Lasting Scent Candles Haul - Cold Sniff Reviews

Hey my lovely waxy friends! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! I'm on day three of my wax ban and it's going swimmingly.Today I made the order that I allowed myself for June, Candles from the Keeping Room. I knew she was going to open today so I was prepared that this order would be placed early on in the ban. I'm happy to say that I was able to snag every single scent I wanted and I even came in $7 under budget! Woohoo! Anyways, today I am here to share with you a haul from one of my ultimate favorite vendors, Lasting Scent Candles!

LSC seems to have followed suit with most of the other popular vendors these days and only opens up for a short amount of time and then has to close because they get flooded with orders. They opened up this time on Mother's Day (May 12th) and then closed up again a few short hours later. I'm so glad my friend Shelby texted me to let me know they were open, otherwise I would have had no idea because I was at my parents' house celebrating Mother's Day! I quickly bolted into their office and hastily placed my order. I had no list planned or anything, so I pretty much just put whatever in my cart and I ended up with a bit of a random selection. I would have loved to have purchased multiples of several of these, but as you can't adjust the totals from the cart, I just didn't have time. Oh well! Lesson learned, and next time I'll definitely have my list ready and put all the quantities I want in my cart upfront.

LSC was anticipating to go over their normal TAT of 21 business days for this opening, but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a shipping notice in my e-mail after only 10 business days!! How awesome is that?! Pam is really cranking out the orders! Despite the growing pains that LSC has been facing these days, they will always be a favorite. They have AMAZING tarts, AMAZING customer service and they always let their customers know their expected TAT with individual e-mails! There is only one other vendor that I know of that sends out e-mails with a customized TAT estimate. I would love to see other vendors follow suit in that aspect.

Overall, I was pleased with this order! I am starting to tire a bit of fruity scents these days so I wish I would have gotten more bakery but you really just can't go wrong with anything made by LSC. Their blends are amazing, their tarts are absolutely packed with fragrance oil an are among the strongest I've ever tried. Without further ado, here's what I ordered. Enjoy =)

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• Sweet Dreams - This is a blend of lavender, Pink Sugar and marshmallow. I am the hugest fangirl of LSC's lavender scent. It is a sweet lavender without having that dreaded laundry note to it that I can't stand. Their lavender is one of the only lavenders that I can tolerate these days as it seems so many vendors tend to use that laundry lavender scent. Yuck! Anyways, this is SUCH an awesome blend! I can smell the Pink Sugar and lavender equally, with a nice sweet, creamy background from the marshmallow. I do not melt tarts while I sleep but I love melting these kind of scents in the evening to help me unwind after a particularly stressful day. 
• Lavender Cotton Candy - This was on of their new scents for this opening. It is a blend of lavender and cotton candy, no surprise there! As cotton candy does tend to be a lighter scent, the lavender is dominant here but I still get a really nice, sweet undertone of the cotton candy. I think if there was just a tiny bit more cotton candy in this one it would be perfect, but I still really like this one. It's very unique in that I don't believe I have any other lavender and cotton candy blends in my stash! 
• Harmony - Another new blend. This one is lavender, lemon zest and coconut. I really like this one! The coconut note sticks out the most to me in this blend, and then you get the sweet lemon and floral background of the lavender. It almost has a touch of bakery sweetness to it. Another unique lavender blend that I've never seen before!
• Island Relaxation - This is an old favorite that I have repurchased a few times now. It is a blend of lavender and sweet coconut milk. The two notes blend equally here to create the absolute best lavender/coconut scent I've ever smelled. I swear, LSC's lavender goes with anything and everything! It's the perfect lavender for blending. Anyways, this is a blend that I will order again and again from LSC.
• Lavender Fairy Cakes - Yes, another lavender blend. I told you I couldn't get enough of their lavender =) This is yet another repurchase for me! It is a blend of lavender, yellow cake and buttercream. It is a super sweet bakery lavender scent, and while the lavender is a bit stronger, the bakery notes blend nicely with the lavender note so that it doesn't overpower them. It reminds me a lot of my beloved Lavender Pound Cake lotion and perfume I used to get from MMU/MMS Cosmetics back in the day! (Anyone remember them?) 

• Lemon Coconut Angel Cake - All of the following 5 scents in this picture are all new blends for the summer. Sometimes lemon and coconut scents smell really odd together, but this blend is pretty fantastic! The lemon stands out to me a bit more but there's definitely a hefty helping of the coconut in this blend as well. I don't specifically smell any cake-y notes but I'd say this has an overall bakery feel to it. Really scrumptious! 
• Lemon Cream Soda - This is a really good scent too. I don't really smell much of a cream soda note, but I do get a nice sweet lemon from it. I can't wait to melt this one to see if the cream soda note comes out a bit more. Maybe it's just one of those lighter scents that you can't really pick out on its own but lends a nice sweet note to any blend it's in. We shall see! Still a great scent, whether I can smell the cream soda or not. 
• Lemon Scoop - This is a blend of Lemon Ice Box Pie, vanilla ice cream and a cookie crust. To me, this smells like lemon blended with ice cream scoop bread! I've been on an ICSB kick lately so I was super excited about this one. Whether or not it actually is ICSB, it pretty much smells like lemon ice cream in a waffle cone. Very nice and perfect for the summer! 
• Peaches & Cream - I am currently in the middle of a love/hate relationship with peach scents. I used to LOVE every single peach scent but lately I've found that the super sweet ones smell weird to me when melting. Luckily, this one has that fresh and realistic peach note that I still love! This is not a stock peaches and cream oil, it is actually blended in-house by LSC with two different vanillas. Luckily, the vanillas in this aren't too sweet at all. In fact, I smell a hint of VBN in here which is a great blending vanilla without being too sweet. I am excited to melt this one! 
• Peach Sorbet - Sadly, this one has that overly sweet peach scent in it that I just don't really care for these days. The description says it is a blend of Georgia peach, vanilla ice cream and sugar. I think it is the Georgia peach oil that a lot of vendors use that I don't like. I'll definitely be passing this one onto a new home!

• Strawberry Rock Candy - The rock candy blends are all new for the summer and I've gotta say, they aren't my favorite. Their rock candy scent is just described as "sugar crystal rock candy," but I smell a bit of cotton candy and some other kind of powdery candy sweetness. The rock candy scent itself is pretty light and doesn't really stick out in 2 of the 3 blends I purchased. However, I can definitely smell the rock candy in this strawberry blend. Rock candy blended with strawberry here actually smells a lot like the strawberry passion scent that a lot of other vendors have. I like it but it's not a favorite. I like both of the other strawberry scents I got much better!
• Strawberry Wedding Cake - I LOVE this one! They have one of the best strawberry scents around. This blend is described as white cake with strawberry filling, frosting and more strawberries on top. It's such a sweet, sugary strawberry scent that almost smells like strawberries and cream but with an added bakery note. This is definitely going to be a repurchase the next time I place an order. It is pure awesomeness. 
• Strawberry Fields - Another repurchase, this is just their plain strawberry scent that they seem to use in all of their strawberry scents. Oh my GAWDDDDD it is such an amazing strawberry scent! It is right up there with CFTKR's Fresh Picked Strawberry. It is a strawberry that has that artificial, almost milky sweetness but with a touch of a fresh, authentic green stem note. Incredible! If you're a fan of strawberry scents and you've never tried this one, you absolutely must!
• Serendipity Confetti - Believe it or not, I'm kind of burnt out on Serendipity these days but I knew I'd regret it if I didn't get a couple blends. Being that I'm really into bakery scents lately, I wanted to get one that had a strong bakery note to it. This one is a blend of Serendipity, sweet candy and candied almonds. I get an almond cookie note, and since almond blends so naturally with the cherry notes in Serendipity, it makes for a really fantastic blend. Love it! 
• Serendipity Rock Candy - I can't really smell the rock candy scent in this at all. To me, it pretty much smells like Serendipity with the slightest hint of powdery sweetness. Meh. I got one of these in my RTS order and passed that one on in my RR and I think this one might find a new home as well. It's not bad but I have so many other Serendipity blends that I love much more than this one. I think I'm the only one not really loving the rock candy blends because most people seem to really love them! 

