Lena Felton

When I was in high school, I was very into photography and music - so much so that one project my senior year consisted of using music lyrics to inspire photographs I forced my friends to model for. I'm still into photography and music, but adulthood means that looks a little different. Now, I snap candid photos of my friends on the weekends and use Spotify to discover new music. But I am always looking for little ways to make these pastimes a bigger part of my life. So when I had the chance to try out the Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer smart glasses ($299), I jumped at it. The glasses boast the ability to capture photos and videos, but they also have open-ear speakers and a microphone so you can listen to music, take a voice or video call, and even ask Meta's AI questions. And the kicker? You can't even tell they're "smart." They just look like fan-favorite Ray-Bans. I'd actually heard of the glasses from a friend who owns them; she loves using them on ski trips and at music festivals to capture video and photos. As a San Francisco resident who works in tech, she's also been impressed by their AI capabilities. She showed me how you can ask Meta any question - like, "What's the weather like today?" - and immediately hear a response. You can even have them identify what you're seeing through the glasses in real time. Related: The Meta Quest 3 Helped Me, a Non-Tech Girly, Find Joy in Working Out Although I, too, live in SF, I am most definitely not a tech person. I prefer to stick to what I know, rarely use tech personal assistants, and can't tell you what the future of AI looks like. But still, there was something about these glasses that spoke to my more creative leanings. So I spent a day walking around my city, Ray-Ban Meta glasses on, ready to capture anything. Ahead, I break down everything to know about the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses' capabilities, how to use them, and whether they're worth the splurge. Keep reading for my full review. How to Use the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses As I've alluded to before, I'm not the most tech-savvy individual. But I found the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses very intuitive and easy to use. You simply download the Meta View app, and then pair the glasses to your phone's Bluetooth. When you're wearing the glasses and they're turned on, you're ready to take photos, videos, stream what you're seeing live, take calls, ask Meta AI questions, and more. The glasses themselves feature a button to capture photos and videos, as well as a touchpad to control volume levels. You can also control all the capabilities by using voice commands. The glasses' case acts as a charging station. Everything - the photos and videos you take, as well as any questions you ask Meta AI - downloads to the Meta View app, creating a seamless experience. What I Like About the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses If you're like me, then you've experienced many moments in life when you wish you could snap a photo from your very own eyes. Whether a fleeting cityscape or a friend's smile, there are some moments in which pulling out a camera or your phone feels like too much of a hassle. That's the defining feature, I think, of the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. When you're wearing them, literally anything and everything has the potential to be a lovely photograph or video capture. I was also impressed by the quality of the photos. They were saturated and clear, and the app automatically adjusts for the wide-angle view that the glasses provide. I was also really pleasantly surprised by the open-ear speakers. I'm someone who loves listening to tunes or podcasts when I'm walking around, and they allowed me to tune into whatever I was listening to, but also stay aware of what was going on around me. I often find that AirPods, for example, can make walking around the city a bit dangerous, given that you're blocking out so much noise around you. With the Ray-Ban Meta speakers, I felt as if I had a soundtrack playing alongside me as I moved through the world. (Big main character energy.) I'll admit that I haven't fully taken advantage of the AI features yet, but I will say that there's something more natural about talking out loud with the glasses on than pulling out my phone and chatting to Siri. The new capabilities allow you to ask Meta AI to identify the type of flower you're looking at, for example, or tell you about the nutritional facts of a veggie you just picked up from the farmer's market. And lastly: these are Ray-Bans, after all, so they're stylish. They certainly don't look like a piece of tech, which is a huge plus for me. Although it's not uncommon to see driverless cars and big virtual reality headsets around San Francisco, these are super subtle. Even better, Meta just announced a wider range of frame and lens options, so you can really tailor the look to fit your style. (I personally love the fashionable Skyler frames, which are available for preorder.) What's Worth Noting About the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses I tried out the Wayfarer style with dark lenses, which meant that they're really only usable outside. If you're looking to capture content inside, or want to wear them all the time for their open-ear audio or AI capabilities, then I would opt for the transition or clear lenses. Are the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Worth the Splurge? Given that plain-old designer sunglasses can cost upwards of $300, I'd definitely say that what you're getting with these glasses is worth it - think of them as headphones, a camera, a smart assistant, and shades all in one. Particularly