Journal
What is a porcelain flower diffuser?
A porcelain flower diffuser is a flower shaped from porcelain clay and fired. Add 3–5 drops of essential or fragrance oil to its centre and the porcelain absorbs the oil and gives the scent off slowly for two to three days. It needs no reeds, water or power, and the flower never wilts.
How does a porcelain flower diffuser work?
Porcelain clay is shaped into a flower, fired in a kiln and coloured. The fired flower can take up a small amount of oil. When you drop oil onto its centre, the porcelain draws it in and lets the scent off slowly as the oil evaporates. Nothing needs heating or plugging in.
Is it the same as a reed diffuser?
No. A reed diffuser draws oil up from a bottle through reeds and scents a room steadily for weeks. A porcelain flower holds only a few drops at a time, so its scent is gentler and closer to where it sits, and you can change the scent whenever you like. Between scents it is still a flower on the shelf.
What do you need to use one?
- The flower, with or without its dome.
- An essential oil or a fragrance oil made for diffusers.
- A spot near where you sit or sleep.
Our full how-to-use guide covers oils, scent time and care.
Why porcelain flowers make good gifts
A cut peony lasts about a week. A porcelain one does not wilt, needs no water and comes in a gift box, so it works for the occasions where flowers are expected and for people who are sad to see flowers die. Adding a small bottle of oil turns it into a scent gift as well.
Who makes them?
Ours are shaped by hand in Dehua, a porcelain town in Fujian province, south-east China. Read how a porcelain flower is made.