The Scents for Autumn

When we are inside our homes, we can improve our moods and the atmosphere by switching up the scents in our space.

Smelling citrus-y smells inside is a plus.  The sort of orange smell that’s produced by the fruit that we eat (technically known as “sweet orange”) has been linked to feeling less stressed, more relaxed.  Lemon scents have been tied to enhanced brain/cognitive performance.  And a real citrus smell bonus:  Research has shown that when men smell grapefruit and are then asked to estimate the age of women, their estimates are significantly lower than when they’re not smelling grapefruit.

Smelling floral scents, in general, is relaxing.  So are the fragrances of lemon mango, vanilla.  Smelling rosemary, peppermint, and eucalyptus has the opposite effect, it leads us to feel more alert and peppermint also has been tied to improved performance on boring mental tasks, such as addressing your end-of-year holiday cards.

Lavender plants find their way into many of our gardens and their scent should have a place in our homes, regardless of season.  Smelling lavender relaxes us, as we smell it the stress and tension drain away.  And, as it turns out, trust finds its way into our beings.  Research also shows that people smelling lavender are more trusting than those who aren’t, so lavender can be a good scent for family rooms or other places where people will spend time together.

To do any of the good things mentioned above, scent needs to be subtle, nearly not there.  When it’s not, when it’s big and obvious, scents seem like attempts to manipulate and humans respond very, very badly to those—they tarnish the reputations of anyone or any group or any thing that seems, in any way, even potentially, responsible for them.

It isn’t possible to declare that in all instances so many drops of this essential oil or any thing similar should be used in a space for just the right effect.  Determining how much of whatever good smelling stuff you’re planning to use in an area requires some experimentation on your part.

Add a very small amount of scent right before people are due to visit your home.  In some sort of conversational way, after they’ve been at your house for a while, ask them if they like being in the room you’ve scented.  Don’t mention the fragrances yourself, see if they’re mentioned spontaneously.  If they are, you’ve used too much.  Cut back and restart your investigation with the next set of people who come by.  When you get to a concentration at which no one mentions the smell of the space when they’re talking about it, you’re nearly done.  When fragrance doesn’t come up, ask people what they think of the smell of the space.  If, in their descriptions, people can name the scent in use, cut back a little further and run through your research protocol again with more guests.  When no one can identify the scents you’ve used by name, you’ve hit on the right concentration.