How Candle Scents Can Influence Your Senses And Mood

Picture this: you are just coming home or finishing up a long, stressful day of work. You need a way to unwind, so you reach for some of your relaxation go-to’s. You play your favorite song, maybe look into ordering your favorite takeout, and light a candle that makes you feel entirely at peace. 

These are absolutely tried and true methods for a reason. And while there are so many wonderful self-care rituals, few things relax us as easily, quickly, and entirely as our favorite scented candles. Candles can make you feel so instantly centered, helping you go from a cluttered mind to achieving mindfulness and clarity in seconds.

Why exactly is it that candle scents have the ability to influence us so greatly and significantly? Are they magic? Possibly. Is there actual scientific backing for the many benefits of scented candles? Definitely. Candles often seem to have otherworldly capabilities that enrich our lives.

Scent Is the Sense Most Strongly Connected to Memory

Do you ever smell something that immediately whisks you away to a specific place and time in your life? Maybe the aroma of barbecue reminds you of summer with your family as a kid. Perhaps you’re walking through a department store and smell a perfume that your grandmother wore, and it takes you back to treasured memories you shared together. 

There is actually a reason for this, as smell is the sense most strongly connected with memory. In fact, it is possible that, through smell, you can remember things that could have otherwise been forgotten forever.

To find a candle that puts you especially at peace, you have a few options. For one, you can think of positive smells from your life or positive memories and the smells associated with them. You can also consider favorite flowers or scents that you just enjoy encountering in the wild and look for candles with similar aromatic profiles.

As smell is such a powerful sense, trips through aisles of candle stores can get overwhelming quite quickly, both physically and mentally. As a result, we recommend knowing what scents you tend to react well to ahead of time. This can turn a possibly stressful experience into an enjoyable and fun activity. 

Also, don’t be afraid to look for scented candles online. This gives you a much wider range of selection without overwhelming your nose and turning you off from the idea altogether. Another benefit of looking online is that personalization becomes a genuine possibility, which can make your candle shopping and burning experience that much more enjoyable. 

A Candle With a Personal Connection Is Especially Meaningful

While looking into specific scents you find calming is a good strategy to get the perfect candle for you, there are other techniques you can look into as well. Personal connections to our items make them feel much more significant to us and can make us more mindful when we use them. As such, consider a candle that has some kind of special meaning to you.

A more personal candle can take many different forms. For instance, it could have a smell that you associate with your childhood, and therefore it connects you to your younger days. On the other hand, the candle could be a gift from a friend or loved one, so you may associate the scent with their generosity and care for you. 

Generally speaking, if an item can be customized, it makes for a much more worthwhile and valued purchase. That’s why we love Birthdate Candles, which are tailor-made based on your birthday and combining astrology, numerology, and tarot reading. 

These candles are made in the United States with natural fragrances to support a calm and relaxed environment. They perfectly encapsulate what is so great about a customized gift-- that it is just for you.

So rather than looking into more generic options provided in many different stores, consider a personalized candle. This also adds a layer of exclusivity and mystery to the product. So if someone asks you where to get your candle, you can say that it was made especially for you.

We feel that astrology and investigating the mysteries of nature can be one path to a more fulfilling life. If you ever feel like learning more about yourself and your place in the universe.

Candles Can Provide Both Physical and Mental Relief

While the mental effects of a calming fragrance are well known and plain to see, there can be physical benefits as well. In fact, it is proven that some aromas actively counteract and cancel out stress, as well as relax muscles.

This is especially important when considering the plethora of negative side effects that accompany an abundance of stress in one’s life. And, similarly to the possible benefits of the right candle, these side effects can be both physical and mental. Just some of them include:

• Persistent headaches
• Fatigue/Problems with sleep
• Digestive Issues
• Finding it hard to focus
• Finding it hard to stay motivated
• Anxiety

It is important to actively fight against stress and these symptoms, as they can seriously impact the enjoyment of your day-to-day life. Candles and scents help to center you and keep you mindful of your surroundings.

Mindfulness also leads to gratitude, one of the best combatants we have against the many negative emotions we may experience. Other than pursuing aromatherapy, consider taking part in activities like yoga or meditation, and be sure to spend quality time with loved ones.
In any case, this is why the art of aromatherapy is so worthwhile to explore. It really can have tangible advantages, rather than solely mental ones. That is not at all to say that mental benefits are not important as they absolutely are. We just want to dispel the myth that the many benefits of scent are relocated to just the mind alone.

Different Ingredients Provide Specific Benefits

While different scents are enjoyable simply because they smell good, the significance and meaning of that enjoyment actually go much deeper than that. For example, both a lavender or a citrus-smelling candle may make you feel happy, but they likely do so in different ways. That is because, as scent is so strongly connected with the brain and emotion, certain scents have specific effects on your mood.

Given that it is a known fact that people react better to environments with natural scents rather than those with no discernable scent, we then move on to wondering exactly what scents are best for specific environments. Studies have shown that these natural aromas positively change moods, actively making people calmer, as well as focused.

Due to these different benefits, you may want to consider having different candles for different environments. If you need to be alert and focused at work, consider surrounding yourself with citrus (like orange or lemon) or a brighter scent. If you are looking to calm down at the end of the night, lavender is universally utilized to usher in an aura of relaxation. If you just want to feel happy and at peace, a floral aroma reminiscent of spring may be your best bet.

All of this is to say that there is a great deal of benefits that candles and scents can provide for you. As a result, it all just comes down to deciding what would fit best in your life. From there, strategically place different scents where you need them most, and enjoy the tranquility they bring.

Natural Ingredients Can Improve Your Well Being

When trying to find the right candle that best fits your life, think about your needs and how this scent will fit into them. Something else to consider is if you need something containing primarily or exclusively natural ingredients or if artificial scents will do just fine for you. 

These natural ingredients can also have a lot of advantages for your overall well-being. Candles containing essential oils (lavender, eucalyptus, orange, etc.) promote a calm energy and are therefore very helpful for those experiencing anxiety. Meanwhile, too many artificial additives have the potential to actively cause headaches and migraines, as well as potentially aggravate asthma.

As established, being able to reach a state of calm is crucial to your overall health, both mental and physical. Knowing what aromas help you find your zen is immensely helpful and is a very easy way to give yourself a head start on your relaxation journey.

Having your favorite candle in places you frequent (a living room or bedroom, at work) will allow you to take this calmness with you because you never know when you will need to take a deep, calming breath.

Smell Good, Feel Better

Candles, while always a fun way to liven up a room, also have the potential to play a much bigger role in your life. After all, scent is the sense most strongly associated with memory and emotions, so different aromas can have a great deal of power over your state of mind. Keeping this in mind, choose what you surround yourself with carefully and thoughtfully.

A candle is a perfect opportunity to set a mood for yourself and determine how you want to feel. You can choose something calming and centering, enlivening and bold, or whatever else you think would work best. The goal is for you to breathe in your favorite candle’s scent and reach a well-deserved state of mindfulness, whatever that might look like for you.

Sources:

Why Do Smells Trigger Strong Memories? | Live Science

The Impact of Natural Odors on Affective States in Humans | PubMed

Effects of Fragrance on Emotions: Moods and Physiology | Oxford Academic