. Aesop's Aromatique is amber glass with a cream label, and Jo Malone London's English Pear & Freesia is clear glass with a silver cap and bordered label. Malin+Goetz's Sage is a small white bottle and an alcohol-free home spray. Brooklyn Candle Studio's Santorini is fig and red currant, a nice link back to the first section.

My test is the label and the cap. Check that the label sits straight and reads clearly, and that the cap feels snug. Spray once in the air, step back, and wait a minute, because the dry-down tells you more than the first burst.

What I would skip: the Voluspa California Summers is a fresh aquatic scent. It is pretty, but it does not echo the woods and berries of the candles, so leave it for the bathroom.

Diptyque launched with candles in 1963, but a lot of us want scent that works all day with no wick to trim. That is where a reed diffuser comes in. The black reeds, the reusable glass and the simple label are the details that make it look like part of the same shelf as a candle.

NEST New York's Bamboo Reed Diffuser lasts about 90 days and comes in clear glass with black reeds, and its Himalayan Salt & Rosewater has rosewater, geranium and salt. Apotheke's Charcoal is matte black glass with black reeds and smoky cedarwood. Voluspa's Santal Vanille is embossed glass with vanilla, oud and warm woods, and its Baltic Amber is a glass bottle with black reeds. Lafco's Sea & Dune is a slate-blue glass vessel that is reusable, and Glasshouse's Kyoto In Bloom has a gold label and natural reeds.

The test here is the glass. Hold it up and look for even thickness and a clean neck. A vessel you would keep once the scent is gone is a good sign.

What I would skip: the Jo Malone London Wood Sage & Sea Salt is a continuous flameless diffuser, a different thing from a reed diffuser. It is lovely, but it plugs in, so keep it for a room with an outlet.

I would choose the vessel first. Marie Claire quotes Blueme's founder saying a candle's quality comes down to the vessel, the wax and the wick, and that a cotton wick and wax blend should form a complete pool of liquid in two to three hours. Then I would choose the scent, one fig, one berry and rose, one wood.

After that, one spray for the hall and one diffuser for the bedroom. Keep the labels clean and the glass simple, and the shelf will have the calm of a boulevard Saint-Germain window, two panels and nothing extra.