Confession: I actually had this 95% ready to post last Friday, but I got really distracted and had to walk away from it. Oops!
This is going to seem like an odd Friday Favorites round-up, but I am totally into scents right now and I could easily come up with five of my favorite things to smell (none of them being dirty diapers or the mildewy laundry I left in the washer for three extra days).
I have never really been a heavy perfume wearer, but I have had my favorites over the years. I have found, though, that I don’t appreciate smelling everyone else’s really strong perfumes or scents, and so I have been on the hunt for a fragrance that would smell good but not offend other people. In this post, I have my favorite solution!
I also love the smell of cleaning products…especially while pregnant (enter visual of pregnant lady smelling bleach and other cleaning agents with a weird smile on her face). I enjoy coming home to a clean smelling house. It makes me not feel like as much of a failure as a “housewife.”
My nose is really sensitive to smells anyway, but when I am pregnant, my sense of smell heightens intensely. All of the scents I have collected in this post are, to me, very fresh, clean, and non-offensive to even the most sensitive of sniffers.
And so, I present to you, my five favorite scents…
1. You can’t beat a good all-purpose cleaner, especially if it is one that isn’t supposed to be harmful to to your children or your pets, either. I love the way this one in Lime + Sea Salt smells. You would think it would smell just like a margarita, which wouldn’t be a bad scent necessarily, but it actually doesn’t. It is mildly beachy and fresh with just a little hint of citrus. I use this on all my surfaces, especially after I have cleaned the dishes from dinner and want my stovetops and counters to be refreshed. Purchased at Target.
2. I discovered this shampoo many months ago. I don’t know what compelled me to buy it. I told myself a long time ago that I was done buying expensive shampoos as I never noticed a difference in my hair when I used them (I’m sure my hair stylist friends are rolling their eyes). So, this one is only $5.99, but it is super safe for your hair (sulfate and paraben free). The company also gives one bar of soap to someone in need when purchase one of their products. They are hoping to reduce the number of bacterial-disease related deaths by helping people to have proper hygiene. Over 2/3 of their donations stay in the United States. It’s a neat company, and I absolutely love the smell of the Argan Oil version. We use it on the girls, too, in place of baby/kids shampoo. It makes their hair smell so good! You can also find this at Target. 🙂
3. And now…for something you can’t find at Target…. Ambre Blends! This has become my go-to scent over the past 7-8 months or so. I’m thinking I was slow to the game because my sister in laws have been using these for a while, but when I rolled on this scent, I was hooked! Ambre Blends is a company based in Indianapolis, which I think is super cool. They are all natural oils that work with your body chemistry to create a unique scent. There are four main scents. My favorite is the one that comes in the tan vial! You have to try each of them and see what you like. You can also wear more than one at a time, too. I have never received compliments on a perfume I was wearing, but I always get compliments from perfect strangers when I wear my Ambre Blends. A waitress once took our order and then came back to ask me what scent I was wearing and where to find it. I like to pick mine up at one of my favorite local shops, Lois Pearl, but you can also order from the Ambre Blends site (given above).
4. This scent can only be understood if you have been to Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort. If you have, then you know that the lobby is one of the most heavenly-scented places…ever. It is very difficult to find a scent that imitates it as Disney has their own air freshener system with their own secret recipes, but this company, Columbia Fragrance Company, has nailed it! These are hand-poured candles that specialize in the Disney scents. You can find scents of the Polynesian hotel, the ride Soarin’, and other smells that take you back to the “most magical place on Earth.” The scent is called Walt’s Wonderful World, but it is the classic green clover and aloe scent that the Grand Floridian Resort uses to hypnotize us. I bought the wax melts bar, and they were only $5 each (super reasonable). They limit you to 4 per order…I’m sure with good reason. I bet they sell out frequently.
5. Lastly (wow, I never thought I could write so much on what scents I like….), I love to use these Downy Unstopables scent boosters in my laundry. This is my favorite scent, but there are several. I used to make my own laundry detergent, but I never could get my laundry to smell fresh enough for me. So, I started adding these into the wash. Then, when I decided that I no longer wanted to make my own detergent (and my girls started getting stains on their clothes that needed the “real” stuff), I continued using the Unstopables because I was addicted. I love the smell of fresh laundry. I also love that these make my entire house smell clean. I like to stock up on these when Target does their “Buy two and get a $5 gift card” promo.
As you can tell, I am a fresh-citrus-clean scent person. I’m not overly into the pumpkin-cookie-vanilla-coffee cake smells, but I know those are popular this time of year. What are your favorite scents?
