5 Tips for Choosing the Perfect Scents for Your Home

Have you ever walked inside a hotel, boutique, or cafe and felt your mood instantly shift? Maybe as you step in, you can’t quite pin what’s responsible for the lift in your mood. Maybe  you can tell it’s exactly because of how the room smells, make a few comments like “OMG it smells so good in here!”, then take a few extra sniffs of the air or take an extra deep breath to enjoy the fragrance.

Think back to the way your childhood home smelled in the summer or how your grandma’s home smelled during the holidays. Maybe there was a time when you couldn’t stand to stay inside a store because they use the same diffuser as you did when you shared an apartment with an ex turned enemy ten years ago. 

Scents trigger  quick and conclusive first impressions because they directly link back to emotions and memories instantly, thus  affecting our experience. Neuroscientists say our sense of smell is closely linked to the limbic system, the part of our brains that process memories, emotions, and associations. This is why it is so important to be surrounded by scents that make you feel good and safe in your home.

Having a signature scent for your home is important for a variety of reasons. First is that as an act of self-care, you deserve to stay in a home that smells wonderful to you. Next, a signature home fragrance is a cue for you to relax as you step into your home and it is also a great touch to welcome guests. The following are important questions to ask as you choose your signature scent for your home.

PREFERENCE: WHAT SCENTS DO YOU LIKE?

Like any lifestyle move, your home’s signature scent is a very personal choice. The most important thing about choosing is that you like and enjoy the scent. Trends or recommendations from others could be helpful as a starting point, but you are the one who spends the most time in your home and you know you best. So the first question you will need to ask is “What scents do I like?”.  You could like floral notes most, and in that case you could start with the Daisy Dream Candle or the  Freshly Cut Roses Candle. 

MOOD: WHAT FEELINGS DO YOU WANT TO EVOKE?

Since fragrances are associated with emotions and moods, it’s important to ask “How do I want to feel when I walk into my home or into this room in particular?” If you specifically want your room to smell relaxing to help you wind down for sleep, you can try the Starry Night Candle as the signature scent for that room. If you want a warm tropical welcome for yourself and guests you may have over, you can light the Summer Glow Candle in the foyer.

SEASON: WHAT TIME OF THE YEAR IS IT?

Scents are like decorations, but for the olfactory senses. Like decorations, they can be seasonal too. You’ve probably wanted to match your scents with the season. We say things like, “Wow, that smells like Christmas!” or “That smell reminds me of a perfect summer day.” That ties back to the way we associate scents with moments in time. Some scents are meant to be enjoyed during the colder months, while others bring a welcome wave of fresh, invigorating scents in warm weather.  If you’re the kind of person that enjoys the nostalgia that certain fragrances and scent notes bring, this is probably something you would want to consider when looking for a scent for your home in each season.

COMPLIMENTARY SCENTS: WHICH SCENTS GO TOGETHER?

When picking out scents for your home, you can pick complementary ones that smell great together, while being distinct enough to mark the entrance into a new space. If you have florals as the dominant scent note in your home, you could compliment it with scents from the same family, with perhaps a berry or fruity note. You could have a Rose Quartz Candle lit in your dining room, with a blend of fruity and floral that fades harmoniously into the living room where a Boss of Everything Candle is burning, making the room smell like tuberose, plum cocktail, and white magnolias. You’d want the scents to be able to blend seamlessly so that the experience of walking from one room into the next is not a jarring, disorienting experience for your sense of smell.

IT CAN EVOLVE OVER TIME: WHAT SMELLS GOOD TO YOU NOW?

When we talk about a signature scent, it is reasonable to think that it implies that this is a scent that is around everyday and forever. As you may have noted so far, there are many different factors for choosing a scent. Like in choosing and wearing perfumes on the body, some people prefer to have one scent to have their home “wear" every day, for all seasons and occasions, while there are others who prefer to have a closet where a collection of their fragrances are stored, each one assigned to a specific mood or season.

The important thing about having a scent in your home is just the feeling that it gives you and your guests. It’s the vibe.  And your preference for that vibe can change over time because of new discoveries, new life experiences and associations, and just because you evolve as a person. You don’t have to be loyal to a particular fragrance for loyalty’s sake. If in case you do find a Royal Essence Candle that you love and want to keep lighting in your home, you can check out Zolly’s ringless candles collection.

There is no one correct way to perfume your home or one scent that’s right for every home under the sun, for that matter. These are merely a few points to help you get started if you have been looking for more ways to turn your house into a home and cosy it up. Whether you live in a big beautiful house, or you are currently a student in a dorm room, having the scent of home is a comfort that you can easily give yourself.