if you're a fan of Ray-Bans, then there's no reason not to opt for all of these cool features. What's more, even non-techy folks will love these. They've easily become part of my daily life; they're really just there to help enhance your life, whether by capturing what's around you easier or providing AI answers to your questions. Additional Details The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses come in four frame options, including the classic Wayfarer shape and the Skyler cat-eye. There are several color and lens options, including green, clear, graphite, and transition lenses. You can also opt for prescription lenses. Where Are the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses Available? The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses are available directly from Meta and Ray-Ban, and at retailers like Amazon and Target. Rating

When Jesse Sullivan and Francesca Farago announced their pregnancy on March 31, Trans Day of Visibility, their videos on social media were met with an outpouring of support: "Congrats to you both! Thanks for sharing this journey," one user wrote. "You are going to make the best parents ever," another commented. Of course, they got questions too - about how they would raise their future kids within a queer family, what their IVF journey was like, and how Arlo, Sullivan's 15-year-old, is feeling about becoming an older sibling. But the good news kept pouring in. On April 7, the couple revealed they were expecting not one child, but twins. They both readily admit they'd been hoping they'd have twins, if only so that they don't have to fight over which one of them gets to hold the baby. "We already do it with our cat and our dog, so if we only had one baby, it would be bad," Sullivan jokes. "Once I was seeing the heartbeats on the scan, it felt so real." We caught up with Sullivan and Farago a couple weeks after their announcement, and they were both giddy as they talked about expanding their family. They were still a bit in disbelief, too, given that they went through a failed embryo transfer last year. As Farago put it, despite all of the planning, hormone shots, and everything else that has gone into making this pregnancy a reality, "the fact that it's happening feels surreal." Keep reading to find out what Farago has been craving during her pregnancy, how Sullivan deals with the "hate" he gets online as a trans man, and why it's so important for them both to be open about their relationship and their journey of growing their family. On How Pregnancy Is Going Francesca Farago: All the first trimester stuff - nausea, feeling tired - it all started hitting me this week. I'm feeling a little under the weather, to be expected obviously, and because there are two in there, I definitely feel a little bit worse than I'd feel if there were just one. It's a little bit of a struggle to do day-to-day things, but everyone tells me that when you get into your second trimester, all of that goes away. So I'm excited for that. I'm hiding it with makeup. Jesse Sullivan: I basically have been like a little caretaker. I make her all her meals, and she's craving very specific things. So anytime she's craving something, I try to surprise her. I'll add a little apple with caramel, and she gets all excited. I take care of the animals, and I've been taking care of the house. Kind of doing everything I can to make her days easier, because she's been going through so much. Not only the twins, but because this was IVF, she's on all these hormones and it's been extra hard on her body. So the least I can do is sort of be like full-blown Mr. Maid. FF: I'm craving healthy foods, and my favorite thing right now is cinnamon raisin toast with vegan cream cheese and berries on top. JS: Or a bagel with vegan cream cheese and cucumber. FF: I'm big on cucumbers right now. I could live off cucumbers. I don't know what it is. I think maybe the freshness. On What's Been Most Surprising Since Starting Their IVF Journey JS: Although we intentionally did this and put so much blood, sweat, and tears into making this happen, once it happened and once I was seeing the heartbeats on the scan, it felt so real. And it sounds so weird, because obviously I knew this was going to happen. But it hits you really hard. And it's like, we're bringing human beings into this world together. FF: I remember the other day, I was thinking like, "Oh my god, we're actually going to have two babies? Who's letting us do this?" I feel like a teen adult. My mom started having kids when she was young, but I'm like, we're ready, but also who let us do this? It's crazy that it's actually happening. JS: I think that's a normal thing when you're pregnant or at any stage, you get hit with the reality really hard. It happened to me when I was in high school. It felt different. It kind of felt really real the whole time, and this is hitting me in little stages. FF: Yeah, I think also because we're kind of keeping our guard up a little bit because our first embryo transfer failed, so we've been very realistic about: there's a potential miscarriage, the possibility of it not working out. So the fact that it's happening feels surreal. JS: That's exactly why it feels surreal, because we were so prepared for it to not be real. On How They'll Parent JS: I'm so excited to see Francesca actually go into mother mode. It is something that's so instinctual, and until you're holding that baby, you don't really know how you're going to feel. I can't wait, because I know she's going to thrive. She's going to be the best mom, there's not a doubt in my mind. I think I'm going to see this already amazing, badass person who inspires me every day - times 100. Even me being a parent, I think I'm going to be inspired by her