This Makes Scents

And the scents are what have kept me enchanted with Provence all these years. It is a fragrant region, whether it is wild thyme and rosemary fragrances floating in the air or the lavender beds of June and July. There are so many wonderful smells I associate with Provence; too many to mention.

Provence is a sensory overload.

Isn’t it funny how life turns out?

Diptyque has always been a brand I believe captures so many of the fragrances of Provence – Baies, Gingembre, Figuier, Lavande – and many more. We have always burned Figuier and Lavande at home in the summer and Feu du Bois in the winter; it is our tradition and the scents resonate with us. Now I find myself the proprietor of a small Diptyque shop in Saint Rémy de Provence. Who would have thought?

The Diptyque boutique is part of La Maison du Village, our new boutique hotel in Saint Rémy and I will admit it is fun to have this addition. The interior sprays are heavenly – Gingembre and Fleur d’Oranger being my very favourites. I love to fragrance up the spaces each morning and have the scents lingering ever so slightly during the day. The candles, as you can imagine, are burning in the little Salon and oftentimes in the garden; Baies is the perfect accompaniment in our secret garden.

 

What follows is obvious, I think I am my best customer and our new home in Notting Hill, London smells decidedly delicious – Gingembre is wafting ever so gently throughout and the Baies will be burning tonight on the terrace.

Fragrances create memories and that is why they are so important to me.

The slightest hint of tuberose and I am transported; lavender and fig and my heart beats for Provence. There are so many memorable perfumes that linger in our lives and I believe scent is an integral part of homemaking. Our homes are our castles and nowhere should be as comfortable, familiar and cosseting as where we live. At La Maison, my greatest desire is for our guests to feel as if they are “home” Before our guests arrive I like to “scent” the rooms – ever so lightly – to create a memory. Not overly, as too heady and it’s uncomfortable. A fragrance is also particular and I am mindful of that.

The houses of Diptyque, Bully and Cire Trudon are my most-loved interior fragrances, what are yours? xv