Here in the Midwest, Autumn is a snuggly time, with folks tidying up the outside and turning their focus inward in preparation for the LONG Slog Through Winter. Once December rolls around, it’s unlikely the windows will open again until late March/early April. The smells of Life collect and multiply in the Cold months, with the night’s yummy aroma of coq au vin leaving a lingering air of greasy wine come morning. I live with an Ursine man and two enormaloid dogs, all of whom do their Man/Dog Thing with the… emanations and general ‘guyness’ of it all. Unchecked, this house quickly becomes an olfactory Hazmat zone, so I’m always vacuuming, mopping, airing…trying to stay a step ahead of Those Smells, which beat to flinders the notion that I might live a Beautiful Life.
That’s where perfuming a room comes in. Perfume guns, scented passamentiere, diffusers, all help cleanse and renew a room and lift the spirits of those who are stuck in inhabit the house. A little whiff of, say, Bigarade on a tassle hanging on a closet doorknob and suddenly I don’t mind that I have to make the bed. Jiggle the reeds in a diffuser and the leak in the icemaker doesn’t seem quite so bad!!! And, hey! There’s still ice! So you might as well shake up martini or two!
I’ve been on the hunt for the best (aka My Favorites), running the gamut from Budget Friendly to “why yes, here’s my Black Card”.
Frederic Malle Perfume Guns. Un Gardenia la Nuit. Holy cats and crackers! Two spritzes in a decent-sized bedroom at 9p means fragrant dreams until morning. This is the truest, most GARDENIA of all gardenia scents. You’re in a silken gown, at twilight, in a manicured French garden full of the most fragrant gardenias imaginable. It’s $185 and worth every fragrant cent. Barneys in Chicago has sold out of it, it’s on backorder and the backorder is nearly sold out. I totally understand why. If I still had my Amex Plat I would buy this by the gross, rack up the points and then buy some more!
As much as I love the Gardenia, I am even more in love with Marius & Jeannette (as you can tell these, as well as the original scents, mirror the scents of his candle line). With its salty tang and hints of lemon & pastis Marius & Jeannette will transport you to Marseilles, then whisk you along the sunny coast in a vintage roadster. I spritzed this once. Then I spritzed it again. And again. And I found myself dancing through this crappy little house with a huge grin on my face..and I realized that I’d somehow ended up in Monte Carlo! $145 (and I would buy this in a nanosecond! Ah, perhaps for mah birthday……..?)
Btw, these are not the sort of pretty little spray bottles you’d leave on a bedside table. These are industrial-strength spray bottles, Bauhaus-cool. Since I’m all about Traditional Pretty I’d probably leave mine in the linen closet until I was ready to spray. What’s inside those bottles, though, is so freakin’ gorgeous that I wouldn’t care if they packaged it in a baggie, as long as I could keep pumping it out, turning the air into magic.
Agraria Bitter Orange Perfumed Tassle. Swish! A Summer Saturday in the Hamptons, swaying on my closet door! I love passamentiere, though this house laughs at me every time I hang a silk tassle from the hollowcore doors. But, hey – I don’t have to live at Versailles to smell like I live at Versailles, right? Grab your beauty where you can, that’s my motto! I got mine at Saks for $35. It’s sooo pretty! In the entryway I have worn the Bitter Orange reed diffuser completely OUT! Those sticks hate. mah. guts. I think it’s time to retire them. I think I will replace them with Bob’s Flower Shoppe reeds from Trapp Candles. This is a Kansas City company and it’s very chic & fun, with excellent quality scents and lovely packaging, all at a reasonable price. Bob’s Flower Shoppe is a cute name for a gorgeous scent. Spritz the room spray and you’re in a high-end florist’s shop in early Spring. I stumbled upon the candles at Straub’s in Webster Groves MO (where I also stocked up on Mallomars, thankyewverrymuch)….Trapp has a ton of scents – I liked a lot of them but it wasn’t until I got to Bob’s that I fell BIG In Love. The deli guy was giving me such strange looks. I was gearing up to get all hufftified, then I realized that I’d been standing there for 5 full minutes with my nose jammed into this diffuser! Blushing. The room spray is $10-$14, depending upon where you get it. The reed diffusers are $45-$50.
What do you use to keep your house smelling pretty in the closed-in months?
