Fill Your Room with the Sweet Scent of Lilac Sprays

SPRAY:
1. a mist of tiny dispersed droplets, such as perfume, discharged from an atomizer or other device.
2. a bunch of cut flowers, branches, etc., arranged decoratively for display, as in a vase.

If you can’t pick your own, here’s how to bring the fragrance of fresh lilacs into your home…

By Tab Olsen

Lilac is a flowering bush or tree that is cultivated in temperate areas, and can grow between 5 and 15 feet tall. The flower is usually a light shade of purple, the color of which is also called lilac. But lilac blossoms can also be found in white, creamy yellow, pink, and even a dark burgundy color. Lilacs bloom in May and the leaves are shaped like hearts, which makes them perfect for Mother’s Day bouquets.

Lilacs are so popular that they have been featured in many literary works, including the famous poem “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d” by Walt Whitman:

“In the dooryard fronting an old farm-house near the white-wash’d palings,
Stands the lilac-bush tall-growing with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
with many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love.”

I’ll never forget the big old lilac tree at my grandma’s house in Western New York. (Why are lilacs so often associated with grandmothers?) Ever since I moved to Arizona, I have missed the smell of fresh lilacs at this time of year. Lilac was my favorite scent in the world, even more than roses, but the fragrance was always rather fleeting because the blooms only last a week or two.

Fresh lilacs smell sweet and heavenly, like a lovely spring day. They have a heavy aroma that clings in the air, but which is very soothing and pleasant. The fragrance exudes happiness. Now living near Phoenix, I can often smell the uplifting fragrance of sweet and citrusy orange blossoms come wafting on the breeze in early spring, but I still miss the wonderful smell of lilacs.

So I’ve been on a quest to replicate the perfect lilac scent that’s not just a fake flowery soap smell. I’m not really into candles or aromatherapy, I just want to be able to smell the aroma of lilac that takes me back to my early childhood.

Well, leave it to Amazon.com to have everything I could ever want! I went on a lilac shopping spree and bought several different products from there. (You can click on the images or links below to buy them, too, which will also give us a small commission at no extra charge to you.)

First, I will compare two lilac sprays that I tried. They both smell good, but you may prefer one or the other depending on whether you like a stronger or lighter scent; also, one is organic while the other is not.

Aira Mist Organic Room Spray – Lilac Breeze

A little bit of this room spray goes a long way. Just one squirt of Aira Mist will be enough. Any more than that and the smell will be overpowering. It has a heavy perfumey scent that will fill up a whole living room, and it lasts a long time. The only drawback is that the fragrance does remind me of an old lady’s house, why is that?! The aloe and witch hazel help neutralize bad or stale odors and improve indoor air quality. Besides using Aira Mist as a room spray, you can use it to freshen sheets, upholstery, or even as a body spray. Aira Mist has all natural ingredients and contains no alcohol for a healthy alternative to chemical-based sprays. It comes in an aluminum bottle covered with a paper label. Each 8 fluid ounce bottle is hand-poured in the USA. INGREDIENTS: Distilled Water, Certified Organic Witch Hazel, Certified Organic Aloe, Organic Rosemary Extract, Vitamin E, Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils.

Bee Adored Body Spray – Lilac Garden

This one is sold as a body spray, not a room spray, but I have used it for both. Bee Adored’s clean, fresh scent is a lot lighter than Aira Mist. The pump action provides a fine spray that isn’t too overpowering, and it doesn’t remind me of old ladies at all. It simply smells nice! Great for closets and bathrooms, or even to freshen your car. They say, “If you love Lilacs blooming in the spring this will be one of your most favorite scents. It took years to achieve the perfect balance of fragrances to create a true lilac scent that did not smell artificial. This fragrance will feel as if you are covered in a fresh lilacs all day.” Bee Adored comes in an 8 fluid ounce clear plastic bottle and is manufactured in Franklin, New Jersey, USA. INGREDIENTS: Denatured Alcohol, Water, Fragrance (Fresh Lilacs with notes of Rose Water and Leafy Greens), Polysorbate-20, Benzophenone-2

There are many other home fragrances and room sprays out there – but if you long for the pleasant smelling aroma of fresh cut lilac flowers on a spring day, these are the two I would recommend. Both of them are refreshing scents that smell like spring is in the air! Plus, lilac is a lively aroma that won’t make you feel sleepy like lavender.

Now if you like candles better, or if you have allergies/respiratory issues so you can’t use sprays, then I would suggest Yankee Candle. They have votives, tea light candles, glass jar candles, tumbler candles, even wax melts and reed diffusers that smell like lilac blossoms. All are made in the USA.

Yankee Candle Lilac Blossoms

I tried the Yankee Candle Vent Clip, and I think their lilac fragrance actually smells the most like real lilac blossoms without having a perfumey side-effect. However, the vent clip just gives a hint of scent and only when the air is blowing, plus the liquid doesn’t last long. The same with the candle (I got a sample votive); it’s amazingly similar to the pure lilac aroma I remember, but I have to hold it up to my nose to smell it. You might try putting the Large Jar Candle inside a closet (with the lid off) to make your clothes smell nice. Yankee Candle also has a room spray, but I didn’t get it because it’s more expensive and only 1.5 fluid ounces compared to the ones above. The set of Tea Light Candles or the Perfect Pillar Candle would be great gifts, as would any of the Yankee Candle products. HINT: Mother’s Day!

“The Time of the Lilacs,” by British painter Sophie Gengembre Anderson (1823–1903)

 

Please note: The above product was NOT provided for free or at a discount in exchange for a review. This item was purchased by a homeschooling family at their own expense.

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