Great smelling candles can seem to lose their scent after an hour. Often the candle is fine and your nose has simply moved on. Scientists call this olfactory fatigue, which means your sense of smell switches off for a scent it has already noticed. Here is why it happens, and how to enjoy a favourite for longer.

Why Great Smelling Candles Seem To Fade

Pamela Dalton of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, a US smell research institute, uses the term olfactory fatigue. As she describes it in a Discover magazine article, the smell receptors in your nose stop responding for a while.

For many smells, this happens after just one or two sniffs. The article suggests it helps your brain stay alert to new smells that matter.

Does it happen with a scent you live with every day?

Yes. In one classic study, people kept a single scent by their bed for two weeks. After that, they needed two to four times as much to smell it. It took about two weeks without the scent to notice it again.

Nothing is wrong with your nose. It works this way for every smell, from a candle to a freshly cleaned bathroom.

Vanilla Scented Candles And Other Favourites

The scent you light every night is the one your nose tunes out fastest. A warm pot of vanilla in the lounge can feel weaker by week two, even though nothing has changed in the jar. A steady, gentle scent like that is easy to tune out. Something new gets your attention back.

A few simple habits help:

• Swap between two or three scents through the week.
• Ask a friend how your room smells when they arrive.
• Give a favourite a few days off now and then.

That friend test comes from the same article. A visitor smells your home the way it really is.

Candle Fragrance Choices For A Fresh Start

If your nose has gone quiet, a new candle fragrance can wake it up. Try a different family from your usual one. If you love sweet vanilla, the Indulgent range has plenty to compare. For a lighter touch, wax melts let you change the smell in small steps. Spring is a good time for this. Windows are open more, and a new scent can mark the change of season. The candle collection is there when you want a full jar.

Quick answers

Why can I not smell my candle any more?

Your nose has probably adapted to it. The smell receptors rest after repeated exposure, so the scent seems weaker than it is. A visitor will usually still notice it straight away.

How long until I can smell a scent again?

In the study above, it took about two weeks away from one constant scent. A candle you burn only some evenings is easier to notice. A few days off may be enough.

If you are not sure what to try next, the fragrance personality quiz can narrow it down.

Related reading

• Strong Scented Candles: Why Yours Smells Weak at Home: the room and wax reasons a candle can seem weak.
• Vanilla Candle: Why This Smell Feels So Familiar to Us: why vanilla feels like home.
• Fragrance In Candles: Why Many People Like The Same Smells: how taste in scent is shared.