Today's poll was suggested by reader Annonose, who wants to know what you're using to scent your home. Talk about anything home fragrance related: candles, sprays, incense, cleaning products, whatever.
I'd like to share a home fragrance mistake in the household cleaning products category: Tide detergent in the Pure Essentials Lemon Verbena Scent. The smell is nothing like lemon verbena — more like generic-man-cologne smell — and the lasting power is unreal. It lasts through the dryer; it lasts for weeks. The only way to get rid of it is to wash everything all over again in some other detergent.
Note: image shows a vetiver root ball from Côté Bastide. It's $20 at Secret Closet Gifts.
I don’t use anything except flowers from the garden. Love scented room sprays but they make my husband sneeze. I also don’t like using scented laundry products as they’ll interfere with my perfume, husband doesn’t like them, and I prefer unscented things on my young son’s clothing.
I wish I could use my scented candles more often but I never get the chance. I have several from Pacifica. I would love to one day indulge in a l’Artisan one but that probably won’t happen!
I have the L’Artisan room spray in Tilleul, and a tiny Tilleul votive candle, almost gone. Love them both, but yeah, they’re spendy. I do need to try some Pacifica candles.
You’re so lucky you can fill your house with flowers from your garden!
Definitely the best way to fragrance one’s home.
Various citrus-scented hand washes from Bath and Body Works, or the like, are always on hand. Like lovethescents, I prefer unscented laundry detergent, but I do like the Bounce Outdoor Fresh dryer sheets (I hang my laundry on the clothesline when I can – usually from May through October).
That vetiver root ball is fascinating! I bet it would smell great in a closet.
I’d love to have a gajillion of them, all around the house!
Me too! Thanks for posting the source. I’m going to try one! I would also like to have a vetiver fan, just a little hand-held one. Someone must make them!
If you find one, do let us know! And Ahtx has been looking for vetiver blinds forever…
I bet vetiver blinds would be heavenly…Sometimes I like to splurge and spritz Guerlain Vetiver on my sheets and pillows : )
My mommy uses incense.
Our Japanese exchange always bring us incense, so that is mostly what kind of incense she uses.
Japanese incense is nice
I knew it’s terrible, but I’m back to burning incense in the house. I can’t help it, I love the combo of smoke/scent and it really seems to “purify” the air (whilst of course polluting it.) My dad told me once that burning candles in a room was the equivalent of smoking a cigarette if not worse… That’s why I call him “Captain Bringdown.”
Anyway, I am burning Nokiba Moss Garden right now. Lovely.
I don’t think that’s true…
candles aren’t even usually smokey and they don’t have formaldehyde and tar and stuff.
with incense you’re breathing in fumes but they also don’t have the same chemicals in cigarettes.
But my mom smokes so I don’t really care about cigarette smoke 2bh.
I use the Regular high efficiency Tide and President’s Choice(store brand) high efficiency for dark laundry, it’s smells just like the Zero/Woolite dark, but wont blow up the washing machine and Forever New for delicate stuff washed by hand.
I do my best not to breathe in any all purpose type cleaners because they like to make it hard for me to breathe… which is why you’ll see me scrubbing the bathroom sink with liquid Tide instead of some spray lol
Does spraying Raid on a SERIOUSLY giant wasp count as home fragrance?
wasps have been getting in my house lately.
There’s a huge huge spider too.
and a bat in the basement.
These freaky animals need to get out of my house!!!
***shudder*** You’ve just described my perfect nightmare! My sympathies!
Actually – the bat is not so bad. I like bats. But the likelyhood that they carry rabies is very high. Be careful in that basement!
I don’t mind bats when they’re outside, I just don’t want them in my house! I think it may have left, I haven’t seen it.
and the spider really isn’t *that* huge. It is large, but nothing like tarantula size.
Once I was in my school’s lobby and these two teachers were talking and one was like “there was a snake jamming the printer!!!!” and then the other was like “there was a bat in my office!!”
I better not find a snake in my printer!
The likelihood of rabies in bats is actually very low. Scientific surveys of wild bats typically report a positive rate of less than 0.5% for most North American bat species.
My mother once told me a story of how she found a bat in the washing machine. Nobody knows how it got in there.
Haha We had a bat last summer. He got in through the fireplace at night and then flew into my parents room. My mom ran screaming into the bathroom. lol Dad and I caught him in an ice cream container and put him back outside. My mom insisted that I was the bravest person ever. LOL
Krokodilgena – :O!!! Where do you go to school, the Amazonian jungle? lol
Bunny – I’m pretty good at getting bats out of houses with a tennis racket and a garbage bucket or even a pillow case. But if you ask me to remove a spider that’s any bigger than my pinkie fingernail, I will go into hysterics.
ew spiders. They walk so gross!! I make my dad squish them most of the time (usually I cant reach them) lol
I used to do cataloging in this wonderfully old stone library…and as is common with “historic” buildings —we always had bats (and not just in the belfry) —the reference librarian would squeal so, and climb up on the desk (like “why?? bats FLY!” ) sheesh! But I’m sort of a ‘farm girl’ at heart so it became my job to catch and release them with a trusty legal pad and trash can….poor little things were scared stiff from all the screaming! Come to think of it….I should have just tossed the reference librarian outside instead….
