Yankee Candle’s 2022 Scent of the Year Is Meant to Inspire Joy

If you could use a little more happiness in your day-to-day, then Yankee Candle has some good news. The brand just announced its fourth annual Scent of the Year, and this one is meant to inspire.

The 2022 scent is called Inspire, and the team created it to embody ikigai, the Japanese philosophy for living a long and happy life. The citrus-forward scent leads with lime and verbena, and is balanced by mid notes of bamboo and base notes of cedar and seaside driftwood. It reminds me of a beautifully relaxing spa with citrus water and a piping hot sauna, which conveniently sounds like my ideal way to spend a long and happy life.

“When developing this year’s fragrance, we really focused on what people are seeking in 2022 and leaned into a scent that celebrates the small moments of joy that can be found in our everyday lives,” said Lisa McCarthy, President of the Home Fragrance Business Unit, Newell Brands, in a press release. “Ikigai’s ten rules of happiness, which include ‘reconnect with nature’, helped inspire this bright and energizing, uplifting and radiant fragrance, reflective of what we are all craving right now.”

“75 percent of the emotions we generate on a daily basis are affected by smell,” fragrance expert Taylor Perlis told me during a virtual unveiling, which is all the more reason to surround yourself with scents you enjoy. Perlis also notes that bright citrus scents are trending for 2022 and beyond.

Inspire joins past scents of the year Discovery (2021), Awaken (2020), and One Together (2019). Like Discovery, 2022’s Inspire is a two-wick candle in a straight-sided clear tumbler with a painted design that catches the light while the candle is burning.

Inspire is available for Yankee Candle Rewards members starting today, March 16, and worldwide on International Fragrance Day, March 21, at Yankee Candle stores and online, as well as partner websites Kohl’s, Walmart, and Bed Bath & Beyond.