BUNGALUX

If you have to wait for a friend, you might as well do it in the bar of a beautifully decorated French bistro in Hollywood. So, last night, while our friend wiggled her way over the hill from Warner Bros in terrible traffic, we sipped expensive champagne and did what any self-respecting single women would do in a bar… scoped out the décor.

And that’s where we picked up on the tres chic idea for red votive candles. Even though clear votives are fairly ubiquitous, the last time we had seen red ones was in the church of our Catholic grade school.

Nestled in bookshelves between books, liquor, and artifacts, the red flames evoked a sensual, old-fashioned mood … they made us feel like we were in a nineteenth century Parisian bar in the Left Bank waiting to do, well, what we were told in Catholic school we weren’t supposed to do.

We like the 2.5-inch red votive holders of Biedermann and Sons, because the lip on the glass is a little thicker than some of the other, slightly less expensive ones. They sell in packs of a dozen holders for $30 and can be purchased at Amazon. Of course you’ll need the candles too. We recommend buying the 10-15 hour ones so you don’t have to stop, well, whatever you would be stopping, to change them.

And since we at Bungalux always give props to those who think of the idea before we do, visit Comme Ca in Hollywood for great steak frites and decorate comme ca.

WHERE TO BUY

• Amazon