Where do you see yourself this summer? Fragrance journalist Suzy Nightingale shares the scent notes to transport you there.

We know this game, don’t we? Looking longingly out of windows, checking three different weather apps on repeat… We’ve been dreaming of these lazy, hazy, sunshine-filled days ahead; so, it’s finally time to welcome the brightness back into our homes in every possible way we can. I feel like summer sometimes gets forgotten in the way we scent our living spaces, and that’s such a missed opportunity. Luckily, our sense of smell can truly help maximise every drop of sunlight.

The fact is, we need the help of home scents even more in summertime. Although heat and humidity allow aromas to travel further, warm weather (and drier noses) diminish olfactory perception. So, we can often find it difficult to perceive the more subtle scents around us. Those leafy green and softly woody breezes suited spring perfectly, but we need to ramp it up a little when the temperature rises. My advice is to decide on the type of scentscape you want to create (see below), then magnify your pleasure of smelling it by dotting diffusers to match the candles we might be lighting less often in these lighter evenings. You’ll still get a ‘throw’ from your candles unlit, but matching the scent in another format helps magnify it, which prolongs our perception. Feel free to mix and match scents within a single room, too, creating a picture-postcard scene in perfumed form.
 
Think of it this way: however you choose to scent your home during the warmer months, you’ll be getting more back, because the scent molecules will be borne aloft on balmy breezes, reaching every corner of your room. From idyllic days at home to exotic getaways and nostalgic trips, discover the scents to take you there.