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The masters’ guide to FRAGRANCING YOUR HOME 

Seven world-renowned olfactory experts show us how to style our spaces with scent.

Words: George Walker

 

How can home fragrances help set a mood, conjure a memory or even transform our spaces? Here, the leading names behind some of the most celebrated scents for the home share their inspirations, insights and expert tips.

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Meet the panel

LAURENT DELAFON
CEO of United Perfumes (Cire Trudon UK)
MATTHEW HERMAN
AND DAVID KIEN
Founders of Boy Smells
EMMA SOUTH
Jo Malone London Fragrance & Lifestyle expert
SARAH ROTHERAM
CEO of Miller Harris
ELAD YIFRACH
Founder of L’Objet
SHAUN RUSSELL
Founder of  Skandinavisk
FABIENNE MAUNY
Managing Director of Diptyque

The scent:

Abd El Kadar by Cire Trudon

Cire Trudon Abd el kadar
Laurent Delafon, CEO UNITED PERFUMES (Cire Trudon UK).

The inspiration:

“Abd El Kader is my go-to fragrance whenever I want to feel like I’ve escaped to somewhere exotic. Inspired by the rugged coastal landscape of Morocco, this scent smells like a freshly poured glass of mint tea, served in the shade on a hot summer’s day. Full of just-torn spearmint, wild blackcurrant, chopped apple and crushed ginger, it feels like a breath of fresh air floating through your home. If I had to describe it as a colour, it would be a vivid green for its ability to create a sense of nature, space and wanderlust.”


Where to place it:

“I love to burn this in the kitchen next to the window so that as I look out, it feels like I’ve brought the garden inside.”


The expert tip:

“For me, fragrance has a really powerful ‘invisible’ effect that I use daily to ‘decorate’ my home – it’s a really simple way to instantly transform the space around you, without having to re-paint the walls or move the furniture.”

 

A carefully chosen scent can help to emphasise some of the visual aspects of a room – for example, something like a fresh rose or orange blossom will complement pastel furnishings and floral prints, while warm, smoky notes like amber or cedar really enhance leather and wooden pieces

-  Laurent Delafon, Co-founder and CEO of Cire Trudon

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The scent: 

Petal by Boy Smells.

Petal Boy Smells
Matthew Herman and David Kien, Founders of Boy Smells.

The scent story:

“This candle was an homage to the sensitivity and femininity of flowers. The patchouli and sage give it an earthy modernity that offers a fresh take on florals. For me, Petal is ‘neo-nostalgic’: Familiar, but at the same time completely new.”


Where to place it:

“Petal is the perfect living-room candle. It has the elegance to feel a little fancier than the rest of your home, but it’s recognisable enough to be cosy.”


The expert tip:

“Even if you are spending more time at home, it’s so important for our minds to stay in sync with the seasons. I always turn to fresh -white- floral scents at this time of the year, to remind myself of the season – its possibility and potential.”

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The scent: 

The Blossoms collection by Jo Malone London.

orange blossom
Emma South, Jo Malone London Fragrance & Lifestyle Expert.

The scent story:

“The collection was inspired by the idea of a beautiful secret garden. At its centre, among graceful pavilions, there are square lily ponds. It’s a peaceful space, with landscaped lawns, wooded thickets and flower-strewn hedgerows. Around the ponds, a mouth-watering citrus fruit grows in abundance…”


Where to place it:

“Different settings call for different scented atmospheres. For dining situations, I always recommend citrus-based candles and diffusers, like the Orange Blossom fragrance.”


The expert tip:

“Citrus cleanses the air of cooking scents, but also awakens the palate-building anticipation of your culinary creations!”

 

The art of home scenting is about adding to the spatial dimensions of a property, creating and delineating new spaces within an open plan area, and also helping to structure the day, creating scented signals that direct us from work to leisure, day to night.”

-  Emma South, Jo Malone London Fragrance & Lifestyle Expert

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The scent:

Rêve de Verger by Miller Harris

miller harris reve de verger
Sarah Rotheram, CEO of Miller Harris

The scent story:

“This fragrance was inspired by a sun-burnished pear that has fully ripened and fallen to the ground. Notes of peony, rose and hay capture the sense of the orchard, the grass beneath the trees and a feeling of being in the English countryside, with subtle birch and cedarwood to reflect that soft, dusty woodiness that you find in an orchard"


Where to place it:

“I place my Rêve de Verger candle next to my bed, as even without burning the candle you can inhale the aroma first thing in [the] morning.”


The expert tip:

“A space feels empty to me, like something is missing, without perfume. I am quite decadent and liberal in my use of home fragrance. I like to spray my curtains with a room spray, so I get a gentle waft as the curtain flutters in the breeze. I often spritz my sofa, so my guests have a little plume of scent as they sink into the cushions.”

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The scent:

No.3 Eau d’Égée, L’Objet

L'objet no.3
Elad Yifrach, founder of L’Objet

The scent story

“It’s inspired by my childhood on the Mediterranean and around the Aegean Sea. It is defined by three simple elements: the sun, the sea and the spirit of the place. The Aegean spirit is as pure and as gentle as the cool sea breezes, tempered by the scent of wildflowers, sweetened by the coriander and fig leaves from local gardens and the spiced aroma of burning sage drifting from ancient temples.


Where to place it:

“In my home, I always have a candle in the entry hall, living room, bathroom and bedrooms.”


The expert tip:

“I usually put my candles in the middle of the room, so they can travel evenly all over.”

 

For me, a room is not complete without a fragrance, it's one of the main sensory experiences we need to truly feel connected with a space.

-  Elad Yifrach, founder of L’Objet

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The scent:

SKOG by Skandinavisk

Skog
Shaun Russell, founder of Skandinavisk.

The scent story:

“SKOG is designed to capture the boreal forests of the Scandinavian region. These forests typically contain fragrant spruce, pine and fir. It is said you can walk from the southern tip of Sweden to the Arctic Circle – a journey of more than 3,000 kilometres – without once leaving the forest.”


Where to place it:

“I prefer to place SKOG in the entrance hall as it has such a fresh, inviting scent that connects to the outdoors.”


The expert tip:

“A home fragrance shouldn’t be the first thing one notices when entering a new space, but rather something that creeps up on you as you settle in.”

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The scent:

Figuier by diptyque.

Figuier
Fabienne Mauny, Managing Director of diptyque.

The scent story:

“Our fragrances poetically reinvent and enhance nature or a journey, real or dreamt of. Figuier is probably the most emblematic fragrance for me. Philosykos [an ode to the entire fig tree] is the associated fragrance for the body, and the perfume is derived from fig leaves. It creates a sense of a natural setting that emerges once its scent infiltrates the room.”


Where to place it:

“I would place Figuier anywhere in the house, but maybe mostly in the bedroom for its soothing virtues.”


The expert tip:

“Fragrances help to recreate an olfactory atmosphere specific to each person and bring a room to life by telling a story. Their effect on the interior atmosphere will depend on your mood and the occasions for which you wish to create a warm and friendly atmosphere.”

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