parenting. I can already see that. "I'm nervous I'm going to be too strict." FF: I'm nervous I'm going to be too strict. Is the term "helicopter parent"? JS: Yeah, that's where you're like always like, "Oh, are you going to fall? Do you need help?" FF: Yeah, I'm already like that with our dog. I'm so protective over him, like I need to know where he is at all times of the day. And I don't know if that's because he dealt with a lot of health issues when he was younger and I had to bring him to surgery and it was a really traumatic situation for me and him. I don't know if that bonded us more, but I feel like with the babies, if someone else is holding them, I'm going to be like, "Are you okay?" I feel like I'm going to be really scared. Also, because, like, we didn't just have sex and get pregnant. I've used over a thousand needles, I've put my body through all this stress, you put your body through stress. Eight months of our lives to get this far - there's so much riding on everything going smoothly that I'm going to be extra protective, I feel like. JS: It definitely changes how we feel about things. On Why They're Open About Their Journey FF: One of the positives I noticed right off the bat was reassurance and building a community of women who have gone through the same thing. It's been really positive. I've been really active on Snapchat, and I post how I'm feeling that day or what I'm going through, and I will get hundreds of reassuring comments from women who have gone through the same thing. I think it's important to share it, because our journey hasn't been shared before. A queer couple doing IVF and being so public about it - I've never seen anyone post like that. So I think it's important for awareness and acceptance and for people to see that we had to go through some extra steps, but we're just a regular family as well. And for younger queer kids to know that they can have a life like us and it's possible - a lot of people don't think it's possible. "A queer couple doing IVF and being so public about it - I've never seen anyone post like that." JS: Yeah, as a queer couple and telling this story, but more specifically me as a trans man. These sorts of things are so specific to us, and I've never seen a story told like this. Especially right now with the political climate, trans people specifically are so targeted, so I think it's so important. The kinds of messages I've gotten and the comments, they're like, "I'm 15 and I honestly thought I never was going to have a family. You showed me that I can have a family." It's those simple things that you think all kids should feel growing up, and they don't get that. I had a 7- or 8-year-old trans girl whose mom told me that seeing me was the first time she ever thought, "Oh I didn't think anyone would like me for my body." So those things make it all worth it and so important that through the hate we keep going. FF: There's a lot of hate. JS: There's a lot of hate, yeah. FF: But people are so juvenile with their comments. They're not even good comments. Be more original. JS: At least be funny. FF: Yeah, at least be funny. I think sometimes it gets hard. I'll post something and get a lot of negative comments and be like, why are we giving these people access to our lives? Why are we giving them access to something so personal and vulnerable if this is the response? I'm like, they don't deserve to see this. But then I remember, for every 10 hate comments, there are 100 positive ones. We're obviously going to be very protective when the babies get here. We're not going to show their faces or anything like that for a while and we're going to feel out the situation, but it's hard because it's not only us that gets hate comments. Arlo gets it as well. You want to protect your family, but you also want to be advocating for families like ours. So it's always a thin line of what to show and what not to show. JS: It's such a thin line. There are obviously so many cis families out there who are showing their parenting style and whatever, and I'm sure they get a certain amount of hate. But I think because of who we are, it's just so amplified. When I started this journey of wanting to show my parenting as a trans dad, I couldn't have imagined how difficult it was going to be. I had a bit of rose-colored glasses going into it, but I'm constantly trying to find this balance of letting people in because it's important, but also pulling back when it's like, you crossed too many boundaries. You don't need to ask these very personal questions about my 15-year-old. I've asked you guys not to do it a million times. And then also talking about our future kids and how we're going to raise them, it was like should we do it, should we not. I already know what the comments are going to be. But at the same time, we had so many people commenting like, "I'm a 43-year-old mom of three and you just changed how I think about this." I'm like, this type of stuff is so important. We need people doing that, we need people being like, "I never thought I would think differently than I do, but you have opened my mind up." But to be completely transparent, it does affect my mental health sometimes. I go through phases where I'm like, this is hard. I don't know how much more I can keep doing. I don't want to call them weaker moments, because I think people are free to have moments like that. But I really try to focus on the bigger picture and what I'm doing for my family, what I'm doing for young people. Lena Felton is the senior director of features and special content at POPSUGAR, where she oversees feature stories, special projects, and our identity content. Previously, she was an editor at The Washington Post, where she led a team covering issues of gender and identity.

