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Ideal Home
Ideal Home
Sara Hesikova

It’s too hot for candles! This is what I’m using to scent my home in a heatwave instead

A wooden table with a wooden cutting board and halved limes, rosemary and lavender and a bottle of orange essential oil.

It’s the first official heatwave of this summer – and it’s starting with a bang! I don’t know about your local weather forecast, but in London the temperature is set to climb as high as 36 degrees. Needless to say, it’s too hot to be burning candles – but if you still want your space to smell lovely, there are other ways to scent a home in a heatwave that won’t add to the heat.

I love the best scented candles as much as the next person - if not more - but there comes a point when anything with a flame emitting heat just won’t do. But don’t worry as there are plenty of ways to make a home smell nice without getting any candles involved – these are the 4 ways that I’m relying on during this heatwave and for all the future heatwaves of this summer.

(Image credit: Future PLC/Craig Wall)

1. Invest in an electric diffuser

I’ve had my Atomiser Connect from Aromatherapy Associates for a few years now and absolutely love it. But there are plenty of electronic diffusers on the market to choose from.

You’ll need a little 10ml bottle - or two, as the Atomiser Connect, for example, can hold two different bottles - of the essential oil of your choice which you eithr insert inside the diffuser or add a few drops of into the water tank. I’m really enjoying the scent of a geranium essential oil that’s in my Atomiser right now. But there are plenty of fragrances to choose from, below are some of my favourites.

One of the benefits of electric diffusers is that they provide quite a strong fragrance as they run on pure essential oils and can therefore fragrance a big room fairly quickly as well.

Aromatherapy Associates Atomiser Connect

This one can hold two different essential oils at once and it can be connected to your phone via an app.

The White Company Electronic Diffuser

This diffuser is popular for its pretty design but it does require to be plugged in. You'll also need to fill tank with water and add a few drops of oil into it.

Neom Wellbeing Pod

Neom sells a few different electric diffuser designs. But this one is its bestseller.

If you're into geranium's tropical floral scent as much as I am, this is the geranium essential oil I'd recommend.

Neom Happiness Essential Oil Blend 10ml

What could be better than a fragrance blend titled 'happiness'?! I've had the candle before and it's lovely.

The White Company Provence Luxury Fragrance Oil

Bring the scent of the south of France to your home with The White Company's essential oil blend of fig, lavender and olive wood.

2. Spritz some room spray

There’s actually something very refreshing about spritzing a beautiful room spray around your home. Although tomato scented candles are one of the best ways to make your home smell like summer, during the heatwave, I’d recommend switching to a tomato scented home spray like this one from Malin+Goetz, available at Cult Beauty for the best price.

I’m currently using a new launch from Aromatherapy Associates, which is their Revive Morning Mood Mist, available at John Lewis. As the name suggests, it’s designed to be sprayed in the morning and energise you for the day ahead. But it can really be used all day long, and it’s perfect for the summer with its citrusy and herbal notes of grapefruit, rosemary and juniper berry.

Malin+Goetz Tomato Room Spray

When first launched, this tomato room spray was an instant success. And it still remains very popular to this day.

Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Mood Mist 100ml

This refreshing product doubles as a room spray and a body mist!

Diptyque Figuier Room Spray

We all love Diptyque's candles - but did you know that the brand also sells room sprays in its popular scents?! This includes my favourite Figuier.

3. Use natural scented cleaning products

These days, you can even scent your home simply by cleaning it – well, as long as you’re using natural cleaning products with fragrant essential oils. I personally own the Kinfill kitchen cleaner, available at Healf – I love the design of the spray bottle.

(Image credit: Future PLC)

But most of the Ideal Home team is obsessed with Purdy & Figg and many of the editors swear by the brand. And you can get a whole starter kit with three different essential oils included on Amazon right now.

I find this spray bottle so chic - and all you need to do is fill it up with water and add the essential oil solution in the included vial.

Purdy & Figg Counter Clean Mixed Starter Kit Surface Cleaning Sprays

This starter kit will sort you out at least for a few months - and your home will smell lovely the whole way through.

When you buy the refillable bottle once, you don't have to do it again. All you need to get are those refills like these ones. And you can mix it up by opting for different scents each time.

4. Opt for a reed diffuser

The beauty of the best reed diffusers is that once you set it down in your desired spot, you really don’t have to worry about it or do anything else. It does its own thing of fragrancing your home with no help needed and no additional heat required. The only thing you might want to do to maximise the strength of the fragrance is to turn the reeds over every couple of weeks.

(Image credit: Future PLC/Chris Snook)

If you like the idea of a tomato-scented summer as much as I do, I highly recommend Jo Malone’s Green Tomato Vine diffuser from its limited Veggies Edition which comes in a glazed green ceramic vessel.

Arran Sense of Scotland After the Rain Reed Diffuser

Don't you just love the fresh smell in the air right after it rains? And that's exactly what this lovely diffuser recreates.

Inspired by the culture of growing one's own produce, this limited edition reed diffuser is like a summer in a (very stylish) bottle.

This has been one of my favourite reed diffusers I've ever owned and I think it works for any season. Blending notes of fig and tea, the fragrance really fills the room.

How are you making sure your home still smells lovely during the heatwave?

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Nikura Geranium Essential Oil 10ml Kinfill Kitchen Cleaner - Ambrette Neat Eco-Friendly Foaming Washing Up & Kitchen Spray Refill Kit Jo Malone London Green Tomato Vine Diffuser – Veggies Edition L'Occitane Figuier Oolong Reed Diffuser Set
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