• Caramel Drizzle Cookies - This is another new scent and probably one of my favorites of the entire order! Lately I can't get enough cookie and caramel scents, I don't know why. Maybe I fruited myself out HAHA. Anyways, this is an awesome blend of caramel and butter cookies. Simple but awesome!! I have a ton of caramel/butter cookie blends in my stash right now but this one has jumped to the top of my list for sure. 
• Coconut Flan - I got this as a sample in my last order and I had to order it this time around because it was so good! This scent is the perfect balance between caramel and coconut. I've smelled a few other coconut/caramel scents that were on the lighter side but this one is nice and strong. True love in a tart! 
• Coco Mango Splash - This one I'm on the fence about. It's a really, really sweet mango scent. Almost too sweet for me. I like my mango scents to be a bit more on the fresher side than the super sweet side. I think this one might be getting a new home as well. My husband really likes this one though so maybe I'll keep it for him. We shall see!
• Coco Lime Cookies - This is another new scent and a surprise favorite of the order! I'm super picky with my lime scents but this one is absolutely fantastic. It is described as a blend of coconut sugar wafers and lime coconut creme. Perhaps because the coconut cookie note is blended with a coconut lime scent instead of just a straight up lime scent, the coconut is able to take center stage. I'm a huge fan of this one and I'll definitely be getting more in my next LSC order!
• Carnival Cakes - This is a blend of vanilla cake, cotton candy and marshmallow. It's very, very light but I can definitely smell all three notes in the blend. Marshmallow and cotton candy scents tend to be very light scents so it's not a surprise that it is so light. Hopefully with a bit more cure time it will be stronger when melted. It's definitely good but not a favorite.

• Pink Sugar Buns - Another repurch! LSC does pink bakery blends so well! It is described as a blend of Pink Sugar and "the aroma of walking into your favorite bakery." To my nose, it smells like a blend of Pink Sugar, donuts and a slight hint of zucchini bread. It's so yummy! It kind of reminds me of FP's Ultimate Bakery and RG's Simply Amazing Bakery but without the apple pie note. I don't really like those blends but I really like this one! 
• Pink Marshmallow Shortbread - Yet another repurchase of a favorite. This is a sweet bakery Pink Sugar blend. I can definitely smell the sugary marshmallow and the crunch from the shortbread blended with the Pink note. So good. If you're at all into Pink bakery blends, this is a must-try for sure. 
• Candy Land Dreamin' (x12) - This was an LE scent for the holidays last year and I fell in love with it! It is a blend of peppermint, lavender and vanilla. I have since tried to find a suitable peppermint/lavender replacement and none have even come close to this one! I was down to my last tart of this and I contacted the lovely ladies at LSC and they informed me that you can custom order a 12-pack in discontinued scents as long as they still have they oils in stock. They did and so I did! This is such a wonderful, relaxing blend. I can smell the lavender and peppermint equally and the vanilla adds a subtle sweetness that pulls it all together. I'm so glad to be stocked up on a favorite scent! I probably will share several of these as I don't know that I need all 12 of them....or maybe I do =)
• Sapphire Rock Candy - This is their blueberry and rock candy blend, which  is weird because all I smell with this one is grape! I have to say though, my nose seems to be very sensitive to grape because I always pick up even the slightest grape note in scents. I know a lot of people love this blend though so it's probably just my nose. Since I don't really care for grape scents, I'm torn on keeping this one or sending it along to a more loving home. I may melt it though just to see if I get more blueberry from it then. 
• Hawaiian Dreams - This is another new scent that is a blend of coconut, pineapple and plumeria. It smells SOOOOO good! The plumeria is definitely the main note here but the pineapple and coconut add the slightest touch of sweetness. Plumeria is a very sweet floral on its own so it blends really nicely with those fruit notes. It definitely takes me back to our honeymoon in Hawaii! I would have liked the coconut to be a bit stronger but overall I'm quite pleased with this blend. 

And now for the freebies!

• Caramel Layered Torte (freebie) - I'm torn on this one. When I first smelled this scent, I got an overwhelming smell of zucchini bread but as it's cured a bit, the other notes come out more. It is described as sweet pastry, caramel ganache, and vanilla souffle. So yeah. No sign of ZB in the description but I swear it has it in there! It smells like caramel mixed with a very creamy ZB scent. I think I like it but I'll have to melt it to see! 
• Blackberry Lime Rock Candy (freebie) - This one is pretty good! I am pretty iffy with both blackberry and lime scents but they smell good together in this blend. Again, I'm not really getting the rock candy note but I think it's adding a nice overall sweetness to the blend. The blackberry still has a bit of a floral note that blackberry scents tend to have so it's not a favorite, but still really nice!
• Vanilla Ice Cream Cone (freebie) - I was so excited to see this as a freebie because I had wanted to order it but totally forgot to put it in my order. It is a very light scent, but I can smell hints of vanilla ice cream and waffle cones. I'll definitely let this one cure for quite awhile before I melt it. 

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That's all folks! Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you all again soon =)

My Current Top 5 Favorite Wax Vendors!

Hi everyone!! I'm waiting until this Sunday to post my weekly reviews, and I have one more post in store for you this week, but for now I figured I'd pop in with a quick post about my current top favorite vendors. I get asked who my favorite vendors are all the time so I thought you all would enjoy it! In addition, I tag all of my fellow wax bloggers to do the same!

This was definitely a difficult post to write because there are so many wonderful vendors out there and it's tough to narrow it down to five favorites. There's several things I took into account while compiling this list, including customer service, turnaround time, variety of scents available, etc., but in the end the most important thing for me is performance of the tarts. I want tarts that smell like what they're supposed to smell like, last a reasonable amount of time, and most importantly - they have to be strong! There's nothing worse than having a tart smell great on cold throw but when you put it in the warmer, you get nothing. AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT!

Keep in mind, no vendor is perfect. Every vendor has their own drawbacks, and I will be listing those as well. Obviously, the good things about these vendors far outweigh the bad so that is why they are in my top 5. Also, just because a vendor is not listed here does not mean that I don't like their products. These are just the ones that stick out in my mind and that I continue to order from time and time again.

Without further ado, I present to you my top 5 favorite wax vendors! Please note that these are in alphabetical order and not in order of preference (that would have been even more difficult)! Oh and I apologize for the lack of pictures, this was a very spur of the moment post. Anyway, here we go!

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1. Candles from the Keeping Room

Candles from the Keeping Room (CFTKR) has been a favorite company of mine for many, many years. It is run by a lady named Carol who is so sweet and helpful to her customers. She has a TON of different scents and blends, probably one of the biggest and most diverse scent lists of any vendor out there. Her tarts are generally strong, and although I've had a few more duds than usual with her lately, the majority of CFTKR tarts are great. Also, CFTKR is a ready-to-ship (RTS) company so even when she is slammed (which she has been lately), you will still get your order within a week. When things aren't as busy, I have received my order within 2 days. A lot of vendors these days have TATs upwards of a few months so it's refreshing to see a vendor who sticks to a short TAT.

