BBW RANT OF THE DAY : "Cologne-y" Scents

image source: Bath & Body Works

This is a rant that I've been meaning to post for the longest time but have put it off due to either lack of time or I had something more meaningful to post instead. I can say that neither is the case now and I'm quite thrilled to finally get this rant off my chest.

*DISCLAIMER*

I'm about to throw some serious shade! I am not aiming this rant at anyone in particular. I repeat...I AM NOT AIMING THIS RANT AT ANYONE IN PARTICULAR. However some people might be a little pissed off what I'm about to say though I'm hoping that is not the case and that people who read my blog regularly are mature and open-minded and will not be so childish to take what I have to say to heart. However, as this is MY blog I do not intend to sugar-coat what I have to say and will continue to post MY opinions....

Now that that is out of the way, let's get to the real...

There is and has been a lot of hate-ration in BBW community for (a lack of a better word)the "cologne-y" scents! Any scent (like the ones above) that fall into the cologne-y category are hated on and dismissed as epic fails on BBW's part. It's a pretty general opinion that anything that smells woody/herbally/manly=cologne-y is a bad thing and I don't really understand why. This is evident in reviews of BBW's scents; whether it's on BBW's website and other reviewers' reviews and comments based on said reviews. Plain unadulterated HATE-RATION! And once again the word cologne-y is bandied about in an dismissive way as if it's a bad thing!

This kinda bothers me cuz I do thoroughly enjoy these kinds of scents. And there is a minority of people, both men and women/gay and straight, who enjoy these types of scents as well. I think a lot of the hate comes from the people who enjoy the sweet/bakery/gourmand or the more feminine floral scents; scents that smell like a specific thing whether it's a flower or drink or food item. On the contrary these cologne-y scents, most of the time, are meant to invoke/conjure a place or object or mood without getting into specifics. The floral/bakery/sweet lovers get all kindsa freaked out with what I consider, most of the time, pretty sophisticated and high end (dare I say) MASCULINE scents and out comes comments like the following...

"I don't like fresh/woody/herbal scents cuz they smell like cologne"

"Such and such wood or herb doesn't smell or isn't supposed to smell like cologne"

"Suchandsuch smells like blahblahblah mixed with cologne"

"Ugh, BBW annoys me with these cologne scents"

"BBW needs to stop with the cologne-y scents"

Now if I or anyone else were to say these type of things about the sweety/fruity/bakery scents, you'd have a war on your hands. But it's ok and often times encouraged to hate the cologne-y scents.

And what exactly does it mean to say that something smells like a cologne or is mixed with a cologne? Same thing with saying something smells like a flower or a perfume or a candy...what flower? What perfume? What candy? What cologne? There are different types/kinds of cologne. I myself own several bottles of various brands of cologne for different occasions (I'm a Virgo for chrissakes) and NONE of them smell anything alike!

Also, look at the notes in these cologne-y scents. Bergamot, oak, vetiver, mahogany, leather, sandalwood, etc are all notes USED IN COLOGNES! Yes granted each note by themselves do not and should not smell like cologne. However when you mix some of these more masculine notes together, the blend is going to come off cologne-y PERIOD! For example, there was line of wood inspired test scents that appeared sometime in the late spring/early summer; Sage & Cedar (now known as Black Tie), Sandalwood Citrus (released this fall in White Barn line), Whitewater Birch and Oakmoss Vetiver (which I absolutely LOVED). All were dismissed as cologne-y thus were considered epic fails. But were they?! With all honesty, would more people have really liked these candles more if they smelled EXACTLY like their notes? Personally, I would not want a candle that smelled like straight up wood.

And what really bothers me is when individuals don't even try to decipher the notes in these blends; they are just immediately written off as cologne-y...end of story. However bring out the sweety/bakery/gourmand scents and folks gush ad nauseam about what they can smell. "Oh, I smell this" and "Oh I smell that" and "I can pick out blahblahblah".

Really?! Really?!!

I like to think BBW has a gameplan and they know, for the most part, what they're doing when they're creating these blends. Newsflash, I don't think there is an evil villainous man smirking as he pours a bottle marked "COLOGNE" into various waxes, twirling his curled mustache and laughing maniacally knowing that he has ruined some BBW enthusiast's day. Nor do I think someone went "oops!" as he or she accidentally knocked over cologne into the wax either. These blends are made on purpose!

Bottom line people have different tastes; some like the bakery scents, some like the fruity or floral scents and yes, believe or not, people like the cologne-y scents. Stop the hating and just appreciate the fact that BBW is catering to EVERYONE! If you think a scent might possibly be cologne-y  and you're anti-cologne-y scents, DON'T BUY IT! Or simply be open-minded and try it anyway. If you don't like it, simply exchange it for something else. Acknowledge the fact that somewhere out there, there is someone who will appreciate and even love that cologne-y scent before you bad talk it!

In closing, can't we all just get along?!

All I am sayin is GIVE COLOGNE-Y SCENTS A CHANCE!

*drops mike