I’m sure you’ve heard that our sense of smell ties us closely with our memories. And I can truly say that I’ve stopped dead in my tracks when I smell something that reminds me of a past time in my life.
I wore Issey Miyake perfume when I was in beauty school as a teenager and whenever I smell it I can practically feel the mannequin hair in my hands as I practiced how to cut.
The holidays, naturally, are one of my favorite times to reflect back on, and while there aren’t often smells throughout the rest of the year that triggers that memory for me, there certainly is an expectation of how my home will smell during the holidays.

Some of my favorite memories of the holidays are as an adult. I have a lot of really fond memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas as a child, but the older I’m getting the more I’m realizing my time with my family is limited. My mom has always spent the majority of her time in the kitchen when the family is in town, so there are smells of homemade trail mix and Christmas cookies. In the morning, my family members and I gather in the kitchen and watch my dad make danish ebleskiver, and the whole house smells like a bakery the rest of the morning.
Beyond the smells of food, there is always an aroma of Christmas created from the pine tree, the mulled cider, or a fire in the fireplace.

I recently added the Aera Smart Home Diffuser to my family room and it has been lovely. I first read about this device in a magazine an...