There are a few things to consider with CFTKR. First of all, you can't normally order single tarts. Her tarts come in 4 oz. or 8 oz. bags only. But, they are VERY reasonably priced so that's not a huge deal. Also, Carol has skyrocketed in popularity lately and it has been very hard for her to keep things in stock. I am thrilled for her, but at the same time, it is very frustrating when you can't get the scents that you were hoping for. She does restock quite frequently but lately things have been selling out instantly. Carol is currently closed but will be reopening at the beginning of May, so if you are planning on ordering, plan on waking up super early that day so you can get what you were hoping for!

2. Front Porch

Front Porch was one of the first vendors I ordered from when I got back into wax and I continue to order from them quite frequently (much to the dismay of my wallet). Front Porch is a RTS company as well, and they actually restock their site every day Monday-Friday which is great because there is always a lot of stock on hand. Besides the fact that they have great scents, their tarts are some of the strongest and long lasting around! Because they have such a huge scent list, they take requests from customers and every single time I have requested a scent, Angie (the owner) has listed it within a few days of my request. So cool! Another thing that I love about Front Porch is the fact that they never (or at least not in my recent memory) close down shop. Front Porch tarts will always be a staple in my collection for sure.

Some people seem to feel that Front Porch tarts are a bit expensive for what they are. A 4-pack of 1-oz. grubby tarts are $5.25 and the single grubbies are $1.75. Dollars for ounce, they do appear to be some of the more expensive tarts on the market. But here's the thing- they have free shipping, ALL THE TIME! No matter if you order a single tart or a huge $200 order, your shipping will always be free. Thus, the price of shipping is built into the price of the tarts. Some people still feel like FP tarts are too expensive, but I'm more than willing to pay a bit more when I get free shipping in the end. Another thing to consider about FP wax - it has a bit of a peculiar base smell, akin to friend dough or hot oil. It does affect the scents on cold throw but usually when melted, they smell just fine. I have found, however, that some fruity scents don't work well with the base smell so it's a trial and error situation. However, bakery scents are always AMAZING in Front Porch's wax.

3. Lasting Scent Candles

LSC was the very first vendor I placed an order with when I got back into wax and they are still in my very absolute favorite vendors list. Quite simply, LSC is amazing. They have some of the best and most authentic scents in the biz, their stuff is always SUPER STRONG, and I love the variety of scents that they have. They variety is definitely not as diverse as CFTKR, FP, or RG but what's awesome about their scents is the majority of them are custom blended by them. A lot of vendors just use stock oils, but LSC makes sure that their blends are the best of the best, and sometimes it requires a bit more than just tossing in some stock oil into some wax. Awesome, awesome blends! Another thing that I love about LSC is their labels. Each scent has it's own colorful picture on the label, they are all absolutely adorable.

A major downside of LSC is the TAT. Generally the TAT for custom orders runs about 21 days, but they got so overwhelmed with orders recently that they had to close up shop for a little while. For me, 21 days isn't a big deal as I've been waiting on orders for a few vendors for upwards of 3-4 months but I know some people prefer not to wait that long. But luckily, for those in need of instant gratification, LSC usually has a great selection of RTS tarts available. Also, they don't have a huge variety of products available. I believe they do carry room sprays and possibly home fragrance oils, but in terms of wax, there's only 1.5 ounce scent shots. That's it. No scoopables, no brittle, no chunks, no scallops. Just the 1.5 ounce scent shots. That doesn't bother me at all, though I know some people would prefer to have a variety of different product options.

4. Rosegirls

Ahh Rosegirls. I absolutely LOVE Rosegirls. Rosegirls is a more unique vendor in that they only offer chunk tarts and pie tarts. No scent shots, no scallops, no clamshells. Just chunks. And WOW are their chunks fantastic. They offer around 200 or so different chunk blends that they keep in stock and then they also offer custom blending options, where you can create any scent that your heart desires! I've had a few weaker tarts from them but overall, their stuff is super strong and both their house blends as well as custom blends, are all blended so well that you can smell all the specific notes in them! Gotta love that. These girls really know what they're doing. It's honestly like Christmas when I open an order from Rosegirls.

Here's the thing with Rosegirls. They are so popular that they can only open up shop once a month for a few hours. That means that you have to make sure that you are awake early, have your list planned out and your credit card at the ready because the site is absolutely SLAMMED when they open. It's a rush ordering from RG for sure. But rest assured, they will announce on Facebook when they have to close the site based on how many orders they have received. Some people find this system infuriating, but I absolutely LOVE it. They know their limit and they would much rather only accept as many orders as they can handle so they don't get overwhelmed and end up with TATs that are several months long. Much like many wax vendors these days, they have skyrocketed in popularity recently so their TAT has extended a bit, even with the current system. I don't mind waiting a bit longer because they are very upfront about their TAT and do everything they can to prevent from going over that.

5. The Bathing Garden

The Bathing Garden definitely has some of the most beautiful looking tarts around. If you've never seen Shannon's tarts before, you're missing out because they're absolutely gorgeous! She only does clamshells, and she has beautiful colored wax covered in glitter and various embeds that correspond with whatever scent   they are. I've had great luck with TBG's tarts, there have been a few duds but the majority of them are super strong and long lasting. Another great thing about The Bathing Garden is how unique her scents are. If you're looking for your typical Sugar Cookie or Blueberry Muffin scent, you need to look elsewhere because these blends are definitely out of the ordinary. With cult favorites such as Lemon Curd and Rose Milk, she has a knack for blending florals in a way that even floral haters will love. Shannon is also a sweetheart and is always willing to help her customers out. Really great stuff and great customer service as well!

A major downside of the Bathing Garden is you never really know what scents she will be listing. She had some major surgery back in December and is now unfortunately dealing with a family issue, so her restocks as of late have been a bit inconsistent. Totally understandable but just something to think about. If you are dead set on going to the site and being able to order your favorite scent at that very moment, it's just not going to work like that. However, Shannon has been working on opening up her own website outside of etsy and hopefully being able to carry more stock at a time. This may be a ways down the road due to current events in her life, but I'm patient and for now, I'm totally okay with stalking her etsy page on the chance that she may restock.

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And so concludes my top 5 favorite vendors!! At the time of publishing this post, all of these vendors are currently closed with the exception of Front Porch, but I anticipate them all opening back up again very soon. Like I said before, just because a vendor isn't listed here doesn't mean that I don't love their product. But these are the top 5 vendors that I consistently have great luck with and will continue to buy from again and again.

I'll be back this week to share with you guys a new vendor and later on with some melted reviews! Thanks for stopping by today and I'll see you all very soon =)

Weekly Wax Meltdown #7 - 3/24/2013 to 4/13/2013

Hey ladies (and gents)! Long time no see yet again, eh? I can't believe I haven't posted in almost three weeks! I've been busy with various things these past few weeks and in addition to slacking on the blogging, I haven't been melting a whole lot either. At the same time, my stash seems to have grown exponentially recently due to several swaps and RR's that I've been participating in. This means 2 things - first of all, I absolutely need to make an effort to be melting more when I'm home and second of all, DESTASHES! So, keep your eyes peeled for some destashes from me very soon! 

