I tend to buy my candles at local shops/boutiques more often than not - the atmosphere lends itself better to being able to sniff and choose carefully. But I did find some rather nice handmade ones by a local lady at my Wild Oats the other day, which surprised me. I don’t think some of the more commercial candles, like say the Glade ones, are really so bad at all, it’s just I snub them since there’s so much out there to choose from, and the Glades and those type are not as pretty to look at as others usually.

Ylva, you must have found me out: behind the Scenzilla disguise is a mild-mannered goofball.

For hair, I recently discovered Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Styling Wax - it’s in a BIG tube and very easy to apply. It has a very clean, light tea tree (melaleuca) scent that is very unobtrusive. I believe it is actually made for men but it works great on my short hair.

For laundry & dishes I use Trader Joe’s house brand detergent & dish soap scented with natural lavender. The clothes smell fresh and it’s almost fun to do dishes! The dish soap also comes in a nice orange scent. If I have to get something else for laundry I use Seventh Generation all natural detergent - virtually unscented and works great.

I also avoid “nose pollution” from cheap stuff like air freshener, candles and plug-in fragrance dispensers. I prefer to have the house smell like natural citrus cleaner or lavender. That way when I wear fragrance around the house I can fully enjoy it.

Anya, oh that is a great comparison. Yes, a rest of sorts. I also think it’s a bit like the difference between trying to talk to a friend at a busy loud chattering mall versus having a conversation in the quiet of home around cups of coffee. Either way, you get your messages across to one another, but the expereience is much more pleasurable when each other’s words are the only ones you hear.

Andy, it’s funny you should mention all those deodorizing products. One of the more peculiar, in my opinion, directions some perfumeries have taken is to focus soley upon the “clean” smells like those in household products, especially clean laundry. I wonder about all this detatchment from our natural selves, too. Perhaps I am biased on the subject however, as I can never quite bring myself to trust anyone who is excessively hygienic.

This need for a free/clear backdrop reminds me of the need for designers to sometimes live in all-white, or monochrome homes. In my career as a designer, and visiting the homes of many of my friends and colleagues, this was very noticable. After a day of dealing with colors, patterns and such, our eyes needed a “rest”. It is the same with the nose ;-)

Robin, the laudry detergent one is the most important one for me, too. I’d rather have my own daily perfume cling to the cloth than the same old same old from my washing machine. Well, that the aforementioned tendancy to break out in rashes from so many of them, too, of course.