This Best List-Winning Find Is My Smart Secret to a Perfectly Scented Home

Pura’s smart diffuser system came into my life in 2020 — a time when I was burning more candles than my bank account could keep up with. For me, working from home meant an opportunity to curate my own dream office ambiance, which included (and still does) a kitty curled up on the couch, schmaltzy jazz playing softly in the background, and the occasional whiff of a delicate, seasonal, sentimental scent. When I realized I was going through an entire candle a week, I figured I needed to make a change. That’s when I got the chance to put Pura to the test.

I started my typical professional product test process without much faith that an essential oil diffuser could compare to — much less replace — my beloved candles. After all, I am pretty loyal to specific brands and scents that, as far as I knew, only existed as candles and perhaps the occasional reed diffuser. (Spoiler alert: Boy, was I wrong.)

To get started using the Pura system, I unpacked the machine and downloaded the Pura app, which showed me visual instructions for loading the diffuser with not one but two different included scents at once. It was beyond easy to set up; within a few minutes, I’d connected it to my WiFi, and it was up and running, I selected the scent I wanted to try first (Yuzu Citron — yum!), set the strength, and in no time my space was filled with the subtly sweet, fresh aroma.

That’s when I started to explore the rest of the app and saw that I could use it to easily shop for new scents. Lo and behold, Pura had a refill option of the exact scent I’d been specialty ordering in candle form for months: Thymes Frasier Fir. Even better, the refill was less expensive than the candle and lasts weeks longer! I’ve had my latest refill going for around 800 hours and am only just now getting a notification that it’s nearly time to reorder. There are also pages and pages of brand-name, limited-edition, or Pura-exclusive scents. I loaded up my basket and placed my order.

When I’m out and about (which these days is more often than it has been), I use the app to remotely control the strength of my scents from room to room…that’s right, I definitely have three Pura diffusers now (but honestly, I only need one for my 700-square-foot space). And when friends housesit, I’ll cheekily increase the scent strength for when they arrive and adjust it from afar while they’re there, keeping the ambiance going and essentially hosting them remotely. And because each Pura has reservoirs for two scents, I can experiment with new scents and return to my favorites with a simple swipe on my phone. I am saving money without making any sacrifices and giving my guests a great experience. Oh, and there’s that whole fire hazard thing I don’t have to worry about anymore… I can’t say I miss those panicked “Did I blow out the candle before I left the house?” moments

The Pura smart diffuser itself costs about as much as two 12-oz. candles — and the modest price tag only becomes more and more worth it over time. Oil refills are a fraction of the cost of candles of the same scents. I can’t recommend this diffuser highly enough to anyone who values aromatic ambiance, hosts, or is averse to having open flames burning in their home. That’s why we chose it as the Best Smart Diffuser on our annual Best List! It doesn’t get much better than that.

Buy: Pura Smart Diffuser Set, $69