Hi Daisy, it is eye. hahahaha. Daisy you always crack me up!
I grew up in the country and I’m not scared of anything. If the spider is non-poisonous I let them crawl on my hand a carry them outside (spiders don’t bite unless they feel threatened, same with bats and snakes). I wouldn’t suggest carrying anything bare handed unless you really know your species. Snakes get pinched behind their necks, bat get cornered and should be handled with thick gloves…oh crap, I’m a wildlife expert and I’m teaching an accidental class. Sorry. I don’t kill anything unless it’s poisonous or really pesky, and then I apologise to it…even ants, “Sorry little soul, be free.”
I’m another one who hates to kill things. I also apologize when I feel I have to do it.
Pia got me hooked on the Seventh Generation natural cleaners…highly recommend the Green Mandarin & Leaf, unless you’re trying to avoid even natural scents.
I think I’m allergic to the stuff in the cleaners that does the cleaning, even natural ones…. I’ll just let other people clean
That’s the spirit!
I don’t light them that often, but my favorite candles for the last year or so have been Voluspa Baltic Amber. I just bought a Voluspa Paheri Mango Leaf candle but haven’t tried it yet.
I still have a big collection of Shoyeido and Nippon Kodo incense (the best, most diverse line), but I don’t burn it very often anymore either.
My favorite “room spray” lately has been CSP Aqua Motu!
I want to buy my mommy incense for her birthday and I was looking at Shoyeido and Nippon Kodo incense. What kind are your favorites??
I just saw that Luckyscent is carrying CdG Incense as actual incense. Might be worth a try.
Tama: I saw that! It’s interesting, huh? I bet the CdG candles are great too.
I had a CDG Jaisalmer candle I loved very much. I dont really care for the incense line on my skin, but as a candle it is awesome.
ooommmggg D: D: D: D:
I knew they had 2, but I really wanted Zagorsk and Ouarzazate
Thank you for informing me
but I’m not spending that much on my mommy :X
That CdG incense IS tempting, but I’m not sure I’m the burning incense kind of person. I’ve been coveting a Kyoto candle. Kyoto is one of my top fragrances to wear.
Gosh, there are so many nice NK ones.
The “Yume-No-Yume” series is nice and has some beautiful sets that come with burner plates. I also like some of the “Fragrance Memories” series (Green Oasis, Spring Leaves, and others) and the Yuzu scent in the “NK Pure” series. They have so much product, all the packaging is beautiful. IMO, you can’t go wrong. I used to have an incense addiction before moving into perfume, but looking at the NK site is making me salivate again.
The goldfish ~*dream of dreams*~ packaging is really cute
The butterfly packaging is cute too and Geranium, Cinnamon, Vanilla sounds good. My mommy doesn’t like cute.
Her favorite perfume is Obsession and she likes patchouli and sandalwood incense.
I have the whole ‘Yume-No-Yume’. I went the Nippon Kodo route because incense–ANYWHERE in the vicinity-gives me an instant sickening headache. Theirs unfortunately does too…but not as bad. They sent me a sample of something with my ‘Yume-No-Yume’ order that smelled so WONDERFUL and was the least ‘hurtful’ to me…now if I could only remember what it was…I think it was something from their fragrance memories line…
Kevin knows so much more about incense than I do…he sent me some khyphi balls last year which are wonderful, but admit I never buy incense on my own.
As much as I love perfume, I’m not a big fan of home fragrances because I don’t think everything needs a scent–and I don’t like competing scents (plus, I’m allergic to most incense for some reason). I’ve got an Aveda candle right now, but, for the most part, I just want a house that smells clean, but not like anything in particular. Though I’m intrigued by that vetiver ball…
I mostly use scent after cooking to clear the air…I know what you mean about competing scents. Anyway, my office already smells like a blend of 1000 perfumes.
I’m not big on competing scents in the home, either. We use unscented laundry detergent because my DH has sensitive skin that is irritated by something in the regular detergent; I’ve really come to appreciate the scentlessness of it. I hang a lot of clothes out on the line, from last frost to first frost, which also smells good. The only real scent we use in the house is lavender sachets and oil in the linen closet. It makes me feel very old-fashioned, and the lavender-scented sheets help you sleep.
The Pacifica candles really are good. I love the blood orange and the waikiki pikake–so much that I bought the perfume of each of them. (And a word of caution there: some things that smell good on a candle should remain on a candle. I apparently was not meant to smell like Waikiki Pikake.) Also love the Voluspa candles. They scent the whole house, which I love.
The amber candle from Pacifica is my favorite – I have one burning right now in fact. I have also tried Madagascar Spice, Blood Orange and Nerola Orange Blossom – all awesome.
I mostly use candles but have scads of incense that I burn now and again.
