The Sweet Smell of the Holidays

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November Wardrobe Edit

I’m sure you’ve heard that our sense of smell ties us closely with our memories. And I can truly say that I’ve stopped dead in my tracks when I smell something that reminds me of a past time in my life.

I wore Issey Miyake perfume when I was in beauty school as a teenager and whenever I smell it I can practically feel the mannequin hair in my hands as I practiced how to cut.

The holidays, naturally, are one of my favorite times to reflect back on, and while there aren’t often smells throughout the rest of the year that triggers that memory for me, there certainly is an expectation of how my home will smell during the holidays.

Some of my favorite memories of the holidays are as an adult. I have a lot of really fond memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas as a child, but the older I’m getting the more I’m realizing my time with my family is limited.

My mom has always spent the majority of her time in the kitchen when the family is in town, so there are smells of homemade trail mix and Christmas cookies. In the morning, my family members and I gather in the kitchen and watch my dad make danish ebleskiver, and the whole house smells like a bakery the rest of the morning.

Beyond the smells of food, there is always an aroma of Christmas created from the pine tree, the mulled cider, or a fire in the fireplace.

I recently added the Aera Smart Home Diffuser to my family room and it has been lovely. I first read about this device in a magazine and was very intrigued by the fact that each fragrance capsule lasts 800 HOURS. With other diffusers I’ve used I feel like I constantly need to continue to add water and more oil throughout the day, but not with the Aera Diffuser.

If you are new to it like I was, the main thing you need to know is that it has an adjustable fragrance setting, so you can control how subtle or strong the scent “plays”. If you get the Aera Smart Home Diffuser you can control it from the app or Amazon Alexa, and you can also set up a schedule for when the diffuser should turn on and off. It’s completed customizable!

I’ve been testing out the Holiday Delights Fragrances and they are so good. I’m prone to headaches around really fake smelling or overpowering scents, but the scent capsules for the Aera Diffuser are really very nice and smell so true to their description.

Of the few that I’ve tried, my favorite is Sugar & Spice. To me, it smells exactly how I want my house to smell for the holidays.

Beyond the fact that it is so easy to use and adds such a nice element to a room, it’s a perfect option for homes that are shared with kids or pets. It simply plugs into the wall, requiring no flames or water. The fragrances are 100% ethically and sustainably sourced with high-quality essential oils and fragrance.

With this time of year being the peak time for entertaining, this would be a great time to add an Aera Smart Home Diffuser to one of your living areas. I have a coupon code for 20% off too!

Use code KATE20 for 20% off diffusers through November 21.

This post was sponsored by Aera, all opinions are my own. 

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Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says · 11.06.19

Reading this post makes me feel so excited for Christmas! Thanks for sharing, Kate! ❤️✨

Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com

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Emily Dahl says · 11.06.19

What a great red nail polish! Do you mind sharing?

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Kate says · 11.06.19

Essie Gel Couture in Rock the Runway

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Kimberly says · 11.06.19

I’m really interested in the diffuser. How many hours can you get out of one capsule and would you say the scent covers a large area?

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Kate says · 11.06.19

One capsule gives you 800 hours of fragrance! And you can control how strong the diffuser runs so running at level 1 won’t cover as large of an area as a higher level. I generally run mine at about 3/4 and it covers my family room, kitchen, and home office!

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JB says · 11.07.19

That’s impossible.

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Lena says · 11.06.19

I noticed you mentioned pets. Do you know if all of the scents are safe for pets? I really want this! But I think some essential oils might be harmful to cats/dogs?

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Kate says · 11.06.19

From the Aera website: Is Aera safe for family and pets?
Yes. Used as directed, Aera’s scent effect is hypoallergenic, free of harmful VOCs and leaves no residue on surfaces.

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Anne Kristensen says · 11.06.19

How come your makes danish æbleskiver? (A Dane asking😉)

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Megan Stump says · 11.06.19

Looking into the Aera as a gift to myself (and maybe my mom if I love it!) as an alternative to candles. Have you tried any of the non-holiday scents?
How often are you realistically having to buy new scents? At $55 a pop I’m wondering if it’s going to get expensive.

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Jb says · 11.07.19

This fragrance system does not work . I returned mine after getting replacement cartridge that made no difference. I would have to stand right next to it to notice anything. A glade plug in does a better job. The only place it might possibly work is in a closet or small bathroom. I thought too expensive to maintain for such low pay off. The scents aren’t that great either.

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Jessica says · 11.07.19

Hi! Is that a basic black turtleneck sweater?? Do you mind linking? It looks so great and classic on you.

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Heather says · 11.07.19

I love the idea of this. I wish the company made the machine more affordable ( $200) since the pods are $55. Even at 800 hrs per pod ( at the lowest setting) , if you run at 3/4 setting then you’d probably use 2 pods a month. Thats $1500 to buy this and use this thing for a year…. who spends $1500 a year on home scents?

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Nicole says · 11.07.19

Do you feel the diffuser is loud? Several reviews on amazon mentioned it but I always take those with a grain of salt

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Jodie Corson says · 11.07.19

This is my question too.

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Kate says · 11.08.19

I do not think it is loud!

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Julie says · 08.09.20

Hey Kate, love your blog and Instagram! I have a question about the Aera- I recently purchased one and love it! Have you tried any other scents besides the Holiday scents and Citrus?

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