Why scent is becoming the new luxury
The rise of high-end home diffusers reflects a broader cultural change accelerated by the pandemic, urban isolation and wellness culture.
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The rise of high-end home diffusers reflects a broader cultural change accelerated by the pandemic, urban isolation and wellness culture.
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Luxury today is becoming increasingly invisible. In an era once defined by logos, lavish interiors and flashy displays of wealth, modern aspiration is now leaning toward atmosphere — the careful creation of how a space feels.
This may explain why scenting culture has steadily moved from five-star hotel lobbies and luxury spas into condominiums, cafés, boutiques and homes across Metro Manila.
At the celebrity-filled opening of Hiessence at SM Aura on 23 May, the spotlight naturally fell on the glamorous guest list and the brand’s sleek metallic diffusers. The launch also reflected how people are becoming more intentional about creating spaces that feel calming, immersive and personal.
Homes as emotional spaces
The rise of high-end home diffusers reflects a broader cultural change accelerated by the pandemic, urban isolation and wellness culture. Homes are no longer seen as simply functional spaces. People now curate lighting, music, textures and increasingly, scent to create mood and atmosphere.
Research published in Frontiers in Psychology found that familiar fragrances can positively influence mood states and emotional evaluations, especially when scents carry personal associations (Masuo et al., 2016).
For Hiessence co-owner Zen Go, the brand’s appeal lies not only in its fragrance but also in how scenting fits into modern living.
“So we really designed it that way to make it more modern,” Go said during the SM Aura opening. “What makes us different is we have our own app. You can connect it to our app, customize the scents.”
Unlike traditional humidifier-style diffusers, Hiessence units use pure aroma oils without water.
“You can only use our products with our own oils,” co-owner Nice Sanchez explained. “Because our diffusers use pure aroma oils only. So there’s no need for water.”
The company currently carries 12 scents, including its newest France Collection, which Go said uses fragrance oils made in France. Among the celebrity guests at the launch — including Marian Rivera, Isabelle Daza, Liz Uy, Ellen Adarna, Seth Fedelin, Kai Montinola and Kira Balinger — “Barcelona” emerged as a favorite scent.
Design meets wellness
Beyond fragrance, the diffusers are also positioned as design objects.
“Maybe the difference that makes Hiessence different from others is that it’s like a piece of art,” Sanchez said. “You can put it anywhere. It’s portable. There’s no need for cables. It is wireless.”
The brand currently offers around 73 sleek and stylish diffuser units, including car diffusers, tabletop units, and larger standing diffusers for bigger spaces. Designed to resemble pieces of art, the units are intentionally discreet and made to blend seamlessly with home interior décor.
Hiessence diffusers are available in minimalist metallic and matte finishes, including metallic silver and matte gray tones that reflect the brand’s European-inspired aesthetic.
Prices range from around ₱P5,000 for compact car diffusers and portable units to ₱P35,000 for premium standing diffusers designed for larger spaces.
The science of scent
Scientists have long documented the strong connection between scent, memory, and emotion. Unlike sight or sound, smell travels directly through neural pathways connected to the amygdala and hippocampus, the parts of the brain associated with emotion and memory (Harvard Gazette, Venkatesh Murthy, 2020).
Researchers have described odor-evoked memories as especially emotional and vivid, sometimes referred to as the “Proust effect” (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, Herz & Cupchik, 1995; Brain Sciences, Rachel Herz, 2016).
In practical terms, scent has become part of how people experience a space.
Luxury hotels have understood this for years. Signature scents are now central to branding because fragrance changes people’s emotional perception of physical environments.
Studies in environmental psychology and olfactory neuroscience suggest that smell affects how humans interpret comfort, familiarity, and luxury indoors (Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, Kadohisa, 2013).
As scenting becomes more integrated into homes and lifestyle spaces, researchers continue to study how smell affects emotional experience.
The National Institutes of Health notes that odors have a “rather unique ability” to trigger emotional autobiographical memories because of the olfactory system’s direct connection to memory-processing regions of the brain (Neuroscience/NCBI Bookshelf, Sullivan et al.).
Perhaps this explains why fragrance now holds such a strong place in modern lifestyle culture.
