The same candle jar, the same place to stand it, and yet March and November give two different results. Many of you message us about this with a little worry, thinking the jar has changed. What has actually changed is the air in the room, and in Vietnam the air changes a great deal over a year.
Whether a scent flies or stays depends on temperature and humidity. In warm weather the scent molecules move faster, so the scent rises quickly and also disperses quickly. In damp weather the air already holds much water, so the scent travels slowly and seems held back, denser but spreading less. Understanding those two things is enough for you to adjust to any season.
The damp season and the rainy season
The damp months in the north, when walls sweat and floors stick to your feet, are the hardest stretch for scent. The air is already full of water so the scent spreads slowly, while the damp smell of the house becomes clearer. Our way is to deal with the base first: open the doors during the driest hours of the day, run a dehumidifier if you have one, and only then talk about fragrance.
With reed diffusers, use fewer reeds this season and turn them less often, because scent in the room already travels slowly. With candles, burn shorter rounds of about two hours, and choose directions of scent with the clean note of leaves and plants, because they lighten the air. The rainy season in the south follows the same logic.
Summer and the really hot days
Heat makes scent rise very quickly. The same candle jar at midday in June will feel noticeably stronger than on an evening in December. So this season, burn short rounds of about an hour and a half to two hours, and keep the candle away from direct sun so the wax is not already soft beforehand.
An air-conditioned room is its own case. The cold draught pulls the scent in one direction and dries the room out, so place the candle away from the vent, and with a diffuser add one reed more than usual. Fresh, clean directions of scent are usually more loved in this season.
The dry season and the cold season
The dry season is the most comfortable stretch for scent. The air is dry, so the scent spreads evenly and travels far. You will find the same diffuser bottle clearer now, and the rhythm of turning the reeds faster too, because more of the oil evaporates. This is also the season when warm directions of scent, with a breath of wood and of cinnamon, stand in exactly the right place.
In the cold season doors are usually shut, so scent gathers in the room longer. A two-hour round is enough, and remember to open a window for a few minutes each day so the room changes its air once. A nose that has rested hears a scent far more clearly than a nose that has sat all day in the same layer of it.
In the workshop we work to these rhythms too. On a damp day, wax cools in a different way and the wax surface can come out a little different from a dry day, so there are days when we pour only half of what we planned. The weather is a fellow worker, and we learn to go along with it.
A few questions you often send us
How should I use scent in the damp season
Deal with the humidity first by opening the doors in the driest hours or running a dehumidifier, use fewer diffuser reeds, and burn candles in short rounds of about two hours.
Why does scent seem stronger in summer
Because high temperature makes the scent molecules move faster, so the scent rises more quickly and more strongly. You only need to shorten the burning round to bring it back into balance.
What should I adjust in an air-conditioned room
Place the candle away from the vent, and with a diffuser add one reed more than usual, because the dry draught pulls the scent away faster.
Read more how to keep a scent in the room longer, the rhythm of turning diffuser reeds, and one candle jar in a small apartment.