3 min readI pride myself on being a little extra with my hosting. Most of what goes into great entertaining is sensory. It’s in what you hear, what you sit on, and of course, what you smell. The right smell can sell a house faster or put a guest quickly at ease. I love my candle collection and my reed diffusers, but investing in a great smart scent diffuser has truly turned me into the host with the most. That’s why the Aera diffuser is always the finishing touch.
The first 10 minutes someone is in your home are crucial, and those first impressions are hard to shake. I want someone to be at ease—to know the space is well taken care of, but also like they belong there. To that end, I place my Aera diffuser right at the entrance to my apartment, resting on a shoe rack. It’s tucked away so it’s not an eyesore, but it masks the smell of well-worn shoes, and it welcomes you the minute you step inside.
I take my cues from nature on which scents to use, and my entryway scent is Agraria San Francisco’s Mediterranean Jasmine, inspired by a fragrant trip to O’ahu. I always notice a double-take when people enter, immediately followed by “it smells expensive in here.” That jasmine and tuberose create a hotel lobby aroma, and following it to my velvet couch and cloud-like living room rug all give you a soft place to land.
I got so attached to that relaxing reaction that I got a second Aera diffuser, this time to place in my bedroom. Now, I scent my home in different, but complementary zones. I use Aera’s own blend, Kyoto Teahouse, just a few inches from the foot of my bed. And this is where the smart settings really come in handy.
Candles are a fire hazard, and even a candle warmer can’t be left turned on at all times. Sprays need to be re-applied, and reed diffusers need to be flipped constantly. I’m too busy for those to be my main ambient scent options.
Pros
- Individual scent capsules last up to 3 months
- Fills a room evenly, rather than scenting a single corner
- Fragrance is continuous so you don't get nose blind
- Five samples included with a diffuser purchase
- Scents are concentrated enough to tell the difference
Cons
- Needs to be plugged in to run
- Refills capsules on the pricier side
The Aera diffuser can be controlled manually, but the schedules you can set in the app are a game-changer. I have mine scheduled to turn on an hour before I get home from work, and an hour before I wake up in the morning. So right when I wake up, it’s to the smell of green tea and steamed rice. No more early-morning anxiety.
I can even schedule it to run while I’m traveling, so my homecoming smells amazing. The Aera is not the only smart diffuser I’ve tested—I’ve used the Pura and the Drift diffuser in my bathroom for a pleasant ambient smell. But when I want to fill a room with scent that lasts and lingers, I reach for the Aera. It has 10 intensity settings for super customization, rather than just three options of “low, medium, high.”
If you’re going to pay a premium price for home fragrance, you deserve peace of mind. And the capsule refills last you long enough to enjoy your home’s scent for three months. No more buying candles that disappoint.