I love the candles from a company called Trapp Private Gardens (trappcandles.com) – they have the most fragrance per candle of anyone I have found and they have delicious scents. There is one called Black Pepper that I can only burn for a little while, because it is so intense – but great. Lots of florals and herbs and spices. I am sick to death of candles that smell like baked goods.
For the more eco-conscious there is also a line of aromatherapy beeswax candles I like a lot by TruMelange. Subtle and soothing.
My laundry stuff is unscented so as not to conflict with my perfumes.
A gift store near me carries Trapp — I like them too, & reasonably priced.
I also like the Trapp candles. I’ve got a few of the Tyler and Illuminations candles as well. They’re on top of an old pie safe in my dining room that the cats can’t reach – cats, candles, and curiosity are not a good mix.
I use unscented laundry products – I don’t like the scent of most of the scented ones, and I want to be able to smell my perfume rather than my clothes.
thanks for the fragrant tip! I just went and ordered up Trapp candles , I can hardly wait!
Oh, good! I really like them! I need to use up what I have and find a place here to get them – I got mine in Laguna Beach.
I just bought two different sets of Anthousa home fragrance diffusers – the ones where you stick the reeds in the bottle of liquid. I gave three to my mom and kept three for myself. Right now I’m using the Cucumber-Grass one. It’s nice. Not too artificial but almost too little sillage. My mom started using the Gardenia one and that one is a nice spicy floral with more sillage. I’m rationing through my stash of Pacifica frankincense candles upstairs in the bedrooms. (I think it’s either a discontinued scent or seasonal because it’s hard to come by now.) As far as home cleaners – I like the Mrs. Meyer’s stuff in Basil – I have just about everything they make in that scent. But when it comes to laundry, I like fragrance-free for the most part and use Purex fragrance- and dye-free detergent and Bounty fragrance-free dryer sheets as needed.
I need to try the Mrs Meyer’s Basil, sounds perfect.
Robin – it is a wonderful scent. It”s fresh without smelling medicinal or astringent at all. I like Geranium and the Lemon Verbena ones too but sometimes they smell just a little too powerful. The Basil one has really encouraged me to clean more often, I like it so much. Now that’s a product that works! lol
Thanks — I don’t think anything would make me clean more, but on the rare occasion when I do clean it might as well smell nice!
I’ve been using the Basil too, but I found it a little grating, perhaps because of the pepper? Or maybe it’s just my small apartment…. On the other hand, it does well on the bathtub soap scum.
Sorry just reread my post hours later – that’s Bounce dryer sheets, not Bounty (which are paper towels). Didn’t want to be responsible for people thinking Bounty made laundry stuff now. *sigh* Spellcheck does not help when your brain thinks one thing and your fingers type another.
Only incense for the house. I am crazy about the Indian incense HEM Champa. NAG Champa would do it also. I had the revelation: it is indeed the scent of Paradise.
Another incense which realy highten the mood is Darshan.
I have not even heard of Darshan, will have to investigate.
I own two scented candles that I love but never burn now that our adopted kitty has asthma — one is a LE Diptyque one from a couple of Xmases ago (blue glass, smells like 10 Corso Como, can’t remember the name) and the other is Cire Trudon’s Abh al Kadar which smells delightfully of fresh mint, basil, other herbs, very light and refreshing and true-to-nature smelling. Luckily, both are strongly-scented enough that they can scent the room you’re in without burning. The only room spray I own I use as personal fragrance (John Galliano room spray).
Oh, poor kitty! Both of those candles sound wonderful.
I have 5 cats and the glade melting candle-rose spice is really nice. But the cats crawl on the places I put them. Cosette has a really long bushy tail. All I can see is a flaming cat wick! That’s my house fragrance…cat litter. I need a change.
The children in our house are Persians and Himalayans. Once I had left a candle burning in the bathroom. My red Persian came wildly running to me with something all down her side…I thought ‘how on earth did she get dirt all over her’…then it HIT ME…she had SINGED HER FUR!!! To say the least, now candles are never set where the cats can get to them! I learned my lessen–just like a human child will keep going back to the hot oven (or curling iron), a cat won’t stay away from the candle!
This is my first post, though I’ve been reading NTS for about 6 months. In the winter, Henri Bendel Firewood candles were all the rage in my household (both my husband and I are perfumistas!) But for the past month we’ve been loving the “Azure Sea” candles from Target. Seriously, check them out the next time you are there.
Hi & welcome! I had one of those candles & it made me crazy — I’d forget it was burning & wonder what had caught fire
That’s funny! My husband and I too, love the firewood candle. I don’t imagine something on fire/burning smelling that nice
.
LOL — true! But when I’m working at home & the house is quiet I get very focused, and so am easily startled I guess. I need a more “obvious” candle
Hello to you!
Oh, Target! I wish it wasn’t so far away from where I live, I’d totally go there just for fun. I’ll have to look for those candles next time I’m there, though.
