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!

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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 #6 - 3/3/2013 to 3/23/2013

Hi everyone! I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!! DID YA MISS ME?! I actually got back from vacation last Sunday but I needed the whole week to recover. Well, that and I've been super busy with school for the past week (a.k.a le suck fest). Also, my husband and I got to hang out with Dana from Dana's Little Wax Blog and her fiance Jeff and we exchanged a lot of wax and drank a lot of booze. Definitely the highlight of my week! Now that things are finally getting back to normal, I'm here to share with you all my melted wax reviews for the past few weeks or so. I'm glad to be back!

Here we go!

• Sniff My Tarts Lemon Bundt Cake Fudge - This was the first thing I melted from my SMT Facebook lot and it was pretty good. Pretty good. Not amazing. This particular scent is a blend of Lemon Bundt Cake and Vanilla Butter Fudge. I melted a few smaller chunks that had crumbled apart, probably about 2 ounces total. I definitely got a background of the lemon bundt cake but the predominant scent that I picked up on was a very buttery vanilla, almost like buttered popcorn without the popcorn note. It was nice, but not my favorite. The throw was medium, lasted about 6 hours in a 24 watt hotplate warmer. This is the second thing I've melted from SMT and while the first thing blew my socks off, this was less than thrilling for me. For how coveted these tarts are, I was expecting better. But again, it wasn't bad, just not a favorite. I like this one much better on cold throw than warmed because cold I can only smell the lemon bundt cake.
• Rosegirls Beach Vacation - LONGEST LASTING TART EVER. For real. I have been melting a chunk of this one for a week on and off in my 24 watt hotplate in my bedroom (I have a huge bedroom) and this sucker just will not die. The first time I melted it on Tuesday for over 24 hours straight, and each subsequent day for about 8-12 hours each time. This STILL has scent left in it. I am in awe of this tart. Oh yeah, what does it smell like? It's a blend of coconut suntan lotion and Pink Sugar, though I mostly only smell the coconut scent. That's okay though because it's simply amazing. I need a bag in this scent next time I order for sure. Maybe even a giant pie! Hell, I'll take a whole truckload. 
• Rosegirls Florida Key Lime Pie, Serendipity and Vanilla Ice Cream - This one, however, was pretty underwhelming. On cold sniff, the notes smelled awesome together but I didn't get much throw when I warmed it. Light to medium throw at best. Granted, it could have been the warmer I was using which was a 25-watt lightbulb warmer. I have one chunk of this left after giving away a few so I will definitely be melting the last one in a 24-watt hotplate to see if it throws better. It's funny how you can get two things from the same vendor and have them perform completely differently from the other. Just goes to show that sometimes even the best vendors will have some duds. It's all trial and error. 

• Combo #1:  Pics, Petals & Scents Pumpkin Pie Spice and Tiffany Candles Cheesecake - I cleaned out my wax drawers a bit this week and I found a single Tiffany's Cheesecake tart in the old wax at the bottom of one of my drawer and I figured I should use it up. I didn't get a strong throw from this scent in the old wax so I knew one tart wasn't going to cut it, so I decided to blend it with a cube of PPS Pumpkin Pie Spice. It was a very yummy blend, but the Pumpkin Pie Spice scent dominated the cheesecake after a few short hours and all I smelled after that was pumpkin pie spices. No pumpkin, no cheesecake, just spice. I didn't mind the after scent but I wish the other notes would have lasted longer. Medium to strong throw in my 18-watt hotplate. Lasted about 4 hours.
• Combo #2: ScentSationals Lemon Chiffon and Cupcake - One cube of each of these in my 18-watt hotplate threw like crazy! If you've never smelled Lemon Chiffon, it pretty much smells like other vendors' Fruit Loops scents. Very strong and fruity, and that cupcake toned it down a bit and added some creaminess to the blend. Strong throw. Lasted about 8 hours. This blend is a classic, I'll do it over and over and over again. You just can't beat the throw and price of these ScentSationals clamshells!

