Whether you’re wanting to relax or create a fun vibe, candles and diffusers can really enhance your time at home.
When it comes to home entertaining, most of us focus our attention on an eye catching platter, a fun drink selection and a mouth watering meal. But for Hannah Drury, perfumer and co-founder of Moss St. Fragrances, as much effort is put into creating a bespoke scent experience for her guests. “My entire home is filled with candles and I’ll spend 10 minutes before guests come over lighting them all,” she says. “I choose fragrances based on the event or who’s coming over. At Christmas time, I’ll light Christmas candles. If it’s guy friends visiting, I’ll choose more masculine fragrances, or if the girls are coming over for champagne, I’ll use something lighter and sweeter.”
Now Costco members can sample a little bit of Drury’s fragrance magic, with a range of Moss St. Fragrances’ candles and diffusers landing in store for Mother’s Day. Available in Camellia & White Lotus, Iris & Oud, Golden Pear & Freesia, and a Blood Orange candle, Costco beauty buyer Rafaella Grech predicts they’re going to be incredibly popular gifts. “Their fun packaging, designs and scents are unique but premium in quality,” she says.
One of a kind
One of the first things you’ll notice about Moss St. Fragrances’ range is that the aromas are so unique. “I find inspiration everywhere, whether it’s travelling or walking around my neighbourhood,” Drury says. “We actually make all the fragrances ourselves and have the ability to make a lot of unique blends.”
In fact, the Camellia & White Lotus fragrance was inspired by Drury’s memories of playing by her grandmother’s beautiful camellia tree when she was a child, while the Iris & Oud was inspired by her travels in Morocco. “I drive my husband insane, always stopping and smelling things or trying to work out where a smell came from,” she laughs. “I’ve gone up to people and sniffed them and asked what they’re wearing. I sleep with a notepad next to my bed because I dream about scents or have ideas in the middle of the night and need to write them down.”
Set the scent scene
If you want to create a lovely atmosphere at home, Drury recommends a clever combination of diffusers and candles. “Diffusers are really low maintenance – you can set it up and forget it,” she says. “I would use a diffuser to freshen up a kitchen or bathroom, and maybe keep one in your living room, flipping the reeds as little or as often as you like, depending on how much of a fragrance hit you’re after.”
Light a candle when entertaining or as part of a relaxing evening wind down ritual. “A candle really sets the mood of the home but needs to be blown out after a couple of hours – we find most people tend to light them at night or when they’re having guests over,” Drury says. “It’s lovely to do fragrance layering as well. The Camelia & White Lotus pairs really beautifully with something a bit more woody, which evens out those beautiful top floral notes.”
“I find inspiration [...for fragrances] everywhere, whether it’s travelling or walking around my neighbourhood”
Effortless decor
While scent is clearly at the centre of Moss St. Fragrances’ ethos, a close second is the vessels the candles and diffusers are housed in. “The vessel should be a piece of art or decor and be something that people really want to show off in their home,” Drury says. “The Moss St. Fragrances range is reusable – you can pot a plant or store cotton buds or pen holders in the candle vessel, and you can buy refills for the diffuser.”
Costco’s range is housed in striped ceramic vessels, evoking a European summer vibe for members. “Ceramics have been trending for the past few years, and no-one was really doing home fragrance and ceramics, so we jumped on that trend and also picked up on the current trend of stripes,” Drury says. “They’re the kind of designs that would suit any home and can easily be styled with other pieces.”