Also, I've started doing YouTube wax videos! A lot of my YT friends have been requesting that I do some videos and I finally gave in. I'll mostly be doing swap and Round Robin videos there, and I plan on keeping the majority of my melted reviews and hauls on this blog. So if you're interested in checking those out, here is the link to my YouTube channel: Scholarly Nail on YouTube. 

I may have another exciting announcement for you guys soon as well, but I'll keep that on the DL until things pan out with that. And no, don't worry, I'm not knocked up! For now, let's get into what I've been melting these past few weeks!

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• Front Porch Lemon Cotton Candy (1 tart) - Man oh man was this one awesome! I believe I've reviewed this scent before so I won't go into to much detail but it was truly phenomenal. Front Porch has one of the few cotton candy oils that is SUPER STRONG as well as long lasting. FP also has one of my favorite lemon scents so the two of these together is pure heaven. This little grubby tart lasted me over 12 hours in my 24 watt hotplate. I'm on a wax ban right now but I made sure I had another 4-pack on hand before that started =)
• Front Porch Iced Cinnamon Rolls (1 tart) - I got this one out of a recent RR box and when I went to put it away, I realized the bag was ripped so I just tossed it into one of my warmers. I'm not sure how old this tart was or how long the bag had been ripped, but I didn't get a whole lot out of this one. It was a generic spicy bakery scent, and I got a nice medium throw in my 18-watt hotplate but it quickly fizzled out after a few hours and started to get that waxy smell to it. I think I have a newer tart of this scent that I'll try before I come to any conclusions about this one. 
• Front Porch Blueberry Cheesecake (1 tart) - This was a nice scent from Front Porch but not really anything special. It had a very generic blueberry scent to it and I didn't get a whole lot of the cheesecake note in it, which was a bit disappointing. Overall a good tart but not a favorite. It had a medium-to-strong scent throw and lasted a good 8 hours in a 24-watt hotplate warmer. Probably won't be repurchasing this one, as I much prefer the Blueberry Cheesecake scent from Tiffany Candles. 
• Candles from the Keeping Room Strawberry Cookie (1 tart) - Okay, now this one was AMAZING. Wow. Wow wow WOW you guys. If you haven't tried Carol's Strawberry Cookie scent, you absolutely must. It smells a lot like her Strawberry Milk scent with a cookie undertone. You get the strawberry note, you get the crunchy cookie note, but then there's this underlying milky sweetness that is present as well. If I had to name this scent myself, I'd call it "Strawberry Milk and Cookies." It was a nice medium-to-strong scent throw in my 24-watt hotplate and it lasted about 6 hours before it started to fade. I'm so glad I have another sample and a 4-pack in this one because it is a new fave for sure! 
• Closet Full of Wax Blushing Peaches (1 Mickey shaped tart) - This was the first thing I've ever melted from CFoW and I was pleasantly surprised! I've heard that this vendor has been hit or miss for people and I can definitely see how, just based off of cold sniff of the ones I've smelled, but this is a definite winner! This is a very sweet peach scent with a bit of a berry undertone. I'm really big on peach scents lately for spring and summer so this one was right up my alley. Medium-to-strong scent throw. Lasted about 6 hours. I got back a pack of scallops in this scent in my RR and I have this scent from CBV as well so I think I'm good and stocked up for awhile.

• Lil' Kitchen Candles Twinkie (1 large teddy bear tart) - I just really have not been having great luck with LKC these days. This was a HUGE bear tart, probably around 1.5 ounces or more and I really didn't get much from it. I don't know if my order was a bad batch or what. I could smell a faint sweetness when this was melting but that's pretty much it. Light throw in a 24-watt hotplate. I ended up dumping this one out after about 3 hours because it just didn't do much for me. I have a scent shot from LKC in Twinkies Cheesecake that is a bit stronger on cold throw so I'll try that one to see if it does better for me. 
• Lil' Kitchen Candles Strawberry Banana Smoothie (1.5 scent sticks) - As a last ditch effort to try to get some of my LKC stuff to work for me, I threw 1 and a half of these sticks into my 24-watt and surprisingly, this one did really well for me! I got a medium-to-strong throw off of it. The blend was really nice too, you could smell the banana and strawberry notes equally. The banana was more of a Runts banana as opposed to a fresh banana so this scent was very sweet and candy-like, which I loved! Lasted a good 6 or so hours. I'd probably repurchase this one if I order from LKC again.
• Tiffany Candles Jelly Donuts (1 scallop tart) - Yum! This is Tiffany's new Jelly Donuts blend, which is actually a jelly donut scent blended with their infamous Donut Shop fragrance. I definitely get the fruity jelly scent but I also get that wonderful undertone of spicy fried dough coming from the Donut Shop scent. SO good! I was surprised that it performed so well for me, usually 1 scallop from Tiffany's doesn't really do it for me but this was pleasantly strong. Medium-to-strong scent throw, lasted about 6 hours. I'd definitely repurchase this and in fact, I bought a jar of scoopable wax in this one! Can't wait to try that out =)
• Tiffany Candles S'mores (1 scallop tart) - Meh. This wasn't all that strong on cold throw but I figured that since this is paraffin wax, it would come alive a bit more when melting. It didn't. At first, I got a slight hint of chocolate, a whole lotta marshmallow, and maybe the littlest bit of that graham cracker note but after about an hour it just faded into a generic sweet scent. Light throw. Lasted not even 2 hours. Definitely will not be repurchasing this one. I much prefer Campfire Dessert from Sniff My Tarts.
• Tiffany Candles Strawberry Banana - This was another great strawberry-banana scent. It was less candy-like than LKC's strawberry banana, probably due to the slight green undertone in the background. Medium scent throw. Lasted about 8 hours. Definitely not my favorite strawberry banana scent so I probably wouldn't repurchase. My current fave strawberry-banana scent is Rosegirls Strawberry Banana Bubblegum but it's not quite perfect so I'm always on the hunt for others (suggestions welcome).

