The late 70s and early 80s ushered in the wild concept of using scent in marketing. It was the newest innovation in a long line of “brand identity” gimmicks designed to further connect the consumer with a product or store. Since then, brands have gone as far as creating signature sounds. That’s right, we’ve moved well past the JG Wentworth jingle into a time where as little as a single note on a synthesizer can be the signature of a brand — all thanks to Netflix’s unmistakable introductory hum!

The distinction between imbuing an entire store with one scent and using a signature color, is that scent instantly — as experiments in the 90s proved — connects the customer more with a product and led to an increase of over 80% in sales. Why exactly is that?

Our hunch: for all of the sensory overload and carefully curated marketing onslaught we face each day, what we smell — maybe more than anything else — still has the chance to catch us by surprise, calm us, connect us to a moment in time, or move us out of our auto-pilot routines in which we so often find ourselves. We see and hear so much at all hours of the day that it almost makes sense what we smell would resonate as much if not more than any other connection point in our lives!

We believe wholeheartedly that the same could be said of your home! What we place into it, the specific layout of those pieces, and the colors we choose to implement all have a way of affecting our emotions, making us feel at home, and even re-routing our neural pathways. Side note: It’s fascinating how such seemingly silly things can truly soften the edges of how we go about our day without us giving them much thought in the moment.

While the concept of adding a signature jingle, color, or sound to a home certainly sounds interesting — if not pretty entertaining — adding a scent to a space (even a single room) can completely transform the experience for you and your guests! There’s something so calming about waking up and smelling freshly brewed coffee or nostalgic about catching a whiff of dinner on the stove as the evening starts. The same is true when you find ways to bring scents of the season or even from a special, personal memory into a room.

Around the time we moved into the city, we started thinking more intentionally about this idea of adding scent into our home in a way that connected with that specific moment in time. We wanted to tie a future memory to the fragrances we had surrounded ourselves with, and in so doing, turning our daily life into an experience! We tried out Pura and have been loyal to them ever since!

Pura’s fragrances have always been exactly what we were looking for, whether it be something fresh and floral for spring, warm and cozy for the fall, or even themed specifically for the holidays. But what has taken us by surprise over the years are their brand partnerships, which take the idea of connecting you to a specific memory even further. Their work with the Met feels inextricably linked to our time on the Upper East Side, while their NEST partnership brings our favorite candle scents into a space without having to light a wick, with TAFT’s offerings being an amazing option for guys looking to improve the smell of their bachelor pads, and Anthro’s confections delivering the bold and eclectic tastes found in their stores.

If you feel like you’ve finally found the perfect couch or rug, or if the decor of your room has finally fallen into place, but something still feels off, we can’t recommend Pura enough as the missing piece to turn your home into an experience!