Festive Scents For Your Home — That DON’T Smell Sickly Sweet

There's so much to love about this wintry time of year, from the crisp chill in the air and the glow of a burning to the intoxicating smell of pine. These scents all evoke a sense of nostalgia and coziness, so it makes sense that once the temperature dips we see a major influx of "festive" scents designed to put your home on the fast track to holiday nirvana.

Unfortunately, some people seem to think "holiday" scents have to be some sort of pumpkin-spice-vanilla-apple-candy-cane mashup gone horribly wrong. In our opinions, unless there is actually an apple pie baking in your oven (if so, hats off to you, Martha Stewart!), there's no need for a sickly sweet food smell to permeate your home. Yes, 'tis the season for eating pumpkin-spice everything (yum), but we don't necessarily want our entire home to reek of "Sprinkled Gingerbread Cookie," because, you know...we're grown-ups.

To cure ourselves of subpar-scent overload, we've rounded up a selection of home fragrances that feel festive and cozy without the kitsch factor. They are not adorned with mittens or snowmen and they will not make your roommate (or boyfriend or parents) sick. Exactly what we want to come home to, this season.