• Febreeze White Peach - This is from a new line of wax melts available at Wal-Mart. Most of the scents in the line are clean, fresh, febreeze-y type scents but there's a few fruity and foody ones as well. This one is one of my favorites of the bunch, it's a nice juicy peach scent with a distinct floral undertone. Very nice! Medium to strong scent throw in my 24-watt warmer. 2 cubes lasted about 6 hours. 
• Scentsy Lucky in Love - I've had 2 cubes of this laying around forever so I decided to just use it up. This is a dupe for Victoria's Secret Love Spell, which is a sweet, candy-like fruity floral scent. Very pretty but a bit overdone for me. Medium scent throw in a 24-watt hotplate warmer. Lasted about 4 hours, but these are meant to be used in lightbulb warmers so I'm sure they would have lasted a lot longer had a I used a proper warmer. Oh well!
• ScentSationals Chillaxin - Again, I had 2 cubes of this left so I wanted to use it up. It is a eucalyptus mint scent. I'm always going back and forth on Eucalyptus Mint scents, I like them and then I hate them. This week, I hate them. This was too cloying and masculine for me. It smells like a very strong cologne. Super strong scent throw, but I turned it off after about 30 minutes because I couldn't stand it any longer. 
• Yankee Lemon Lavender -  I feel like Yankee gets a bad rap in the wax community because I always have great luck with them in my tealight warmers. This is a classic Yankee scent, a nice blend of tart lemon with herbal lavender. Strong scent throw. Lasted about 8 hours. Would definitely repurchase!
• Scentsy Thunderstorm - Yet another clamshell I had lying around with only 2 cubes left. This used to be one of my favorite Scentsy fragrances, a nice, ozonic scent with a hint of a masculine undertone. I still really like this one but I don't think it's a favorite anymore. Medium throw in a 24-watt hotplate. Lasted about 6 hours. 
• Better Homes and Gardens Candied Caramel Apple - This was another attempt to use up another clamshell but I didn't quite get around to it, as I only melted one cube of this one because it was so strong! Very nice and authentic caramel apple scent. You get both the caramel and the apple here. Strong scent throw in a 24-watt hotplate. Lasted about 6 hours. 

• Country Home Scent Holiday Eggnog - In my attempt to use up some older stuff this week, I used up the rest of my CHS tarts. I was so bummed when CHS went out of business because I loved their stuff. But, the packaging they used was not cello and was bound to suck the scent out after awhile so I figured their days were numbered at this point. Holiday Eggnog was a nice, spicy eggnog scent. It was a medium to strong throw, lasted about 6 hours. I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of eggnog scents but this one wasn't bad.
• Country Home Scent Gingerbread House - This one was phenomenal!! It was a sweet gingerbread scent, very similar to a lot of donut shop or cinnamon donut scents from other vendors. This was super duper strong, but only lasted about 4 hours in my 24-watt hotplate. I probably should have melted these in a lightbulb warmer since they were such a soft wax, but I only have my hotplates out right now so that's where they got melted. I have the Gingerbread House scent from a few other vendors and they smell the same as this one off of cold sniff so I hope they perform as well!
• Country Home Scent Gingerbread Brulee - This one was more of a true gingerbread scent with a bit of a burnt sugar undertone. It was good, but not nearly as awesome as Gingerbread House. Medium to strong scent throw. Lasted about 6 hours on my 18-watt hotplate. 
• Country Home Scent Tinsel - This is a favorite scent of mine from any vendor, and CHS's version did not disappoint! Tinsel is a blend of fruits (strawberry and pomegranate) and peppermint. If you've never smelled Tinsel before, you must! It's marketed as a holiday scent but I think it could definitely work all year round. Just a nice, fresh fruity scent with a kick from the peppermint. Love!