I’m not a big fan of incense, so I generally stick to candles. I have a few candles by Tyler Candle Company that I have enjoyed (Mediterranean Fig, Wisteria Lane, and I can’t remember the other one). http://www.englishrose.com/tycacofr.html I also have a local shop where they mix their own candles and will fill any container with the candle frangrance you choose.
I used to work in National Parks, so I try to buy cleaning products that are biodegradable, such as Method and Seventh Generation.
Is Method natural, or just biodegradable? I do like 7th Generation.
They are non-toxic, but I believe some of the ingredients are synthetic. They also used 100% recycled plastic and now have bags made from bamboo that are compostable for their surface wipes.
Thanks!
I’m probably in the minority here, but I don’t care much for house scents, other than those you come by cooking.
I have bad associations with the 80s potpourri; because I have cats, any of those fancy set-ups with reeds and whatnot would just be asking for trouble.
I do make my own detergent because it’s way cheaper and I don’t like how much detergents or household cleaning products smell.
How do you make your own detergent? I’d love to know!
It does involve Borax, ha ha. I do a dry powder for my front loader, but a lot of recipes will instruct you on how to make a liquid detergent. Most also call for Fels Naptha, but I use a bar of Ivory because it’s easier to find. You do need a food processor for this method.
Grate one bar of soap. Add soap flakes and 1 c. of washing soda (NOT baking soda but you should be able to find it in the cleaning aisle of the grocery store) to food processor bowl fitted with blade and process until soap is broken down into granules. Stir in 1 c. Borax.
Use 1 Tbsp. for regular laundry, 2 Tbsp. for heavy staining. For my daughter’s clothes (toddler into making messes) I often add Oxyclean, which I think is just supercharged washing soda. For cloth diapers I do a white vinegar rinse with a Downy ball, followed by a second rinse, to eliminate smells and break down stains.
If you notice your clothes looking dingy over time, look into bluing products.
I have heard homemade wool dryer balls scented with essential oils, but I have not yet tried that. I hope this helps!
I’m curious too! I’m betting it involves Borax…
An old classmate of mine does this. Google “make laundry detergent”. It involves Borax & bar soap and I think people mainly do it for cost savings and phosphates. Not my kind of project, I have to admit. Give me liquid All.
Amen….
I second that Amen… unscented Tide …scoop and go!
If you’re a cheapskate like me, the call of homemade laundry detergent is too irresistible to ignore! With all your saved pennies, you can splurge on something that is “Full-Bottle Worthy.”
LOL! Good gracious, I can just see my two cats knocking over one of those reed-infuser things, getting the oil everywhere, batting the reeds all over the floor, chewing on them, and then hucking them up later on a rug somewhere. Definitely not a good fit for a house with cats.
I once got a scented candle free from Niemann-Marcus; it wasn’t straight paraffin wax, but a very soft, oily, almost creamy wax. Smelled nice, but then my toddler (who was into textures at the time) found it and dug around in it, smearing it all over herself, the mirrors, the floor. . . .. I can’t win. Have to keep the perfume under lock and key.
Hi Bergere. I have 5 cats. I always worry about their long fluffy tails catching on fire.
So true!!! When it comes to animals and kids, you’ll never win!
(And I can’t imagine a house without cats, or children growing up without one…)
bergere, I am still learning this lesson! I had a huge sample bottle of Annick Goutal’s Neroli and my daughter has twice now unscrewed the top and poured it all over herself. No matter where I hide it, she finds a way to get it. And this morning I caught her using my fancypants facial sunscreen as hand lotion.
Toddlers–as mischievous as cats, but with thumbs!
Vetiver ball! Track down those vetiver blinds, willya’ R?
I caved on a Skeem Cypress candle — a dead ringer for CDG Sequoia. But other than that most of my home scenting is semi-ceremonial. Last night I burned some copal resin and the whole house smells clean and piney and, well, resinous today. It gives a feeling like a blue sky in fall — clear and a little crisp but sunny.
I’ve got that candle on my “to buy” list…maybe I’ll do that now!
I have a Green Irish Tweed candle I leave open in the living room on warm days. It smells really good in my house for some reason. In the bedrooms and kitchen I rotate a locally made geranium and black pepper oil blend in a diffuser. It is lighter than it sounds.
For laundry I use Tide Free or All Unscented detergents, Downey unscented or Seventh Generation Eucalyptus Lavender fabric softener.
I also have some Palo Santo wood from Peru I will light on occasion on the gas stove burner. It is such a unique resinous musky scent used in rituals in Peru and Bolivia.
I like Tide Free too. This Lemon Verbena just sounded nice, and didn’t think the scent would actually last. Drat.
Sweetlife, try Vivaterra online or catalogue for some fun vetiver options. I think they also still carry the bathmats made with vetiver. I’m slightly jealous of anyone who can still use Nag Champa in the house. I loveloveloved the scent in college but too many people used it to cover up cigarette smoke and stale alcohol. Now it just evokes a damp Portland headshop feeling. I’m a big fan of unscented laundry products but it’s hard to find one that’s truly unscented. When I was growing up in Africa we used Dettol ™ to clean everything because it’s a strong antibacterial. I found a bottle recently in a Lebanese import shop and I’ve been enjoying cleaning at a whole new level. I’m sure PineSol has the same effect for some of you here?
