As if an obsession with all things beauty wasn’t enough to contend with, I thought I’d let you in on one of my other little ‘collections’. Home Fragrance Oils.
I’m actually in recovery as far as these bijou bottles are concerned. Mr. L has in the past, banned me from entering The Body Shop until I finish a bottle which quite frankly, is probably for the best.
I usually have one of these ‘on the burn’ somewhere in my home, they’re mood-lifting, fun to choose from in the shop and often on sale! As far as quality goes, some of the scents can be a touch Glade-esque but occasionally, The Body Shop blend a scentsational gem!
I have four particular favourites and unfortunately, none of them are currently available. The Body Shop’s turnover for these products are pretty rapid and ultimately seasonal. They’ll sometimes be re-released the following year but if you find one that you fall in love with, my advice is to buy in bulk!
My four biggest favourites from recent years have been…
Hit The Beach: I think this was from 2007/2008 and I returned for backups when I discovered how lovely it was! I actually find it a bit more floral than oceanic despite the name… it’s light, summery and carries a gorgeous vibe that makes me think of wide open windows, dune flowers and a stiff breeze.
Orange Clove: The Body Shop do the citrus-y scents very nicely and this is my favourite of the bunch. It’s incredibly festive and indeed was a limited release a few Christmases ago. It’s sweetness reminds me a little of Orange squash which makes it sound far less impressive than it actually is! Think sweet oranges with a hint of spice.
Very Vanilla: Is the booziest of the vanilla fragrance oils I’ve purchased from The Body Shop… it’s rich, creamy and decadent. Perfect for burning on cold evenings.
Line Dried Cotton: Ahh, my first and still one of my absolute favourites. Nothing smells quite as amazing as getting in a clean bed right? Well… take the scent of clean sheets and intensify it, you’ll get this. An amazing fragrance for the Summer and I’m on my last bottle now!
There are others that I love to light up but these are the ones that I will always snap up if I see them pop up on eBay (as long as they’re not extortionate). I would love them to re-release Line Dried Cotton in its original form…. all the other linen/cotton ones they’ve released since don’t quite do it for me in the same way.
Aside from The Body Shop, I’ve also started burning my Haus of Gloi perfume oils (I sound like an arsonist!) not the most economical way of scenting my home but my God are they deliciously potent!
Candles, wax tarts, oils, reed diffusers… I’m a sucker for a great scent.
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Are you a fan of home fragrancing? What are your favourite scents?
My other half isn’t a fan of house smellies, he says why burn something if there’s nothing to hide? I say… schuddup. Line dried Cotton sounds lovely.
I have to say, I love home fragrancing, but I prefer wax tarts as I constantly find my water disappearing too quickly with oils; and whilst I love the fragrance of the oil, I’m a no fuss kind of girl where this is concerned so tarts suit me perfectly. x
Mmmm – love these 🙂 My current fave is Aloe & Soft Linen, but I’ve also got Jolly Orange (from Christmas – not sure about this one) and the Green Tea and Lemon. Love the sound of the Hit the Beach.
I can never really get on with these, always seem like a bit too much hassle for me (that shows how extremely lazy i actually am)
Might give them a go now I’m in my new house, would be nice to be greeted home with a particular smell that I like.
I adore the Body Shop. <3
I’m more a fan of “me-fragrancing” than house-fragrancing, as my BF isn’t a huge fan of scents in general and that way I can still enjoy some lovely smells, but keep it contained to a small, controlled area so he doesn’t get headaches. 🙂
My weapon of choice though, would be Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (and they do sell house-fragrancing stuff on their sister-site, Black Phoenix Trading Post!). I’d have to say my current favourites are Xiuhtecuhtli, How Doth The Little Crocodile, The First of the Three Spirits, and Dorian.
I bought some tea-lights from IKEA. They’re still in the wrapper and they’re stinking the house out! Arghhh! Love perfume on me. Not so much throughout the house.
