Products received from the House of Mahogany
You know there are always spaces you enter (usually a fancy shop, spas, luxury restaurants or hotels) and there is something about how the place smells? There is a subtle fragrance. You can’t quite put your finger on it but you enter the space and feel your shoulders drop and a sense of happy calm. That is what I always wanted to replicate in my own home.
I did get into candles and the rest of it this summer. (I have an issue with cut flowers as decor but will get into it later). But I have to say I couldn’t replicate that exact vibe. The key difference was basically here it was quite an obvious smell which is very nice but felt it was too much for a closed room in winter. So winter fragrance is a bit tougher to nail down in my opinion.
I also have an issue with with strong chemically fragrance. I almost skip by some of these fancy fragrance and toiletry stores since its a major migraine trigger for me. So I have done a lot of research into fragrance, trust me.
A few weeks ago I ended up chatting with a lady on Twitter who told me she works in a mother-daughter led company, House of Mahogany, which makes home fragrance. How absolutely wholesome and lovely is that? I fell for it just as she told me the name of the brand. I mean honestly, it sounded like the perfect thing for winter. She said she would like to send me some items from her shop to try out and promptly sent me a diffuser, a candle and a room freshner. So lets get into this to figure out what goes where.
Diffuser
Now I have never had a chance to use a diffuser before so this was my first go at it. I used the reed sticks sent with the diffuser and you can move the sticks upside down to manage the amount of fragrance. I first kept the diffuser in the living room. The fragrance was absolutely lovely. The one she sent me was Maple Glow. Now honestly, my only reference to maple is the tree and the syrup but this was exquisite. I really wish I was a better writer to be able to describe the smell but to me it was a mix of coffee, vanilla and burnt orange. It is not the obvious winter fragrance you smell everywhere.
Now I soon realised the living room is probably not the best use of this fragrance. A diffuser releases fragrance on a continuous basis and I felt a bathroom was probably a better place for it (without getting into too much detail). You don’t need continuous fragrance in a living room.
Candles
I had friends over on Saturday night which was a cold night so make the room a little cosier ramped up the heating and lit a candle. Beyond the Hills to be exact. Now technically this is a scent of spring but I thought it worked really well in a closed room with heating on. Maybe because it was a spring like fragrance so it felt less heavy than a very stereotypical winter fragrance would (think vanilla, leather, tobacco and so on).
For me personally, candles work best when you are in the room with the lit candle. Now I use candles for their fragrance but also to see the lit candle. Its not easy to explain but looking at the wick of a candle is very calming so candles should be where you can see them.
So mine has pride of place in my bookshelves.
Room Freshner
I have to say I am not a big fan of room freshners. But then again, my idea of room freshners was also Fabreeze in toilets so its not exactly glamorous. I guess my problem with room freshners is they are never subtle – its a blast of scent which I find triggering. I actually think a room freshner isn’t very helpful in a toilet since you do need a continuous release of fragrance in the toilet which the diffuser provides.
I find the room freshners helpful in the coat closet or shoe cupboard or other similar space which is enclosed since the smell doesn’t stay for too long but enough to give the space a lift. I didn’t think this particular one would be a scent I would like since its flowery but it was refreshing once I gave it sometime. Don’t be too quick to judge fragrance since its such a big difference compared to when you just spritz it!
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Have a good week everyone!
– Anisha
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