• Lil' Kitchen Candles Strawberry Banana Smoothie/Orange Dreamsicle - This is a custom blend of mine. It just didn't blow me away. I started out with 2 giant cubes but got no scent throw so I threw in two more and was finally able to get a medium scent throw from it. I got mostly a strawberry note, no banana and no orange dreamsicle. Honestly, I am not at all impressed with LKC from what I've melted so far. It seems to be one of those newer vendors that just got a lot of hype and is not living up to my expectations. I've heard of other people having issues with her stuff lately as well. I don't think I will be placing another order with this vendor. 
• Lil' Kitchen Candles Circus - Last time I melted this, I got absolutely no scent throw from 4 of the little lego tarts so I just threw the last 6 in, hoping I would get something from it. The scent is a blend of orange dreamsicle, banana smoothie and cotton candy. It did have a light throw, but the scent was extremely unpleasant. I don't know, maybe it's her orange dreamsicle oil that is throwing off a lot of these blends. It is, undoubtedly, the worst orange dreamsicle scent I've ever smelled. It smells like plastic. In addition, her clamshells have a strong plastic scent to them as well. No go for me. 
• BeauxSavonsFrais Pink Cherry Sugar Cookie - Now here's a newer vendor that I actually had a good experience with! This was a blend of Pink Sugar and Cherry Sugar Cookie. I couldn't really smell any Pink Sugar in this, but the cherry sugar cookie scent was very strong and long lasting! The cherry was sweet, not medicinal like some cherry scents can be, and the sugar cookie added a nice crunchy note to the blend. Lasted over 12 hours in my 18-watt hotplate. I can't wait to melt more of my things from this vendor! 

• Lasting Scent Candles Wildberry Mousse - This was from my very first LSC haul back in October so I figured it was time to use it up! This smells like every other Wildberry Mousse scent I've smelled, very sweet and creamy berries with a slight bakery undertone. It was good but I prefer Wildberry Mousse blended with other notes, I think. Strong throw. Lasted about 6 hours in my 18-watt hotplate warmer.
• Lasting Scent Candles Honey Vanilla Pound Cake - This was another one from my first ever LSC order that needed to be used up. It was a nice vanilla cake scent with a hint of a butterscotch undertone. It was about a medium scent throw, which is to be expected for most plain vanilla scents. Lasted about 6 hours in my 24-watt hotplate.
• Lasting Scent Candles Peppermint Marshmallow Snow - This blend of marshmallow and peppermint is a favorite scent of mine, but for some reason it was a bit weaker this time around than I had remembered. Last time I melted one of these, the throw was very strong. This time it was only about medium in my 24-watt hotplate. Perhaps my nose was having an off day. I still have a few of these left so I'll try another one in a few weeks to see how it does. 
• Victoria's Designer Creations Cotton Candy Milkshake - There has been a lot of talk lately about how VDC isn't performing well for people so I wanted to try a few of mine this week and see how they did. This one smelled absolutely amazing off of cold sniff, very strong and a true cotton candy scent. It's a very sweet cotton candy scent (think Parfums de Coeur Cotton Candy body spray) mixed with a bit of a sweet, milky note. Warmed, it was a medium throw in my tealight warmer and only lasted about 4 hours. However, I loved the scent so much that I went and ordered a whole loaf of it! Yes, a whole loaf. This was my first loaf purchase ever, and probably my last. I don't normally see the need for a whole 2 pound chunk of wax, but I figured since this is a lighter scent, I can use as much as possible when I want to melt it. 
• Victoria's Designer Creations Pumpkin Muffin - This one, however, had absolutely no scent throw while melting. I'm not sure how old this was, as the person I got it from got it from a destash, but it smelled yummy off of cold throw so I was hoping it would be good warmed as well. Cold, it was a nice pumpkin bakery scent with a hint of spice. While it was melted, I could only smell a faint hint of spice while hovering over the warmer. I have a small order coming from her with the loaf and will be participating in a RR with some of her products, so I will try some of those before I come to a final conclusion about her stuff. Her wax is just so darn pretty so I'm trying really hard to like it. 
• Can-Do-Candles Sugar Butt - This was a really nice sweet, buttercream frosting scent. It had a strong scent throw which is unheard of for buttercream-type scents but it only lasted about 4 hours. Still, based on scent throw alone, I'd definitely repurchase this scent.

