Home scents of the fab & fashionable

Ever wonder about the wonderful and welcoming scents that perfume the homes of your most fashionable friends? Us too. So, as we move back indoors after a long and sunny summer, we tap a roster of high-style personalities for their favourite, go-to home fragrances.

STYLE INSIDER: Joanna Track, CEO/Founder at www.eLuxe.ca
FAVOURITE HOME SCENT: “My favourite room scent is the Lollia Wish Luminary. It is a sweet, simple scent—a combination of vanilla, amber wood, ylang ylang and sugar cane. The only way I can describe is that for me it is a happy scent. I’m such a fan that I also have the perfume and the hand cream too!” www.lollialife.com
PHOTO OF TRACK (BELOW): KIRA CRUGNALE

STYLE INSIDER: Tu Ly, fashion designer/creative marketing director at Ports 1961, www.ports1961.com
FAVOURITE HOME SCENT: “@diptyqueparis Baies. It’s our absolute essential home scent, elegant & super chic! Plus it reminds me of Paris!” www.diptyqueparis.com
PHOTO OF LY (BELOW): JEREMY STOCKTON

STYLE INSIDER: Suzanne Dimma, editor-in-chief/Canadian House & Home magazine, www.houseandhome.com
FAVOURITE HOME SCENT: “I tend to lean toward more masculine scents than pretty ones, so Cire Trudon’s Ernesto candle is a real favourite. Its tobacco and leather undertones give it a fragrance that’s more handsome than feminine, so it’s perfect. It has a distinctly exotic flavour reminiscent of Havana, so each time I light one it’s like taking a mini vacation to some faraway place. I am also a fan of its deep green glass vessel with the famous French candlemaker’s gold crest. They have a distinctly regal look that easily complements a well-designed room with a more traditional slant. They make a fantastic holiday gift.” www.ciretrudon.com, www.teatroverde.com
PHOTO OF DIMMA (BELOW): JASON HUDSON; CANDLE (BELOW): KIM JEFFREY/CANADIAN HOUSE & HOME

STYLE INSIDER: Elizabeth Cabral, fashion director at Flare magazine, www.flare.com
FAVOURITE HOME SCENT: “My ultimate favourite home scent is the Diptyque candle Feu de Bois. I love anything earthy and the scent of burnt wood translates into a cozy and calming environment. I only wish I could bottle it and take it with me everywhere.
“I also love the smell of lavender so I place little pouchettes in my closets and drawers. Good to ward off moths too.”
www.diptyqueparis.com
PHOTO OF CABRAL (BELOW): GEORGE PIMENTEL

STYLE INSIDER: Virginie Martocq, home editor at Chatelaine magazine, www.chatelaine.com
FAVOURITE HOME SCENT: “I’m actually not a big one for home scents. To me the scent of a home should reflect what’s happening in a home at that time: the smell of toast and coffee in the morning; or fresh, wet air when the windows have been left open after a summer rainfall. The smell of dinner cooking welcomes guests better than any room spray.
“But if my house has to have one smell, it’s fresh peonies. I wear Chanel No.5, and I think the heady, floral, slightly old-fashioned smell (and look) [of peonies] is reminiscent of that classic scent.
“I have been known to light a scented candle during the holidays—Votivo Red Currant is my go-to. I have it in the front hall as people come in, but I inevitably blow it out after an hour or so, to give people’s noses a chance to rest!
“It reminds me of a very elegant friend of mine whose house always smells so good. Every time I ask, it’s always Votivo Red Currant. I’m not sure it smells quite as wonderful in my house!”
www.votivo.com
PHOTO (MARTOCQ): ROBERTO CARUSO/CHATELAINE; PHOTO (PEONIES): iSTOCKPHOTO/JONATHAN SLOANE

STYLE INSIDER: Shawn Gibson, co-owner of Teatro Verde, Toronto, www.teatroverde.com
FAVOURITE HOME SCENT: “My favourite is a candle by Cire Trudon: Ernesto. It transforms my space to that of a Cuban Casa. I can almost feel the warmth of the people, the passion of the food and the smell of the ocean.
“It retails for $100, burns for 85 hours; [is] 100% vegetable wax, cotton woven wick; pure essence, nothing synthetic.” www.ciretrudon.com, www.teatroverde.com