overlooked: opulent scents - home edition
There is a reason we remember the smell of a chic hotel lobby, a beautiful spa or the perfume of a loved one.
Among all of the senses, scent has a rare ability to bypass much of our conscious deliberation and become intimately entangled with memory and emotion.
From nostalgia to the nervous system, our sense of smell can influence how we feel, what we remember and how we experience a space. Best of all, it’s one of the fastest ways to cultivate a chic and signature atmosphere. A deliberate douse of redolence doesn’t simply set the scene; it creates a full-body immersion into the mood of a room.
Image Source: Pinterest >Somewhere Still > Lily candle holder by Jack Brubaker
Creating this effect at home can be surprisingly simple, while offering some rather lovely benefits.
First though, the science. Then let’s pick out some luxe scents.
Why home scent matters
Unlike something beautiful that we first have to see and interpret, smell is intimately connected with areas of the brain involved in emotion, memory and pleasure.
As scent molecules are detected, information travels through the olfactory system into a network that includes the amygdala, hippocampal regions and orbitofrontal cortex - areas involved in how we feel, what we remember and how we determine whether an experience is pleasurable.
So when you walk into a delightfully scented room and instinctively think, wow, it feels good in here, your brain is doing more than identifying bergamot or cedarwood.
Neuroimaging research has shown that the orbitofrontal cortex plays a role in evaluating the pleasantness and reward value of smells, while other areas involved in emotion respond differently depending on whether an odour is appealing or aversive.
Pleasant scent becomes part of an emotional and hedonic experience, which may help explain why fragrance can make a room feel comforting, uplifting, refreshing or indulgent before we have consciously decided it is any of those things.
Then there is scent’s extraordinary relationship with memory.
Odour-evoked memories can be particularly emotional and produce a powerful sensation of being transported back in time. Familiar fragrance can therefore become part of the emotional identity of a home: eucalyptus after cleaning, citrus through the kitchen, lavender before bed, the particular incense burned on Sunday afternoons.
Over time, these aromas become entwined with people, place, pleasure, rest and the familiar feeling of being home.
Not all home fragrances are made equal
There’s definitely a selfish side to writing this article. I wanted to research it for myself.
As someone obsessed with the finer things in life (champagne taste on a beer budget and all that) I love the idea of a home that smells beautiful and breathes chic, elevated energy the moment you walk through the door.
What I don’t love is being smacked in the face by fragrance so strong it feels like a headache waiting to happen. As with most things, more isn’t necessarily more…
Here’s the problem I have with some conventional home fragrances.
Candles, plug-ins and air fresheners can emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other substances into indoor air, with emissions varying considerably according to the fragrance, formulation and method of use.
Burning candles and incense also produces particulate matter through combustion. That doesn’t mean every conventional candle is inherently toxic, nor that every natural product is automatically harmless, but it does make ingredient transparency, ventilation and restraint sensible things to care about.
Fragrance formulations can also be frustratingly opaque. The word fragrance can represent a mixture of individual ingredients rather than telling us precisely what creates the finished scent, making beautifully simple formulations surprisingly difficult to find.
Beyond the health conversation, there’s also the experience itself. An overpowering synthetic fragrance can flatten a room rather than enhance it.
Natural botanical fragrance on the other hand can offer benefits. Certain essential oils have been studied for their potential effects on mood, anxiety and sleep.
But more importantly at home, they allow us to work with scent in a lighter, more deliberate way, and choosing an aroma for how we feel and what we need is a responsive way to cultivate an atmosphere that doesn’t overwhelm.
Choose your signature home scent
Much like a personal fragrance becomes part of someone’s identity, a home can develop its own signature too.
Over time, scent becomes another layer of memory and nostalgia for the people who live there and the people who visit.
The trick is not necessarily finding one fragrance and pumping it through every room. Think instead about a scent language: a small family of complementary notes that can appear in different ways throughout the house.
Start with how you want your home to feel. Citrus, rosemary and eucalyptus can feel crisp and invigorating; cedarwood, vetiver and sandalwood bring warmth and earthiness; lavender can lend itself beautifully to slower, calmer spaces. Rather than chasing whatever fragrance happens to be fashionable, find two or three notes you genuinely love and build from there.
Image credit - Pinterest > insid by Mayne Did It
Five ways to create an opulent home scent
What I love about having a home fragrance routine is that the act itself becomes a small moment of self-care. Preparing oils, striking a match or lighting incense creates a pause before the fragrance even begins. An insertion of luxury that feels indulgent and sumptuous.
Also, you can layer in the way you infuse scent to your home with a range of beautiful modalities that add to the atmosphere and tone you’re trying to create.
Here are a couple of options as well as some brands I am currently exploring.
Diffused oils
A quality ultrasonic diffuser paired with pure essential oils remains one of the simplest ways to introduce botanical fragrance without combustion.
If there is one category worth being particular about though, it’s essential oils. I look for brands offering 100% pure oils, transparent botanical names and sourcing information, with certified organic options wherever possible.
Perfect Potion — Certified Organic Collection — Editor’s Pick
Australian Certified Organic range
Family-owned Australian business
Ethically sourced botanicals
Extensive selection of single oils and blends
Natural candles
Finding genuinely simple candles is surprisingly difficult. If you have recommendations let me know! Purely Primal below have a beautiful range and I love their product ethos around health and safety.
Purely Primal
Non toxic disclaimer on website
Made with a blend of beeswax + coconut wax
Natural ingredients
Aesthetically beautiful
Beautiful aromatherapy burners
One of the oldest forms of home fragrance also happens to be one of the most beautiful. Beyond fragrance, a sculptural burner brings together scent, light and object in a single piece.
Addition Studio
Sculptural Australian design
Stone, ceramic and architectural forms
Objects beautiful enough to leave on display
Botanical room sprays
A botanical room spray offers one of the quickest ways to refresh a space. Again, transparency matters: look beyond natural-inspired marketing and towards formulations that clearly tell you what you’re spraying into the air.
Salus - Lemongrass & Lime Room Spray
Simple ingredients
Australian owned
Fresh botanical profile
Koala Eco
Australian essential oils
Plant-derived ingredients
Strong ingredient transparency
Fresh botanical profiles
Natural incense
For something earthier and more atmospheric, look towards incense built around woods, resins and botanicals rather than perfume-heavy formulations.
Juniper Ridge — Editor’s Pick
Wild-harvested botanical materials
Tree resins, bark and wood
No synthetic fragrance
A beautifully raw connection to landscape
Addition Studio Botanical Incense
Botanical-led fragrance
Minimal presentation
Designed to sit naturally within contemporary interiors
Please do always check the ingredient lists on products as formulations may have changed since publishing this article.
Image credit - Pinterest > Oil Diffuser from Studio Mark Henry
Fragrance for sensory opulence
Creating an iconic home scent is one of the most beautiful ways to elevate a space. Beyond the wellbeing benefits we’ve explored, fragrance has an extraordinary capacity to soften the pace, shift the mood and invite us to nestle into the comfort of home.
It can transform a house from somewhere we live into somewhere we genuinely experience.
And that particular kind of sensory luxury needn’t be reserved for five-star hotels, beautiful spas or memorable holidays. Because, why not?
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