There comes a time in a women’s life when she finds the scent of her dreams (sounds weird, but bear with me). Whether it’s laundry detergent that doesn’t reek of chemicals, body spray that accurately portrays the picture on the bottle or chapstick that’s so good you could eat it - scent is important. Our sense of smell is the gateway to long lost memories, an ultimate mood shifter and companion to the seasons.
Ladies and gentleman, I have finally – finally – found my match :)
For years, I’d been attracted to the alluring aroma of - wait for it – model homes. To subdue any chuckling – of course it wasn’t the homes that smelled good (though fresh paint is somewhat exciting); it was the whole shebang. Perfectly staged furniture, cozy rugs, high-end upgrades and the idea of a picture-perfect lifestyle. Everything was in order, the beds were made, the kitchen was spotless and it smelled divine. 9 times out of 10, there was something citrusy, fresh and so crazy distinct that I went everywhere searching for it; even asking the sales agents what brands their candles were (they didn’t care) and opening up the lid of every air freshener I came across.
And while the closest to said “model home smell” that I could find was Citrus Cilantro from Pier 1, it wasn’t quite right. I bought everything – the tea lights, the room fragrance, a sachet for my dresser… but I wasn’t satisfied. This wasn’t it.
Somewhat hopeless and yet totally aware of my unrealistic expectations from the candle industry, I kinda gave up. My “model home smell” was only in my head. And if it wasn’t, then it was probably manufactured underground, or in space, and there was only one tube of its original contents locked somewhere in a government-run operation in the middle of the desert. It was a marketing ploy; an intangible play-on-the-senses that made home buyers open their wallets, and nothing more.
Maybe.
Or it could be Laguna Beach’s own Makana Candle Studios’ White Tea Leaf.
Yup. IT EXISTS! And if I had a scratch-and-sniff widget to turn on right now, you’d be all over it. But for now, you’ll just have to look at pretty pictures and go buy one yourself, at Whole Foods in Laguna Niguel, because they believe in dreams coming true.
Now if you’d excuse me, I’m going to go bathe in this stuff.