• Beezy Tarts Sweet Potato and Brown Sugar - This is another favorite scent of mine, and Beezy's is another favorite vendor. If only he had more scents, he may even be my #1 vendor! Anyways, this is such an awesome scent of an almost savory sweet potato note mixed with brown sugar and spices. It's such an authentic scent, I've never smelled another sweet potato scent that was more true to life than this one. Strong scent throw in my 24-watt hotplate warmer. Lasted 12+ hours. I have quite a few of these left but I think this will be the last one I melt before fall. I have a few other sweet potato scents I'd like to try out before then.
• Orchid Lakes Grapefruit Blackberry - This was a nice fruity scent. The tartness of the grapefruit blended really well with the floral-sweet blackberry note. Medium to strong scent throw in a 24 watt warmer. I have to say though, I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of Orchid Lake these days. Even with these mega 2 oz. tart cups, I'm not getting as strong a throw as I'd like with them. I got an order in from them the other day and most of the things that I ordered had a VERY weak cold throw, and that is after almost 2 weeks curing. I do like this particular scent but I think I'm going to try to find this scent from another vendor because I don't see myself ordering from OLC again, unfortunately. 
• Skinny Dip Soaps Blueberry Cobbler - This could have been a nice blueberry bakery scent, but had a hint of that sharpness that some blueberry scents have that I do not care for. I melted this in a tealight warmer and it did have a strong throw but the scent wasn't really speaking to me. This is another company that I don't see myself ordering from again, I wasn't overly impressed with my order. I know a lot of other people like this vendor though, as everyone's nose and preferences are different! 
• Blues City Candles Pink Vanilla Buttercream - I got this tart out of a Round Robin so I'm not quite sure how old it was. The tart cup was in pretty bad shape, cracked and nearly falling apart so I was nervous that some scent had escaped. I was pleasantly surprised that I got a nice medium throw from this tart, which is good for this type of scent. Lasted about 8 hours. I smelled mostly Pink Sugar in this but I definitely got a fair amount of the buttercream note in here as well. I have heard very mixed reviews on this company but I am eager to try more from them. 
• Granny's Kountry Candles Changing Seasons - This was another tart that was pretty much on its last legs. The oils had seeped into the cup so much that the cup was basically fused onto the tart! I had to peel back the cup, it had become extremely soft. However, none of the scent was sucked out of this one because it was SUPER STRONG! Because this is a seasonal scent, I couldn't find an official scent description but to me it smelled like a mix of Scentsy's Honey Pear Cider mixed with a spiced apple scent. It was awesome! I will for sure be buying this again if she carries it again for the fall. Strong scent throw in my 24-watt warmer. Lasted over 12 hours. 
• Sweet Fixations Blue Hawaii - In case you haven't heard, Blue Hawaii is the new Serendipity ;-D. Blue Hawaii is another cherry-coconut-citrus tropical scent, but it is much heavier on the coconut than any Serendipity scent that I've smelled. I can't wait to start doing blends with this scent! It had a medium scent throw, and although I was hoping for a stronger scent, it was still awesome. I am going to try Blue Hawaiian from a few more vendors to see which one is strongest for me. This will be a summer staple in my house for sure! 

• Candles from the Keeping Room Sugar Milk and Cookies - OMG this one was so awesome! I now see what the hype is all about! I didn't get too much off of cold throw with this one but it was phenomenal when melting. It is a blend of sugar milk and CFTKR's famous sugar cookie scent. I smell both notes when melting, and that milk note adds a richness to the cookie scent that sets this one apart from every other cookie scent I've smelled. So good. Medium to strong scent throw in a 24-watt hotplate warmer. Lasted about 8 hours. I have a bag of this one coming from Shelby and I'm so excited to melt more of this scent!
• CFTKR Holiday Treats - This one, however, was a bit underwhelming for me. It is supposed to be a Vanilla Bean Noel cookie kind of scent. When melting, it to me smelled just like a generic sweet scent, I couldn't pick out any cookie or bakery notes. It was just meh for me. Light to medium scent throw in a 24-watt hotplate. Lasted about 6 hours. Meh. 
• CFTKR Sea Island Grapefruit - This is a great, fresh grapefruit scent. It has a slight ozonic undertone to it, and that sets it apart from most other grapefruit scents on the market. I would classify this scent as more of a fresh scent as opposed to a fruity scent. It had a medium to strong scent throw in my 24-watt hotplate warmer. I'm not sure if I'd order it again but it was nice. 
• CFTKR Wildberry Mousse Indian Bread - I was really excited about this one because the Indian Bread note smelled like sugar corn pudding to me. Unfortunately, as much as I love sugar corn pudding scents on cold sniff, I'm beginning to realize that I just don't like them when they are warmed. Even the wildberry mousse note in here couldn't save it for me. It had a strong scent throw, but I dumped it out after about an hour when I just couldn't stand it anymore. I think I will be purging the rest of my sugar corn pudding/indian bread tarts from my stash. 
• Front Porch Cotton Candy Cookies - Last time I melted this, the throw wasn't as strong as I had liked so I threw in 2 grubby tarts in my 24-watt hotplate to ensure a strong throw. WOAH MAMA, this was incredible! I don't know what my deal was last time but this was SUPER STRONG! Cotton Candy scents are pretty iffy sometimes but I am so glad to have found a strong one. It lasted for well over 12 hours, and I could even smell it the next morning after turning it off before going to bed the night before. I'm going to need a big honkin' jar of the scoopable wax in this scent FO SHO!
• Front Porch Cake Shoppe - This was a scent that I got in my very first FP order so I figured I should just melt it! Do you see a theme with me using stuff up this week? Haha anyways, this was just okay. It was just a super sweet vanilla cake scent with a slight hint of chocolate. I always hear such good things about this scent, so I'm not sure if the age of the tart had something to do with it but it just wasn't anything special for me. Medium scent throw in an 18-watt hotplate. Lasted about 6 hours.
• CFTKR Peppermint Meringue - I got this little guy in a gift from Shelby, and Dana requested that I melt this one when she was over the other day. It was a very nice sweet peppermint scent. Nothing that blew me away but it was very good. Strong scent throw, lasted about 8 hours.

