ZGO

Decent prices for Paddywax! My favorite apothecary is closing up shop so I’m happy to have this place not too far away. $ 18 for a full sized Paddywax (balsam & fur is perfect for the holiday season!) is extremely reasonable. I’m definitely coming back. Also, I haven’t even tried the perfumes yet! Will have to look into whether or not they sell cruelty free fragrances as that’s a deal breakers in my book. Oh, and they give you complimentary matches with every purchase, a very nice touch.

Hey, it’s not just candles! The inner section has an amazing selection of perfume lines that are really hard to find: Agoniste, Montale, Penhaligons, Comme des Garcons and the staff is super knowledgeable and friendly.

Such an outstanding assortment. I went to this store by accident. I thought it was mainly home fragrance and then I saw a sign for Comme des Garçons and I knew that meant personal fragrances. Comme des Garçons is one of my favourite brands; I was so excited to see the full line here.
I thought they had a small set of collections but the longer I stayed I found so much depth in brands and line assortments; Serge Luten, Diptyque, Panhaligons, and many more.
I’m a huge fragrance fan that I will often take sample paper tabs home, rate and then I rank which I prefer, hone in on a smaller set and then make a decision on one and then make a purchase. I am always happy with what I select based on this method I use.
It is a great place to visit for a very unique and special gift. I found the service outstanding and so knowledgable.

Absolutely Gorgeous shop. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience here! was window shopping & browsed in and was immediately greeted by the ever so cute staff. Where to begin? Their products are amazing. Glorious Candles & Fine Fragrances to aromatherapy oils. Even home Décor. This Shop reminds me of the shops In Covent Garden, London. OR even Hampstead or Paris.
It is quite High End and pricey, but they’ve got one of a kind products that you cannot find elsewhere. This shop is PERFECT for that Special Gift for someone as well!

I wish I could import this store down in LA – it’s super scent shopping. Though there were tons of candles and diffusers, I zeroed in on the perfumes because it was a fantastic and varied collection. Claude, the owner, introduced me to Serge Lutens and I’m now wearing it daily. LOVE!

Amazing high-​end selection of parfums! Weston was so generous with his time, he was very engaging, amiable and his endless knowledge of olfactory notes transcended me in the midst of lilacs and cinnamon barks. Indeed my new solace. Thank you dearly!

Wonderful selections and the staff/​owners are very helpful and knowledgable. Love this place.

Helpful and friendly staff. We wandered in looking for a housewarming gift and found something suitable here.
Great selections of luxury candles, diffusers, hand creams and soaps are available including the wildly popular (and pricey) Diptyque candles.
We asked if they sold extra diffuser sticks as we wanted to purchase some for ours at home. The guy helping us kindly threw a pack of them in for free.
The entire store smells pretty. If I could I would spend hours in here smelling and testing every single product in here.

I ordered close to 100 dollars in diffusers from this company. One of the scents I had ordered before and so I thought I was safe. Wrong. It literally smelled like ammonia. The other one smelled like Glade and instantly gave me a headache.
I wrote an email to the company asking about their return policy. No response. 3 days later I call. The gentleman on the end of the line said the return policy was on their website. Awesome, thanks. Do you mind telling me about it too? Because that’s generally considered good customer service after a client tells you that their inquiry went unanswered. Instead, while I’m on the phone I read about the return policy which states that merchandise can be returned if it is unopened. Ummmm. How the hell are you supposed to know what something smells like before opening it? To which the gentleman responds «Well most people know what they are ordering.»
Long story short, they won’t take the merchandise back because it would be a loss to them. Really? Well it’s an even bigger loss to me. You can’t swing 50.00 in cost to basically insure a happy (and loyal) customer? Then you are going to hear about it.
I will never order from this company again, nor do I recommend them.

My hyper-​zen roommate has converted me into a candle lover, and this was the first place she insisted I visit to fill my apartment with aromatic therapy.
I fell in love with this store the second I stepped inside – owned by a couple, an engineer and a designer – every inch of this space and every item displayed is perfectly curated. They have everything candle-​and-​diffuser-​related from the affordable to über high-​end, so there is a perfect candle match for everyone.
I bought a diffuser and a gorgeous vanilla candle, and I could not be happier with my selections. The extremely sweet girl in the shop showed me all of her favorites and recommendations, which was extremely helpful.
It was a fabulous five-​star experience and I will surely go back for gifts and for myself for the rest of my days living in SF.