I’m working backwards…just posted a link to their vetiver hamper below!
Wow! That sounds amazing!
Do you know if Dettol has a cresol based smell?
Thanks for the tip!
VETIVER BALL! I had no idea these things existed. I see Cote Bastide also has a Vetiver Room Spray. That would be excellent if it wasn’t fifty bucks.
Otherwise I use Febreeze.
There’s also a vetiver hamper I’ve been wanting forever:
https://nstperfume.com/2008/05/05/things-i-want-part-876/
Those sound AMAZING.
This is making me want some raw vetiver root just to stash amidst my stuff. Can you just… buy dried vetiver root bunches?
Yes, I’ve seen them…but offhand don’t know where to buy them.
I’m pretty random when it comes to candles – my husband and I like to shop at Home Goods for candles. I also use Anthousa reeds, and assorted tarts from a woman who handmakes them in her studio (via ebay).
Can get a lot of great things from that store!
I love-and was fortunate to hit a jackpot at TJ Maxx/Marshall’s-Slatkin & Co. candles. Henri Bendel has great candles also.
No one can go wrong with the Molton Brown ‘White Mulberry’ hand wash…you will be INHALING your hands ALL DAY LONG!
For a cleaner I have used ‘Simple Green’ since childhood. It’s non-toxic, biodegradable, and haven’t found anything that cleans better. Now it’s very concentrated (the way I use it for a lot of things) and the smell can choke you up if not diluted.
Oh, and we use original scented Downey on towels and colored clothing – I love the scent on towels. And I use triple milled Euro soaps in our drawers and linen cabinets
I put scented soaps in my linen closet too…wish I could afford to keep buying the Frederic Malle vetiver ones, they’re amazingly concentrated.
Currently I am using some whatever candle I bought at TJ Maxx that smells great of light vanilla and orange blossom. Over winter I was using a Crabtree and Evelyn candle called Anakkara Amber which I think smells a bit like the Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum fragrances – and it is really potent stuff – vanilla amber patchouli thing. But for some reason my husband thinks it smells like vanilla icing. I used to love love love the Aveda Madagascar candle but I don’t come by them too much anymore. Normally my house smells like garlic from cooking and whatever I am wearing as I tend to spray myself a lot during the day to test new things!
My house often smells like a BAD mix of cheap perfumes, sadly. Too much testing.
I would hope your house smells like a bad mix of expensive and elegant perfumes, lol.
I wish, but not really
I purchased Mrs. Meyers’ home diffuser, Basil Scent, last night at the local Vitamin Shoppe. Love it, although it doesn’t remind me of basil at all, lol. I usually burn Gonesh Lavender incense sticks to give a fresh, clean scent to the house. Must work, everyone who comes over comments on how wonderful my home smells. Lifts my spirits, too.
What does it smell like if not basil? Very curious, would like to try this line.
I love the Mrs. Meyers Basil dish soap. It’s pleasant enough to give a little extra motivation to wash the dishes
I think it smells more like an herby jelly bean than basil. But in a nice way.
I really like the Mrs. Meyers Geranium dish soap, but to me it smells more like spicy/sweet carnation. Like a dianthus flower. Is my nose off, or has anyone else noticed this? I’m not complaining. I love dianthus!
Well, I’ve tried incense, candles and diffusers, and was never completely happy with any of them. Now I use a lampe bergere, which is an alcohol burner. It was invented in France about 100 years ago and used to clean the air in hospitals of bacteria and odors. I bought one online from a store and the other, which holds more alcohol (and this is key, in my opinion) on eBay. You can also buy lampe fuel in any number of scents and at outrageous cost), but I make my own:
use plain old rubbing alcohol, which has to be at least 90%, and add scented oil. I get the oil from Sweetcakes.com which has a great line of scents. I use about 1 tsp to a pint of alcohol. You can get directions on filling, lighting, and burning online – just google. The scent throw is good, without smoke or chemicals. Win-win all around.
I have also been known to squirt perfume (well, okay, edt and edp) judiciously around the front door because it gives me a lift when I come home, and on my sheets. Makes me sleep better.
As to laundry – I’m using Ecos from Costco, which is phosphate free and very concentrated. For household cleaning, it is white vinegar, baking soda, Method dish soap, and a Shark steamer (Hisses like a dragon! Drives the dog nuts! Fun!).
I would love to get one of the Nicolai lampe berger sets…the fragrances look awesome.
I use Demeter Cypress as a room spray from time to time. I find it refreshing. Other than that, I do use a lot of candles in the colder weather, but get away from them when it gets warmer.
That sounds nice… another Demeter I haven’t tried!
I’m really jazzed to see that CdG Incense series now comes in incense sticks. Can’t wait to order a set!
Those look so wonderful! I’m to cheap to pay that much for incense though. And wish they did a sampler pack.
