RANT OF THE DAY: The "-SIDE" Conundrum

 

 

   

 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 - uggghhhhhh

• Lakeside - repackage of "Verbena Waters"

These scents have gotten some flack from the BBW community, particularly Oceanside and Lakeside. People complain that they don't smell like they're supposed to; they've said things like "The ocean doesn't smell like cologne/body spray", "Lakeside doesn't smell a lake", etc. (Curiously enough, no one seems to complain about Poolside; everyone loves the scent sooo much that it doesn't matter that it doesn't smell like being next to a pool AT ALL!) Anyway, this complaint about these "- side" scents annoys me to no end!!!

These scents are not supposed to smell exactly like their names. I repeat...THESE SCENTS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO SMELL EXACTLY LIKE THEIR NAMES!!! If these candles smelled like their namesakes, they would smell awful! Sand stinks! Poolwater stinks! The oceanshore stinks! Lakes stink! Personally I would not want my apartment to smell like rotten seashells, chlorine and fish bodily fluids...but that's just me!  With that said, what BBW was trying to do was create blends to not so much mimic but rather invoke and give the impression of these various locations. I think some BBW fans are so used to and prefer scents that smell exactly like a certain thing that they expect what are supposed to be conceptual scents to follow suit.

What the complaint really should be is that these scents don't properly convey the image they're trying capture....and I totally agree! While I applaud BBW from straying away from the fruit/drink/flower/bakery scents and creating conceptual blends, these "-side" scents kinda misses the mark. None of them makes me think of the various locations. I've never smelled Beachside however based on the notes (ylang-ylang, neroli blossoms, musk, etc) I imagine that it smelled similar to Beach Cabana. I have smelled the other three and frankly I  think they're misnamed. And I get it, it's a marketing thing; sometimes scents smell ok but their names turn customers off. So BBW's marketing team comes up with something that's a bit fancier. For example, Poolside does sound much better than Suntan. However it's just a little misleading...

Conclusion, I think Poolside should have stayed as Suntan as it does smell TOO MUCH like suntan lotion. Oceanside shouldn't have existed in the first place; Beach Grass, Seashore or better yet Sea Spray would have sufficed. Verbena Waters should've stayed Verbena Waters (I actually like that name) and Lakeside should've been something completely new.

Oh well, what can ya do...