In response to Musette above, I used to have an actual candle closet and the name has stuck. What I have is an oversized end table that my husband built for an odd storage situation in our old apartment (strange useless nook). It is waaaay too big for our living room so it lives in the guest room and is stuffed to the gills with hoarded candles, incense, and discontinued Lampe Berger oils.
I am actually working on taking over the hall linen closet for perfume though. One shelf down and two to go.
My situation is probably opposite everyone else’s. I can usually have windows open most of the winter around here but the summer kills me. Hot and humid and yuck. In spite of our nice mild winters I do have tons of cozy home scents I love. My next door neighbor smokes briskets as a side job several times per week and his house is built in an L shape that mirrors ours so that our homes create a very nice u shaped smoke trap. Since oak and mesquite smoke are instant migraine for me I do occasionally have to close the house up and that “vintage 60’s house with three cats” smell takes over quickly. I LOVE the Esteban Paris incense (every scent I have tried has been great) and the Cedre candle is to die for. I also have an ancient and discontinued Basil candle from Diptyque that I burn year round for really special days; that one and the honey candle I really wish they would bring back. Last year I scored several L’Artisan votive sets at TJ Maxx and now that I remember I saved myself one I am enjoying it quite a lot.
Yikes! I am really rambling today. Guess I should shut up and get back to work.
Hey Guys! I’m little late to the party again (time zones and my usual lazyness) but this is such a lovely topic, I loved everyone’s ideas. Especially the jam ones (YUM!)
I’m an incense/pot pourri type, both handmade if possible. One of my cousins always makes a wonderful sandalwood and rose one, and also a pinesap/frankincense in little cones that are great in winter. Summers are a honeysuckle and linden blossom room spray from a drugstore brand that I adore, and I also love making little sachets (thanks Patty:)) of pot pourri from apple and orange peels, cinnamon, clove, star anise, roses, vanilla pods and such. Whatever takes my fancy at the given time:). Hung onto the radiators as one of You mentioned, or around the hearth they provide a gentle but lasting aroma. I make a great pride out of a scented home, as I delish in people saying when they enter Hmmm, your place always smells sooo good!:).
I’ve tried essential oils in a burner as well, but they work much better in the bath tub IMO:).
Between the basset, and the cat, and the husband and our fondness for cooking fish with garlic, and yes, I’m BIG into perfuming my house. I also open windows until I can actually see my breath sometimes, but usually incense works better. I get sandalwood, rose, and jasmine incense from Earthbound Trading Company, and it’s lovely. Incense is also good during the summer, as it doesn’t heat up the house as candles do. And I love candles too – Trapp’s Amber and Bergamot is lovely, and any number of companies put out wonderful spicy fall and balsam-y winter scents. Orleans Home Fragrances is a favorite as well. Diffusers don’t work for me (see “cat” above), but I can put them in my office, which I also like to scent. Just because.
Fish. So good in the making. So godawful in the aftermath. I always wash down the hood, the backsplash and any nearby cabinets with a strong vinegar solution – that usually gets rid of the fishies. Then I open the windows! 😀 I try not to cook fish in January/February 😀
I’ve always been fascinated by the Guerlain candles – has anyone tried them?
No, alas. I hope they are as fabulous as their scents. I’m trying to imagine a Djedi candle. Or Mitsouko. yum!
xoxoA
I live in a house with a cat, so the reed diffusers are just not going to work, and candles, although I have lots of them sitting around, are burned only when they (or the cat) can be constantly supervised. I have been using Papier d’Armenie quite a lot especially to get rid of cooking smells (and also have a box of the Santa Maria Novella version, which is stronger). And I bought a package of Malle’s “plastic incense,” which is great for smallish spaces—one in the coat closet, one in the bedroom closet, one in my car. I have been eyeing the incredibly priced Diptyque electric diffuser thingie—it’s something like $350, not including the scent refills. Has anyone tried this or seen it in person?
I don’t know if they are at Barneys —- ooh! THAT”S what I was ogling at Nordies. THAT THING! It’s pretty – but day-am! $350? Yikes! I’d rather stick with my Lampe Berger. I do not like their scents at all so I use the neutral and add to it whatever EO I like.
Yikes!
xoxoxoA
I live in a house with 3 Labs that love to fart and it’s horrible in the middle of winter. If there is a day where it’s gonna be mid 40’s or even up to 50, I don’t care if it is the middle of winter, the windows are getting opened. Dog farts and stale air are a horrible combination. The Slatkin candles are my go to for trying to keep that stale air smell at bay.
