Real Talk About Bath and Body Works Candles

          image source: Bath & Body Works                                                                       Sometimes BBW likes to stray away from the typical object scents (floral, drink, bakery, etc) and comes up with something that is supposed to capture a concept or image (which I kinda prefer). A recurring trend BBW has been doing is creating blends that gives the impression of being at a certain location, i.e. the "-side" scents Beachside - Beach Cabana-ish; precursor to "White Sand" and "Meet Me in Tahiti" Poolside - repackage of "Suntan" Oceanside - uggghhh...

As everyone knows, BBW is notorious for repacking scents. Sometimes it's the same scent with a slight tampering of the notes. Sometimes it's the same scent but with a different name. Sometimes BBW will sell very similar scents in different collections at the same. From a marketing standpoint, recycling scents is necessary as it keeps scents in rotation for fans to buy....which would be fine if these were scents that fans really enjoyed. More often than not, this is not the case. Most fans view this logic as unadulterated laziness. BBW releases lines of candles and fans are excited with the prospect of experiencing brand new scents only to discover that they are something that they've already smelled before and probably didn't like in the first place. 2013 in particular was the year of repackages...and fans were not happy. Most BBW enthusiasts, myself included, were both disappointed and angry that BBW continued to get peoples' hopes up for new scents...

image source: Bath & Body Works     Product: candle & wallflowers Area used in: main bathroom, guest bathroom and guest bedroom Time Period: May -    Description:   Bring the beach to you! Fill your favorite rooms with the sweet scents of a tropical beach cabana. Hints of rich jasmine and orange blossom instantly transport your senses beachside I wanted something fresh and beach-y for the upcoming summer months...something to replace Fresh Cotton and Fresh Linen  (which I was REALLY getting bored with) but still had that same fresh clean vibe. The only thing I could think of was Beach Cabana. I got a bunch of the bulbs and eventually the 3wick candle and room spray. On to the performance..hmmmm. The candle was a bit of a disappointment. The throw was not very strong at all, sometimes nonexistent.The wicks (which were super thick) eventually grew really stubby and left soot all over the jar and the top of the wax...

image source: Bath & Body Works Product: candle & wallflower Area used in: Bedroom Time Period: returned to store Description: A blend of sun-ripened citrus, juicy melon and refreshing ocean air brings you to a perfect day on the shore. Poor Oceanside, poor POOR Oceanside! This scent just can not catch a break! Despite how much BBW fans strongly fervently vehemently dislike this scent, like a crazy ex, it keeps coming back and refuses to go away peacefully. Because I'm a sucker for the underdog, I really was rooting for ol Oceanside and tried my best take up for it. And now I feel like a fool for doin so! I got this scent waaaayyy back in February. In EVERY review of Oceanside, pretty much EVERYONE compared it to another candle, Paris Daydream . People said that the two either smell alike or that Oceanside is a straight up knockoff or repackage of PD. So I got both of them at the same time to do a scent comparison. On...

image source: Bath & Body Works Product: candle & wallflowers Area used in: living room Time Period: May Description: The scent of a classic poolside cocktail – notes of mandarin, sweet mango and plum with a freshly salted rim *this an old fan favorite that's been around for years. It's currently with the summer beach themed Tropical collection - Palm Beach Cooler (fruit syrup/candy), Bahama Fizz (fruit smoothie), Oceanside (ugghh), Tiki Beach (flowers, coconut and vanilla/spa or resort by the beach), Beach Cabana (deodorant/body spray),Pink Sangria (pink lemonade), Peach Bellini ("Pink Sangria" with Peach Schnapps), Caribbean Escape (melted fruit scented crayons), Coconut Leaves (coconut water), Poolside (suntan lotion) and possibly the 2013 limited edition of Summer Boardwalk (caramel apples and toffee popcorn) Inspired by Cinco de Mayo and the oncoming summertime weather, I decided to grab this as my next scent for the living room....and ...

I heard about the Italian themed collection (replacing the French themed collection of the past) months before it was released. After so many repackages and redistributions, I was very excited for a line of relatively brand new scents. So with bated breath, I waited patiently for the nationwide release which was to be sometime in April. However, right before Easter, I happened to be in the store and lo and behold, there were the Italian Piazza candles! Candle/bulb-wise, the line consists of.... Pizzeria (a test scent; pizza dough and sauce), Limoncello (sugary lemon; possible repackage of "Lemon Gelato"), Sicilian Orange (orange scented crayons), Gelato (raspberry jam; possible repackage of "Sweet Macaron"), latecomer Dolce (test scent; repackage of "Vanilla Bean Noel") as well as the following gems.... Espresso Bar Product: candle only Area used in: living room Time Period: April - Description: In Italy, you never take your cof...

image source: Bath & Body Works Product: candle & wallflower Area used in: bedroom Time Period: April Description: The subtly sweet scent of pear becomes even more enticing when blended with fresh spring greens and a touch of vanilla This was from the very lackluster Fresh Picked line : Lemon Mint Leaf (toothpaste), Strawberry (strawberry jelly), Pineapple Mango(dried mango/pineapple), Market Peach(over ripe mushy peach), First Bloom (the pink Dove bar soap), Garden Bouquet (fresh flowers still in the dirt) and the unnecessary Lilac Blossom. Before I start my review, I'd like to rant for second. The Fresh Picked line this year was soooooo boring! Especially when compared to last year's release... Blackberry Grapefruit (the absolute worst burning candle ever), Gingham Apple, Sage Cucumber, Summer Watermelon, Mango Cilantro. There was such an array of eclectic and juicy scents last year. This year, not so much! I think this yea...