• Candles by Victoria Banana Coconut Cream Pie (half a scent shot)- Two of my favorite scents in one, pure heaven! I could smell both notes equally, the sweet banana bakery scent mixed with the sweet coconut bakery scent. I just can't get enough coconut or banana scents lately!  Strong scent throw, lasted about 12 hours in my 24-watt hotplate. I ended up ordering this scent in a scoopable from her! Can't wait to see how CBV's scoopables work for me. 
• Shayz Crystal Light Peach Lemonade (1 scent shot) - This one was nice, but a bit odd. Shayz' lemonade scent isn't really a true lemonade scent and instead smells exactly like a fizzy pop scent. Okay with me, but I know a lot of people do not care for Shayz lemonade scents. Anyway, this scent did pretty well in my 24-watt hotplate, I got a strong scent throw for the first few hours of the fizzy pop blended with a nice peach note but after a few hours the peach fizzled out and it was all fizzy pop. Not bad but I wish the peach would have lasted longer. Not a repurch, as I don't see myself ordering from Shayz again in the near future.
• Haley's Heavenly Scents Cotton Candy (1 scent shot) - This is one of those super light cotton candy scents that just don't perform all that well melted. I got a faint cotton candy note when this was melted but not much else. I'm not too surprised because it didn't smell like all that much on cold throw and cotton candy scents are notoriously weak. Not a huge loss, as I got this one out of a RR box. Very light throw. Melted for about 2 hours before I tossed it. Not a repurchase. 
• Nene's Kitchen Melts Strawberry Buttercream (1 mini scent shot) - This was a really awesome strawberry and frosting scent. I absolutely love buttercream scents, and it didn't have that plasticky note that some frosting scents can have. The strawberry was sweet but not too sweet so the addition of the buttercream note didn't send it into that "too sweet" category. Unfortunately, this faded after a few hours in my 24-watt warmer. I am going to melt my Nene's stuff in lower wattage warmers from now on to prolong the scent throw. 
• Lasting Scent Candles Blueberry Muffin (1 scent shot) - I looooooove LSC's blueberry muffin scent. A lot of blueberry muffin scents are too heavy on the blueberry note but I get a great doughy note in this one as well. Strong throw in a 25-watt lightbulb warmer. Lasted 12+ hours. I have had amazing luck with my LSC tarts in general and they continue to be one of my go-to vendors so as long as they keep offering this scent, I will keep buying it!
• Lasting Scent Candles Candy Land Dreamin (1 scent shot) - I am getting to the end of my stash of this scent and I am bummed because it is SO DARN GOOD. It is a blend of lavender and peppermint with a slight hint of vanilla. It reminds me of something I used to buy from Lush way back in the day (Ickle Baby Bath, perhaps). Strong scent throw. Lasted about 8 hours in a 24-watt hotplate. To me, lavender mixed with peppermint is the ultimate relaxing/spa kind of scent and Candy Land Dreamin is BY FAR my favorite lavender/peppermint blend from any vendor. Unfortunately, it was limited edition for the holidays and is now discontinued. I'm now on the hunt for a lavender/peppermint blend that is just as good and I have not found one yet that can even hold a candle to this one!
• Lasting Scent Candles Pink Marshmallow Shortbread (1 scent shot) - HOLY COW YOU GUYS. This one is slap your mama good. I've been really into Pink Sugar blended with bakery scents lately and this is one of the best I've smelled thus far. I get the Pink Sugar and the marshmallow notes but the shortbread scent is the star here. Super rich and buttery, it blends amazingly with Pink Sugar. I need to get my hands on more of this for sure. Strong throw. Lasted about 8 hours in my 25-watt lightbulb warmer. Definite repurch!

• The Bathing Garden Cheshire Cat (2 cubes) - This was a nice raspberry/lemon scent but it honestly wasn't really anything special for me. I know, I know! It's such a popular Bathing Garden scent but something about it was lacking for me. The lemon scent was leaning towards a bakery lemon  so that was fine but the raspberry was oddly floral. Medium-to-strong scent throw. Lasted about 6 hours. Not sure I'll be melting the rest of this one. I'll probably pass it along in a swap or RR. 
• The Bathing Garden Cinnamon Cookie Dough (2 cubes) - This one I was unsure of on cold sniff but once it was warmed, I really loved it!! The cookie dough scent is very, very sweet and although this scent is very heavy on the cinnamon, that sweetness helps it from becoming too spicy. I melted this one in a tealight warmer because it was the only one I had open at the time, which is definitely not the ideal warmer for soft waxes like The Bathing Garden's. It only lasted about 3 hours but I know it will last longer in a different type of warmer. Really good!
• The Bathing Garden Gardenia Coconut Cream (1 cube)  - This is, hands down, the best gardenia scent I have ever smelled in my whole life! Absolutely incredible!! I didn't really smell a whole lot of the coconut on its own but it added a really nice sweetness to the gardenia scent. Gardenia scents can often be too sharp of soapy, but this one was soft, sweet and very pleasant. I enjoy floral scents and this one has to be one of my top favorites now. Strong scent throw from just 1 little cube! Lasted over 12 hours in a 24-watt hotplate. I hope she lists this scent again one day because I'll definitely need a backup of this one! 
• The Bathing Garden Lemon Curd and Rose Milk (2 cubes) - This is another one of The Bathing Garden's signature scents that I was thrilled to be able to get my hands on. Now this lemon blend was a definite winner in my book!! The lemon scent in this blend was not a bakery lemon, but it wasn't a cleaner-type lemon either. Just a nice fresh, tart lemon that blends really well with the floral and slighty sweet rose milk scent. This is pure genius scent mixing right here, folks. It is a very unique scent, I don't believe I've ever seen another vendor with this blend before. Strong throw! Try it, you'll like it =)

• Sniff My Tarts Raspberry Chocolate Truffle (half of a medium sized chunk) - I don't think there will ever be a SMT scent that I love more than this one. It is PERFECTION! I have been really into chocolate scents lately which is quite odd because I don't even really like chocolate all that much in real life. Anyway, when I do like to eat chocolate, my favorite is the raspberry truffles from Godiva. This, my friends, smells exactly like you are taking a bite into a delicious raspberry truffle!! It's truly wonderful. There is a slight boozy note to the chocolate scent but somehow that makes it seem all-the-more of an authentic chocolate scent for me. I can't get enough of this scent you guys! I recently passed a chunk of this on in a RR and I'm kind of regretting that because I want it all to myself. I did half of a chunk in my 24-watt hotplate and this bad boy lasted over 12 hours for me. So not only does it smell amazing, but it lasts forever too. I may have to switch out one of the bags in my pending SMT for this scent so I can have backups. 
• Sniff My Tarts Smoothie Sugar Peppermint (1 chunk) - This is a really awesome peppermint and vanilla blend. I've realized that as far as minty scents go, I much prefer a straight up peppermint to "candy cane" scents, which have an odd undertone to my nose. Anyways, this was very strong as well, lasted about 8 hours in my 24-watt hotplate. I'm not sure what the "sugar" note in this one is supposed to be, but I'd definitely order this blend again once I actually figure out what that sugar note is. Sugar cookie? Warm Vanilla Sugar? Either way, it was a winner for sure. 
• Sniff My Tarts Campfire Dessert (1 chunk) - This scent blew Tiffany Candles S'mores out of the water!! You get notes of chocolate, graham cracker and chocolate evenly in this one and they all blend together quite nicely (much like an actual S'more!). Medium scent throw, lasted around 6 hours. I was really hoping for a bit of a stronger throw with this one but it was good nonetheless. I think I'd repurchase this blend, but probably only in scent shot form because they tend to be stronger than the chunks. 

• COMBO: Candles from the Keeping Room Serendipity and Birthday Cake (1 tart each) - I thought this sounded like a great blend idea and it was good but strangely, the Birthday Cake scent really seemed to dominate the Serendipity in this blend. I found this odd because usually Serendipity is a strong scent and birthday cake scents generally aren't as strong. I did end up liking this one but next time, I'll try only using half of a birthday cake tart to see if the Serendipity comes out a bit more. Medium scent throw. Lasted about 6 hours in a 24-watt hotplate warmer. 