If you've visited Greenpoint in Brooklyn, you've likely heard of Edy's Grocer, a Lebanese pantry and cafe that stocks its shelves full of goods imported from across the Middle East. Edy Massih, the owner, opened up shop in 2020, when he was just 25 years old. These days, Massih is preparing for the May 21 release of his cookbook, "Keep It Zesty," which details recipes from his grocer and catering business, as well as delves into his childhood growing up in Anfeh, Lebanon; his journey coming out as queer; and what it was like to open up shop. "I'm still learning and growing every day, but what I know for sure is that the power of food and cooking brings a deeper awareness, connection, and expression of the person I've always been," Massih writes in the book's introduction. For Arab American Heritage Month, PS spoke to Massih about the universal language of food, his intersectional identities, and, of course, his favorite recipe from the book. Read it all below. On Why Edy's Grocer Means So Much to Him Edy Massih: Why I love the work is that we have become somewhat of a staple for the community here and our neighborhood. I think there are so many people who come into the grocer and get teary-eyed because they're from Lebanon and they haven't seen this type of food or grocery items that we have and they're just so excited - that's a really big part of it. The messages I get online also really mean a lot to me. It's a lot of people from Michigan or Texas who haven't even been to the grocer but they just think my presence online and what we're doing is really important. And outside of that, at catering events, there are so many people who are like, "I've been following you for a long time." Actually going to people's homes and going to events and people recognizing me or my work, that's what really makes it so worthwhile. "Lebanon or the Middle East in general is shown as this war-torn world, and I think the way to take the light away from that is through delicious, beautiful food." When we were first opening, it was so much work to open a grocer at the age of 25 also not knowing what the hell I was doing. But in the middle of painting and doing so much stuff, Aug. 4 happened in Lebanon, which was the big explosion in Beirut. So that morning, I woke up and saw the news and truly couldn't get myself out of bed - I was just checking in with my family, but also my heart was there and I didn't know how to pay attention to what was happening here. I remember going into the store to keep on working because we were 10 days from opening our doors, and this neighbor - I don't even know their name - came in and she had red, white, and green flowers for me and this beautiful note written out for me that's in my safe, actually. It said something like, "We know what you're doing for your people, and we're so happy you're doing this, keep going, we can't wait for the opening." I think I keep that in the back of my mind, because even on your lowest days, there are still people who are excited about what you're doing. On the Universal Language of Food EM: If you don't know a language, you know the food language. Food speaks 1,000 words on its own. If you can't go somewhere and visit it, the closest thing to it is the food. You might not be able to speak Arabic or you might not be able to make it to Lebanon ever, but I think the closest thing to it is having the food or an experience around the food. Lebanon or the Middle East in general is shown as this war-torn world, and I think the way to take the light away from that is through delicious, beautiful food. I think people then forget what the news and TV has brainwashed them to believe is this horrible place. On Why It's Important to Share His Queer Identity With Others EM: I think that a lot of queer or gay Middle Eastern people are very shy to be open about that, and I went through so much in my life to identify with who I am truly that I feel like I need to put it out there. It's almost to prove it to myself but to nobody else. It's such a big layer of who I am as a human being that I think if it's not part of my story, then it isn't my story. "I'm Lebanese, I'm a chef, but I'm also gay. Those three are such a big part of who I am." Coming out to my friends and to my family was such a big struggle and such a big part of my life, and being bullied for so many years until that moment of recognizing what it was to be gay and being okay with it internally before telling people about it - I think there's just so many layers to it that I felt like, it is part of my identity. I'm Lebanese, I'm a chef, but I'm also gay. Those three are such a big part of who I am, so I think it had to be part of my story in the book and also just part of the whole book itself. I know so many boys from my hometown, Anfeh, in Lebanon, who are gay but are closeted and are married now and have kids. I think back to that, and I'm like, if I stayed in Lebanon and I stayed in Anfeh and I stayed where I was and my parents didn't make us move here, I would be that boy as well. I would probably be married