• Haley's Heavenly Scents Whipped Peaches and Cream - I was so excited to melt this one, as it was my absolute favorite peach scent off of cold sniff that I had ever smelled! Sadly, it just wasn't as strong as I had liked when melting. I had to use 2 of these tarts to get a medium scent throw off of this one. Super bummed because I thought I had found my perfect peach scent! The sweetness that I was picking up on cold throw turned into a weird, almost buttery note when melting. Not sure if my nose was off that day but I'm definitely going to have to give this one another try. Medium throw. Lasted about 4 hours. 
• Haley's Heavenly Scents Americana - Now this was an awesome scent!! It is a blend of strawberry, vanilla and Blue Sugar. Not very many vendors do Blue Sugar blends so I was pleasantly surprised to come across this scent. I melted one scalloped tart in a tealight warmer and got a super strong throw. I think next time I'll blend this with a strawberry scent to bring out the strawberry a bit more. 
• Tiffany Candles Winter Dreams - I was trying desperately to use these last 4 heart tarts up this week but I couldn't do it. I'm so sick of this scent! When Christmas rolled around, I wasn't sure if they would be discontinuing this scents so I bought a whole jar of tarts and a 12-pack refill. Of course, they didn't discontinue it so there was no need for me to do that haha. Anyways, Winter Dreams is a really nice fruity-mulberry-spicy-pine scent. Really great for the holidays. I hope I haven't overdone it on this scent because I'd like to be able to melt it again this year around the holidays. Strong scent throw from 2 heart tarts. Lasted about 6 hours.
• Tiffany Candles Lemon Poppyseed - Amaaaaaaaaazing. Amazing. Such a great bakery lemon scent, no pledge notes here. Used the whole scent shot in a tealight warmer and it lasted through about 4 tealights. Love this one, always a repurch!

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WHEW! That was a lot! I will definitely now be back to doing these posts every week so they don't build up like this! I'll be seeing you guys all week with lots of haul and review posts. See you all soon and thanks for stopping by <3

Guest Post - Lauren from Lolo Loves Scents

Good morning everyone and happy Friday! For the rest of you, Friday means the weekend is approaching but for me, that also means the end of our vacation is approaching. We've had so much fun and I wish we could stay an extra week. But alas, school and work are calling and it's back to reality next week. Anyways, today I have Lauren from over at Lolo Loves Scents guest posting! She is another blog that I started reading long before I started my own so it's fantastic to have her guest posting for me. If you haven't checked out her blog yet, I highly suggest it! Chock full of good info over there. Today, Lauren will be sharing with us her first Can-Do-Candles haul! Hope you enjoy =)

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Hello, blog friends and wax lovers! I'm Lauren from Lolo Loves Scents, and I am super excited to bring you this guest post while Jacqui is on vacation. I want to take a second to personally thank you again for thinking of me to guest post, Jacqui. I hope you have a wonderful time!

