5 Scents Every Home Needs

There's nothing better than walking through your front door and meeting a homey, inviting scent. The way your home smells is just as important as the way it looks, but there are seemingly endless fragrance options, and it can be hard to choose the right one (to say the least). 

You want fragrances that aren't too overpowering, and fragrances that suit the type of environment you’re trying to create. A soothing, spa-like home aesthetic, for example, will be better suited to different scents than perhaps a gothic and mysterious-feeling home. 

You can even pick different scents for different seasons and rooms. We have the five scents we think every home needs, and you can trust us when we say you’ll be obsessed.

5 Scents for Your Home 

Here at Snif, we use a high-end blend of soy and vegetable wax to create premium-quality candles with premium-quality scents and burn times. They’re also all non-toxic, paraffin-free, vegan, cruelty-free, and meet clean industry standards. 

Our wicks are made from 100% pure cotton to provide a safe, clean burn, and all of our candles are 100% made in the USA. So, you understand why you should reach for a Snif candle, but which Snif candles are best for your home? Here are our top five. 

1. Sweet Ash 

Sweet Ash is one of our best sellers for a reason. It's a low-key sweet, woody scent that you and your guests are sure to love. It combines an alluring blend of moss, woods, fir balsam, tonka, and vanilla bean alongside juniper, bergamot, and patchouli for a smooth-burning, delicious scent. 

This scent can work in every area of your home, but it's a comfy fragrance that’s ideal for your living room, reading nook, or bedroom. 

All of our candles, including Sweet Ash, are available in either 8.5 oz or 50 oz. Our smaller candles will give you 50+ hours of burn time, and our larger candles are made to burn for 200+ hours. 

2. Instant Karma 

For something more dark and dreamy with warm, spicy, and sensual scents, reach for Instant Karma. Instant Karma is made of a smooth blend of cardamom, cinnamon, and vetiver, but it doesn’t stop there.

This candle also features nashi pear, black plum, geranium, cedarwood, and black tea to add a sweet smell and hint of crispness. It's the perfect spicy scent for your kitchen or any area of your home that could use an extra hint of coziness and depth. 

3. Birds and the Breeze 

This candle has a light and airy scent that will elevate any space. Made with mimosa petals, jasmine, galbanum, orchid, musk, and cedarwood, Birds and the Breeze has a fresh scent that’s perfect for the early bird, whether you’re burning it at brunch or in the bedroom.

4. Off the Grid 65

At the end of a long day, Off the Grid is just what the doctor ordered to take you to your happy place. A warm blend of amber, lily, musk, and sandalwood makes for a calming scent for when you’re ready to unplug on the weekends and set your phone to DND.

5. Prenup 75

The Prenup scent is just as memorable as the honeymoon — it's a warm scent thanks to its blend of ink, black amber, vetiver, ebony wood, musk, vanilla, and tonka bean. 

The burn has a musky and smooth smell that will make you want to live happily ever after. It's a bedroom or bathroom scent made to last (and last, and last). 

How Do You Pick a Scent for Your Home? 

Believe it or not, choosing the right home scent can boost your mood. Think about it: when your house smells amazing, you can't help but feel good. 

Whether it’s that fresh and clean scent left behind after spring cleaning or the fresh scent of pine that fills the halls around the holidays, a good-smelling home can make all the difference and can even act as a form of aromatherapy. 

A floral scent like lavender can create a relaxing atmosphere to help you de-stress, while citrus scents have more of an energizing smell. Putting the work into finding the ideal signature scent for each area of your home can help you create an environment that makes you feel your best.

Think about what scents you want in each room based on the activities you do in those spaces. For example, since we know citrusy scents can be refreshing and uplifting, it might be helpful to place these scents in your office or work area. For spaces where you want to wind down, like your bathroom and bedroom, try soothing scents like lavender and eucalyptus. 

Of course, there are many ways to incorporate these smells into your home, from room sprays to essential oils in a reed diffuser. You’re sure to come across pretty much every option when you stroll down the aisles of your local home goods store — but the truth is that there's just something about the warm flicker of a candle that can transform a whole room, unlike other scented products. 

So how exactly can you settle on a scent that’s exactly what you need? Here are some factors to consider. 

Read the Descriptions First 

When you're trying to decide if you'll like a scent or not, you should always start by reading the description. To be honest, you can look at an ingredient list and still have absolutely no idea what the fragrance actually smells like, which is why the description comes in handy. The fragrance description is there to help you make sense of what you’ll experience when you’re finally ready for that first burn of your new candle. 

By reading the description, you can get a pretty good idea of whether the scent matches what you're looking for. Or, you may notice something that you don't like, which helps you rule it out. Look for words like spicy, fruity, woody, earthy, or floral to get an idea of the scent's overall vibe. 

The description can even help you find scents in the same fragrance family if you're looking for two different candles for the same space. When you burn two different candles at once, you can create your own custom smell, and the descriptions can help you pick the best two options. 

Try Before You Buy 

Not sure what to reach for? Snif offers a try-before-you-buy option that can help pave the way when you're trying to find the right scents for your home. By choosing this option, you get a candle bundle kit containing both a full-sized candle and a sample-sized candle. 

Once you receive your kit, you have seven days to test out your sample-sized candle — just don't break open the full-sized candle until you’re sure you want to keep the scent you chose. 

When your trial period ends, it’s time for the final verdict. If you’re not a fan of the scent you tried, no hard feelings! You can send back the full-sized candle for free, and we'll provide you with a prepaid printable shipping label. We’ll only charge your card for what you keep, which means our free trial is a great way to discover new scents and find what works best for your home.

Switch Out Scents Each Season 

Embracing the changing seasons doesn’t have to stop at switching out your home décor and wardrobe — you can also switch out your scents. New candles go hand in hand with a new time of year, if you ask us. You might even naturally associate certain scents with certain seasons already. 

The fall brings bright shades of red and orange as the leaves change, and you may think of an array of scents at this time of year that help you snuggle up. Woody, earthy smells or the scent of apples, pumpkins, and cinnamon may come to mind. In that case, reach for Instant Karma.

As the nights get longer and the weather gets colder, though, scents of pine, fireplaces, and those holiday desserts might fill the air. If that sounds familiar, you can look for candles with woody scents like cedarwood, balsam, sandalwood, and teakwood in the winter. You can also add vanilla-based scents to bring in an extra flair of cozy comfort — or you can skip the guesswork and grab Sweet Ash or Prenup. 

If spring smells like blooming flowers and sunshine for you, you can bring some of that floral smell inside with scents like jasmine, gardenia, lilac, or cherry blossom to shake off the winter blues. Citrusy, fresh, floral candles like Birds and the Breeze are light and refreshing, just like springtime. 

Once summer hits, it's time for vacations and those beachy vibes. Fresh fruits, berry scents, sandalwood, and cedar mix with sea salt and warmer weather. If sandalwood sounds right up your alley for the summer, try out Off the Grid.

Fine Fragrance That Feels Like Home

Transform your home by filling it with incredible scents. Think about what you want to smell in each room of your place. Snif has all the candles and fragrances you'll need for every room, any time of year. 

Sources:

Do scents affect people's moods or work performance? | Scientific American

11 Essential Oils: Their Benefits and How To Use Them | Cleveland Clinic

[Health Promotion through Prevention of Stress and Burnout with Essential Oils for All Professionals at the Otto Wagner Spital in Vienna] | NIH