There's something about wintertime that makes me take home fragrance very seriously. I love to host year-round, but when the temperature drops, and we spend less time outside, my interior really comes into its own, including scent. Of course, at this time of year, I lean heavily on Christmas candles and reed diffusers in festive aromas, but as I learnt recently, there's an art to scenting the home and the best room sprays are essential tools that shouldn't be overlooked.
Room sprays offer an alternative way of filling your space with scent. Amanda Connock, founder of British fragrance brand Connock England, says that a room spray is the perfect way to refresh a room quickly and layers well with candles and diffusers. Whilst luxury candles certainly create a cosseting, cosy feel, a room spray is a great way to "finish with an instant lift".
I took Connock's advice this weekend when I held a Christmas drinks party. I used strong candles and electric diffusers to create a warm and atmospheric base, then spritzed the hallway and sitting room with room spray to welcome guests as they arrived.
As you would choose your candle and diffuser according to location, for example, a calming lavender for the bedroom or a rich amber for the sitting room, you should do the same with your room spray. Ally Head, Marie Claire's senior health and fitness editor, uses room sprays more than candles. She has three that she uses for the different areas of her home. "I'm a bit of a room spray obsessive," she says. "They instantly lift my mood and make me feel calmer. I feel like my space feels more put together when I use them (even if my house is actually a bit of a mess)."
Best room sprays 2025:
1. Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle Joyeux Noel Perfume Gun
Key notes: Pine, amber, cinnamon, candy floss
As we're just a mere two weeks away from Christmas, I'm starting with a festive scent. This smells exactly as you'd want it to at this time of year. The cinnamon and amber give it warmth, whereas the candy floss provides a gourmand edge that somehow never seems too sweet. But the pine means that despite the previous enveloping notes, it's fresh and inviting. Plus, a moment please for the bottle and dispenser, which are super fun to use.
2. Byredo Bibliothéque Parfum Room Spray
Key notes: Plum, cinnamon, leather accord, violet, birch woods, patchouli, vanilla
I have loved Byredo's Bibliothéque fragrance for such a long time, but whenever I wear it, I think about how beautiful it would be as a room spray. The scent is meant to conjure up images of an old library housing ancient scriptures and classic books, and that's exactly what it does. One spritz and I can feel the creaky floorboards and hear the gentle swish of a turning page. Don't be fooled into thinking this is a stuffy scent, though; the sweetness of the plum and violet brings the house of books into the modern world. This would be beautiful in a sitting room.
3. L'Objet Rose Noire Room Spray
Key notes: Pimento berry, white pepper, rose, tea, moss
L'Objet's take on a rose scent prevents it from ever smelling too granny. The spiciness of the pimento berry and the white pepper make this a scent that belongs in the bedroom. It works just as well at scenting the air as it does on your bedsheets.
4. Loewe Honeysuckle Home Fragrance
Key notes: Honeysuckle
A single note scent might not be everyone's cup of tea, but its simplicity is what I love. To me, this Honeysuckle room spray evokes such strong memories of walking through the streets of Rome at dusk in the height of summer. The floral vine grows over so many of the city's buildings, and the fragrance is unavoidable. As soon as the weather warms up, I like to fill every room with this light, but creamy scent.
5. Malin+Goetz Tomato Room Spray
Key notes: Basil, green ivy, lavender, mint, tomato, mandarin, petitgrain, cedarwood, green pepper
There's nothing better than a kitchen that smells of home cooking, but there's nothing worse than when that smell just won't shift. Amanda Connock recommends choosing fresh, zesty room sprays for the kitchen as they "cut through food aromas." This is why keeping a bottle of Malin+Goetz's Tomato spray next to the hand soap in your kitchen is such a good idea. The clever spray has been formulated to neutralise odours (by more than 98% according to the brand).
6. Perfumer H Dandelion Room Spray
Key notes: Green leaf, basil, neroli, honeysuckle, oak moss, vetiver
This vibrant scent was created to encapsulate the scent of spring, and you can smell that as soon as you spray it. It's sparkling and zingy thanks to the green leaf, basil and neroli, but the oak moss and vetiver give it moist earthiness. It's definitely the cool kid, niche fragrance on the list.
7. Diptyque 34 Boulevard Saint Germain Room Spray
Key notes: Blackcurrant, geranium, balsam
If you really want to impress your guests, then Diptyque's 34 Boulevard Saint Germain Room Spray is the way to do it. This is a punchy room scent that was created as a nod to the brand's original boutique on, you guessed it, 34 Boulevard Saint Germain in Paris. It's a rich floral that smells like pure luxury. Use it sparingly as you don't need much to make an impression.
8. Jo Malone London Lime Basil & Mandarin Room Spray
Key notes: Mandarin, basil, amberwood
You cannot go wrong with Jo Malone London Lime Basil & Mandarin. This fresh and zesty fragrance works much like a palette cleanser—in the kitchen for clearing food smells, in the bathroom for an instant refresh and in the sitting room after it's just had a deep clean.
9. Aesop Istros Aromatique Room Spray
Key notes: Pink pepper, tobacco, lavender
I keep this one in my bathroom and with just a couple of spritzes you can turn a small room with a loo, sink and bath into a day spa. It works just as well before a bath to add an element of relaxation, as it does before my morning shower and revitalises me and gets me ready for the day.
