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First up are the candles.
Yankee Candle
World Journeys Brazilian Passion Fruit
- Notes: Pure Brazilian passion fruit extract
- My take: I have been looking for a good passion fruit scent forever, as it is my all-time favorite fruit. However, this one is definitely not my favorite. I know a lot of people rave about this fragrance but there's something about it that I'm not loving. It has a heavy perfume note to it that throws me off. I'm still on the hunt for a true passion fruit scent that is tart and juicy just like the real thing. This candle tunneled like mad at first, but I poured out a bit of wax and foiled it for a while and it evened itself out. Throw was medium.
- Repurchase: No.
- Overall rating: 5/10
Paradise Daiquiri
- Notes: Raspberry, rum, sweet orange, coconut cream, vanilla
- My take: This is one of my favorite Bath and Body Works scents ever. This fragrance first surfaced in the Temptations body care line back in 2005. It was then named "Frozen Daquiri." With the discontinuation of that line, I never thought I would see this scent again. Then, low and behold, last summer in 2012, they released the Paradise Daiquiri candle! Much to my delight, it was the exact same scent as Frozen Daiquiri! The scent is absolutely divine. It says that it is raspberry, but I smell a tart strawberry with perhaps some other fruits mixed in. It is SO STRONG! The candle burned flawlessly, and the throw was excellent. I'm a bit worried because it doesn't seem like they are going to be bringing this one back this year =( I'm glad I have two more backups!
- Repurchase: If they bring it back again this year, absolutely! If not, I may have to stalk eBay for a few more.
- Overall rating: 10/10
Cinnamon Bark
- Notes: Cinnamon bark, bergamot, orange, clove bud, smoky musk
- My take: Henri Bendel candles used to be available at Bath and Body Works for $26 each, and I would always save up my coupons for those. Unfortunately, they are no longer available at B&BW and only available through Henri Bendel at $30 each. I ended up finding this one for a really good deal on eBay and I was so excited because it's my favorite Henri Bendel candle fragrance. Out of the box, this candle fills up a room with its unique fragrance. The scent is definitely cinnamon, but I get a hint of earthiness with the bark aspect and the clove bud note. It is a highly unique cinnamon fragrance, very deep and luxurious. However, when I actually burned the candle, the throw wasn't nearly as strong as it was just sitting around, unlit! Very odd indeed. Then again, this candle is probably quite old (Henri Bendel doesn't carry this fragrance anymore) and the candle doesn't have a lid so this could have something to do with why it was very weak when lit. However, I'll keep it around and just place it out when I want the room to smell like this. I won't even have to light it!
- Repurchase: If HB starts carrying this fragrance again, yes. From eBay, no.
- Overall rating: 7/10
Now onto the tarts!
Blueberry Muffin -
- Notes: Blueberry, orange zest, butter cake, vanilla, almond.
- Warmer: 18-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 1 scent shot
- My take: This is a great blueberry muffin scent. It doesn't have that sharp blueberry note that some vendors blueberry scents have. It's a wonderful creamy, bakery-type blueberry. I wish it would have been a bit stronger but it was still nice. Medium throw. Lasted about 6 hours.
- Repurchase: Probably not. I have blueberry muffin scents from other vendors that are stronger and longer lasting.
- Overall rating: 6/10
Berry Panna Cotta
- Notes: Custard pudding, summer berries.
- Warmer: 18-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 1 scent shot
- My take: This is a nice wildberry mousse-based scent. The main note is definitely wildberry mousse but there is a hint of creaminess that I assume is the panna cotta part of it. It was decent, but nothing too special. At this point, I have a lot of Wildberry Mousse scents that I like better. Not incredibly long lasting but it did have a strong throw while it did. Lasted about 5 hours.
- Repurchase: Nope.
- Overall rating: 6/10
Autumn Dreamin
- Notes: (official notes unknown) lavender, spicy bakery
- Warmer: 25-watt light bulb
- Amount used: 1 scent shot
- My take: I absolutely LOVE this scent! It is a blend of lavender and some sort of spicy bakery, pumpkin pie perhaps? The scent was LE for fall and is no longer available so I can't get the official description for it. Anyways, if you've never tried lavender blended with spicy bakery - DO IT! It's so amazing! You wouldn't think these two scents would go well together but they do. LSC's lavender scent is more on the herbal side, and mixed with the spicy bakery note, it takes on a whole new dimension. SO good. Strong throw. Lasted 12+ hours.
- Repurchase: Absolutely! I'm well stocked for now but hopefully she will bring it back next fall so I can purchase it again.
- Overall rating: 10/10!
