Lavender was a key ingredient in the bougie domestic fantasy sold by retailers like Williams Sonoma and L’Occitane en Provence. It wafted gently over the entire oeuvre of Peter Mayle, the author of “A Year in Provence,” among other books.
Now you can buy Downy Infusions Lavender Serenity fabric softener.
— Read more at Why Does Everything Smell, So Peacefully, of Lavender? at The New York Times.
The thing about lavender-scented household products is that they rarely seem to smell like lavender. Which isn’t to say they don’t smell nice. This definitely holds true for Mrs. Meyer’s Lavender Clean Day Room Freshener and Fabuloso Lavender Multi-Purpose Cleaner.
Let’s start with the room freshener. In general, I’m not a fan of room sprays. I like a gently scented candle or an occasional baton of incense, and I burn a lot of Papiers d’Arménie near the litter box, but I like my home to feature me as its scented focal point.
However, I recently spent a week in a house in Palm Springs with a spray bottle of Mrs. Meyer’s Lavender Clean Day Room Freshener on the bathroom counter…
A short film from International Flavors & Fragrances' in house naturals facility, Laboratoire Monique Rémy, about the cultivation and processing of lavender in Provence. A little over 3 minutes; perfumer Alexis Dadier appears briefly at the beginning, and again at the end.
In a new study published today (Oct. 23) in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience researchers found compelling evidence that the stress relief that comes from lavender comes the way that linalool, an alcohol that occurs naturally in the plant, activates certain neurotransmitter receptors in the brain via olfactory neurons.
— Read more at A NEW STUDY CONFIRMS THAT SMELLING LAVENDER CAN RELAX YOU at Quartz.
While I was musing over yesterday's drawer liners, I also came across this adorable little number from Diptyque: the lavender wand, $48. "Produced in partnership with the Maison Franc, this scented curiosity, symbol of French tradition, is entirely handmade with lavender from Provence. The lavender heart slips into all the small spaces to diffuse its entirely natural perfume." Perhaps I was the only one who had never heard of a lavender wand? Turns out you can make one yourself (although I'm pretty sure mine would not look like the one shown above). Here are instructions from the English Lavender Farm.