When it comes to scenting your space, there’s no shortage of fragrance options or how to dispense them. From scented candles to wax melts toreed diffusersand more, the choices of scent, style, and vessel itself are limitless.
So how do you choose? Do you really have to? Let's take a deeper look at what candles and reed diffusers have to offer.
Reed Diffusers
A great way to add constant fragrance to your home, reed diffusers soak up fragrance oils and disperse the scent all throughout the air.
Reed diffusers are long lasting, providing scent until the fragrance oil evaporates.
They make a great option in spaces you always want to smell great but can’t keep an eye on a candle flame.
How to Use a Reed Diffuser?
Rustic Charmreed diffuserscome packaged with 4 ounces of fragrance oil already in the vessel.
Upon receipt, you’ll simply remove the stopper and insert the reed diffuser sticks (reeds).
Be sure to set your diffuser up on a non-porous surface in case of spills.
We recommend placing your reed diffuser in a high traffic area, perhaps near a door so you pick up the scent as you enter the room.
For more fragrance, you can flip the reeds every few days (again being sure to do this on a non-porous surface).
When your fragrance oil evaporates, don’t fret, we offerrefillsthat are available in any of our fragrances!
Be sure to clean your vessel with soap and water and let it dry completely before refilling it.
Scented Candles
Scented candles are made from wax and require a flame or heat to optimally emit their fragrance.
At Rustic Charm, we use a soy blend wax that burns long and clean and provides excellent scent throw (the scent travels far/can fill a large space).
Our candles are scented with fragrance oils derived from essential oils tested safe for candle use.
Candle scents can be long lasting, depending on ingredients used and size of the candle.
Rustic Charm’s default 12 ouncecandlesare designed to last up to 90-100 hours and fill your home with the perfect balance of fragrance.
Reed Diffusers Can Last Longer
Reed diffusers provide excellent, continual fragrance that can last up to four months!
Essential oils power the fragrance soaked through the reed diffuser sticks and fill the room with a pleasing aroma.
Unlike candles, reed diffusers are safe in use even when you can’t monitor them, since they have no flame.
Rustic Charm’s reed diffusers and hand poured candles both contain fragrance oils that provide long lasting scents.
Scented Candles Can Also Be Home Decor
Your candles can serve as part of your design aesthetic and decor.
This can be as simple as choosing the perfect candle holder.
Consider a rustic tray or cake stand, and add a bit of seasonal flair (greenery, berries, flowers, ribbons, etc.).
Wooden candle holders are a beautiful statement piece strong enough to stand alone but simple enough to be enhanced with garland, vines, or other accessories.
Candles of varying heights can be arranged in clusters, lovely on their own or decorated with other accessories.
You can keep it simple or dress it up, but either way, when you light your candles and the flames begin to flicker and your room is filled with fragrance, you’ve created a thing of beauty.
Both are Good for the Environment
All candles are not created equal, but today, candles have come a long way when it comes to environmentally friendliness.
The products we use not only affect our health, but the health of the environment.
Soy candles do not emit toxins, release no known carcinogens into the air, and are made from a renewable resource.
They are friendly to our environment! All of our candles are made with a clean burning soy blend candle wax.
Reed diffusers are both eco-friendly and flame free.
A glass or ceramic vessel, natural reeds, and essential oils are the main components of a reed diffuser, providing a safe and long lasting scent in any space, without the use of harmful toxins.
How Can You Recycle and Reuse Candle Wax?
All it takes is a little time and creativity to come up with a few ways to recycle or reuse candle wax. Here are a few of our favorite ways to do that:
- Make your own new candle.Here’s a greattutorialon how to remove the candle wax from your candle jars. After you’ve done that, making a new candle is simple. Find a vessel (consider a glass or mug), add your own wick, and pour your melted wax into the vessel. Allow it to cool for at least six hours before using.
- Seal your letters with an old-fashioned, personal touch.Simply press hot candle wax onto the seal of that letter you’re sending to your love, or that birthday card you’re giving a friend, or to add a bit of elegance to your wedding or baby shower invitations.
- Fix your shoelaces.When the ends of your shoestrings begin to fray, buying new ones is a reasonable option. But if you have some extra candle wax, you can drip a bit of hot wax onto the ends of the shoelaces, then roll them between your fingers. Good as new!
You can also put your creativity and ingenuity to good use byreusing your candle jars and containers!
How Can You Use Fragrances to Decorate Your Home?
Candles and reed diffusers on their own can add an element of decor to your home, but what about the fragrances themselves?
The scents you love and choose to fill your home with say a lot about you, and serve as another form of “decoration” in your space.
If you love floral scents, you may be a romantic, or always see the best in people.
You’re likely family oriented and prefer comforting atmospheres (which is why you choose to fragrance your home with floral scents!).
You are caring and kind, and when people visit your home, the scents you’ve chosen make them feel welcome.
If you opt for an earthier floral, like lavender, you likely enjoy relaxing, peaceful atmospheres.
Feeling at ease is important to you, and the scent of lavender throughout your home emits that sense of comfort and peace to your friends, family, and visitors.
Are you a fan of citrus scents?
You’re probably vibrant and bubbly, and may be a bit of a perfectionist who loves a clean space and crisp colors.
Filling your home with the scent of lemon, lime, or orange, you amplify that clean vibe and everyone in your home breathes easy at the peace a clean space brings.
If you like woodsy scents like pine or cedarwood, you may be an explorer and nature lover at heart.
Friends who visit your space will feel a sense of energy and creativity, as well as the relaxing feeling we all get when we spend a little time in nature.
What are Some Mood Enhancing Scents?
Can scent impact your mood? Absolutely.
This has to do with the way your brain works.
Yoursense of smellis directly linked to your limbic system, which is the part of your brain responsible for your emotions and memories.
Have you ever associated a fragrance with a memory?
Those occurrences are similar to the way scents enhance our moods.
Some scents that most enhance our mood:
- Ylang ylang –This vibrant tropical flower isn’t shy in appearance or fragrance. It’s super floral smelling and associated with a strong feminine energy.
- Vanilla–One of the most popular scents in the world, vanilla can help elevate your mood and make you feel more relaxed.
- Citrus –Citrus scents boost alertness and energy. Lemon in particular can reduce stress and help you give off a positive vibe.
- Jasmine –Jasmine is uplifting and can promote feelings of optimism and positive energy. It’s a natural antidepressant and excellent at calming nerves.
- Rosemary –Often used in perfumes, rosemary is an empowering scent known to enhance concentration, brain power, and memory.
So how exactly do you choose between reed diffusers and scented candles? We say you don’t have to!
AtRustic Charm, we love what we do so you can love what we make, and we just so happen to make both!