Blue Christmas
- Notes: Blue Sugar, Vanilla Bean Noel
- Warmer: 24 watt hotplate
- Amount used: 6 cubes
- My take: I am absolutely OBSESSED with Blue Sugar (a.k.a the male counterpart to Pink Sugar). Not a lot of vendors do Blue Sugar blends so I was really excited to see that Scent Appeal did. This is a nice blend of Vanilla Bean Noel and Blue Sugar. The BS definitely takes center stage in this blend but the VBN tones it down and adds a hint of sweetness. At first I threw in 2 cubes and did not get a strong throw. Threw in 1 more, still wasn't strong enough for me. So I figured what the heck, and threw in the the rest of the clamshell. I got wafts of it throughout the day but I was starting to get bummed out because it just wasn't doing as well as I had hoped. I ended up forgetting to turn off the warmer at night and I came down the next morning with my house FILLED with this scent. It was SO STRONG! I don't know what happened there. This tart has been curing for well over a month now but perhaps it needed to develop on the warmer? Anyways, this bad boy ended up lasting for over 24 hours! Light at first, and then later on burn-your-nosehair strong. Very strange but the scent was amazing!
- Repurchase: Maybe. I'm going to try some other Blue Sugar/VBN blends and see if they perform differently for me.
- Overall rating: 7/10
Boozy Brunch
- Notes: Champagne, orange juice
- Warmer: 18-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 2 cubes
- My take: After a few not-so-great experiences with Kissing Booth products, I didn't have high hopes for this one. It was my favorite scent from my first order so I crossed my fingers and gave it a chance. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The champagne and orange blend together nicely, but there is a prominent perfume note in this one. To me, it smells almost exactly like my 90's signature perfume, Clinique Happy! Definitely not what I expected when ordering, but I ended up loving it nonetheless. Medium-to-strong scent throw. Lasted about 8 hours.
- Repurchase: I did end up getting a second clamshell of this in my second order with The Kissing Booth so I'm glad I have a backup because I don't see myself ordering from this company again (more on that in a different post).
- Overall rating: 7/10
Coconut Candy Apple
- Notes: Winter Candy Apple, Coconut
- Warmer: 24-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 3 cubes
- My take: I love this scent! Winter Candy Apple is my favorite holiday Bath and Body Works scent and I was intrigued when I saw it blended with coconut. The WCA is definitely the stronger note in this one but the coconut is definitely there. I first put in 2 cubes and it wasn't quite strong enough for me. 3 cubes was perfect. Medium-to-strong throw. Lasted about 6 hours.
- Repurchase: Perhaps. I think I'm going to try blending this with another coconut scent to amp up that note in it.
- Overall rating: 7/10
Lemonberry Crumble
- Notes: Lemon, blueberry, bakery
- Warmer: 18-watt hot plate, 24-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 1 grubby tart in each
- My take: WOW was this one fantastic! I wanted my whole house to smell like this so I put 1 tart in 2 warmers and it definitely filled my house! This is a nice blend of a strong blueberry note mixed with lemon bakery. Normally I don't like strong blueberry notes but the lemon and bakery notes blended so well together with it so that not one note stood out. I love lemon and blueberry scents and this one is at the top of the list. Amazing! Strong throw. Lasted 12+ hours.
- Repurchase: Heck yes!
- Overall rating: 10/10
Cotton Candy Cookie
- Notes: Cotton candy, sugar cookie
- Warmer: 24-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 3 grubby tarts
- My take: MAJOR DISAPPOINTMENT! I melted one of these in December and it did really well, but for some reason this time around the scent was almost undetectable. Even with 3 tarts in the warmer, I could barely smell anything besides a faint sweetness in the air. I'm going to experiment with warmers with this scent because I still have 2 whole 4-packs left! Very light throw.
- Repurchase: Probably not =( And this was even a top 10 of 2012 scent! Son, I am disappoint.
- Overall rating: 2/10
Sugary Marshmallow
- Notes: Warm Vanilla Sugar, marshmallow
- Warmer: 18-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 1 grubby tarts
- My take: This, on the other hand, was absolutely INCREDIBLE! This was a gift from the lovely Shelby, thanks girl! This blend of Warm Vanilla Sugar and marshmallow is truly amazing. You can smell both notes equally here. FP's marshmallow scent is so strong, and WVS is such a strong scent so the fact that I can ever smell the marshmallow with it is a testament to how amazing it is. This lasted almost 48 hours, and probably could have lasted longer if I hadn't finally dumped it out. The throw was strong, but the scent itself wasn't too overpowering. Does that make sense? It carried through the house really well and was reasonably strong but I could still smell the other scents I was melting.
- Repurchase: YES! I believe this was only available in the marshmallow sampler, but I am going to request she makes this a regular scent. I will buy it in bulk!
- Overall rating: 10/10!
Pumpkin Apple Butter Mallow
- Notes: Pumpkin apple butter, marshmallow
- Warmer: 24-watt hot plate
- Amount used: Half of a chunk
- My take: Yayy, my very first Sniff My Tarts tart! I was absolutely thrilled when I saw this in the birthday package that Shelby sent me, thanks again <3 This was amazing! The chunks are the pumpkin apple and the overpour is marshmallow. It's definitely stronger on the pumpkin apple note, but the marshmallow mellows it out quite nicely. The pumpkin apple scent is sweet but with a prominent spice note. LOVE THIS! Medium-to-strong throw. Lasted about 6 hours.