Another Tide-Free (Cheer-Free, All-Free) fan here. For cleaning products, we mostly use Trader Joe’s products–they usually smell the least “fake.” And I love their Lavender Sachet for sheets.
Otherwise, I tend to be very wary of home fragrancing in general. Incense makes me cough, as do some candles. That being said, we do light candles in the kitchen and in the bathroom. Diptyque is great but pricey (it was a present, and DH broke the glass, so I can’t rememer which scent it was). I agree that Voluspa makes some nice candles–just bought their Green Datura in a nicely decorated tin.
I used to make my own soy candles (it’s very easy), but I had a really hard time finding a source for really nice fragrance oils. So if any DIY’ers have any tips, I’d love to hear them.
Ooooo, just caught annonose’s tip about Sweet Cakes. Those look very nice.
I love Trader Joe’s! They have great sulfate-free bath products as well for us sensitive types. Their prices are really reasonable too.
It figures, the scent you don’t like lasts forever?!
I’m using a Manuel Canovas candle in Empire Celeste for the bedroom, a LAFCO House & Home collection candle in Marine for the kitchen (although I don’t wear marine scents, it does wipe out strong kitchen smells).
For the bathrooms, I hand-mix a combo of lavender, grapefruit and Rose Geranium.
Can you say more about that? What exactly do you mix?
I mix essential oils in an alcohol base, 4 oz of solution to 20 drops of oil.
Method Almond wood cleaner for floors; Old English Almond furniture oil.
I like my little oil burners, and I have high hopes for some of the Tigerflag oils. I have too many candles.
One of the best fragrances: baskets filled with Sparta soap.
Are oil burners the same thing as those Lampe Berger things?
Oil warmers, I should say. A few drops of scented oil or essential oil goes into the top with some water, and it’s warmed by a votive.
Ah, gotcha.
Joining the NAG Champa incense lovers! Essential oils on a tissue or in warm water is another great way to scent a room. I also enjoy Pacifica scented candles. Sandalwood is a favorite, but I just bought Tibetan Mountain Temple and Fig, so that may soon change.
I should really get some of those Pacifica candles. Have you burned the Tibetan Mountain one yet?
I got a Tibetan Mountain Temple votive and have burned it several times. It’s very nice!
Thanks…I’ll have to get one.
The only thing that makes me look forward to washing dishes is Mrs. Meyer’s geranium soap! It’s quite a powerful smell, unlike her others (I haven’t tried the Basil, though), so it’s a blessing it’s so lovely. Unfortunately my husband is the one in charge of washing dishes, and hates floral fragrances (naturally my preference), so I have to hide it til he’s away.
I’d like to try some of those. Does anyone remember the way Ivory Soap (Diswashing Liquid) use to smell? Before the called it “Ivory Classic”? It was a pearlescent white, and smelled clean with a peculiar edge that I have no way to identify.
Yes, I remember – it was a strange milky soapy smell that did have a “sharp” edge – not citrus though. I couldn’t even describe it if I had to.
So I guess they don’t make that pearlescent Ivory liquid anymore? I haven’t thought about it in years; I remember it, but not the smell, particularly. I preferred when Joy was in the opaque plastic bottle, frankly… seems like cleaners these days are all determined to look like some delicious, fruity energy drink…
The Mrs. Meyer Geranium sounds yummy!
The Christian Tortue home sprays are great and bring in a great Garden scent. I also love the Catherine Memmi Poivre Noir candle and the Paisley Zanzibar from Seda. But really, I am a sucker for Voluspa candles, especially the Makassar Ebony & Peach or the Baltic Amber. (I keep a huge stach)
I liked the Christian Tortu scent — think the personal scent was the same as the home spray. Very grassy, if I remember correctly.
You can make your own room spray by mixing 8 ounces of distilled water with 5 to 7 drops of essential oil (a good way to experiment with combinations of different notes). I love to mix organic brown sugar with organic jojoba oil (cheap at Trader Joes) and a few drops of essential oil–very inexpensive organic brown sugar scrub!
Good to know, thanks!
I’m a compulsive buyer of scented candles, but some of them have been pretty repulsive, I have to admit. My best buy was a Nicolai Maharadjah candle that was amazingly powerful – even with the lid on, it still projected throughout the hallway and was a lovely spicy oriental. It ran out a few days ago, and I replaced it with a Diptyque Roses candle. I hoped that would make my hall smell of luscious spring, but there’s a hint of booze in it that may not give quite the right impression.
My other best purchase was Marks & Spencer Rosewood and Linen room spray (I think that’s the name – could be wrong), which is cheap and delightful. Ah, isn’t it wonderful when you can use those two adjectives together?
Yes, and it’s rare!
Favorite cheap candles are Votivo, especially Freesia & Tigerlily (altho’ it smells like neither!) and Red Currant….and Pacifica. I like the Pacifica florals the best, but they have discontinued my two faves, and I am still trying to get over it. The Thymes Frasier Fir is awesome at Christmas!
