Lately I’ve been thinking of fragrance like pants - you only need to wear one pair of pants at a time. Wearing seven pairs of pants would be uncomfortable and your body would feel claustrophobic.
Fragrances have been on my mind a lot this year - from loving them and then completely removing them to now seeing what life looks like after being fully fragrance free.
I met with our candle manufacturer yesterday and was asking his opinion on fragrances and how to know what’s truly in them and if we really should be burning them in our home. His reply felt like a good balance - leaning in to try high quality materials (is Credo or Sephora certified “clean” enough - it might be) while not limiting to only essential oils. When we first made our candles the chemist told me creating with all natural fragrances are like trying to paint with 5 colors that cannot blend to make more vs painting with 100 colors that blend beautifully. The layers and scent profiles are limited.
I also think the 80/20 lifestyle that’s often referenced with food and exercise could apply here as well. Brining a 100% pure beeswax candle 80% of the time but enjoying a high quality fragranced candle 20% of the time. Savoring the beauty of both fragrances, pure molten honey most of the time and unique perfumed options as a treat rather than as the base ingredients for the air in our homes every day.
To be honest I’m still on the fence and learning and praying about how (or if) to reintroduce fragrance into our home. Right now all of my perfumes and candles are still in boxes in the garage and when I open them it still fully reeks like fragrance soup.
Balance with fragrance could look like keeping a select few in the house while the majority do stay in the garage (or at least not under my bathroom counter), and only bringing in a few at a time to enjoy. Kind of like toy rotation. Instead of sitting in a playroom of 200 toys, bringing out 5 to enjoy and then rotating them out.
For my body, using one fragrance at a time feels like it could be a good balance. My eye cream and face cream and cleaner and body lotion and mascara do not each need their own scents. I’m not looking to layer my pants or my perfumes. I’m looking for one high quality pair of pants (or perfume) to wear at a time.
I love fragrance, the emotions and nostalgia and beauty that can come from a smell. Too much at one time though overwhelms vs delights. Is that where the sweet spot of fragrance will be? I’m not sure, but am open and excited to finding out how to find a new normal after this full fragrance cleanse.
xx
Aubree