WALK 'N' SNIFF: SNOW DAY & WHITE BARN CANDLES
So this is new segment that I've created to discuss/voice my opinion about candles that I got a chance to sniff in the store and may or may not purchase in the future.
So last weekend, I went to two different stores. Both only hand a handful of the fall candles - a few of the Sweater Weather ones, all of the Pumpkin ones and hardly any of the White Barn ones. All good though cuz I had my eyes set one the Winter candles.
So without further ado, here is what I saw....
Harvest Gathering
I know it's not a winter candle but it's still something new and kinda worth talkin about. This as well as the elusive Pumpkin Woods candle were both dark horses; no one knew if either would see the light of day. Then out of the blue and very late to the game comes Harvest Gathering. Now when I first heard about it, I wondered how close it would be to Leaves as the notes are quite similar. It is like a very very light version of Leaves, like a cheap knockoff version. Harvest Gathering is to Leaves the way margarine is to actual butter.... it's "I Can't Believe It's Not Leaves"! But there's more to it, something different yet familiar..if that makes any sense. I kept sniffing it over and over trying to figure out what it reminded me off. The only thing I could think of was Spiced Apple Toddy. And there's something slightly Spiced Cider-esque about it too. At any rate, it's very generic smelling I think, like your standard autumn-y potpourri or room spray. It's not exciting by any means and I'm a bit surprised and bewildered that this was released in the first place.
Vanilla Cedarwood
I did not think I was gonna like this at all as I'm not a big fan of vanilla scents. I thought for sure this would be very sweet and perfume-y. But I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised; both my bf and I really liked it. It's a little on the cologne-y side which as yall already know I like. This scent could easily be a winter unisex perfume. I didn't get much vanilla, thank god although with that said, there is a sweetness to it. This is gonna sound weird but it reminds me of Cashmere. VC is a like revamped masculinized version of Cashmere, which sounds repulsive as Cashmere is one of the most rank candles EVER. However the two do share similar notes though VC smells much much better. I am quite intrigued with this bad boy; this has the possibility of being my bedroom scent for Christmastime.
Winter Fig
Not a fan of this at all! This is one of the most light and blah smelling candles that I've ever sniffed! Seriously, what was the point of the scent?! I mean I applaud BBW for creating a new unique scent but this is sooo underwhelming. I will say that it does smell like a legit fig fresh off the tree, not the creamy gourmand sometimes artificial smelling fig note used in most BBW scents. There's also a slight spicy bark smell in this blend. So yeah fig and bark, that's what ya get. WF doesn't come across as a wintery holiday scent; I personally think it's a more autumn time scent. I dunno about this one, I think it's kinda blah!
Chestnut & Clove
AKA Winter Cabin (I like that name better). I really like this one. I thought about getting it last year but passed on it. It's a bit of everything - woodsy, outdoorsy, masculine, warm, cozy. It's really nice and cozy winter scent.
Evergreen
Standard winter pine scent, not much to say about it.
Frosted Cranberry
Very VERY tart but refreshing. While I do like it, I've never really thought about getting it. Honestly I much prefer Cranberry Woods over this.
Fireside
What's not to like about Fireside. Dark, rich, warm, woodsy, smoky, manly, just a nice non-traditional winter scent (by that I mean not sweet or piney) This was gonna be my Christmastime bedroom scent but Fireside has some major competition this year with Vanilla Cedarwood
Spiced Wreath
*deep sigh This is one of the funkiest candles I ever smelled! It's sooo weird! When I first heard about it, I thought it would be a clone of Tis the Season. SW wished it smelled as good as Tis the Season. First of all there's no apple scent whatsoever. And to say it's supposed to be a "wreath" scent, there's nothing remotely wreath-y about it! There should've been some balsam or pine or mint or holly/mistletoe or rosemary in the mix but no, none whatsoever - it's very sweety/bakery/gourmandy. Totally misnamed! It's such weird blend; it's like Holiday mixed with Cinnamon and Clove Buds mixed with Hot Buttered Rum...just funky! Its a fail in my opinion though I'm sure bakery/gourmand lovers will go nuts for it.
Snow Day
O..M..G...FAN-F***IN-TASTIC!!! I am in LOVE! I did not think I would like this at all because of that damn vanilla note, much like Vanilla Cedarwood. But, like VC, BBW threw me for a loop and I found myself really liking it! It's sweet without being cloying and yet fresh and outdoorsy. It's like Twisted Peppermint but 10 times better! BBW, pat yourself on the back for creating such an awesome scent as this!
Sparkling Icicles
Paris Daydream 2.0. It's more like a fresh and manly winter version of Paris Daydream. I've been intrigued with this scent since it's debut last year; I passed on it last year but I will be getting it this year!
Tis the Season
A fan favorite and definitely a favorite of mine. This is usually my go to Christmas time scent; in fact, I still have two from last year which is why I won't be getting it this year. I'm goin with other scent this Christmas. Anyhoo, this scent is perfection! It's Christmastime in a jar in my opinion. If you don't know what this smells like, it's crisp red apples, spiced/mulled cider and crisp pine... think Spiced Cider mixed with Evergreen. Soooooo good!!!
Fresh Balsam
E'rybody knows what this smells like so there's not much to say about it. Although I must admit this was the first time I smelled Fresh Balsam in candle form; it's really nice and fresh. I'm only used to smelling the bulbs that my bf had..whoo, those things are potent!