Gorgeous space at the corner of 19^th & Castro (just a few doors down from Spike’s Coffee). The shopkeepers are so nice and will let you browse to your heart’s content without any pressure. I purchased a Jonathan Adler match striker as a housewarming gift here, and the woman behind the counter threw in two matchbooks, and wrapped and bagged it at no extra charge. I will always come here first for housewarming gifts!

i absolutely love this store! It’s a beautiful space and they have an amazing selection of candles and home scents. It’s super convenient for me since I live close by — I stop in here more than I should and always leave with a bag full of goodies!
They are always really nice and include a sample or some great matches. I love supporting a local business and being able to get great quality gorgeous candles at the same time. Thanks ZGO! I will be back… :)

Sigh, the pitfalls of Unilocal — you do your best to have a superb business and then there comes along someone like «Soul Surfer C.» who gives ZGO a two-​star review because of the San Francisco Bag Law. To take one’s anger out on a business for something that almost every business has to adhere to reminds me of the scene in The Simpsons where Grandpa Simpson is pictured screaming at a cloud, with a caption stating «Old Man Yells At Cloud» — both situations are an example of a pathetic, flaccid anger directed at someone/​something that have nothing to do with what’s making them angry in the first place. Oh, and you spent over a hundred dollars on candles? Wow, big fucking deal — that’s what, like one and a half candles in that store? Here’s a helpful hint for you: stick with Glade PlugIns.
ZGO has been a very needed and exciting addition to The Castro. They have an extremely well-​curated selection of candles, soaps, and home fragrances. Of note are the Cire Trudon candles as well as a line of candles from Christian Tortu, both of which contain some of the highest quality ingredients that are blended to make just beautiful scents in the home. There’s tons of other brands, like Diptyque that not only produce one of the best buys in the scented candle world but ZGO also carries Diptyque’s personal fragrances, aka perfumes/​colognes.
Speaking of perfumes and colognes, they started carrying a limited number of fragrances from Commes des Garcons, Nez a Nez, and, most exciting, Amouage! All their perfumes/​colognes are the same price as what you’d get at Barneys or Gumps, so I would recommend you check this place out and support a small and local business before heading downtown.

Great range of candles in a calm minimalist space. Just lovely. I felt terribly guilty coming in but not buying anything (i have a cabinet full of candles to last me a while) because he had such great stuff!
They seem to have every candle line available in every store in town all in once place, and lots of different price ranges.

I could LIVE in this store. They have every candle and fragrance available and they all smell lovely.

What a great gift shop with hard to find items for the home! A great new shop that smell incredible when you first walkin and is operated by a sweet couple. The layout is clean and a pleasure to shop and the service delightfully helpful and kind. They gift wrapped my purchase impeccably too.
I will definitely be back with friends and family.

This place is pretty much heaven for me. A phenomenal selection the breadth and depth of product is tremendous — something for every nose and budget! The fella that helped me couldn’t have been nicer AND he tossed in a couple of samples too boot!
A new neighborhood fave!

Whew… I had a heart attack when I drove by their original storefront on Gough Street and saw it had closed down!!!
Luckily they just moved their location to Castro :) (Much better foot traffic)
Anyways this is the place to go in the City for scented candles! They have a large assortment and varying price ranges depending on your price point. After doing a lot of research I can honestly say they do not «price gouge» they charge at the best price available.
My first experience with them was when I had purchased candles and after bringing them home realized it was not scents I really liked. They did not flinch when I asked if I could exchange them.
Most of all I have to rave about the store owners. They are very friendly and outgoing and are anxious to help you out. Easily this store could have gone the route of the «pretentious». Luckily they did not! :)
I wish them the best of luck on their new location and prosperous business.
I will definitely be back and send business their way!

ZGO is a wonderful store! I walked in there today on my lunch break and was instantly happy! The store is very organized and everything smells so good. The owners, Claud and Tani, are extremely nice, helpful, and patient (I couldn’t decide on a diffuser for almost an hour and Claud educated me on different brands, smells, etc…)
I love this place! Go! You won’t be disappointed!

So let’s get this out of the way first. I am a girl and as such am allowed a ridiculous amount of delicious smelling candles in my abode. Luckily my boyfriend is a secret fancier of such smelly candles and does not judge me for my love of them.
Whew.
Imagine my glee and minor tense moment when I was driving down Gough to head to work one morning and almost swerved into the next lane as my head turned around when I saw the window for ZGO.
I previously had them pop up in my internet searches for Voluspa and had been impressed with their selection and deal on free shipping for $ 35 or more. They also carry other lines such as Archipelago and Thymes!
I now literally SQUEAL at the pleasure of knowing I can walk into their storefront and smell their products and spend my hard earned money making my abode smell like peaches and persimmons 365 days a year.