Make Your Home Smell Merry and Bright

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.

‘Twas the month before Christmas, when all through your dome, questions lingered about the best scents for your home. You browsed through the internet, looking with care, in hopes that Dwell’s "What’s That Smell" column soon would be there. And, well—guess what? Here it is! We’ve gathered together a collection of truly stunning holiday scents for you and your family to enjoy during this brief moment of warmth in our world of horror. Please smell them with a smile in your heart, for the new year is coming … and who knows what awaits us there.

L’Objet Bois Vert Candle

We’re kicking things off with a beauty of a holiday candle from L’Objet, a brand that prides itself on its elegant, and often funky, porcelain candle vessels and home goods. This one is a splurge, but it’s worth it. "Bois Vert" is a beautiful piece for your mantel and the scent—warm, woody patchouli, frankincense, and fir balsam; kind of like if Santa wore a handsome cologne—lingers in your room even when it’s unlit. The candle comes in a great box for gifting, but I’d keep it for myself if I were you.

DS & Durga Chanukah In The Desert & Portable Christmas Tree

DS & Durga is sort of the Mariah Carey of holiday candle brands. I say this with apologies to Trudon and Diptyque, who always have stunning holiday collections, but they don’t quite kick up their heels the way DS & Durga does. This year, my favorites from their holiday collection are "Chanukah in the Desert," with Balm of Gilead accord, cyprus, and amber notes, and "Portable Xmas Tree," which smells exactly how it sounds. They’re funky and fun, they’ll impress your party guests, and they smell great.

Apotheke Black Cypress 3-Wick Scented Candle

If you’re looking for a scent that’s not going to hit you over the head with festivity, you can turn to Apotheke. The brand has a few scents for the holidays, and I don’t think any of them would offend even the Scroogiest anti-holiday curmudgeon. "Black Cypress" has a sneaky balsam fir note, but it doesn’t give "Christmas tree" as much as it does "a chilly walk in the winter woods." It’s not holiday—it’s month-appropriate.

Paddywax Cypress + Fir Taper 12 Days of Christmas Countdown Candle Set

Unlike that candle from Apotheke, this set from Paddywax is explicitly Christmas. It contains a white ceramic taper holder and 12 beautiful fir-scented taper candles, each labeled with a number, to be burned on the corresponding night of Christmas. It’s sort of like a taper candle Advent calender, except the surprise every day is the same great thing: a fir-scented taper candle. I love it.

Baloo Pillow Mist

This one is a shout-out to a babysitter of my youth, who had a lavender pillow spray she said was a magical sleep elixir. I bought into the concept (not the brightest) and loved drifting off to sleep on my now magically scented pillows. If you have young kids too excited about the holidays to sleep, you might want to try the trick for yourself. Yes, the idea that Baloo’s pillow mist is "magical" and "can put good boys and girls to sleep so they can wake up and be one day closer to getting presents" is "a lie" but so much of the holiday is built on wonderful lies. Why stop now? Plus, after you lie to your kids about it, you can use the mist (a blend of lavender, chamomile, lemon, and rosemary essential oils) on your own pillows.

Frederic Malle Joyeux Noel Perfume Gun

Listen, I am aware that something called a "perfume gun" might feel like an odd addition to your holiday celebration. But this scent (cotton candy, cinnamon, pine) is like an extremely upscale version of the tackiest scent you can imagine. It is Christmas. I love it intensely. And Frederic Malle’s perfume gun is a quick and easy way to coat every inch of your home in it, because why not? ‘Tis the season!

Trudon Altaïr

Like I mentioned earlier, Trudon always has a beautiful holiday collection. This year’s collection celebrates the brands somewhat astounding 380th anniversary, and "Altaïr" shows off Trudon’s everlasting ability to create uncommon scents that feel alive and timeless. This one is a combination of rose and oud, and the result is warm, romantic, and perfectly holiday without relying on the common set of holiday notes.

L’or de Seraphine Aglow

If you’re looking for a candle to gift, something from L’or de Seraphine’s collection would be perfect. The price point is manageable, their vessels are beautiful (this one here features a bunch of tigers in Santa hats), and each candle with its own little topper, which in my opinion makes it seem more present-worthy. "Aglow" is a classic scent: frosted pine needles, cypress, cedar; not reinventing the wheel, but producing a very nice wheel for when you need one.

KNOX Christmas Scented Incense Cones

I’m letting you in on a family tradition: I lived in Germany as a kid, and ever since my family has burned KNOX’s Christmas-scented incense (in a snowman incense burner; the smoke comes out of his pipe) every year. The scent—kind of a creamy, smokey pine—is timeless and puts me instantly in the holiday mood. It’s one of my favorite parts of the holiday every year, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.

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