My favorite spendy candles are Bond No. 9….Chelsea Flowers and Park Ave.
And now I think I may have to look in to that Bendel Firewood candle, as well as the Skeem Cypress!
Favorite incense is Spiritual Guide by Padmini…not too headshop at all, mostly just a nice woodsmoke smell. My husband adores this. And it is muy inexpensive.
I love Dawn dishsoap in Lavender and Ylang-lang, (their original formula is actually a fave of mine, too!) and Tthe Thymes Frasier Fir comes in dishsoap and cleanser which is really fun during the holidays.
Off to look at Padmini…that sounds so nice!
If things start smelling stuffy it’s either sandalwood or cedarwood incense, or the Lampe Berger. Last fill-up was mandarine oil. BTW, does the unscented oil work well? Have been reluctant to spend the money on what sounds like the emperor’s new expensive oil…
Never used one so can’t say, but sounds suspicious to me too!
I use bacon at least once a week in cooking, and butter at least twice a week (in place of olive oil or as a sauce base)…so my house smells like bacon and butter…not a bad combination for ensuring my husband enjoys coming home. Just glad to be out of a carpetted apartment that absorbed the smell of baby diapers…yay wood floors!
However, I should add, the best non-cooking related smell in my home was when our gardenia actually was able to produce a bud that fully bloomed last year, and I brought it inside…amazing how potent it was.
Honey, bacon and butter sounds like HEAVEN to me!
I use incense, usually satya sai baba nag champa or one whose name I can’t recall, but is a combination of tangerine and patchouli.
That’s the 3rd or 4th mention of nag champa. I’ve never actually burned it, I guess I should!
This thread is shaping up to be a great resource for those looking to try new home fragrances! My preferences:
Home Scent – I’m mostly a fan of open windows and fresh air, but I enjoy my fancy Diptyque tuberose candle in the bedroom, and the Pacifica Tibetan Mountain Temple votive I’m trying out. Now I’m gonna order me a vetiver ball!!!
Household Products – I’ve become a fan of Arm & Hammer products. I use the laundry soap, kitty litter, and toothpaste (that toothpaste is sooo… good because it’s salty and not sicky-sweet!). For house cleaning products, I use mostly Melaleuca (tea tree oil) products that I buy from a distributor. I’m curious about the geranium-scented products by Mrs. Meyer.
Oh, yea…love that A&H toothpaste!
I like to smell myself and not my home, personally. Though I spilled a (REALLY REALLY EXPENSIVE) bottle of perfume, thought fast, and mopped it up with one of my own knit scarves and it still makes its immediate vicinity smell nice.
That always works
I like unscented cleaning products, though I have been using vinegar lately for some of my cleaning needs – so cheap and environmentally sound. That smell leaves something to be desired, though : )
I like candles; Archipelago makes my favorite one, a tobacco-bergamot that’s really lovely.
I’ve had that candle before…it is quite nice!
Vinegar is nasty as a cleaning product, but so useful, just as you said, eco-friendly, effective, inexpensive.
But I prefer making very fancy-seeming sauces with it (so easy, yet tastes like tartar) or sometimes rinsing my hair with it.
I never use house scents, strangely. I’ve never been interested in it.
However, I treated myself to a candle from Ormonde Jayne recently! I wear Ormonde Woman perfume, and will be purchasing Champaca and Ta’if soon, so i avoided those. Instead, I bought the Orris Noir candle. It is perfect. Extremely elegant and subtle – it diffuses through the air and permeates in a very quiet, relaxed way.
The problem with buying OJ candles, is that one doesn’t want to detract form the experience of wearing the perfumes – so it was a careful and considered choice! Orris Noir didn’t suit me as a perfume, but it is perfect as an evening room scent.
Sounds marvellous!
I like burning essential oils, frankincense in the winter… I hate the greent tree burning oil from L’Occitane, so beware, very artificial and cloying. I have a wondrous patchouli candel, but only really light it when someone’s smoking in our flat. I hat the smell of air fresheners, sprays, things one plugs into the wall.
Sometimes I’ll burn incense, mostly Japanese stuff.
But most of all I like the smell of cut flowers, open windows, beds that are fresh and beds that have been slept in and FOOD.
Cut flowers are wonderful. It rained so much this spring that I never got any cut lilacs in the house.
I love a scented apartment. Mine’s so tiny, it doesn’t take much, and it’s gratifying to have people come in and straight away say, “Mmmm, your place smells so good!” (When company was coming and she didn’t have time to clean, my former mother-in-law used to run out and buy fresh flowers and spray a bit of Lemon Pledge around the living room. It’s an effective little ruse.)
Through the winter, I rely on real frankincense, myrrh, benzoin, honey-amber resin and copal, available at Banyen Books, our funky New Age shop here in Vancouver. I used to put the little bits on traditional cubes of glowing Japanese charcoal in a bowl of sand, but the best is a piece of aluminum foil on the stove burner on very low heat. The copal in particular is gorgeous. Incense sticks and cones are full of fillers that don’t smell very nice, but the pure scent of resins is indescribably sweet and clean.