I'll tell you a little bit about me before I get started, so you can see where I'm coming from! I am 26 years old, I live in San Diego, and I am a wax FIEND, and when I say fiend, I mean it! I can't get enough of the stuff. My favorite scents include: anything with the word "serendipity," "noel," or "fluff" attached to it, stuff with cinnamon or spices, lemon/lime scents, and anything minty. The more powerful and strong the wax, the better the chance I will re-order from a company. While I am fiercely loyal to a few of my favorite vendors (read: Candles From The Keeping Room, Tiffany Candles, Front Porch), I also love trying up-and-coming and new-to-me vendors and exploring what they have to offer.

With that being said, today I am bringing you my very first haul from Can-Do-Candles (actually, the full name is Can-Do-Candles...rather do tarts...cute, huh!?)! Donna, the owner, was offering a Valentine's day sale and all of her single tarts were $0.70 a piece (normally $1.00). I used the sale as an opportunity to try out her wax! I must say, first, that after I placed my order, Donna was super sweet during our email correspondence. In my book, good customer service is a must, in real life AND online. Without good customer service and communication, your business could be doomed, plain and simple. In this order, I didn't get too crazy with my scent choices, but I will show you what I bought! Follow me!

From left to right, top to bottom, we have:

-Amish Apples: veeeeeeery apple! Undertones of spices, it almost smells like apple juice or apple cider. Quite lovely, will be nice for a mid-day slump.

-Apple Cinnamon: A very nice mix of cinnamon and apple; the combination is sort of floarly, though! I'm sure it's just me, but it's alright.

-Strawberry Shortcake: An artificial strawberry mixed with a very subtle cake note. As bubblegummy as a bubblegum smell can be.

-China Rain: I have heard this scent is super strong from people online, and boy, does it smell intense! I love the smell of rain, it's so fresh and bright...I wouldn't call this rain as much as it Irish Springs soap. But, I like it. This will be great for a cleaning day!

-Cinnamon Spice: Just your average cinnamon scent, nothing special. I really like it, but it's not my favorite scent of the bunch.

-Citrus Zinger: heavy on the orange with some spicy undertones. Enjoyable, but again, nothing special.

-Dark Spice: I am perplexed by this one. On one hand, it smells like the musky smell of a man. On the other hand, it smells like the musty smell of old spices. Not a fan of this one.

-Debbie's Peppermint Twist: almost dead-on to Bath & Body Works' Twisted Peppermint. This will be a good sleepytime scent.

-Donna's Pink Pound Cake: extremely pink, which I love! I can't get enough pink suygar. There is a cake note in there, too, buttery and delish. Happy about this one!

-Farmhouse Spearmint: In an attempt to broaden what I call my "scent-tastes," I am trying out all sorts of spearmint types. I love peppermint, but spearmint? Not so much. However, this is very nice! Super strong on cold sniff, and quite refreshing. I'm happy about this, to!

-Pink Sugar Beans: If I'm not mistaken, this is Can-Do's vanilla bean noel + pink sugar. It's very nice, but not super strong on cold sniff. I know these are paraffin, but I am hoping some more scent comes out while warming.

-Peppermint Spa: an herbal peppermint, and extremely spa (DUH!). Actually, the peppermint is sort of muted by the herbalness in this tart. Me likey!

-Honey Pear Cider: A dupe for the Scentsy scent of the same name (which I have never smelled, but I have heard a lot of hype about it). You get the pear note first, juicy and sweet, mixed with a slightly spiced honey. My second favorite of the ones I ordered...now I need to cave and buy the Scentsy version!

-Home Sweet Home: A dupe for my favorite Yankee Candle fragrance. It smells similar, but not the same, and unfortunately, it's not very strong. I think I prefer Cinnamon Spice over this scent, even. =/

-Hillbilly Homebrew: a very nice, spicy apple/fruit type of cidery drink! I have a candle in this scent from another vendor and it smells almost identical. Definitely going to love this one.

-Rose Petals: this does smell like flowers, but the rose amount in there might hover around 5-10%. It smells like other flowers to me, but I don't know which ones. Just a melange of flowers. Flowers. How many times can I say flowers?!

-Salty Sea Air: I actually put this one in the Round Robin, too! It was a really nice mix of salt and ocean air. Very fresh!