Product: candles & wallflowers Area used in: living room Time Period: returned to store Description: Delightful lily of the valley blossoms and violets surround lush lilac in this springtime fragrance   U gh, where do I begin? So my bf and I were lookin a new scent for Easter. We both were looking forward to this scent as we both love the smell of lilac. On cold throw, it does smell like straight up lilac blossoms…no lilies, no violets, just pure lilac. I heard thru the grapevine that the White Barn version burned better than BBW Fresh Picked version (btw how stupid was it that BBW sold two different incarnations of the same candle and the same time, really?!) so we got two of them of and some bulbs.   So after our last Spring candle burned down, we lit the Lilac Blossom candle.  Little did we know that this candle was DID (DUD IN DISGUISE) Three words…hot…shitty mess! The wax melted so unevenly and canyoned like crazy! ...

image source: Bath & Body Works     Product: candle & wallflowers Area used in: main bathroom Time Period: February - Description: A blend of two timeless – lavender and creamy vanilla becomes unforgettable with touches of cedarwood, delicate jasmine and citrus *repackage of the old Aromatherapy scent of the same name I love anything scented with lavender…love it Love it LOVE IT! I had both the Aromatherapy Lavender Vanilla and Aromatherapy Lavender Chamomile candles (as well as the shower gels and bath salts) and I loved them both. Plus all of the BBW fanatics were raving about this incarnation so I had to try it. *sigh Honestly, I wasn't that impressed. Compared to the aromatherapy version, this one is soooooo sweet. If this was a more herbal vanilla bean-ish, I probably would've like it. However it’s more like rich whipped vanilla cream with a sprinkle of dried lavender. And there is absolutely no jasmine or citrus or...

image source: Bath & Body Works     Fresh Cotton Product: wallflower only Area used in: guest bathroom Description: Invoking a fresh, clean spring day, this pure fragrance combines white jasmine petals, lemon zest and nuances of rose and spring muguet, finished with sheer, delicate musk. There’s not much to say about this; it’s clean and it's fresh. Jasmine…maybe. Lemon zest..yeah a little.   Rose and muguet..no not really. Musk…possibly? It does smell like fresh cotton towels out of the dryer. Eh it’s ok, a lil boring though…   Fresh Linen Product: wallflower only Area used in: guest bedroom Description: Crisp and clean, reminiscent of linen sheets drying in the sun, with refreshing, light hints of apple, kiwi and violets. It’s just like Fresh Cotton..it’s clean , it’s fresh…it’s boring! I have nooo idea what this smells like though. Certainly not apples and kiwis. Possibly violets but that’s a stretch. This is some...

  image source: Bath & Body Works     Product: candle & wallflower Area used in: main bedroom Time Period: February - April Description: Our "Oh, so French" blend of watery notes, moss and mandarin. Imagine a day by the Seine in the city of love.     *this is an old repackage of the same candle in old French inspired line which was a repackage of the old Good Life aromatherapy scent called “Flirt” for winter This was part of line of scents called the Around the Globe/Destination line- Morocco Market (cheap incense and patchouli), New York New York (moldy apples), London Calling (Lipton lemon ice tea), Caribbean Escape ( fruity scented crayons) and Meet me in Tahiti (vanilla and musk) New York and Morocco were discontinued for being sucky.     Honestly, I bought this as an experiment. Many BBW fans   say that this and  Oceanside smell exactly alike….I didn't think they did...that is u...

image source: Bath & Body Works     Product: candle & wallflowers Area used in: living room Time Period: March - Easter Description: A delicate blend of light rain, yellow daisy, daffodil and sycamore woods that contains the freshness of the season This candle is fan-f***in-tastic; it's one of my absolute all time favorites!     This scent definitely lives up to its name. To me, Spring reminds me of Easter; you’re in a field (or backyard), there's green grass fresh with dew, the surrounding flowers are in full bloom and you’re out looking for Easter eggs!   You really do smell all of the notes; you get grass, you get daisies and daffodils and the sycamore note gives it a slightly earthy woodiness. Not listed in the notes (though it has been in the past) is crisp green apple/apple blossoms that makes it really fresh.  Some people describe the scent as being funeral parlor-ish or funeral wreath-ish...I can ...

image source: Bath & Body Works     Product: candle & wallflowers Area used in: living room Time Period: February Description: Refresh the scent and ambience of your home with this blend of jasmine, fresh air and a touch of mint. *repackage of old Aromatherapy Good Life test scent called “Refresh”; possible repackage of "Seashore" This scent was introduced in the new 2013 line of Spring scents (along with Spring (tiger lilies and apples), Garden Freesia (old lady perfume), Lilac Blossom (fresh lilacs)  and Honeysuckle (actual honeysuckle) In my opinion, it's the least floral and spring-esque scent which was perfect as the weather at the time I burning this was not quite wintery cold but not yet springtime weather either. R&R is very soothing, calming and relaxing…perhaps a bit too much so. I liked it at first but eventually I got very bored with this  and was ready to move on to something else. To me, this ...

image source: Bath & Body Works     Product: candle only Area used in: living room (sometimes bedroom) Time Period: Mid-January - February Description: The scents of the fine woods- mahogany, cedarwood and oak – highlighted by delicate lavender and geranium notes conjure up an escape to cozy library on a chilly fall day   This was yet another semi annual sale purchase bought out of desperation as there were hardly any candles in the store. My bf loves this candle…me, not so much. Mahogany Teakwood is definitely a love it or hate it scent among the BBW community. However, one thing that everyone agrees on is that it smells EXACTLY like Abercrombie and Fitch’s cologne called Fierce! I remember walking past that store in the mall and the scent from inside stopped me dead in my tracks. I thought to myself "wait a minute...this smells like Mahogany Teakwood!" Anyway, I won't beat around the bush....this candle was a hot mess! When my ...