How to Make House Smell Like Vanilla
There’s nothing better than having a home that always smells nice.
Cinnamon and vanilla not only taste good to many people, but the scent of cinnamon or vanilla can invoke a warm, comforting feeling.
According to research, vanilla elevates the mood, and the cinnamon scent sharpens your mind and boosts brainpower.
Not only do cinnamon and vanilla taste good, but they can also invoke a comforting, relaxing, and warm feeling. Because of these elements, you can use these scents to eliminate bad odor or a musty smell in your apartment.
Fortunately, changing the smell of your home using vanilla and cinnamon is not expensive. You don’t need to go an extra step to bake cookies or cakes or use chemical deodorizers to achieve this smell. You can follow these easy steps.
- Bake Up Vanilla
Infuse your home with a warm sugar cookie fragrance by baking two tablespoons of vanilla extract in a dish at 300 degrees for twenty minutes. (You could also skip the container and wipe the oven interior with some vanilla extract.)
- Scent Your Bulbs
Dab a little bit of vanilla, almond, or maple extract on a (cold) light bulb, then flick the switch to diffuse the scent.
- Upgrade Your Current Candles
Unscented candles become scented with the help of the non-alcoholic extract of your choice.
Simply light the candle, let a little bit of the wax melt, extinguish the flame, (and carefully) add a few drops to the melted wax, and re-light. Just note that because the extract is watery, it’ll change the appearance of your candle when it dries.
- Try the Cotton Ball Trick
A few dashes of vanilla extract (or, if you’re fancy, essential oils) on a cotton ball act a bit like a mini-diffuser or a mini bowl of potpourri.
Place the cotton balls behind curtains or other little-noticed areas — just keep them out of the way of children or pets. You can also toss a few into your vacuum cleaner canister to help scent your home as you clean.
Why is there no essential oil that smells like Vanilla?
Essential oils are concentrated plant extracts obtained from the mechanical pressing or steam distillation of sections of the plant, such as the leaves or flowers.
Through these processes, the plant’s natural aroma is also captured, giving each essential oil its distinct fragrance.
The reason why there is no essential oil that smells like vanilla is that the vanilla bean cannot be processed in the same way as essential oils.
The vanilla extract used in baking goods consists of bean extractives suspended in an alcohol base, while vanilla absolutes result from CO2 extractions.
A vanilla absolute will probably be the closest you get to an essential oil that smells like vanilla. Usually pre-diluted in fractioned coconut oil, a single drop is usually all you need for topical application since pure absolutes are usually more potent than a standard vanilla extract.
Is there a substitute essential oil that smells like Vanilla?
- Using vanilla absolute oils and extracts
These are great substitutes for an essential oil that smell like vanilla.
You may also like to try two essential oils with similar scent profiles to vanilla, sandalwood, and balsam.
Trying to reproduce that elusive vanilla-like aroma using natural ingredients can sometimes be challenging!
However, adding an alternative essential oil or absolute is possible in another oil, such as jojoba (Simmondsia Chinensis), for oil-based blends.
- Balsam of Peru Essential Oil
(Myroxylyon balsam var. Pereira) is a tropical tree of the Fabaceae plant family that produces distilled essential oil from the tree’s resin. The essential oil has a surprisingly rich, sweet vanilla-like aroma, although its chemical components consist of benzyl benzoate, benzyl cinnamate, and cinnamic acid.
It is a viscous oil that will give your aromatic blend a distinct vanilla-like aroma – at a fraction of the price of vanilla itself. Additional therapeutic benefits include uses for stress, respiratory conditions, and skin issues.
- Benzoin Absolute
Benzoin (Styrax benzoin) is, not surprisingly, another tropical tree but this time of the Styracaceae plant family. Again, the resin is collected from the tree and prepared into an absolute using solvents.
Benzoin absolute produces a rich, warm, sweet, balsamic aroma with a hint of vanilla and, some would say, The principal chemical components of benzoin include benzoic acid and benzyl benzoate. Benzoin does contain vanillin.2
Benzoin absolute is another thick, sticky, viscous liquid that fixes a blend with the sought-after vanilla note, as long as it is used in moderation. Additional therapeutic benefits of benzoin include use for stress, respiratory conditions, joint pain, and skincare.
What can I put on the stove to make my house smell good?
- Cloves
These are aromatic flowering buds native to Indonesia but grown in tropical areas worldwide. They are mostly used as a spice.
- Boiling citrus peels
Citrus has been known for the longest time ever for its pleasant aroma. Orange, lemon, and grapefruit are all fruits whose peels can be used for this purpose.
- Pine sprigs
Besides the springtime fragrance they produce, pine sprigs can be used to spice up your cuisine. Interestingly, many people associate the pine scent with ‘clean.’
- Rosemary or sage sprigs
Rosemary and sage are among the most prominent herbs. It is, therefore, a great idea to add them to your pot for a tantalizing aroma. The rosemary is native to the Mediterranean region but can be found in a store near you.
- Teabags
If you’d rather not go for a mixture of different herbs and spices, a simple toss of tea masala or tea bags into a pot of boiling water can work for you. The scent produced should leave your apartment with an earthy but fresh smell.
- Almond Extract
A few drops of almond extract in a pot of boiling water will leave your house smelling like baked goods. Both of them are good options. Simply add a few drops to a cup of water and leave it to a boil.
Other easily available things that you can put on the stove to make your house smell good are apples and berries.