Can You Sniff Your Way To Your Dream Life?

Amongst my friends, I’m known for two things: my 300-piece perfume collection, and my innate ability to manifest things. Some may say I have lucky girl syndrome — I credit positive thinking and the law of attraction. I also have a little trick that supercharges my manifestations — and it involves perfume.

The Power Of Scent

Scent is a key pillar of every manifestation ritual I do. Sure, I set up my little crystal altar, light candles, and play 432-hertz-frequency music, but I’m not fully in the zone until I spritz on a grounding perfume. Most often, Guerlain Patchouli Paris is my scent of choice — maybe because it reminds me of my favorite wooden roller coaster from adolescence.

Before I got my hands on this fragrance, I’d just light candles when doing my routine. But one day, after receiving Patchouli Paris, I felt compelled to spray it before manifesting — and it instantly changed something. My wishes seemed to unfold more quickly. Case in point: my below-market one-bed, one-and-a-half-bath apartment in Midtown Manhattan, which came to me out of nowhere shortly after I began using the perfume.

Curious, I started researching patchouli’s deeper meaning. It turns out the note has been used in spellcasting and manifestation rituals for centuries for its ties to abundance, prosperity, and seduction.

If scent has long been a spiritual conduit, it only makes sense that we can harness its power in our own lives, too.

Fragrance, in general, has always played a spiritual role. “Kemeticism (the religious rites in ancient Egyptian temples), early Judaic practices, and even Catholicism adopted the use of scents into their practices early on, typically with incense,” explains Gwen Walsh, a witch, tarot reader, and sexuality and spirituality consultant. “This carried on into voodoo and conjure practices, which have deep-rooted traditions of using conditioning oils, colognes, and herbal baths.” Regardless of the belief system, Walsh says scent is consistently used for cleansing, purification, and inviting good fortune.

If scent has long been a spiritual conduit, it only makes sense that we can harness its power in our own lives, too — right?

Finding The Perfect Perfume

After a lousy spring and early summer — filled with consistent brain fog, low energy, a challenging family situation, and the slowest months since I first started my business — I tapped Walsh for some guidance on what aromas could enhance my manifestations.

She listed off some popular essential oils and spices that are often used, like mint, cinnamon, and rose, but emphasized that the most powerful scents are the ones personal to you. "If you have a positive association with, say, citrus, and it reminds you of love, you can use that to manifest a relationship,” she told me.

Scent is consistently used for cleansing, purification, and inviting good fortune.

Her advice made sense. But being the stubborn Aries that I am, I wanted to try something entirely different — to see if a fresh fragrance could shift my energy in a new direction. That’s when I discovered several modern perfumes formulated specifically for manifestation.

Manifestation-Boosting Fragrances

One brand, Vyrao, was built on the belief that scent can elevate emotion and shift energy. Each fragrance in its collection is infused with mood-boosting notes to boost feelings of joy, mindfulness, and self-confidence. The Sixth, for example, is meant to heighten intuition, while Magnetic 70 promotes attraction and protection. Meanwhile, Ranavat’s Spiritual Awakening uses ancient Ayurvedic aromas to help you reach a higher consciousness, and Lake & Skye’s 11 11 calls upon the principles of numerology to amplify magnetism.

I felt an intense pull toward Vyrao’s The Sixth. It combines a mix of negativity-diffusing aromas — including apple, basil, and my trusty patchouli — along with nervous system-balancing juniper, rosemary, peppermint, and cedarwood. Designed to banish gloom in a single spritz, it felt like the perfect next step in my ritual.

Putting Perfume To The Test

I got my hands on The Sixth and planned my next manifesting session for Aug. 23, 2025 — during a powerful black new moon in Virgo, ideal for setting intentions and ushering in new beginnings. It also marked my 10-year anniversary of living in New York City, which felt like the perfect time to outline what I wanted the next decade of my life to look like.

That Saturday night, I arranged my crystals, lit my candles, pressed play on my music, and spritzed my new perfume. As the woodsy scent filled the air, a calm clarity washed over me. I wrote down everything I wanted to bring into my life, then meditated on those dreams.

With each spritz, I’m reminded that scent isn’t just something I wear — it’s something I become.

It’s been just over a month since, and anyone who practices manifestation knows that timelines are never exact — but I can already sense things aligning.

Case in point? A few days later, I traveled to Copenhagen, where a gut feeling I’d had for months was confirmed: I’m meant to live there. I’m now researching visa options and planning to move next August. I also asked the universe for more travel opportunities — and this fall, I’ll be exploring four European countries with friends and family. Between that and my upcoming move, there will be plenty more jet-setting adventures on the horizon.

For my career, my biggest goal is to secure a book deal. For the past year, I’ve treated my rejections from book agents as redirections, and I now feel like I’m on the brink of something finally working out — especially since a TikTok I made about dating yourself (the subject of my book) recently went viral. Even the exact income number I wrote down during my manifestation ritual has already come to fruition.

Spritzing My Way To My Dream Life

Could Vyrao’s scent have something to do with my dreams becoming a reality? It’s possible. The perfume put me in the best headspace to fully connect with my desires.

Now, whenever I manifest, I combine the uplifting fragrance with my tried-and-true Guerlain for a supercharged magical veil. Perfume has always been my love language, but now it’s also my magic. With each spritz, I’m reminded that scent isn’t just something I wear — it’s something I become.