Why Every Southern Home Needs A Signature Scent

Southerners have long been obsessed with personalizing our homes, from monograms on everything to custom home logos (my personal favorite!). Now there’s a new way to make your mark: the signature home fragrance. Tailor-made scents are becoming the ultimate expression of home identity, with homeowners working alongside scent experts to create custom formulations that reflect their personality and space. The idea of signature scenting isn’t entirely new. Hotels have long understood the power of scent to create memorable experiences. Walk into Hotel Richemont in downtown Charleston, and you’ll immediately notice “Smoky Suede,” a complex blend featuring bright eucalyptus and soft violet that settles into warm sandalwood and musk. Just across the harbor in Mt. Pleasant’s Old Village, Post House Inn has crafted its own olfactory identity with magnolia, violet leaf, and lavender, a scent so beloved that guests can purchase candles from local maker The Contents Co. to literally bottle their stay. What was once reserved for vacation is now making its way into Southern homes, where the same principles apply: to evoke a sense of place and create a lasting impression. Defining Your Identity For Jen Rotondo, the founder of home and body fragrance company Urthy, creating a signature aroma starts with emotion, not ingredients. “What do you want people to feel [when they enter]? What do you want to feel personally when you come home every single day?” asks Rotondo. Those answers guide sniffers to their corresponding scent categories, which Rotondo calls families. “Do you want your home to feel beachy, woody, happy, bright, clean, or grounded? Your scent is something that defines who you are,” she says. Woodsy notes might evoke warmth, while citrus blends lean bright and fresh. Both should recall the feeling and personality you hope to create. Much like interior design or wardrobe style, scents are deeply personal. Rotondo says to think about the things that reflect you as a person and weave those qualities in. “Are you sultry? Do you love the warm vanilla vibes? Do you like amber and wood? Are you just a plain old floral girl? What is it that speaks to you? Because everything in your house speaks to you, and that’s who you are. Your scent will do the same exact thing. It’s there to support, not to be the main character.” Iconic Southern Smells Even though Urthy ships all over the country and into Canada, Rotondo says that she definitely notices certain fragrance trends in the South. “Of course, the South is all about Southern hospitality, so we find that Southerners tend to gravitate toward warm, welcoming scents that are familiar and inviting,” she says. It’s as though they want someone to walk into their home and feel like they’ve received a hug. Cozy scents like amberwood and vanilla, and comforting florals such as magnolia, jasmine, iris, and Dahlia are among the top contenders. Seasonality plays a role, too. As the seasons shift and change, scents can as well, but Rotondo says to keep some nose notes consistent. “If you’re a warm person and you like ambers, we’ll recommend more of a citrusy amber during the spring and summer, and more of a vanilla amber in the fall and winter.” Balancing And Layering If you’ve ever experienced a strong candle, diffuser, or perfume, you know how overpowering-and dare I say unpleasant-it can be. Rotondo says finding a balance is the key to avoiding that situation. At Urthy, there aren’t any single-note fragrances, which creates nasal equity. Each blend has a top, middle, and base note. The result is pleasant cohesion. To give your home even more smell-good personality, Rotondo says to intentionally scent by strength. “You want the scent to be a bit stronger when you walk in, so people can understand and create that memory of who you are and what your home is. The kitchen and living room areas can be a little more on the brighter side. When you get into bedrooms, that’s where you want scents to be the lightest.” The reason? Bedrooms should encourage serenity and most of all, sleep. Think about developing a scent across the home in the same way you would decorate-each room might be slightly different, but overall cohesive. Scenting Beyond Candles While candles are a great start, the scent journey can be much more robust. Rotondo says to think about scenting in two ways: passive and active. Passive scenting comes from tools like reed diffusers and plugins; those things that are consistently in the background. Active scenting is a punchy, quick room spray. The trick is to keep each fragrant item in the same family. “You want to keep everything cohesive, but it can be individualistic, much like cousins or siblings. You have to make sure you have that common thread that weaves through all of your fragrances,” she says. Getting Started Urthy’s number one seller is Eternal Zen, a scent that uses white tea, ginger, lavender, citrus, and honey. “It’s a fantastic starter scent because it’s light, clean, and citrusy, and it has a very fresh and inviting vibe,” Rotondo says. Truly, though, there is not a “wrong” way to create a custom scent. “When you scent your space with intention, you’re curating how you want to feel, not just reacting to how it smells,” says Rotondo, who finds scent to be a part of self-care. “I can always tell when my diffuser is out as soon as I walk in my house because I don’t have that happy, vibrant feeling. Scent impacts your memory, your state of mind, and your happiness.”.
https://www.southernliving.com/how-to-create-a-signature-scent-for-your-home-11851823