Getting the STINK out! Aera Home Fragrance

ew

So.  This is a roundabout review.  Hang with me.

So.  Last week I was at the Farmer’s Market and came upon these delightful bouquets of pennycress, surrounding a small bunch of prairie flowers.  Pennycress is so pretty and I have an interest in it because it is being tested as a biofuel here in Central IL.  And the rather hefty bouquet was $5. And charming.  Winnah, right?

Not so fast.

I’d never actually seen pennycress in the flesh frond.  I had NO idea how it smells.  It doesn’t smell.  It STINKS!  O.M.G. Pretty as it is, it has this rank, dank, vegetal, wet sneaker, eau du frog smell that had me tearing apart the kitchen, looking for the rotten potato.

Worse?  Even after I turned out the kitchen, found out it wasn’t a rotten potato and got rid of the blasted bouquet?  THE SMELL STAYED!  and stayed.  and STAYED!  If they do use pennycress as a biofuel there will be NO auto accidents At All.  Because you won’t be able to get close enough to any other vehicle!

Almost in despair, I turned to my fabbo Aera Home Scent Diffuser (I know I sound like an informercial – but it’s true.  I haven’t been using it much lately because I have all the windows open and I don’t feel like scenting the outdoors, y’know? And we’ll talk about the error of my thinking, in just a bit) –  I’d just received a couple new scents for review (that’s my disclosure, right there) and the Citrus canister was in the gorgeous little machine – so I turned it on.

Boom!  Within 4 minutes?  Aera: 1  Stink: 0.  What’s even nicer?  It didn’t have that Room Freshener aftersmell , no Febreze or Eau du Bus John aroma.  It is a delightfully light, citrus smell that doesn’t scream “I JUST SPRAYED PLASTIC LEMON ALL OVER THE PLACE, FEAR ME!”  I emailed Levi (the sender of those fab scents), extolling the virtues of Citrus – and he replied that, much as he loves Citrus, he really ADORES  the White Tea scent, with its quietly heady mixture of jasmine and thyme (I love thyme – such a peppery little lift to it), so I decided to try that one (I haz a hard job over here, lol!) – what a nice scent!!  Why don’t we use the word ‘nice’ more often?  I like ‘nice’ scents for the home.  When I walk through the door after a day of beatdowns, I don’t want to be challenged by some psychopathic fragrance.   I want the olfactory equivalent of a perfectly clean house, glass of Pinot Blanc awaiting ….fresh flowers in the foyer (as if, but a gal can dream) and The Girl has been fed & walked.

Aera pretty much hits all those (except walking The Girl, alas,)  –  their fragrances are ‘nice’- pretty without being insipid, interesting without being intrusive, and…hey, this is where we talk about usage in Summer!  I am not an AC fan so unless it’s 900F I usually make do with open windows and ceiling fans.  The lovely thing about Aera is, since it’s not a spray in the conventional sense of the word, the little ‘puff’ of scent it releases mixes nicely with fresh air, lingering but not heavy.   I also like the system because it’s sleek and cool – and it won’t set your house on fire – don’t laugh!  Awhile ago, someone went into a friend’s guest bath to ‘freshen up’, took off her decorative scarf and left it in the bathroom (she was a bit toasted) – a moment later she remembers thinking ‘huh.  I didn’t know Mark had a fireplace in his bathroom…oh, sh#t!!!’ …….see, if you had an Aera, your toasted friends could drop their scarves on it and not burn up your guest bath!

still gorgeous!

The new scents are White Tea (my new fave), Citrus (my other new fave), Lavender (perfect for evening and for when you don’t want to go to jail – very, very soothing) and Sandalwood (which I tried for a hot minute but, in all honesty, it’s just too hot and humid right now – I see myself really enjoying this, come October).  All are $39/ea.  You can check them out on the Aera website www.aeraforhome.com – and the canisters still make that cool, James Bond ‘whoosh’ when they go into the machine. Every time they do that I get this big grin on my face….Omg.  I am such a NERD!

 

  • Portia says:

    I don’t think we have these in Oz Musette. sounds beautiful and I like the modern canister that it comes in. Is it battery or wall plug?
    After the weekly clean I walk around the house with a couple of incense sticks chanting “Take away all bad juju, only love, peace and prosperity here”. Yes. I feel like a right tit while doing it but funnily once I’ve gone through the house doing this and left the sticks in the kitchen to finish, it DOES feel like all the bad and negative is gone and only positive left.
    Portia xx

    • Kathleen says:

      Love that ritual Portia!

      • Portia says:

        Kathleen,
        It’s a mish mash stolen from New Age, Australian Aboriginal, Subcontinental Indian and Hippy. Isn’t it interesting how the simplest thing can make you feel like there has been real change?
        I’m glad you like it too. Try it and come back please, tell me how you went.
        Portia xx

    • Musette says:

      My darling, I’ve said it before – and I’ll say it again: I LOVE HOW YOU LIVE!

      xoxoxoA

      ps. to answer your question, mine is wall plug. I just went on Aera’s chat support to find out if they have battery options – will get back to you when I find out!

      • Portia says:

        We need a catch up soon. As soon as you have a government change we are coming back to visit, in your town. Be ready.

        Thanks, as wall plug it will never run low. Do you think it uses much energy?
        We have Glade Plug Ins in Australia but it’s so strong I can’t smell my own fragrance.
        Portia x

        • Musette says:

          I think it’s pretty energy-efficient, plus you PROGRAM it (if you’re tech-savvy, like you are) to go on/off as you wish. If you are NOT tech-savvy(like moi) you just set it up and poke the little buttons to tell it how much/little to diffuse.

          I eagerly await That Time, darling. I will be all shiny, happy people, delighted to see you and yours! xoxoxo

  • Ann says:

    How cool is this?!! Thanks so much for sharing, darling! I hadn’t heard of Aera before you, but it sounds like a winner. These scents look to be right up my street! I need to check and see how much a starter kit is. Hugs to you …

    • Musette says:

      it’s pretty fab and very, very discreet which I love! I think you’d enjoy it!

      xoxoxo

  • Kathleen says:

    Pattie Campbell, try placing the Aera unit in various locations to see if you get better draft. If you read instructions, it’ll show you how to select best location for the unit in your home. You can adjust how much scentbid released as well. Of course you may already have tried these but I just wanted to mention.
    My Aera has good projection in my open moderate sized living room/kitchen area.

  • March says:

    Loooool I have never smelled this, but I definitely relate to having a smell in the house you don’t want…. I would say the most common on my end is a random dog smell … and it does get tiring!

    • Musette says:

      I wash more dog bedding, I sweatergawd, I do! There’s times when I think ‘wow. I didn’t know I’d moved into a zoo’

      xoxo

  • Pattie Campbell says:

    I bought one, love the concept and the look, but I never use it because I cant smell anything!! I tried the winter scents and had to get my nose within an inch to even smell it. Feeling as if it was a huge waste of money. Anyone else have this problem?

    • Musette says:

      Pattie, see Kathleen’s comment below – I think that might work for you. My Aera is on the parson’s table just inside the front door, so I get a nice waft of it as I enter the house, which I think I carry through to the rest of the house. I haven’t even thought about how it might change, were I to move it! xoxo

  • Kathleen says:

    I love my Aera as well! The white tea scent is wonderful, as are all that I have used. I love coming home and smelling that gorgeous subtle smell. So much better than room sprays and candles.

    • Musette says:

      I was thrilled at the quality of the scents – all too often Home Scents (sprayed or diffused in this way) have a plasticky, chemically undertone. These are quiet & clear. Lovely to come home to!

      xo