I’ll see your Labs and raise you a Rott, a pibbleboxer and (here’s the Ace) a Bear. LOL! I’m with you on the Open Window! You know the one I do? The old “oh, I’ll hold the storm door open so you can get that package” ploy! 😀 Just a few seconds helps, even in the dead of Winter!
xoxoxoA
Musette, you little perfumista temptress, you!! I have sooo been wanting to try those perfume guns, and now between your writing and two little kittens–beautiful but confined to the office with their stinky litterbox (and a recommendation I use only natural clay litter which does nothing for the smell so we’ll see how long I can stand it–I just might have been pushed over the edge….lol!! Seriously, I need something STRONG but not migraine inducing in there! Candles won’t do with kittens! Right now I have a Yankee Candle plug-in, but that Malle would be soooo much better, if dh doesn’t kill me over the price. Wish there was some way to try before you buy!
Love your writing, as always! Hope you and yours are all well!
Howdy, sweet Sherri! Amen to the “try before you buy” on the Malle guns. Maybe they could sell little spray sample vials of them? Wishin’ and hopin’ …
Ann, yes! I would seriously love someone to even do a split of the room sprays! I remember at Luckyscent it used to be possible to order samples of room sprays. Wish Barneys did that!
would baking soda help on that litter? I have dogs, who poop and pee outside (they’d better. those blasted hounds weigh 100+ lbs)…..mostly I just have to deal with the farting.
Sherri – call Andy at the Chicago Barneys, tell him I sent you; if you really are interested in testing them I’m sure he would have the lovely Kristina make a sample for you! They are not stingy with the product – after all, they do want people to experience it.
xoxoxoA
Anybody else love the Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Lemon Verbena scent? I love the hand soap! I don’t even smell lemon, but I do smell a really nice chypre fragrance. Tried the dryer sheets and they did not scent my clothes, even though they do smell great in the box. Maybe I will just scent my closets with the sheets?
Dana, thanks for the heads-up about this line. Sounds lovely — must try it soon!
I love candles, incense and diffusers!! Currently I am in love with Lafco’s Feu de Bois, which is so evocative of a campfire in a damp forest, with maybe a little high church thrown in. Simpatico made a candle called Grapefruit Fir which is exactly that. Now I have to hunt down stores that still have it in stock. I recently bought a case from some odd store I found on the internet. Every Christmas I get the Agraria Bitter Orange diffuser for the powder bath downstairs. each morning I turn the reeds upside down and back into the bottle so the air in the room is filled with the scent. I am hoarding some real Mysore sandalwood incense of which I bought 25 boxes in 1983. I still have 1 box left. L’Occitane used to have a honey line and their honey incense was to die for. Of course it is discontinued, but I still have 10 sticks left, that I parse out slowly. I keep a bottle of Fille en Augilles and Five O’Clock au Givembre in the master bath, to spray the air. MM good. I love reading all the above suggestions. I love a good smelling house!!!
Oh,thank you for the Lafco suggestion; sounds like something I’d love!
I had completely forgotten the L’Occitane honey incense but I know I have some that I have hoarded in the back of the candle closet someplace. They had an orange blossom incense that was really good too. Thanks for reminding me!
Y’all are KILLIN’!!! You have a CANDLE CLOSET, Liz?
Tora, glad to know there is another Agraria diffuser lover here!!! xoxoA
My favorite for scenting the home is votive-sized candles. My particular fav is Thymes. They have the wonderful Frasier Fir, which smells just like a Christmas tree. They’ve also got a line called Indigenous, that has a bunch of discontinued scents I really like. I’ve got Oolong Cassis, Neroli Blossom, and Verbena Bamboo. They’ve all got great throw, are made in the USA, and are very reasonably priced. I see on their website that they’ve also got reed diffusers, potpourri, scented handsoaps and lotions, room sprays, etc. (not affiliated) I got a couple of L’Artisan votives on sale — not sure what the name is, but it’s a really bitter green like tomato leaves, nice in spring and summer. The reason I like votive candles is that they fit perfectly on the window sill right above my kitchen sink. I light them in the evening when I’m cooking and washing dishes. I only wish that more companies would make the votive size and sell *just* the candle, not the votive candle in the votive holder, kind of like Yankee candle does. I wish I liked Yankee candle, but their scents are fake and cloying to me.