-Sugar Beans: ...vanilla bean noel? Maybe? I don't remember, in all honesty, but that's what it smells like, with a little dollop of butter on the top. Meh...it's alright.

-Valerie's Vanilla Butter Fudge (2): I bought one of these for Jacqui's Round Robin box in mind since I know vanilla butter fudge is a very "in" scent right now. I am so sad about this one, though. it doesn't smell like any vanilla butter fudge I have ever smelled...dare I say it's too buttery. It almost smells like artificial butter you'd find on popcorn. I AM DISAPPOINT.

-Wintermint: Probably the favorite thing I purchased in this order. To both my husband and I, it smells like those Lifesaver Wint-O-Green candies...like you stuck your nose in a big bag of 'em and took a huge whiff! So, so wonderful, I only wish I would have bought more!

-Pink Coconut (sample): this one smells AMAZING. In fact, it might be one of my favorite scents of the bunch! I love then the freebies are SO GOOD, it *almost* forces me to place another order. The pink sugar mixes so well with coconut. Yum!

-Peppermint Soap (sample): This is a subdued peppermint, but is amazing on hands. I have used it a few times, and I liked it, I'm personally not a huge fan of bar/chunk soap (change my mind??), but it was very nice smelling.

So, there you have it, my first haul from Can-Do-Candles! Based on my first impressions, I will most likely purchase from this company in the future. I hope you've enjoyed reading this post, and be sure to check out my blog for more insanity, if you're so inclined! :)

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Thank you so much to Lauren for this guest post! Sounds like you had some hits and misses with this order. I may have to place and order just to get some Pink Coconut!! It sounds amazing!

And so concludes the guest posts for my vacation. I will be returning on Sunday and will resume regular posting next week! I'd like to thank Abby, Dana, Shelby and Lauren again for these posts, it was so fun to have you all here at The Scholarly Nail's Wax Blog! I will see you all again next week and thanks for stopping by today =)

Guest Post - Shelby from Shelby Swatches

Good morning everyone!! I'm having a great vacation so far! We drove up from Miami to Orlando last night and today we are going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I am beyond excited for that. Anyways, I have another fantastic guest post for you guys, this time it's Shelby from her youtube channel Shelby Swatches! Shelby is pretty much my wax BFF, we talk every day and I'm so glad to call her a friend. She also happens to have great taste in wax, so please enjoy her post! She will be sharing her top 10 picks for spring!!

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Top Ten Picks for Spring

Hello ladies (and gentlemen)! I'm Shelby (Shelby Swatches on Youtube) and last month, Jacqui asked me if I could do a guest post on her blog while she is on vacation. Of course I said yes! Jacqui and I knew of one another through our nail blogs, but once she found out I was into wax, she messaged me and wanted to send me some wax. We did our first swap and ever since, we've been super close! We talk every day about wax, life and whatever else we feel like. I consider her one of my closest friends, even though she lives across the country! :) Enough of my chitter chatter; I thought I'd do a "Top Ten Picks for Spring", since I knew that would be something different than what I'd do on my channel. I don't have all of the scents to physically show you, since I used some of them up, but I still have quite a few. So let's get into it! These are in no particular order.

1. Front Porch Serendipity: Lately I've really been getting into the scent serendipity. I didn't know what all the hype was about on YouTube until I tried the scent. Boy, was everyone right! This scent is phenomenal. I like all serendipity scents, but I particularly like Front Porch's take on it. FP has an equal amount of cherry and coconut plus some vanilla and slight citrus, which make it even better! I love this scent for this time of year, fruity but not overly so. Also, I like to blend this with Better Homes & Gardens Wild Berry Cheesecake- can you say "yum"!?

2. Wildberry Mousse: I love wildberry mousse scents! In the photo, I have Shayz Scentz' version, but I like any wildberry mousse! I have not yet tried Shayz' version though. wildberry mousse is the perfect combo of berries and a creamy mousse. Since it is very creamy, it's more of a bakery berry, rather than a freshly picked berry. I recently tried Candles from the Keeping Room's wildberry mousse and it was awesome! This scent could also be a great blender with other fruity scents!