by now with two kids, taking over my dad's business. I think I owe it to my younger self to be proud of where I am today. It's more about that next generation that's either following me or looking up to me, whether they are in Lebanon or they're in the US and closeted - it's to give them the courage of like, if I can do it, you can do it. On His Favorite Recipe From the Book EM: I'm not a dessert person whatsoever - like I'm truly not - I will skip dessert whenever. I'm also not a baker whatsoever. But I will say that the labneh mousse in the book is my absolute favorite recipe, because it was one of those recipes that I really put a lot of time and effort into coming up with. It was supposed to be a labneh ice cream recipe, and it just kept failing because I would freeze it and the labneh would have too much fat content for it to freeze correctly, so it was freezing like ice. So I made it into a labneh mousse. I have been making it now for a little bit, and anytime anyone has it, they're like, "Oh my god, this is amazing." We just opened up for dinner service in February, so we've been serving it as a dessert, as a labneh mousse sundae. It's been one of our bestsellers. It's so good because it's sweet but tangy and salty at the same time, and that's what I always look for in a dessert. And it's so freaking simple, it's the easiest thing to make, and you can add any toppings that you want in it.

Tanner Adell fell in love with country music young. She grew up splitting her time between Los Angeles and Star Valley, WY, which created a stark contrast - but it was the country lifestyle, and specifically the music, that held her heart. Adell remembers falling in love with Keith Urban when he released "Somebody Like You." And every summer, when she and her mom would set out to drive back to LA from Star Valley, she'd sit in the back of the car and "just silently cry my eyes out as we'd start on this road trip back to California," she remembers. These days, Adell is a rising country music star. And ever since Beyoncé released "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages" on Super Bowl Sunday and announced her forthcoming country album, the spotlight has been on Black women country artists like her. A lot of that attention has been positive; Adell and others say they're incredibly excited about what this will mean for the genre. But it's also been a bit contentious. After an Oklahoma radio station refused to play Beyoncé because it "is a country music station," an online uproar convinced the station to reverse its decision - and ignited a larger conversation around inclusion within the genre. On March 19, Beyoncé announced "Act II: Cowboy Carter" will be released on March 29. In an Instagram post, she opened up about what it means to be a Black woman in country. "This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn't. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive. It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history," she wrote. "The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work." "Country music is how you feel, it's your story, it's part of you." Indeed, for other Black women artists like Adell, pursuing country music often transcends the difficulty that might come with navigating their identity in a genre dominated by white men. As she puts it, "Country music is how you feel, it's your story, it's part of you." The same was true for Tiera Kennedy when she started writing songs in high school. She was a big fan of Taylor Swift at the time, and she just fell into expressing herself through the genre. "I always say I don't feel like I found country music, I feel like country music found me," she tells POPSUGAR. "When I started making music, it just came out that way. I was writing what I was going through at the time, which was boy drama. And I fell in love with all things country music and just dove into it." Related: The Complicated Reality of Being a Black Taylor Swift Fan Moving to Nashville seven years ago was "a big deal" for Kennedy in terms of building up her career: "Everyone told me that if you want to be in country music, you have to be in Nashville." When she got there, she was surprised she was so welcomed by others in the industry, which doesn't necessarily happen for everyone, given how tight-knit the city can be. "I was super thankful and blessed to have met so many people early on who have opened doors for me without asking for anything in return," Kennedy says. For Adell, too, moving to the "capital of country music" almost three years ago was huge in pushing her career forward. And an essential part of that has been finding a community of other Black women artists. "Oh, we have a group chat," she quips. "We're extremely supportive, and I think sometimes people are trying to pin us against each other or even pin us against Beyoncé, but you're not going to get that beef or that drama." "Country is just as much a part of the fabric of Black culture as hip-hop is." But while these artists have been able to foster a strong community within