The concept of ambient fragrancing started to trickle into the real estate market years ago. Savvy real estate agents advised sellers to bake cookies or cinnamon rolls in the homes they were showing to create a comforting, deliciously scented atmosphere meant to entice buyers. If you're trying to sell a home in today's real estate market, you may need to think a bit more creatively to make your home stand out.

The essential oils used in the practice of aromatherapy offer a more practical and potent way to use scent marketing to move buyers to feel good about a property. Tiny amounts of familiar, tempting aromas like cinnamon, clove, vanilla and orange, can fill a whole house with pleasant ambient fragrance. An added bonus is that essential oils are all-natural and distilled from plants. They are less likely to elicit the kind of adverse reactions that harsh synthetic fragrances do.

Aromatherapy expert Tom Havran has several ideas to help you sell your home. He crafts blends for Aura Cacia, purveyor of 100 percent pure and natural essential oils and aromatherapy products. A passionate expert on the properties of essential oils, he has been crafting essential oil blends for 15 years.

His first suggestion is an easy and sleek way to create a warm, comforting atmosphere that can help put potential property buyers at ease. Havran recommends using vanilla essential oil blended with jojoba for this first recipe.

Vanilla Amber Aroma Crystals

Ingredients:
1 cup coarse-grained, chunky sea salt
1 teaspoon jojoba or grapeseed oil (just enough to make the salts glisten and gleam)
25 drops vanilla precious essential oil
10 drops lavender essential oil
10 drops sweet orange essential oil

Directions: Mix salt and oils, pour into a decorative dish or bowl and set out on a table. Placing the crystals in a warm sunny window or near a heat register will help diffuse the delicious aroma throughout the room. Stir in additional essential oils to boost the scent as needed.

Fresh flowers and bergamot vacuum powder make a light and transparent floral/citrus scent that will create a cheerful, friendly and clean atmosphere to impress visitors. Since you need to vacuum before each property showing anyway, this is a great way to turn the chore into a smart real estate marketing move.

Flowers and Bergamot Vacuum Powder

Ingredients:
1 cup baking soda
35 drops bergamot orange essential oil
5 drops ylang ylang or neroli (orange flower) essential oil

Directions: Mix baking soda and essential oils in a canister and lightly sprinkle over carpets, then vacuum.

Because essential oils are so concentrated, a little goes a long way. An initial investment in a small 1/2 ounce bottle of oil will provide you with enough applications to conduct dozens of open houses.

Using essential oils to craft your own bit of psychological scent marketing might provide a good return on a small investment. Aromatherapy may give you that much-needed unique and surprising edge-up on the competition. Learn more at www.auracacia.com.