• Candles from The Keeping Room Acai Berry (1 tart) - This scent started out AWESOMELY! It reminded me of a wildberry mousse scent but without the creaminess that WB mousse scents have. It was really fantastic for the first couple of hours and then it fizzled out quite quickly in my 24-watt. I hate to say it but I haven't had the best luck with CFTKR tarts as of late. I find that I'm starting to need 2 tarts to get the scent throw and longevity that I want from them. This is from a more recent order so I wonder if it's just a recent batch issue? Who knows. This would have been a new favorite scent if it would have lasted longer.
• Candles from the Keeping Room Pineapple Upside Down Cake (1 tart) - This did pretty well for me! I didn't get much cake, but I sure got a nice, sweet pineapple scent from this tart. I'm getting into pineapple scents lately, especially with the warmer weather on the horizon. I would have preferred a bit more of a cake scent from this but it was really yummy nonetheless. Medium scent throw. Lasted about 6 hours in my 18-watt hotplate. 
• Candles from the Keeping Room Fruit Loops - Toasted Marshmallow (2 tarts, 1 in each warmer) - This is one of Carol's most popular scents, I've heard nothing but raves for this one. It was really nice, you get both the Fruit Loops and Toasted Marshmallow scents (by the way, I LOVE Carol's Toasted Marshmallow scent) but the throw wasn't quite as strong as I had hoped. I melted one tart in a 24-watt hotplate and one in a tealight warmer. I got a medium throw from this scent in both warmers. Lasted about 6 hours in the hotplate, 4 in the tealight. I really like this scent I just wish it were stronger. 
• Candles from the Keeping Room Cotton Candy Frosting - Now this one was AWESOME! I love Cotton Candy Frosting from any vendor, I find it to be one of the strongest cotton candy oils available. Carol's version did really well for me, I got a medium-to-strong scent throw from it and it lasted a solid 6 hours. I'm trying to not order from Carol when she reopens because I have so much CFTKR already (plus that whole wax ban thing), but if an order happens, I'll definitely need to grab another bag of this one!

~~~~

Alrighty guys, that's all I've melted for the past few weeks. Definitely some hits and misses in that bunch. Thanks to everyone for stopping by today and I'll see you all again very soon! xoxo

Weekly Wax Meltdown #4 - 2/10/13 to 2/16/13

Okay, I'm back with my weekly melt reviews!

It was a pretty good week in wax here at The Scholarly Nail household. I ended up melting wax from 6 different vendors I hadn't melted yet so that was quite exciting! As per usual, I melted a variety of fruit, bakery, spicy and fresh scents this week. I never can stick to just one scent category, I'm always all over the place.

This week also made me realize that I have a case of candle nose! Candle nose is something that happens when you melt a lot of wax and things that you know are strong, just aren't smelling that strong to you anymore. The best remedy for candle nose is to take a few days off from melting to give yourself a break. I've been doing just that. I didn't melt yesterday or today, and have been making sure to air out the house for short periods of time to get rid of any residual scents hanging out. My nose is feeling a lot more clear! I might pop in a sinus relief tart tomorrow and then get back into melting full force on Wednesday. For this reason, my weekly melts next week will be significantly shorter than usual.

Anyways, let's get right into what I've melted this week. I actually didn't melt any candles this week, so here's all the tarts that I melted. Enjoy!

Scent Appeal Candles

Jelly Doughnut

• Notes: (scent description not available) jelly, donuts
• Warmer: 24-watt hot plate
• Amount used: 2 cubes
• My take: This was amazing!! This jelly donut scent smells pretty much dead on for my beloved CFTKR Jelly Donut so of course, I love it. There is a strong sweet fruity scent along with the dough note. I've realized that I think I love these jelly donut scents so much because they smell very similar to the Wildberry Mousse oil. So, I would say this is a wildberry mousse scent with some extra bakery notes added. Really creamy and delicious. Strong throw. Lasted 12+ hours.
• Repurchase: Definitely! I can't wait until Scent Appeal opens back up because I will definitely be placing an order for more clamshells.
• Overall rating: 8.5/10

Scentsy

Spiced Grapefruit

• Notes: Mandarin, bergamot, citrus, coriander, nutmeg, allspice
• Warmer: 18-watt hot plate
• Amount used: 2 cubes
• My take: Spiced Grapefruit is one of my all-time favorite fragrances from Scentsy. I searched high and low for a dupe for this one but no matter how many "spiced grapefruit" scents I tried, nothing even came close. However, one day I received a sample from CFTKR of a scent called Balsam and Citrus and it was practically a dead-on dupe. This is when I realized that the scent profile that Scentsy gives is inaccurate - the "spiced" note in this is actually a balsam scent! Sure, there's a hint of spice to this but the main thing I smell is a nice citrus and balsam scent. Spiced Grapefruit just screams Christmas to me. It's such a cozy and warm scent. It has been discontinued but it seems to come back every year for Bring Back My Bar because it's so popular. Strong throw. Lasted about 6 hours in a hotplate. I know you're supposed to do Scentsy in lightbulb warmers but this was the only one I had open. This scent does last much longer in a lightbulb warmer. 
• Repurchase: Oh absolutely! I bought several bars of this in January when it came back again for BBMB.
• Overall rating: 8.5/10

Better Homes and Gardens

Wild Island Fruit

• Notes: (official notes unknown) lots of tropical fruits
• Warmer: 18-watt hot plate
• Amount used: 2 cubes
• My take: WOAH MAMA is this STRONG! Next time I'll stick to just one cube of this one. Word on the street is that this is a dupe for Bath and Body Works Caribbean Escape. I don't recall what that one smells like so I'll have to trust that this is a dupe for that. I can't really pick out any specific notes in this one, but what I'm smelling is a combination of tart and juicy fruits. There's definitely some citrus in here, perhaps some melon and coconut too. Really love this one! Super strong throw. Lasted 12+ hours.
• Repurchase: Definitely.
• Overall rating: 8/10

Candles from the Keeping Room

Lemon Summer Cake

• Notes: Cake, lemon, sweet sugar
• Warmer: 18-watt hot plate
• Amount used: 1 grubby tart 
• My take: Really like this one! Honestly, I don't think I've met a lemon bakery scent that  I didn't like from CFTKR. This is a nice sweet bakery lemon scent. I smell hints of a buttery note in this as well. Delish! Medium-to-strong scent throw. Lasted about 8 hours.
• Repurchase: Maybe. I have so many lemon bakery scents and they all tend to smell similar. I'll see once I melt through more of my lemon scents.
• Overall rating: 7/10

Vanilla Bean Noel-Blue Hawaiian (Chunky muffin cuttable)

• Notes: Vanilla Bean Noel and Blue Hawaiian (orange, lemon, cherry, pineapple, acai berry, sea spray, coconut, rum, ozone)
• Warmer: 24-watt hot plate
• Amount used: Half of a chunky muffin tart
• My take: This one was absolutely amazing! Her Blue Hawaiian scent is incredible - a nice cherry/coconut/orange drink scent. It smells way better than actual Blue Hawaiian cocktails taste =) It smells even more awesome blended with the Vanilla Bean Noel. The Blue Hawaiian scent is the chunks and then the VBN is the overpour. The VBN toned down the fruity scent but it was still quite strong. LOVE this one. Strong scent throw. Lasted about 6 hours.
• Repurchase: Definitely. In fact, I think I will be needing some tarts of plain Blue Hawaiian as well.
• Overall rating: 8.5/10

Satsuma and Strawberry

• Notes: satsuma orange and strawberry
• Warmer: Tealight
• Amount used: 1 bundt cake tart
• My take: This one is really nice.  It is a new CFTKR in-house blend for 2013 that was a customer request. This combination seems to be all the rage in the wax world right now. The satsuma scent is definitely dominant but the strawberry adds a nice sweetness to it. It smells like a Strawberry Orange Julius! Very nice! Medium-to-strong scent throw. Lasted about 8 hours.