Nashville, it's no secret that country music has been facing a reckoning when it comes to racism and sexism. Chart-topping artists like Jason Aldean and Morgan Wallen have recently weaponized racism as a marketing tool, per NPR. In September, Maren Morris said she was distancing herself from the genre for some of these reasons. "After the Trump years, people's biases were on full display," she told the Los Angeles Times. "It just revealed who people really were and that they were proud to be misogynistic and racist and homophobic and transphobic." But the reality is that Black artists have always been part of the foundation of country. As Prana Supreme Diggs - who performs with her mom, Tekitha, as O.N.E the Duo - says, "Black Americans, so much of our history is rooted in the South. Country is just as much a part of the fabric of Black culture as hip-hop is." Diggs grew up in California watching her mother, a vocalist for Wu-Tang Clan, host jam sessions at her house. She's been wanting to perform professionally with her mom since she was a teenager, but it wasn't until the beginning of the pandemic that they really committed to their joint country project. For Diggs, there's been nothing but excitement since Beyoncé's commercial came on during the Super Bowl. She immediately ran to her computer to listen to the songs. "And the second the instrumental came on for 'Texas Hold 'Em' came on, I was like, oh my god, it's happening," she says. "We are finally here." Tekitha felt the same way. "In the Black and country community, we've really been needing a champion," she says. "We've been needing someone who can kind of blow the door open and to recognize our voice is important in this genre." Adell says that given how iconic Beyoncé is, the criticism she's received speaks volumes about how far country still has to go. "For her to have given so much of herself to the world and when she decides to have a little stylistic change to not just be supported - I don't understand it," she says. "I don't understand why people aren't just like, 'This is cool, Beyoncé's coming out with a country album!'" Kennedy tries to focus on the positives of the industry (if she gets shut out of an opportunity, for example, she won't dwell, she'll just go after the next), but being a Black woman in America will always come with systemic challenges. "No, it hasn't always been easy," she says. "There are so many layers tacked onto that: being a new artist, being female, being Black in country music. But I think if I focused on how hard that is, I would fall out of love with country music." That positive thinking has been paying off. After the Super Bowl, Kennedy released a cover of "Texas Hold 'Em," and it went viral. After she posted the video, new fans streamed into her DMs, telling her they didn't even know her type of country, which is infused with R&B, existed. It's something other Black women country stars are echoing: that the new focus on their contributions to the genre is a long time coming - and a huge opportunity. "I'm super thankful that Beyoncé is entering into this genre and bringing this whole audience with her," Kennedy says. "And hopefully that'll bring up some of the artists that have been in town a long time and grinding at it. I don't think there's anybody better than Beyoncé to do it."

I recently visited a wellness resort in Arizona, and the minute I walked into the lobby, I was hit with a fragrance I couldn't quite place - it was slightly earthy but bright at the same time, indulgent and energizing all at once. I, a perfumery novice, couldn't tell you at all what I was smelling. Nevertheless, it screamed: "You're here to relax; don't worry, we're going to take care of you." And every time I walked through that lobby, I instantly felt at ease. The whole experience got me thinking: how cool would it be if everyone (me included) experienced a similar reverie when they stepped foot in my apartment? Could I transform the vibe of my own space simply by scent? According to Bernadette Lim Baricaua, a certified fragrance specialist and cofounder of BC Fragrance, the answer is yes. "Most people don't realize that our homes, just like our bodies, have a characteristic smell to it that we no longer notice because we're so used to it," she says. Baricaua says the first way to "reset" the smell of your home is to "cleanse" the space. Begin by opening your windows and ventilating the space, and then eliminate any scents you don't want (e.g., existing room sprays or fragrance, or smelly foods). This will allow for a "clearer, more intentional fragrance experience" once you figure out the scent vibe you really want to go for. Right now, my studio apartment decor aspires to that of the Arizona resort - airy, Southwestern, with just a touch of trendy flair. I use an eclectic mix of candles and am generally drawn to cleaner scents over floral. But what if I wanted to lean into the breeziness of the space, or create a more intense mood? It turns out that resetting your home vibe is as easy as selecting specific top notes in scented