I stop here very often but never comment… I had to ! I suffer from the smae addiction with TBS home oils ! I’m very frustrated with the limited editions,so i use them very wisely,but I think i have like ..40 of them ! 🙂
Try the ones from M&S too, only a couple of quid and they are divine!
I love a lovely smelling house, but I’m way too lazy to do anything other than light a candle. However, I have been drooling over your descriptions of the Body Shop oils, especially Hit The Beach, so I’m tempted. I can’t use incense because my asthma makes me sound like the soundtrack to a porno if I breathe it in.
I love home fragrance, all kinds. From the snap of pine in the fireplace to scented candles (Pacifica and Diptyque), to sprays (Origins Cotton something or other), and I have countless wee bottles of fragrance oil, from Claire Burke to The Body Shop to pure essential oils. I don’t bother with the oil-in-water thing; I just have a bunch of lightbulb diffusers laying around. They make it easy. Unfortunately, DH dislikes perfumes and potpourri. >:( Sometimes I’ll spray his nightstand lightbulb with my perfume and watch him out of the corner of my eye later on, after he turns on his light and warmth from the bulb diffuses the fragrance and makes the entire room smell like me. Heh heh.
I have line dried cotton and love it! So clean and fresh smelling. I also love sandalwood, it reminds me of home.
Home fragrance oils are one of those things where people never have just one or two… you either have 37 different ones, or you have none at all! Some of my past favourites from TBS have been gingerbread and red poppies. Have you sniffed the collection since it got relaunched a little while ago? The number of scents has been pared down considerably, but I do quite like the aloe & soft linen (smells nothing like linen, though), and I’m anxiously awaiting the release of vanilla tonka bean here in Canada.
My favorite Body shop oil was Kokonolo. I was only 16 at the time it came out and they were rather pricey on a movie theatre salary, so once I ran out, I was sadly out of luck!
I really wish they would bring that one back as well! I still have a few drops left in the old bottle I have from the 90’s. I did find an adequate substitute at Pier 1 Imports. Its called Sunswept Sands. It comes in candle and maybe reed diffuser. I have the candles and plan to purchase more before they are gone also.
That was my favorite too! And it’s crazy how a Google search for it reveals NOTHING other than the stray comment here and there. It’s like Mandela effect and I’m sitting here wondering if I imagined it. If I didn’t still have the empty bottle from the 90s (saved for sniffing purposes) I would think I had imagined it. Would love to find another scent just like it.
Ahhh Body Shop! I was so sad when they stopped the Warm Amber oil it was amazing!
nom nom Haus of Gloi! to precious for me to burn. I burn wax melts mostly as they are less messy than oils. I really love the ones from Dusk (not sure if it exists outside Australia) they have a range based on places and the one for Seville is delicious and orangy 🙂
Oh you cant beat TBS home fragrance oils, i even managed to use a whole pomegrante and raspberry one! there lush! one of my old old faves was the HFO in the scent Oceanes/Oceanas, the same as the perfume they did!
There’s one from The Body Shop with green tea that has been discontinued… I used to love it so much! How do you use your home fragrances? Tea candles?
Those TBS ones are the ones I burn too. Loved the Eucalyptus and Tobacco Flower versions, sadly both long discontinued! 🙁
I’m eyeing the Coconut one atm and now that you’ve mentioned the HoG ones, I could easily see myself adding a couple of those to a future order!!! 🙂
xx
Oh I agree about The Body Shop home fragrance oils! Especially Kokonolo, I am so glad that someone else remembers it. Mmmmm best smell in the world.
Have you smelled the one called fireside? I LOVE that one and thought maybe you’d like it too as well seem to have similar tastes in perfumes.
I haven’t! I’ll keep an eye out for it, thanks x
What do you use to burn the oils? I have one and it’s pretty awful
Also how much of the gloi oil do you put?
I use an oil burner to burn my oils… just a few drops, then add some water which helps the oil vaporise.