• Repurchase: Maybe. I have some other satsuma/strawberry blends that I am going to try out and figure out which one is my favorite.
• Overall rating: 7/10

Ultimate Bakery Shop

• Notes: Sugar cookie, bread, donuts, cakes, frosting
• Warmer: Tealight
• Amount used: 1 crueller donut tart
• My take: I just love this blend so much! It is a lot different from Front Porch's Ultimate Bakery, thankfully. That blend has zucchini bread, pink sugar and apple pie. I HATE that one. This one is mainly sugar cookie with lots of other cakey and sugary notes. Basically, it's like sugar cookie on steroids. So good! Medium scent throw. Lasted about 8 hours. Wish it were a bit stronger but it's still fantastic.
• Repurchase: Definitely.
• Overall rating: 7.5/10

Gingerbread Cake

• Notes: Sugar, spice, vanilla, nutmeg, gingerbread, buttery notes
• Warmer: 24-watt hot plate
• Amount used: 2 grubby tarts
• My take: Remember how I said that I used to order from CFTKR waaay back in the day? Well this was my ultimate favorite scent from her way back when. And I still think it is fantastic! It is a super sweet gingerbread cake scent, very different from the other gingerbread scents out there. It's very cakey, and I don't get that strong of a ginger note to it. It's like a heavily frosted gingerbread cupcake, perhaps.  LOVE! It had a light-to-medium scent throw with one tart so I popped another one in and it gave a good medium scent throw after that. I do wish it was a bit stronger. Lasted about 6 hours.
• Repurchase: Yes. Even though it was a bit lighter than I had hoped, I will be ordering a bigger bag next time to make sure I will be able to pop in 2 of these every time. It's such a unique gingerbread scent that I have never smelled anywhere else. Plus, it's so nostalgic for me. 
• Overall rating: 7/10

Candles from the Keeping Room

Strawberry Bread 

• Notes: Strawberry, sweet bread, toasted nuts, cinnamon
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used: 1 bread tart
• My take: This one is okay. Again, not really a huge fan of bread scents but because this one was a bit sweeter than the normal zucchini bread scent I figured I'd give it a whirl. The strawberry note in this is dominant and the bread note is in the background. It is nice, I'm just not sure if I could see myself melting this very often. As with all zucchini bread scents I've melted, after a few hours I feel the need to get rid of the scent. Medium-to-strong scent throw. I poured this out after about 3 hours so I'm not sure how long it would have lasted otherwise.
• Repurchase: Probably not.
• Overall rating: 6/10

Fresh Picked Strawberry

• Notes: Strawberry
• Warmer: 24-watt hotplate
• Amount used: 1 strawberry tart
• My take: This is definitely one of the most realistic strawberry scents I've come across. It is sweet, juicy and a bit tart - just like a real strawberry! As I mentioned in my recent CFTKR haul post, my husband LOVES this one. Medium scent throw. Lasted about 4 hours. Wish it was a bit stronger but honestly it's so good that I can't really complain.
• Repurchase: Definitely, and I already have!
• Overall rating: 7.5/10

Cinnamon Strudel

• Notes: Sweet cinnamon bakery scent
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used: 1 grubby tart
• My take: This is such an awesome cinnamon bakery scent! It is definitely heavy on the cinnamon but the sweet bakery note tones it down nicely. I get a flaky pastry note from this. So, so SO GOOD! I have a lot of cinnamon bakery scents in my stash and this is by far one of my favorites. Strong scent throw. Lasted 12+ hours.
• Repurchase: Yup! I just bought a big 8 oz. bag of this in my last order!
• Overall rating: 10/10

Baked Vanilla Crunch

• Notes: Vanilla, caramel, walnut
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used: 1 grubby tart
• My take: This one was pretty good, nothing that really blew my socks off though. I get a strong hit of vanilla with a bit of a crunchy cookie note to it. It's nice but I think it would be better blended with something else. Medium scent throw. Lasted about 6 hours.
• Repurchase: Probably not. I recently got the Vanilla Shake scent from here and I think I will like that one better than this one. It seems much stronger and would be better on its own than the Baked Vanilla Crunch would.
• Overall rating: 6/10

Lasting Scent Candles

Lavender Confection

• Notes: Lavender, sweet buttery sugar cookie
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used: 1 scent shot
• My take: Really love LSC's lavender scent! It's definitely a sweet lavender, but not that awful laundry scent that some vendors try to pass off as "sweet lavender." I definitely get more of the lavender note with this but the sugar cookie is there. I will be forever looking for the perfect lavender sugar cookie scent that mimics my beloved Yankee Shortbread Cookie, which is a buttery sugar cookie with a hint of herbal lavender. This one is not it but it is special in it's own right. Strong scent throw. Lasted 12+ hours. 
• Repurchase: I would think so!
• Overall rating: 7/10

Candy Cane Kisses

• Notes: Candy cane, Vanilla Bean Noel, vanilla sugar
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used: 1 scent shot
• My take: This is a nice creamy peppermint scent. I can smell the VBN but the candy cane scent is definitely the star here. I absolutely love peppermint/vanilla scents and this one is very nice. It isn't particularly unique, however, as lots of vendors have peppermint and VBN blends. Also,  it wasn't as strong as some others I've come across. Medium scent throw. Lasted about 6 hours.
• Repurchase: Probably not. There's other VBN/peppermint blends that I like better.
• Overall rating: 6.5/10

Ruby Rock Candy

• Notes: Cherry, rock candy
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used: 1 scent shot
• My take: I love LSC's cherry scent! It's a nice and sweet maraschino cherry as opposed to a black cherry or a medicinal cherry. I'm really bummed this one is discontinued because it was such a nice scent! I get mostly a cherry note in this one with a hint of sweetness that is added by the rock candy. Medium scent throw. Lasted about 6 hours.
• Repurchase: I would if I could but I can't =( Oh well!
• Overall rating: 7/10

Banana Love

• Notes: Ripe banana, sugar cookie, vanilla cream, caramel, sugar
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  1 scent shot
• My take: This, to me, smells pretty much exactly like a banana Runt candy. I even smell that hint of powder that you get when you bite into a banana Runt. I can smell a very slight hint of a sugar cookie note, but not much. Even so, I really like this one. I am all about banana scents so how could I not love one called Banana Love? Medium scent throw. Lasted about 6 hours.
• Repurchase: Perhaps! I have a few more of these in my stash, we'll see if I miss it once I've melted the rest of them.
• Overall rating: 7/10

Lil Kitchen Candles

Circus

• Notes: Cotton candy, orange dreamsicle, banana smoothie
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  4 lego tarts
• My take: I was really excited about this one. Unfortunately, it just did not wow me. This was one of the last things I melted before I realized that I was suffering from a case of candle nose. I smelled mostly orange dreamsicle in this one, couldn't really smell any banana or cotton candy, unfortunately. Next time I melt this, I'll throw the six remaining legos in and see if it performs better for me. Light scent throw. Only lasted about 2 hours before I couldn't smell anything. I've heard great things about the way this vendor's wax performs so I am going to chalk this up to candle nose and give it another try.
• Repurchase: Maybe. Maybe not. I'm going to have to melt this again to get an accurate read on it.
• Overall rating: 2/10

Skinny Dip Soaps

Lemon Squares

• Notes: (description unknown) Bakery lemon
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  1 donut tart
• My take:  I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I wasn't too thrilled with my Skinny Dip order so I wasn't really expecting much. This was a very nice lemon bakery scent. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it is always important for a vendor to have a good lemon scent in their repertoire.  Strong scent throw. Lasted about 8 hours.