3. Shayz Scentz Pearberry (type): Pearberry is a Bath & Body Works dupe I believe, although I have never tried the BBW fragrance. I can't say how dead on this is to the original, but I love it! I get a strong pear note and a backdrop of another fruit- not sure if it's berry. This scent also has a slight perfume or shampoo note to it, which I really like. It's a fresher fruit scent, rather than creamy. Shayz Scentz' version was kick-butt strong and that's only using 1 sunny tart! I cannot wait to try this scent from other vendors, I could easily see it becoming one of my all-time favorites.

4. The Bathing Garden Lemon Curd & Rose Milk: I got this as a gift from Jacqui back in January in our swap! Some of my recent favorites have been from her! This scent is a creamy lemon on the top and a mellowed-out rose scent on the bottom of the clamshell (it's a layered tart). Usually I'm not a huge floral fan, but in this blend the rose is great! Like I said, the rose scent is mellowed out a bit and the lemon curd mellows it out even more. I love the combo of the citrus and floral, it's a surprisingly pleasing combination. Nothing says spring like a floral, so I had to include this one!

5. Scent Appeal Candles Iced Tea Twist: I cannot get enough of this scent! I've been saving it until the owner adds more stock of it to her Etsy store; isn't it funny how we like to hoard our favorite scents? I am a huge iced tea drinker in the spring and summer, so this is the epitome of those months to me! It's a nice black tea blended with a tart lemon. Love this blend! I'm always on the hunt for non-floral tea scents and this definitely fits the bill. Could not have enough good things to say about this! I just love it! Also, if you end up trying this vendor, always use 2 cubes in a 24 watt hot plate, her stuff does best in that type of warmer.

6. Candles from the Keeping Room Berry Verbena: I am on a roll with the berry scents! This one is different though. This is a citrus berry scent with a slight green note from the verbena. I originally tried this scent from Ten Digit Creations and loved that version just as much! This scent is kick butt strong and is sweet and fresh all at once. Love this and so glad I ordered an 8oz bag! It's not the easiest to describe, but if you try it, I know you won't regret it, trust me :)

7. Candles from the Keeping Room Glazed Cinnamon Donuts: Wait, a bakery scent for spring?! Yup! I love "breakfast" scents in the morning, even in the spring! I also got this as a gift from Jacqui and I love it so much! It's the perfect donut scent- lots of sugar, a slight cinnamon scent, and a nice glazed donut. Basically any donut scent is up my alley, but this one is especially yummy. Tiffany's Donut Shop & Ultimate Donut are others that I greatly enjoy too.

Scents without photos:

8. Kissing Booth Fantasy: First off, I am a huge sucker for anything Disney and since this scent is named after Fantasy Land, it immediately had my heart! I received this as a gift from my friend Laurie on YouTube and really enjoyed it! It was only a sample, but it threw like crazy. I have a whole clamshell coming in my KB order and am super stoked. This is a berries and cream type of scent. It's not as creamy as wildberry mousse, but not as fresh as pearberry or berry verbena- it's somewhere in the middle and perfectly sweet! 

9. Front Porch Blackberry Marshmallow Butter Jam Cookies: Yet another berry scent, but this leans way onto the bakery end of fruit! It's a combo of blackberry jam, marshmallow and butter cookies. I received this in my marshmallow sampler, so I am unsure if they carry it normally, but I know they carry the scent minus the marshmallow! This was not overly floral (sometimes blackberry can be)- the marshmallow and bakery note really mellowed it out! I wish I had lots of this scent, it was awesome! The scent throw was great and it made me want to make thumbprint cookies! 

10. Orchid Lake Candles & Soaps Chubba Dubba: Last but certainly not least is this wonderful citrus scent. I received this as a sample in my OLC order and fell in love! It's a citrus blend with a strong lemongrass note. I cannot get enough of lemongrass, so that is why I'm partial to this scent. For a little sample, this threw like crazy! It's nice and fresh for the spring, probably would be perfect for cleaning day or as a kitchen scent!

That's all I have for now! Thank you Jacqui for asking me to guest post, I had a lot of fun! I hope you guys enjoyed this post and check out my YouTube channel if you're interested in my haul and review videos :)

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Thanks for the awesome post Shelby! Your picks are fantastic and I love the way that you described all the scents! Thank you so much Shelby for guest posting for me today <3 Hope you all have a fabulous day and I will see you all soon for the conclusion of the Guest Post week here at The Scholarly Nail's Wax Blog!