candles and diffusers. I asked Lim to suggest tips and specific scents for creating four distinct home vibes: a beachy bungalow, an edgy enclave, a minimalist oasis, and a cozy sanctuary. Keep reading to find out which scents will help evoke each aesthetic, plus product recommendations for each, as well as general tips for maximizing fragrance in your home. Fragrances to Create a Breezy, Bohemian Bungalow Image Source: Getty / asbe If you're someone who wants to create a coastal, beachy vibe for your space, look for fresh, airy scents. Citrus and marine evoke the ocean, while lighter woodsy fragrances can add a subtle and grounding effect. Top Notes: Citrus (lemon, bergamot), marine notes, light woods (bamboo, sandalwood) Seasonal Adjustment: In the cooler months, try incorporating warmer citrus, like mandarin, to maintain warmth without losing that breezy vibe. Product Recommendation: The Apotheke Sea Salt Grapefruit candle ($44) has all the trappings of a laid-back, beachy fragrance. The brightness of the grapefruit is mellowed out by that indisputable sea salt tang. Fragrances to Create a Cool, Edgy Enclave Image Source: Getty / imaginima If you're someone who's always dreamed of owning a trendy loft in New York City (ahem, me), then you should go for complex scents: dark florals and fruity woods can "mirror the dynamic energy of city life," Lim says. Chypre fragrances can also add sophistication and edge. Top Notes: Dark florals (black orchid, violet), fruity woods (blackcurrant, fig), chypre Seasonal Adjustment: In the summer, lean toward lighter, fruity notes; in the winter, emphasize the darker, more opulent floral notes. Product Recommendation: The Homesick City Lights candle ($25) is aptly named: its amber and bergamot notes evoke all the endless possibilities that a night in a big city bring. Fragrances to Create a Minimalist, Natural Oasis Image Source: Getty / Nelle If you're someone who likes their space to be tranquil, the idea is all about balance. Lim says you can achieve this by pairing warmer gourmand notes with light wood notes for a sense of calm and connection to nature. Top Notes: Light wood (cedar, pine), light gourmand notes (vanilla, almond) Seasonal Adjustment: Go for warmer gourmand notes in the colder months and lighter wood notes during the summer. Product Recommendation: Similarly to the scent of that Arizona retreat, the Le Labo Ambroxyde 17 candle ($84) is a category-defining mix that instills calm. It encompasses musks, woods, and jasmine petals for an irresistibly natural aroma. Fragrances to Create a Cozy, Cushy Sanctuary Image Source: Getty / svetikd And finally, if you're someone who loves the coziness the holidays bring - and want to re-create that feeling in your space year-round - then warm scents and spicy blends are the way to go. Leather and tobacco can add depth and richness, too. Top Notes: Citrus blends (bergamot, grapefruit), spices (cinnamon, clove), leather, tobacco Seasonal Adjustment: When it's warmer out, focus on the lighter citrus and less on the heavier tobacco and leather notes. Product Recommendation: This P.F. Candle Co. Teakwood & Tobacco candle ($28) brings the perfect amount of smokiness and spice to an otherwise bright scent. Its mix of orange and leather top notes with a heavier base of sandalwood and patchouli will fill any room with warmth. Tips For Maximizing the Fragrance of Your Home Layer scents. Lim suggests layering different types of products for higher impact, especially in larger spaces. For example, you could burn a large candle as well as place reed diffusers in the same room. Diffusers offer a steady release of fragrance, Lim says, while candles are more versatile for scenting spaces of different sizes; room sprays, meanwhile, are ideal for quick fixes and immediate bursts of fragrance. You can also utilize indoor plants that introduce subtle and natural scents - eucalyptus, lavender, and jasmine are all great options. Place strategically. Positioning your scent products near entryways or in the path of airflow can help distribute fragrance evenly throughout your space. You can also create "scent zones" by emphasizing certain scents in each room. For example, you might opt for lavender in bedrooms for relaxation (we especially love the P.F. Candle Co. Ojai Lavender diffuser ($34)) and fresh citrus in the kitchen for something a bit brighter. Experiment with customization. From buying an electric diffuser to simply combining water and a few drops of your favorite essential oils in a spray bottle, you can create scents truly tailored to your personal preferences. Related: I Tried That "Saltburn" Bathwater Candle and Now Feel Closer to Jacob Elordi Lena Felton is the director of special content at POPSUGAR, where she oversees features and special projects. Previously, she was an editor at The Washington Post, where she led a team covering issues of gender and identity. She has six years of experience in journalism during which her focus has been feature writing and editing as well as spearheading projects you won't find anywhere else.