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In case you missed it, air fresheners—and the entire category of home fragrances, for that matter—have undergone a major rebrand. Gone are the days of a quick Febreze spritz before a dinner party, and the luxury candle’s time in the limelight might be coming to a close. But somewhere in the middle sits the room spray, the mist-able yet chic home fragrance option that seems to be having a moment of its own. In recent years, designer names in the fragrance space, like Trudon and Loewe, have decided to add what is essentially an interior perfume to their list of offerings, and younger brands are incorporating room deodorants in their core lineup.
Just last month, NYC-based fragrance brand Malin + Goetz debuted their home spray with a spritzable version of their internet-friendly tomato scent. To founders Matthew Malin and Andrew Goetz, room sprays are a natural product of our post-pandemic, WFH lifestyle shifts. “As our homes evolve into multifunctional spaces—serving as offices, workout studios, and venues for social gatherings—people (especially those living in smaller spaces) are seeking quick and effective ways to enhance their living environments,” Malin says. As we crave greater flexibility in all aspects of our lives, it’s natural that the functional elements of our home decor will emulate that.
Traditionally, home scents like candles or diffusers would offer a lengthy, slow release of fragrance, requiring a longer burn time before the eventual scent payoff. A room spray is quite the opposite: “An immediate solution for refreshing a space,” as Goetz puts it. “Room sprays provide instant freshness without the need for a flame, or the time required for a candle to burn and fill a room.”
The immediacy of the room spray is certainly alluring to those of us who lack patience—or have, er, busy lifestyles—but that doesn’t mean a quick mist isn’t worthwhile. “There’s a really beautiful ritual to scenting a space with a room spray,” says Frances Shoemack, founder of Abel Fragrances, an all-natural luxury fragrance company based in New Zealand. “It’s intentional, almost like a refresh moment.”
When you really think about it, a room spray is an even more meaningful act of self-care than the classic ‘lighting a candle’ platitude. A candle, while beautiful in its own right, makes for a passive experience and creates a constant stream of scent that can often feel overwhelming. For Shoemack, “spraying room spray is a conscious act and a beautiful ritual.” It forces you to pause and truly shift your mood through the power of scent.
And many of us—myself included—often overlook the profound impact scent can have on our happiness and well-being. “With a direct neural pathway to our subconscious,” Shoemack explains, “scent is a memory and emotional trigger like nothing else.” A particular fragrance can evoke memories of loved ones, joyful occasions, or once-in-a-lifetime vacations—so when it comes to creating our ideal living spaces, it’s always worth selecting scents with intention and care. “Our friends come to connect the scent of our home with our friendship. Our children and pets recognize and embrace the scent of home—it puts them at ease.”
This isn’t to say that candles are passé. In fact, room sprays and candles perform best when paired together. At Trudon, makers of the “world’s most covetable candles,” room sprays were introduced to complete the home scenting collection. The brand’s creative director, Julien Provost, suggests that a room spray best serves as a precursor to a candle. Even though “you can change the scent of a space almost immediately,” he notes, it will “always be more evanescent than a candle.” (Think of the room spray as the amuse-bouche to the main course of the candle.)
Plus, beyond their scent, a room spray—like any other luxury home fragrance—can serve as a statement piece. Provost draws on Trudon’s rich history and ethos in creating their fragrances and their bottles. “It is reminiscent of a certain golden age of perfumery when tremendous care was given to the creation of the bottles and accessories that make the products,” he says. This rich history exists on one end of the home fragrance spectrum with modernity marking the other. Contemporary brands like Le Labo and Boy Smells have interior enhancers of their own, designed as home-specific alternatives to fan-favorite personal scents like Santal 33 and Hinoki Fantôme.
Perhaps the most popular topic in contemporary scent conversations, however? The food-as-fragrance phenomenon. For brands like Malin + Goetz and Flamingo Estate, early contributors to the “tomato girl” scent explosion, a produce-inspired home fragrance feels like the obvious next step. Furthermore, in true Loewe fashion, the brand has proven it can push the limits beyond summer’s signature tomato scent. Their current room spray catalog includes familiar food-based fragrances, like Roasted Hazelnut and Cucumber, as well as more adventurous scents like Wasabi and Beetroot for those with experimental palates (and nostrils).
Food-forward or otherwise, room sprays allow for a new level of home decor creativity through an often-overlooked medium: scent. If candles are the home fragrance standard, room sprays are their equally chic, arguably cooler sibling. And now, it’s their time to shine—or smell, rather.
