Best Home Fragrances for Winter 2024

Our sense of smell has to be the most personal and powerful of all the five senses. A certain scent can instantly transport us to a different place, spark some serious nostalgia, and lift our moods or help wind us down. So, it’s little wonder that home fragrances have become such a major player in the self-care and wellness world. Whether you’re searching for relaxing scented candle scents or you want to know the top rated reed diffusers, we’ve got the lowdown on the ultimate home fragrances, as well as where and when to use them. After all, home is where the scent is. Best home fragrances at a glance - our top picks:

Best for a sultry scent: Jo Malone London Pomegranate Noir Home Candle, £50 Best for lifting the mood: Neom Happiness Reed Diffuser, £34.85 Best for bathroom scent: SALT AND STONE Santal & Vetiver Candle, £49 Best for cosying up: Maison Margiela Replica By The Fireplace Candle, £55 Best for all-day ambience: Aromatherapy Associates The Atomiser - UK Plug, £130 Q: What are home fragrances?

A: In recent years, home fragrances have almost become an extension of our beauty regimes. Often matching much-loved perfumes or crafted from essential oils, home scents are now so much more than a simple room spray. Whether you keep a reed diffuser in your hallway filling your home with your favourite scent, light a scented candle when you take a relaxing bath, or mist aromatherapy oils into your room of choice with an atomiser, we’re filling our lives with fragrance in so many new ways. Q: What type of home fragrances lasts the longest?

A: Offering an ‘always on’ scent, reed diffusers are constantly doing their thing. If you’re looking for a strong, immediate fragrance then use all the reeds and turn them daily. This will throw more fragrance out. Alternatively, you can elongate the life of your reed diffuser by using fewer reeds and turning them less often for a softer scent with staying power. If you’re using scented candles, then most have a burn time of 45-55 hours and would require being lit for about thirty minutes before you really start to smell that scent. So open up your fave book in the meantime.

Q: What are the latest home fragrance trends? A: The OG home fragrance trend has to be the classic room spray, but things have moved on and now we don’t just simply spritz scent into our homes, we burn, diffuse and mist it, too. We took to TikTok to gather the evidence. With over 911.4 million views for #scentedcandle, clearly we just can’t get enough of a candle’s mood-setting vibes. However, #reeddiffuser is a runner up with over 286.1 million views and offers us a constant uplift with its ever-present scent. Our advice? Get both and soak up all the ambience. Q: How to find your home scent A: There isn’t a one-scent-fits-all answer when it comes to home fragrance. We’d suggest considering the room you intend to use it in and the effects certain scents can have on our senses. For instance, the kitchen is a great space for home fragrances based on herbs, fruits or spices as they are warm and comforting (as well as delicious). Whereas fresh, clean scents that remind us of forests, mountains or beaches are perfect for creating a bathroom sanctuary. In the bedroom you can turn up the romance a little with sensual florals and musky aromas, and choose Woody, Amber or Vanilla scents to create a cosy snug or sitting room.

By Sephora UK Editorial Team Writers and experts Updated: 30 October 2024