Yay, Dina! Another Thymes fan! I was trying to remember the name of the company when I commented above. Their Frasier Fir is sooo nice and DOES have refill bottles, so I’m using that to reload my Agraria balsam mini diffuser (50 lashes with a wet noodle, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do!).
Third Thymes fangirl here! (Well, once I forgave them for discontinuing Blossom) Frasier Fir rawks! ( I preferred the older design on the candle, although the new design is pretty and works well with the other items)
My other favorite holiday candle is Winter by Slatkin. Smells just exactly like wood smoke; I burn it with Frasier Fir and it is absolute perfection.
I am SO envious of your candle use. I have to be careful (again with the sinuses) and I find I enjoy most candles more when they are unlit. The Malles and Amouages are exceptions and I managed to enjoy a nice burn of the Trapp before the heat kicked in and my sinuses shut down. I think, instead of going to Paris, I might get sinus surgery! 😀
xoxoA
Hey there Musette,
Here I do Essential oils in a burner or I have an amazing collection of incense from all over the world, currently my all time favourite is one Jin & I bought while visiting the oldest temple in South Korea, the scent is so different to any other countries incense.
Portia x
Portia, would you ever consider doing a post about incense? Another love of mine, but one I know little about; my experience is pretty much with the Nag Champa and other Indian sorts. I just discovered Japanese incense, and was blown away by the difference. I’m guessing I’d enjoy the Korean one as well.
I second that request. You travel so extensively, I’d love to hear about global incenses. I can’t do much incense, as my sinuses go completely bonkers, but I love the aftereffects.
xoxoxoA
thirding!
Fourth-ing this request! 🙂
Penhaligon’s Bluebell! I have a big decant and can’t stand it on my skin, but it is lovely it on the drapes. I’m also all for bringing some jasmine or lemon tree branches inside the house. There is a little brass vase full of cinnamon sticks in the kitchen, which I occasionally revive with a little cinnamon EO. And of course, nothing beats baking or cooking jam. One of these days I made a spicy plum tarte tatin and the entire house smelled lusciously Lutensian. Just googled the cute diffusers you guys described, and oh my, I’ll have to look for one on my next trip. Still another lemming!
My goodness, I may have to invite myself to your house! 😛
There is always fresh coffee. 🙂
Fresh coffee and jam? I’m there! xoxoA
Well, there are the quinces. I got a big bag of them from a friend, and since they keep fairly well, the bag is just standing around, perfuming my apartment (I read somewhere that quinces were used to scent rooms in the Victorian era as well. They smell wonderful). I won’t cook the quinces before the first brown spots appear, so I’m probably good for another week or two. After that, I might actually use the Diptyque “Quince/Coing” room fragrance. Or hang little bags of orange and tangerine peel from my radiators to dry. Cook wonderful spiced red wine syrups to go with poached pears, plums or apples and leave the kitchen door open. Bake. And light high-quality scented candles. It’s a bit too early in the season for the fabulous Annick Goutal “Noel” candle, but the time will come! In the meantime, Penhaligon’s “Elizabethan Rose” candle will do (it comes in a beautiful silver bowl which will come in handy once the candle is gone).
Oh, your home sounds amazing! Quince and tangerine, YUM! I had no idea Penhaligon’s had candles. That rose is one of my favorite scents…
Oooh! quinces smell marvelous!!!! xoxoxoA
oh man, I’d been wondering about those space-age looking Malle guns. And your description of the gardenia scent sounds very tempting. My house is rather mid-century modern, so I’m not inclined toward the tassels. Right now I’ve got a Diptyque Tubereuse candle, and am going to pick up one of the limited edition holiday ones. My local Sunset finally got around to setting up a Mallomar display–$4.99/box, wonder if that’s the standard $? Inconsequential compared to our fragrant lemmings…
I think you got me on the malle guns. I’ve gotta get one!
they are…industrial..but what’s in them is gorgeous!!!
and Caroline…….alas, yes! but that means I can’t just wolf them down! Too expensive!
xoxoxoA
I am a candle ho to my very core, but I am not immune to the charms of the reed diffuser, mainly because I am also a glass/bottle ho, and am thoroughly enchanted by the damn bottles.