• Repurchase: Probably not. I don't see myself ordering from this vendor again but if I do, this would be a scent I would consider repurchasing. 
• Overall rating: 7/10

Front Porch Candle Co.

Raspberry Coconut Cake

• Notes: raspberry, coconut, cake
• Warmer: 24-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  1 grubby tart
• My take: Yeaaaahhh buddy! I am pretty much obsessed with this scent. It's a nice sweet and tart raspberry blended with coconut and a slight hint of cake in the background. This is the epitome of a perfect summer scent for me. Berry and coconut together is always a winning combo for me. I'll definitely be requesting  Angie make this one when I'm off of my wax ban in April. Strong scent throw. Lasted about 8 hours. I do wish the coconut was a bit stronger in this but it is phenomenal anyways. 
• Repurchase: Absolutely!
• Overall rating: 9.5/10

Tiffany Candles

Coconut & Pineapple (new wax)

• Notes: coconut, pineapple
• Warmer: 24-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  2 scallop tarts
• My take: This was a really nice blend of coconut and pineapple. I'm super picky about coconut and pineapple blends because a lot of times they tend to smell very cheap and generic. This one, however, had a very rich coconut base with a nice top note of sweet and juicy pineapple. Really loved the way this scent was blended! I wish it was a bit stronger, with 2 scallop tarts I only got a medium throw from this one. Lasted about 6 hours.
• Repurchase: Perhaps. I may even try this one in their new scoopable wax at some point.
• Overall rating: 7/10

Pumpkin Creme Brulee (old wax)

• Notes: pumpkin puree, cinnamon, cardamom, vermont maple, caramelized sugar, rum, French vanilla
• Warmer: 24-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  1 scallop tart
• My take: This is probably one of my favorite pumpkin scents ever. A lot of vendors use this oil so it's not unique to Tiffany's but that's okay because Tiffany's version was actually quite strong! It's definitely a spicy pumpkin scent, but with a heavy crunchy sugar note. I don't have too much luck with Tiffany's old wax so I was pleasantly surprised that this one did so well. I imagine that it will do well in the new wax too. Strong throw. Lasted about 8 hours.
• Repurchase: Definitely!
• Overall rating: 9/10

Tiffany Candles

Cucumber Melon type (new wax)

• Notes: honeydew, cucumber
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  1 scent shot
• My take: LOVE this one! I was obsessed with Bath and Body Works Cucumber Melon back in middle school so this one brings back good memories. I wasn't expecting too much from this but wow was this baby STRONG! Only lasted about 4 hours though. I want Tiffany to carry Juniper Breeze and Herbal Essences scents so I can blend these three scents in a candle. I think I would call it "Middle School Madness." 
• Repurchase: Yes!
• Overall rating: 8/10

Candles by Victoria

Boston Cream Pie

• Notes: Custard, chocolate, cream
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  Half of a scent shot
• My take: This was the first CBV shot I've ever melted and WOW was it STRONG! I've heard that most people need to cut these tarts in half of in quarters because they're so strong but I didn't believe it. I started out with half a scent shot and figured I would have to add the rest in. Boy was I wrong! In fact, I probably could have gotten away with 1/4 of a scent shot with this one. Love this scent. It's a creamy chocolate scent with a strong spicy crust note. Super strong scent throw. Had to turn it off because it was bothering my husband's nose. I'll definitely stick to 1/4 of the scent shot next time and maybe mix it with a vanilla scent to tone it down. 
• Repurchase: Absolutely! 
• Overall rating: 9/10

Sugar and Spice Gourmet Soy

Juniper Breeze

• Notes: pure fresh floral
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  1 scent shot
• My take: I wish the scent description gave me a bit more to work with here. Basically, it smells exactly like the 90's Bath and Body Works favorite Juniper Breeze scent. It's fresh and crisp, but with a feminine floral twist. Obsessed. I should have combined this one with Tiffany's Cuc Melon! Anyways, this one had a super strong scent throw. Lasted 12+ hours.
• Repurchase: For sure.
• Overall rating: 9/10

Nene's Kitchen Melts

Baklava

• Notes: Filo dough, cinnamon, nuts, sweet honey glaze
• Warmer: 24-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  1 scent shot
• My take: This was incredible! This teeny, tiny .7 oz scent shot threw like crazy. On cold sniff I couldn't really smell much else besides the cinnamon and dough but warmed, the honey and nut notes came out as well! Another spicy bakery scent that has moved to the top of my favorites list this week. I need to order this scent in bulk. Strong scent throw. Lasted about 8 hours.
• Repurchase: Yes yes yes! 
• Overall rating: 10/10

Ten Digit Creations

Magnolia Blossom

• Notes: Magnolia, white sandalwood, amber
• Warmer: 24-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  1 scallop tart
• My take: Yet another Bath and Body Works dupe this week! This is another one of my favorite scents that is now discontinued. So glad to have found an exact dupe for this scent. It's such a nice floral scent without being too heavy on the floral. It's definitely sweet but the sandalwood and amber add depth. Really pretty. I would recommend this to everyone, even if you hate florals. Strong scent throw. Lasted 12+ hours.
• Repurchase: Absolutely! I snagged another one of these in the RR box, so that will have to tide me over until I can place another order in April after my wax ban.
• Overall rating: 10/10

Pics, Petals and Scents

Plum Delicious

• Notes: Plump berries, spice, spruce
• Warmer: 18-watt hotplate
• Amount used:  1 "Thank You" bar
• My take: This was a gift from my friend Shelby. It was love at first sniff! I've found that I really like fruity scents blended with spruce/pine/balsam notes. The berry/plum note in this is very strong and then the spruce and spice notes pull it all together. I smell even a hint of a bakery crust note in this. It's a very holiday-ish scent that can work all year round.  Obsessed. I'm so glad I ordered this scent in a few products in my PPS order. Strong scent throw. Lasted 12+ hours.
• Repurchase: Absolutely! I purchased a bag of this scent on it's own and even blended it with another scent in a chunk! Can't wait until that order arrives!
• Overall rating: 10/10

Ollie's Soaps

Pink Lime

• Notes:  Pink Sugar, lime
• Warmer: Tealight
• Amount used:  1 scallop tart
• My take: Really loved this one! This is the first tart I've melted from Ollie's and I was very impressed. The lime is this tends to be more of a sweet, bakery lime but I didn't detect any pie crust notes. Perhaps it was a lime cake scent or something along those lines. The Pink Sugar cuts the tartness of the lime quite nicely and adds a sugary sweetness. I could smell both notes equally in this blend. Strong scent throw. Lasted about 10 hours.
• Repurchase: Definitely! 
• Overall rating: 8.5/10

Can-Do-Candles

Raspberry Violet

• Notes:  Raspberry, violet
• Warmer: Tealight
• Amount used:  1 scallop tart
• My take: This was incredible. The sweetness of the raspberry blended really well with the powdery floral of the violet. As I've mentioned before, violet is one of my favorite floral notes and this blend is definitely one of the best violet scents I've ever smelled. A perfect spring scent. Definitely a winner. Another scent I would recommend to someone who isn't much of a floral fan. Strong scent throw. Lasted 8+ hours.
• Repurchase: I'm honestly thinking of breaking my wax ban just to get a few more of these tarts. Must. Not. Order.
• Overall rating: 9.5/10

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That's all for this week's wax meltdown! Hope you enjoyed reading about all the scents I melted this week. Overall, I had great success with scents this week. As always, let me know if you have any questions! Thanks for stopping by today and I'll see you all soon =)