- Repurchase: Absolutely. Sniff My Tarts is currently the most difficult vendor to order from on the face of the earth, but once they finish up their outstanding orders in the next few months, they will be re-opening as a strictly RTS company! Can't wait for that!
- Overall rating: 8.5/10
Cherry Slushie
- Notes: Cherry frozen drink
- Warmer: 18-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 1 scalloped tart
- My take: My oh my was this fantastic! It's an amazing, sweet cherry scent (think maraschino cherry) with a citrus fizz undertone. Not much else to say about it except that I am in love with it. The scent throw was strong and it lasted about 8 hours. Sad that this is now discontinued!
- Repurchase: Since TDC discontinued this scent, I will be on the lookout for it from another vendor. Please let me know if you see this on anyone's scent list!
- Overall rating: 9/10
Strawberry and Toasted Marshmallow
- Notes: Strawberry, toasted marshmallow
- Warmer: 24-watt hot plate
- Amount used: Half of a fruit pie tart
- My take: You didn't think I would go a whole week without melting some CFTKR, did you?! This came in my massive haul from last week and as soon as I was done taking pics, I popped this bad boy in the warmer. Carol's strawberry scents are amazing, and this blended with the toasted marshmallow was fantastic. Scent throw was strong but sadly this only lasted about 4 hours. But for that 4 hours, it was in your face!
- Repurchase: I think so!
- Overall rating: 8/10
Tiffany Candles
Buttercream Frosting (new wax)
- Notes: Butter, sugar
- Warmer: 18-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 2 gingerbread men tarts
- My take: On cold throw, this was a nice, sweet buttercream scent. Sadly, I could not smell this at all when melting. Not even when I put my nose directly over the warmer. The new wax has been nearly as hit or miss for me as the old wax was. I'm going to keep trying with this vendor though! I have faith that I'll find some more good ones =)
- Repurchase: Nope.
- Overall rating: 0/10
Strawberry Passion
- Notes: Strawberry, cotton candy, vanilla
- Warmer: 18-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 1 donut tart
- My take: Yet another awesome strawberry scent! I love this scent from lots of different vendors, and Beezy's is no exception. The cotton candy adds a nice sweetness to the strawberry scent. It also has a hint of a green note to it which is nice. This was a medium-to-strong throw. Lasted about 8 hours.
- Repurchase: I think so!
- Overall rating: 7/10
Grapefruit Jasmine
- Notes: Grapefuit, jasmine
- Warmer: 18-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 1 mini sampler tart
- My take: This was so nice at the beginning, a very tart grapefruit scent with the slightest hint of a floral undertone. I thought I had found my perfect grapefuit scent. But then after a few hours, the grapefruit faded and all I could smell was the jasmine. I do like floral scents but jasmine is not one of my favorites. It was really nice while the grapefruit note lasted though. Strong throw, which was surprising for such a little tart! Lasted about 6 hours.
- Repurchase: I think I am going to buy a large tart in this and give it one more try.
- Overall rating: 6.5/10
Pancakes & Berries
- Notes: Buttermilk pancakes, sweet berries
- Warmer: 24-watt hot plate
- Amount used: 1 scallop tart
- My take: This was another awesome gift from Shelby from our first swap. This one was AH-MAY-ZING. It smelled very similar to my beloved Jelly Donut scent. You get the sweet dough note and a super sweet berry scent as well. Anything close to jelly donut is an automatic win. I need to order this in bulk for sure! Strong scent throw. Lasted about 8 hours.
- Repurchase: For sure!
- Overall rating: 10/10!
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That's it for this past week! I know, not very much but I had some amazing scents in here this time around. Thanks for stopping by and I'll be back tomorrow with some hauls =)
I was scared to read your review for LSC's Autumn Dreaming which is lavender and Pumpkin Pie, I believe. I ordered 2 in a custom order that hasn't shipped. I was afraid the review would be bad! But phew! I am glad it's amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteAhhh yes, pumpkin pie! So good! I think you will love it! Definitely let me know how it works for you when you get it!
DeleteEverything you melted sounds so good! I'm happy you like the stuff I gave you! I think the SMT was more your speed than mine so I am so pleased that I passed it along to you! Sorry about the tiffany's buttercream scent, I thought it'd be a nice mixer, whoops! I have a FP tart in Lemonberry Crumble and I have been waiting to melt it, I need to ASAP!
ReplyDeleteI loved everything you gave me, even the Tiffany's smelled good on cold throw even though it didn't perform while hot. The SMT was definitely amazing, you are so generous to have given that to me! Thank you <3 Yes, you have to try your Lemonberry Crumble, it is so awesome!
DeleteThis blog excites me. I have Berry Panna Cotta and I didn't like this one even a little bit. I got nauseous after an hour or two of smelling it but you are killing my wallet as of late.
ReplyDeleteLOL I'm glad you like =) Yeah Berry Panna Cotta wasn't a favorite of mine either. You'll have to let me know what vendors you've ordered from =)
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