DL & Co have some absolutely stunning diffusers…especially the first ones they came out with, all gorgeously etched. Their Essence of Green can be one of my favorites ( altho the bottle is just plain green) but it’s hit and miss as far as the strength of the scent. Sometimes it’s strong and delicious basil-y goodness, and sometimes it’s all but nuthin’! I finally just quit buying it.
Saint Parfum’s Fresh Cut Bouquet is by far and away my favorite diffuser, though. Like walking into a florist in late winter, when they have all the hyacinths. Seda have some lovelies, too; my mama swoons over the peony, and the bottle is sweet, with a tassle!
I have been panting after one of the Agragari mini diffuser sets, but can’t decide which one. Nob Hill has my preferred colors and I want the Orange and the Balsam, but Santa Barbara has the jasmine and the rose. Any thoughts from your experiences that might away me?
PS: I am convinced M. Malle has some sort of passive-aggressive issue with packaging.
I can appreciate the minimalist aesthetic as a rule, but his perfume bottles are….I dunno, they just aren’t chic. He’s French, ffs, I expect some chic. For $300 he can’t at least give me a bottle with a little heft and nice heavy lid? Dude needs to get M. Hennessy to put him some knowledge about good liddage.
And I’d buy a perfume gun for the name alone, but for that price gimme a little style, not something that looks like it came from Dollar General!
Rant over.
I’m with you! Gimme a Neela Vermeire style bottle any day.
YES! So simple, so lovely!
Tammy, I agree with you and Solnace! i love about ten of the FM’s and want FB’s, and would have been quicker to purchase had they had more attractive (imho, of course) bottles. One stark red and black bottle is enough! That’s a separate issue: I really love it when each perfume has its own distinct bottle: I mean I have bought Angel, Alien and others more for the bottle than the juice. Different bottles make me feel like time and tlc has been put into the product. It also makes it easier to find the perfume you’re looking for in a hurry. Perfumers, take note! 🙂
Oh, me too! I’d have Une Rose, Iris Poudre and several others by now were it not for the dull bottle. I have notoriously tacky taste in bottles and have most of the Juicys and Westwoods, but I also appreciate simplicity. I think Rochas Femme and Uncle Serge’s bell jars are the epitome of elegance. Malle’s are just…. nada.
The juice itself is extraordinary, though and I’m sure his point is to let it do the talking. I need to get over this silliness, no??
The Bell Jars are amazing. And so are The Different Company bottles. The problem with the Malle ones is that they should be heftier, to reflect the quality of the juice. I live on decants, though, so I don’t know even know why I’m complaining!
His aesthetic is ….different, I’ll grant you that, and not my personal taste (I agree with you about Neela’s style and Lord, don’t I love the look of a Chanel perfume bottle on my dresser). But his style is definitely HIS, representative of his personal vision. I admire that he sticks to his aesthetic, even if I don’t want that gun on my nightstand! 😀
xoxoA
I do admire that he sticks to his aesthetic, you are so right about that. To me, though, it lacks any kind of aesthetic at all! It isn’t that his bottles are ugly; to me they are just…. nothing. I don’t see any style at all, good bad or indifferent. (This is definitely my lack of taste and vision, I have no doubt!)
Yes, yes, Tammy — love those DL etched frosted crystal mini ones. Must get one ASAP!
Oh, sweet baby girlllll … you had me spewing my pre-bedtime cup o’ tea! The images you create with your wildly evocative posts have me reeling most days. What a gift you have!
I, too, love the Agraria diffusers. I have the mini ones on a square silvered tray in my downstairs powder room, and I rotate between their balsam one in the winter and the lemon verbena scent in the spring/summer. Must try those tassels, though, as I am a tassel girl through and through — on furniture only, of course, not on my person, perish the thought 🙂
BTW, that reminds me — the lemon verbena one has gone dry as a bone, so I need to swap it out with the balsam. I wish they would sell refill bottles of the diffuser oils, as it makes no sense to keep having to buy the container over and over again, which I don’t. I have been getting similar scents in a larger size, less-expensive brand, so just kept pouring those into the mini diffuser as a refill. Agraria, sure hope you’re listening!!
it is weird, isn’t it? I just sent them a note, asking that very question. They are losing out on a lot of repeat business, imo. Most of us can’t afford to buy the whole ‘experience’ over and over again, nor do we want to have to deal with yet another crystal jar. xoxoxoA