Leaving a Scent: Best Home Fragrance Products for a Gloriously-Smelling Home

I’ve long wanted to be the girl who always smells nice — you know who I’m talking about — the one who smells like she really has her life together. I’ve invested in pricey perfumes, scented facial products, and body lotions in attempts to be that girl. But my usage wasn’t ever consistent enough for any of those smells to permeate my cells.  

Lately, though, I've switched gears. The focus has now been on making my home smell good. The theory is that if I'm literally surrounded by nice scents — at all times — my own self wouldn't be able to help but smell delicious as well.

I bought candles, incense, diffusers, oils... seemingly every home scent product on the market. Unfortunately, I was always left wanting. Many times, the scents just never lingered long enough. So, I started trying to figure out why.

The first problem I clocked was the fact that anybody can “make a scent,” hence all the low-end crap out there! Another issue is that there’s no one thing that can make an entire place smell good forever, especially with just one spritz. For a house to truly smell good all the time, you need a strategy!

After some long, deep scent-searching, I think I figured out a home scent system that works for me. I have an electric diffuser going, pretty much at all times. This kind of keeps a base going. I like to light a candle or incense when I first get home for a real blast of scent. Then, I also use a linen spray on freshly-laundered bedding to really layer the fragrances. You guys! My home smells amazing!

The key is to: 1) mix and match a few kinds of products, and 2) be playful with the scents. You could go with just one scent for all your products, but that’s kind of a snooze-fest. A spearmint candle and a citrus room spray can be quite invigorating together. Frankincense in your diffuser with lavender satchels could be a great stress-reliever. A bergamot linen spray could work really well with cedar incense. Catch my whiff?

This diffuser is great for close encounters. Meaning? You won’t be able to smell it across the room, but when you’re right next to it? Boy will it smell nice. It’s great for bathrooms or on a bedside table. The best thing about these kind of diffusers is that they don’t require electricity or batteries.

While most diffusers err on the ugly side, the Vitruvi looks like something that belongs in a design store. It’s clean lines and stone surface are quite soothing to the eye. And, it’s small stature (at just over 7 inches) allows it to blend seamlessly into any room. Non-stop, it can go for 3 hours and, at 30-second intervals, it can last for 7 hours without a refill. That’s pretty impressive for something so tiny.

Made by hand, this ceramic ornament can scent a small space for up to 3 months. Hang it and forget it... until you walk by and get that smell of shear luxury.

Sometimes, you gotta go back to basics.

There are many scented sticks out there but this is probably the best of all because a) It’s not cheesy looking, b) It’s only 3 inches tall so you can tuck it anywhere, and c) It’s so cheap!

When you think about scents that smell just a little too much for a little too long, what store do you think of? Bath & Body Works, of course! Lucky for us, the room sprays do not linger as much as the sun-ripened raspberry lotion.This smells fancy but isn’t expensive.

Something that smells great and gives a little ambiance is always a good thing.

All the nebulizers I have found look like they were made by an alien space hippie on acid. This is perhaps the most normal-looking one of them all. Though I do not condone this thing aesthetically, I include it here because nebulizers release the strongest scents out of all diffusers. It’s also kind of cool that it gives off a mist without any water or heat. Some alien science, I suppose.

Here is an oldie but goodie. There seriously isn’t an incense that can hold a light to this stuff. Plus, it can get rid of bad juju. The tree is endangered so be sure you only buy palo santo from a trusted sustainable source -- they should only harvest dead trees and, like this company, plant a tree for every one they harvest (as part of the Palo Santo Reforestation Project).

This reminds me of that commercial with the housewife who buys a supermarket apple pie and then tricks her guests into thinking it’s homemade by using an apple pie-scented plug-in. But don’t be fooled. This is infinitely better because it’s ceramic that melts scented soy wax.

Ready to consolidate some gadgets? This is actually a humidifier and a diffuser in one! In terms of style, this one gets all the points. But don’t let its petiteness (5.7 inches x 11.2 inches) deceive you. This ultrasonic humidifier offers just as much moisture as most bulkier misters. Because it uses aromasteam technology, you can also put a few drops of your favorite essential oil into the water to get some aromatherapy benefits. Pretty and quiet, you won’t even realize it’s there. The instructions are a little intense, but as long as you follow them, this should be one of your smarter home purchases.