Make Your House Smell Like April Showers Have Brought May Flowers

If your allergies make live flowers an impossibility, try a scented candle that smells exactly like sticking your face into a bouquet of hyacinths.

May 10, 2023 - 16:51

Make Your House Smell Like April Showers Have Brought May Flowers

If your allergies make live flowers an impossibility, try a scented candle that smells exactly like sticking your face into a bouquet of hyacinths.

Welcome to What’s That Smell?, a monthly roundup of the newest and the best in home scent solutions, from a dedicated home scent enthusiast to you.

You may have noticed that, quite suddenly, flowers have appeared. Outdoors, on your walks, in your garden, on your window sill — you’ll be minding your own business and, out of nowhere, a scent will waft into your nostrils. You’ll look over your shoulder and see … oh my god, it’s a flowering lilac plant on your neighbor’s fence. "Am I allowed to steal some of those lilacs and bring them indoors?" you’ll wonder, and regrettably I don’t have an answer for you. Maybe send that into an advice column. I have another idea, though, and that idea is: scented goods for the home! Oh, that is classic me. Let’s enjoy some floral scents indoors, even if we decide we’re not sneaky enough to be a thief. Here are some ideas.

It’s a statement piece

A candlestick-shaped candle, crafted in wax, perfumed with honeysuckle essence.The ‘Honeysuckle’ wax candleholder evokes the sweet aroma of this climbing, flowering vine through its floral scent. It reveals delicate, honeyed notes once lit. This candlestick shaped candle has a single cotton wick and should be placed on a heatproof surface, such as our terracotta base intended for this use, available to buy separately.

My immediate thought about this Loewe candle is: I could never burn that. It’s too beautiful. It’s too expensive. Why would I light on fire something I’d rather keep? But let’s take a lesson from the flowers that bloom around us and remember that life is short. Nothing lasts forever, my friend. Smoke ‘em while you got ‘em. Enjoy all the beauty you can before your petals wilt and fall to the earth, so to speak. Burn this beautiful honeysuckle-scented Loewe candle (that doubles as its own candleholder) right down to a nub. And then burn the nub!

It’s hygienic opulence

Byredo presents Tulipmania, a new hand care fragrance inspired by the historical phenomenon also known as "tulip fever", a speculative frenzy over tulip bulbs.Almost ten years after launching La Tulipe (2010), a fresh perfume with floral notes conceived as an ode to spring, Byredo continues to explore the infinite potentialities of this silent smell. With a persistent base note of blonde woods and a flowery transparency accentuated by notes of freesia.

You know you’re in a luxurious location when you walk into the bathroom and see Byredo hand soap on the sink. So why not make that luxurious location your very own home? Your dry, rough hands have made it through winter, and they deserve a floral-scented treat.

It’s four-wick affordable luxury

Fragrance Profile: Romantic Lily of the valley is paired with the dewiness of hyacinth, jasmine and green leaves for this classic floral scent. Fragrance Notes: Lily of the Valley, Hyacinth, Jasmine, Spring Green Leaves

People often ask me, "Kelly, what’s a great candle I can buy for $30 or under?" And every time I say, "None. You cannot buy a great candle for $30 or under." Damn. Very cold of me. While I maintain that my comment is unfortunately somewhat true, I’ve found this $30 HomeWorx candle to be a wonderful outlier. Its Lily of the Valley scent is perfectly fresh and vibrant, and not at all cloying. And the fact that it has four wicks gives the candle’s large circumference an even burn, and allows for a wider-than-usual throw. It’ll fill your home with springtime joy, and its price point won’t make you feel guilty for burning it with abandon.

It’s sticks, but fancy

Fresh from the Pacific Coast, our Seasonal Pink Blossom Branches bloom with clusters of blush-colored flowers. Dropped in a simple vessel, these branches invite an early spring arrival indoors.

Sticks are chic. They are mother. They are the moment. They’re in a big vase in every influencer’s house and they have you thinking — man, I’ve gotta get myself some sticks. Well, now’s the time. These branches from Terrain will bloom in your home, as if you’ve got a whole pink-flowering tree in there, and who’s the influencer now, hm? Well … I guess that would be you!

It’s almost exactly hyacinth

Crafted beneath the sunshine of Southern France with patience and passion, this fragranced candle is made with natural biodegradable wax, a braided pure-cotton wick, and a subtle perfume composed with a variety of quality raw materials. Envision a bride’s colorful bouquet. She poses with it gaily while being photographed in the Royal Palace garden… In her image, the Tuileries Palais-Royal scent is a harmonious blend of cut flowers with an aquatic head and a floral heart of Hyacinth on a woody green base.

God, this Kerzon candle is so good. It smells exactly like shoving your face into a giant bucket of hyacinths and taking a big whiff; an activity in which I’ve never partaken but one I can certainly imagine. It’s a delight to smell cold, and an absolute joy to light on a warm spring day. "Do you have a hyacinth in here?" people will ask. "No, but I do have a hyacinth candle," you’ll say. And they’ll say, "Oh."

It’s alive

Bright, direct light is best. Keep soil moist at all times; allow for proper drainage so the roots don’t become soggy or sit in water.

Can I, personally, keep a plant alive? Well. The answer is none of your business and in fact I’d like to have the question stricken from the record. Suffice to say that I will not be buying an indoor gardenia plant for myself, but that I fully support and envy your ability to do so, should your thumb be so blessedly green.

It’s almost zen

Light this candle to infuse your space with Hortosa: a joyful, floral evocation of mimosas. Vegetable wax candle with lead-free wick. Burn time 40 hours.

You know when you walk into a store that sells crystals and sustainable clothing and face creams made from environmentally sound materials, and you smell the air, and you think, "Man, this air smells like what I imagine it must feel like to have successfully meditated. I bet if I could smell this air all the time, I’d be much calmer and more well-liked. I need to have this air ventilated out of here and into my apartment so I can finally feel even a single moment of peace." No? Just me?

It’s actually zen (allegedly)

Designed to help re-balance you and your home, acting as the natural base for releasing essential oils into the air. Coupling the long-standing tradition of using gemstones with essential oils to aid with reducing stress and creating a calming, serene living space.

If that candle isn’t working for you, maybe the power of crystals will. This crystal diffuser, to which you add your favorite scented essential oil, is said to reduce stress and bring a positive, serene vibe to your home. Are snow and rose quartz crystals actually imbued with those magical powers? Hm. I guess that’s up for you to decide. But hey, it’s worth a shot.

It’s indulgently French

Contains essences of mauve lilacs with puffs of rose and jasmine. 3 1/2" diameter x 4" tall. 100% natural, 100% cotton braided wick. Burn time: 60-70 hours.

Astier de Villatte makes some of my favorite candles. Their scents are transportive and their vessels are so generous in size that they feel particularly indulgent. This one will give you a wonderful recreation of that lilac scent you desire, without forcing you to commit petty floral theft.