Using Scents to Alter Your Mood

Scent is often a subtle yet powerful way to affect mood. Whether it's adding a feeling of relaxation in your home, or setting the tone for a romantic dinner, scent has a big impact on how you and your partner feel.

Sensual living through scents.

If you want to create the perfect atmosphere, learning how scent affects your mood and how to properly use various fragrances is key. From using relaxing scents to invigorating aromas for energy, this blog will touch on how scent can transform your mood and show you how to use it to achieve the atmosphere you want.

Different scents can have different effects on our mood. Some scents are known to be relaxing, while others can be invigorating. If you want to create a specific mood in your home, choosing the right scent is important. There are a few ways to use scent to improve your mood. One is to diffuser essential oils throughout your home. This is a great way to subtlety change the atmosphere of your home without being overwhelming. Another way to use scent is to choose candles or products with specific fragrances or spritzing your favorite Spadaro perfume on your pillow. This can be a great way to set the mood for a romantic dinner or a fun night in with friends.

Citrus (think lemon, grapefruit, and Italian blood orange) has very active vibrational energy, so it naturally wakes you up and stimulates your mind. “That bright scent is proven to reduce anxiety and make you feel more positive. Beyond that, it sets you up to be proactive throughout the whole day. It’s an excellent way to start the morning.”

Cardamom is another scent to rise and shine to (layer it with citrus or go solo). “When you crack a cardamom pod between your fingers, you can actually feel the bit of heat, the energy. Likewise, smelling it will activate your brain, and give you a feeling of positive wellbeing and warm groundedness that you can take with you wherever you’re headed.”

Rosemary is shown to enhance performance, focus, and memory, so it’s a great scent for when you need to be creative and mentally charged. “The scent itself is strong and defined and encourages that driven state you want to cultivate when working”. While multiple studies point to the scent’s power to improve mental cognition, one in particular proved that smelling rosemary not only boosted performance on math problems, it confirmed that the scent compounds entered the subjects’ bloodstreams, thus providing evidence to the physiological changes breathing in fragrances can induce.

Lavender has a calming and relaxing effect on the body, which makes it a great scent to use before bed. “Lavender’s scent is able to slow down the activity of the nervous system, which in turn can allow you to fall asleep more easily. Not only does it act as a sleep aid, but it can also help to ease anxiety and reduce stress levels.”

Cinnamon is a warm, spicy scent that is known to boost cognitive function and increase alertness. “Cinnamon has been shown to improve memory and cognitive function. The scent has also been shown to increase alertness and reduce fatigue.”

Scent away and enjoy the discovery of what speaks to you. xoxo