I’m always crushing on something scented or other. My nose knows no limits. Candy Crush is where I showcase the beautifully scented things I’m crushing on right now so you can hopefully develop a crush too.

A well-fragranced home is an important thing in my book. A scented candle can create a pleasing olfactory ambience for when friends are over for dinner, whilst a room spray can provide scented refreshment to stale air and cover up unpleasant pet or cooking odours. Then there’s the reed diffuser, now these are interesting. I’ve always looked at reed diffusers as the background noise of home fragrance – they provide a fragrant hum in the background, adding a more subtle ambience to a room. These three methods of home fragrance – the candles, room sprays and reed diffusers – can be used together, of course, to compliment and contrast, but it is the reed diffuser that makes for the perfect base layer in one’s home fragrance arsenal.

I am guilty of being both a home fragrance lover and a Miller Harris fanboy, so it was no surprise that when the brand launched their dedicated collection of home fragrances, I was most intrigued. The crown jewel of this collection, which features room sprays (one of which is an aquatic oriental called ‘Periwinkle’ that I must have) to compliment their existing series of candles, is the ceramic reed diffusers. Available in four fragrances (Cadimus – a tuberose, Narcoflor – a huge floral bouquet, Verditer – an ode to figs, and Mossket – an earthy chypre), these diffusers are as much an enviable decorative object as they are a vessel of beautiful fragrance. I was sent Narcoflor to try and it’s officially a Candy Crush!

Let’s talk look, first of all. The Narcoflor (great name, BTW, it makes one think of someone drunk on flowers and that’s exactly my kind of drunk) diffuser comes in a heft cardboard box, embossed with a signature Miller Harris floral print and featuring a giant pink label. It looks beautiful and it’s one of those boxes you that you will find any excuse to keep, stuffing it with trinkets in order to avoid getting rid of it. Well, if you’re a hoarder like me, then that’s what would you do…

Anyway, moving from the box to the contents inside, which includes: a ceramic  diffuser, handsome black reads, and a bottle of Narcoflor scent. Put all of these together and you have one rather glorious object. The vessel itself is rather unassuming, a subtle ivory-coloured ceramic vase that goes with anything, but it’s the details that make it and one peek inside reveals a heady fuchsia lacquer that hints at the huge blooming bouquet one is just about to pour inside and diffuse around their home.

Now for the scent. Miller Harris describe Narcoflor as “redolent of a huge bouquet of big sumptuous flowers” adding that it is “intoxicating” – and that’s exactly what it is. Narcoflor is heady and full, capturing every element of the floral bouquet, with sweet, narcotic petals set against a backdrop of honey, citrus, and the greenery of leaves and stems. Gardenia feels like the star here, all green and cheesy (as gardenia should be), accented by the bubblegum sweetness of tuberose, the spice of carnation, the honey of orange blossom, the saltiness of lily, and the fresh greenery of freesia to create an overwhelming bouquet that is enveloping and euphoric.

Freesia, Plum, Lily, Gardenia, Tuberose, Jasmine, Carnation and Orange Blossom

So we’ve established that Narcoflor looks and smells fantastic, but how does it perform? The answer is very well indeed! After setting the diffuser up, which itself is very simple – just pour the fragrance into the ceramic and place the reeds inside – I left it the recommended 48 hours to allow the scent to diffuse and placed it in my living room. Now every time I walk into the room I am greeted by a photorealistic bouquet of blooms in neon colours. Whilst I’ve described the fragrance itself in energetic terms, painting it as a rushing, hedonistic bouquet, I don’t find it imposing as it diffuses. There could be nothing worse than too much scent in a home but Narcoflor walks a nice balance, boasting a bold fragrance with volume, but one that doesn’t place one’s house under a giant pink cloud. All in all, it’s a beautiful thing, truly.

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Availability

The Narcoflor Reed Diffuser is a limited edition available for £85/100ml.

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Disclaimer

Sample (pictured) sent by Miller Harris for consideration. I was not paid for this review and Miller Harris had no input in the contents of this article. Notes and quotes via Miller Harris. Images are my own.