Interview with @Clayandburn

What are your best tips on choosing a fragrance for your home?

“As a small business specialising in home fragrance, we think picking the right fragrance for your home, and each individual space, is super important! Whether you introduce fragrance into your home through candles, diffusers and wax melts or sumptuous hand wash and lotions, there are a few things to consider when choosing a fragrance.

Space

One of the first things to consider, is the type of space you are choosing a fragrance for; the function of that room and the general feeling you want to evoke in that space, as this can have a huge influence on which direction to go in. For instance, if you’re picking a fragrance for a kitchen, pantry or WC, you may want to pick a light, fresh and citrus fragrance (such as ‘The Orangery’ or ‘The Orchard’), to add to the sense of a clean, open and sunny space.

Whereas, for a lounge, snug or bedroom, one might lean more towards a rich, warm and cosy fragrance (such as ‘The Snuggery’) with woody notes, spices, amber, tobacco etc. to induce a warm and relaxing mood. For a main bathroom, my go to is a soft but sweet fruity fragrance, with notes of berries, peach, plum and rhubarb (‘The Walled Garden’ fits this brief perfectly), as opposed to the light citrus fragrances I prefer in the kitchen.

Similarly, for spaces such as a dining room, you may wish to go for a more subtle fragrance, so as not to interfere with your sense of smell and taste of your meal, or a stronger fragrance in your entry hall, to allow the fragrance to wash over guests when they first enter your home.

Season

Another consideration is the current season. In Spring and Summer, I like focusing more on refreshing citruses, sweet fruits and light florals (‘The Flower Market’ is super fresh and floral). Whereas in Autumn and Winter I do tend to go for more of the warming, woody fragrances. At Christmas it’s all about the festive fragrances with notes of orange and spices, frankincense and woody notes.

Room size

It is also important to think about the room size when picking a fragrance. For small rooms such as a porch, study or WC, a fragrance will produce a stronger aroma when used in a small space, so it is important to pick a fragrance that won’t be too overwhelming. Equally, a subtle fragrance may get lost in a large open space, so you could consider having both a candle and diffuser in identical or complimentary fragrances or introducing a stronger fragrance that packs more of a punch!

Personal preference

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is your personal preference! If there are particular scents or ingredients that you’re not a fan of, such as cinnamon or jasmine, be sure to look at the scent notes of each fragrance, to avoid picking one that you won’t enjoy. If you’re not a fan of musky fragrances, focus on the fruity or floral ones and vice versa.

At Clay & Burn, for every one of our fragrances, we include the top notes, heart notes and base notes on our website, so you can explore this when trying to decide. We also offer individual fragrance samples, in the form of single wax melts, for just £1, so you can see which fragrances you prefer before you commit, I just can’t promise that you won’t fall in love with all of them!” www.clayandburn.co.uk‍ ‍@clayandburn