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Home Fragrance Trend Watch: Scenting Events

One of the things I love most about the home fragrance industry is its innovation—there’s always something new popping up that a brilliant mind in the luxury fragrance scene dreamed up. How amazing is that?! And that’s just what happened with the latest trend of scenting events.

What, you ask, is a scenting event?

It simply means an event in which home fragrance is used in some form to help set the perfect atmosphere. As I’ve mentioned before, fragrance has long been shown to affect not only how we remember events but also how we feel and think during events.

Just think back to the last open house you attended—does the scent of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies ring a bell? If we smell something warm and comforting, like a fresh-out-of-the-oven cookie, then we’re more likely to remember that location with the same affection—which is why cookies are a realtor’s best friend!

What’s exciting is that the science behind this scenting technique seems to have caught on with the fashion industry and Hollywood elites alike, to fabulous effect!

If you’ve read my article on fashion and luxury candles, you already know just how intermingled these worlds can be, and scenting events add yet another gorgeous opportunity to make the everyday even more beautiful. These scent-infused events come in many shapes and sizes…

Fashion Shows

Whether attending NYFW or heading across the pond to Paris or London, whenever I see a fashion show in person, I always appreciate the effort put into every detail to ensure that the designer’s vision shines. After all, they aren’t just selling particular items or collections but a lifestyle.

That’s why it’s so ingenious that many designers are now considering the effect that scents have on their guests. Beloved designers like Karl Lagerfeld and Maria Cornejo have entered the fragrance world with their own signature scents, launching their luxury candles and seasonal clothing collections side by side at stunning, multi-sensorial shows.

Many designers are also partnering with luxury home fragrance brands to bring in gorgeous scents to imbue their shows with the perfect ambiance. Diptyque’s delicious Feu de Bois made a splash at New York Fashion Week, capturing the innovation and beauty of the atmosphere to a ‘t.’ Plus, various designers, from Prabal Gurung and Peter Som to Joseph Altuzarra, have opted to always scent their shows, arguing that these candles offer a fuller depiction of the stories they’re trying to tell.

Weddings

Perhaps best highlighted by Kim Kardashian’s wedding to Kris Humphries (however brief the matrimony), commissioning signature scents for one’s events has become a fun and elegant aspect of the luxury candle craze.

The short-lived couple worked with brand Voluspa to develop the fragrance that burned throughout their 2011 wedding ceremony, reportedly offering each guest a votive to take home. While their marriage may not have lasted too long, their guests likely enjoyed the fabulous cold throw of Voluspa for years to come.

In fact, luxury candles have come to epitomize weddings, and celebrity in general, over the last decade. Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, supposedly burned their favorite Jo Malone candle for their 2011 wedding, setting the standard in England. Meanwhile, Beyoncé’s candle fixation, including Le Labo Santal 26, shown burning as she sings “Sandcastles” in her HBO Lemonade special, serves as inspiration for her record-breaking hits.

High End Hotels

While hotels themselves aren’t events, staying at an upscale resort can certainly feel like one! Maybe that’s why some hotels have begun offering their own brands of luxury candles—scents that are often burned in the lobbies and used to fragrance the rooms.

After enjoying the scent of a hotel’s candle while on vacation, you can purchase the same fragrance to take home. Then, any time you’d like to “get away,” you simply light up your candle and find yourself transported back.

Hotels that have taken part in this trend include the iconic Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, and the gorgeous Mandarin Oriental Paris. Others have adopted signature fragrances from those they already know to be fabulous. For example, the Four Seasons burns numerous luxury candles across their hotels, with a clear preference for Diptyque.

Candle Koa

I’ve been especially excited about this trend for scenting events because I’m such a huge advocate of making your surroundings smell as beautiful as they look! My custom Candle Koa service, in particular, works to bring joy and peace into your space through the perfect use of candle fragrances, colors, shapes, and other elements.

After all, since scent has such a strong effect on our moods and memories, why shouldn’t we surround ourselves with inspiring fragrances?

Photos: Alexander Mcqueen Book, Karl LagerfeldMandarin OrientalSt. Regis, Naadine Koi

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