Voluspa candles burn especially clean and they have a great throw. If you like your room scents dry and herbaceous, l’Occitane’s The Golden Branch — I believe NST’s Kevin turned me on to this one — is the one to try; it reminds me of Parfumerie Generale’s Bois Blond.
Pier 1 Imports has a new Fresh Fig scent for their candles and room sprays and if you love fig this is a very inexpensive way of spreading the joy. Elizabeth W from San Francisco makes great room scents; I love her Rose — almost like spraying Sa Majeste!
Super-cheap and good: Body Shop’s home fragrance oils. I often turn these into concentrated, one-spritz room sprays: half a bottle of oil, half a cup of water and an ounce of vodka (so that oil mixes and the spray evaporates quickly) in a fine-mist sprayer. The Line-Dried Cotton makes my whole bedroom smell like crisp, clean sheets.
I also spray my place with a spritz or two from bottles of edts and edps I’ve outgrown. Right now, it’s Michel Germain Wonderful. Too sweet and floral by half on my skin now that I’ve “graduated” to niche, the magnolia and orange smell as though summer’s arrived early.
R — that’s how you’re supposed to burn the khyphi Kevin sent me…in a little tin thingie on the stove if you don’t have the charcoal, which I don’t. How nice that you have easy access to all those components!
I figured it myself, R, necessity being the mother of invention. Those charcoal cubes were a pain in the butt, and the myrrh in particular just deadened the glow-y bit of the charcoal and the pieces kept falling off!! Don’t know what made me think of the kitchen stove — oh, I know: a helpful woman from Dubai who runs a home store here mentioned she carries special electric incense burners (I also burn these incredible, dark purple lozenges she carries, crammed with oudh, spices and a deep, fruity rose note: heaven!) and I got to thinkin’. . .:-)
LOL…I wasn’t that smart, Kevin told me how to use it
Hmm, I may try that foil/stovetop method for some frankincense resin I bought last winter. The charcoal disks are okay in a votive holder with sand, but do make a bit of a mess. Frankincense smells so good in the winter or around the holidays.
P.S. The joys of living in a really cosmopolitan city on the edge of nowhere — tons of the most fascinating things from all over the world to buy, and helpful people who want to share their culture!
we don’t scent the house at all…so it basically just smells like a clean house…think “model home, minus the godawful potpourri”.
lately though…we’ve had these generic brand lavender scented dryer sheets, and they’re absolutely lovely. every time we come in through the garage entrance through the laundry room, we stop, inhale, and sigh.
none of us thought we even liked lavender. lol
That sounds nice! Are they just from the grocery store?
Would “the incredible, dark purple lozenges she carries, crammed with oudh, spices and a deep, fruity rose note ” be for sale online, or perhaps via regular mail? ( I am in SoCal) They sound amazing…I love the oud fragrance, but can’t seem to carry it off as a perfume. I have often wished I could have it as a fragrance for the house.
JF, I’ve just grabbed the container. It says, “Bukhoor Bait al Bahar – Hassan Shahin Ahmed Perfumes, LLC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.” There were maybe 12-15 one-inch-round lozenges to the package for $15, and I only use a quarter of a lozenge at a time for my whole apartment to smell utterly exotic.
I think they’re a popular and moderately-priced line; I know I snagged a couple of 10ml oudh perfume roll-ons from the shop for $7.99 apiece, and honestly, they rival — and one of them might even be better than — the Montale Aouds!
Good luck tracking them down. I Googled, but didn’t find anything useful to report. . .
Oh, you are the best, thank you! A co-worker of mine travels frequently to Saudi Arabia, and I’m guessing that this is enough info for him to ask someone who will be aquainted with someone who is related to someone wo went to University with someone who lived next door to someone who will undoubtedly know how to find this in Dubai! :o) Thanks again for taking the time to respond !!
So glad to help. Just looking at one of my oudh roll-ons, and the name is different: Crown Perfumes, it says amongst the Arabic, Al-Rehab Store. I believe they’re huge in Dubai. They make a great jasmine, too, and it’s insanely inexpensive.
I found an excellent website, Islamic Goods Direct, which carries tons of incenses, including the line which makes those purple rose-oudh lozenges, and Crown Al-Rehab as well.
OMG, I think you have created a monster….did you see the perfume bottles??? I am not a botttle freak by any means, but some of those bad boys are making me feel like Mr. Adel Al-Sadoun must have felt when he was on his quest to achieve the World Record! :o)
The incense looks amazing, too!
MANY thanks for your time and graciousness in helping me to find this!
I realize I’m late to the game here, but gonna post anyway! I have to join the Nag Champa bandwagon! I have a giant bottle of Nag Champa oil packed away somewhere. I made a few candles with it and they are heavenly! This week they farmer’s market had sweat peas so I bought a few bunches and placed them strategically throughout the house and the whole place smells of fresh cut sweet peas.
Sweet peas, lucky you! They aren’t always so easy to find.