Winter
Once again, e'rybody knows what this smells like and I have written about this scent plenty of times. Nothin new, it still smells the same. This year BBW finally mentioned orange in the notes as they haven't the past few releases despite that note being very evident....excuse me, I meant to say "clementine" BBW is trying to make it sound all fancy! Be real BBW, it's candied spiced orange peel, plain and simple! Anyhoo, it's back in two forms this year which I don't why BBW did this as both candles have white wax that will eventually change color so what's the point?!
Vanilla Snowflake
...DEAR... LORD!!! W..T..F?! I smelled this for the very first time...strange I know as it has been around for forever but because of the vanilla and coconut notes, I just never was interested in sniffing it. I finally did it out of curiousity and boy did I regret it! I've heard other reviewers remark about how strange this candle smells and I definitely agree. It's downright repulsive: it's one of the few candles that made me gag! It's right up there with last year's Thanksgiving! It smells like hot steamy mayonnaise on some kind of hoagie bread! How BBW managed to get vanilla and coconut to smell like mayo is beyond me! And what does coconut have to do with winter in the first place? I mean I kinda get it, shaved coconut = fresh fallen snow but still... UGGHHHH!!! To quote Men on Film from "In Living Color", "HATED IT!!!"
So last weekend, I went to two different stores. Both only hand a handful of the fall candles - a few of the Sweater Weather ones, all of the Pumpkin ones and hardly any of the White Barn ones. All good though cuz I had my eyes set one the Winter candles.
So without further ado, here is what I saw....
Harvest Gathering
I know it's not a winter candle but it's still something new and kinda worth talkin about. This as well as the elusive Pumpkin Woods candle were both dark horses; no one knew if either would see the light of day. Then out of the blue and very late to the game comes Harvest Gathering. Now when I first heard about it, I wondered how close it would be to Leaves as the notes are quite similar. It is like a very very light version of Leaves, like a cheap knockoff version. Harvest Gathering is to Leaves the way margarine is to actual butter.... it's "I Can't Believe It's Not Leaves"! But there's more to it, something different yet familiar..if that makes any sense. I kept sniffing it over and over trying to figure out what it reminded me off. The only thing I could think of was Spiced Apple Toddy. And there's something slightly Spiced Cider-esque about it too. At any rate, it's very generic smelling I think, like your standard autumn-y potpourri or room spray. It's not exciting by any means and I'm a bit surprised and bewildered that this was released in the first place.
Vanilla Cedarwood
I did not think I was gonna like this at all as I'm not a big fan of vanilla scents. I thought for sure this would be very sweet and perfume-y. But I gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised; both my bf and I really liked it. It's a little on the cologne-y side which as yall already know I like. This scent could easily be a winter unisex perfume. I didn't get much vanilla, thank god although with that said, there is a sweetness to it. This is gonna sound weird but it reminds me of Cashmere. VC is a like revamped masculinized version of Cashmere, which sounds repulsive as Cashmere is one of the most rank candles EVER. However the two do share similar notes though VC smells much much better. I am quite intrigued with this bad boy; this has the possibility of being my bedroom scent for Christmastime.
Winter Fig
Not a fan of this at all! This is one of the most light and blah smelling candles that I've ever sniffed! Seriously, what was the point of the scent?! I mean I applaud BBW for creating a new unique scent but this is sooo underwhelming. I will say that it does smell like a legit fig fresh off the tree, not the creamy gourmand sometimes artificial smelling fig note used in most BBW scents. There's also a slight spicy bark smell in this blend. So yeah fig and bark, that's what ya get. WF doesn't come across as a wintery holiday scent; I personally think it's a more autumn time scent. I dunno about this one, I think it's kinda blah!
Chestnut & Clove
AKA Winter Cabin (I like that name better). I really like this one. I thought about getting it last year but passed on it. It's a bit of everything - woodsy, outdoorsy, masculine, warm, cozy. It's really nice and cozy winter scent.
Evergreen
Standard winter pine scent, not much to say about it.
Frosted Cranberry
Very VERY tart but refreshing. While I do like it, I've never really thought about getting it. Honestly I much prefer Cranberry Woods over this.
Fireside
What's not to like about Fireside. Dark, rich, warm, woodsy, smoky, manly, just a nice non-traditional winter scent (by that I mean not sweet or piney) This was gonna be my Christmastime bedroom scent but Fireside has some major competition this year with Vanilla Cedarwood
Spiced Wreath
*deep sigh This is one of the funkiest candles I ever smelled! It's sooo weird! When I first heard about it, I thought it would be a clone of Tis the Season. SW wished it smelled as good as Tis the Season. First of all there's no apple scent whatsoever. And to say it's supposed to be a "wreath" scent, there's nothing remotely wreath-y about it! There should've been some balsam or pine or mint or holly/mistletoe or rosemary in the mix but no, none whatsoever - it's very sweety/bakery/gourmandy. Totally misnamed! It's such weird blend; it's like Holiday mixed with Cinnamon and Clove Buds mixed with Hot Buttered Rum...just funky! Its a fail in my opinion though I'm sure bakery/gourmand lovers will go nuts for it.
Snow Day
O..M..G...FAN-F***IN-TASTIC!!! I am in LOVE! I did not think I would like this at all because of that damn vanilla note, much like Vanilla Cedarwood. But, like VC, BBW threw me for a loop and I found myself really liking it! It's sweet without being cloying and yet fresh and outdoorsy. It's like Twisted Peppermint but 10 times better! BBW, pat yourself on the back for creating such an awesome scent as this!
Sparkling Icicles
Paris Daydream 2.0. It's more like a fresh and manly winter version of Paris Daydream. I've been intrigued with this scent since it's debut last year; I passed on it last year but I will be getting it this year!
Tis the Season
A fan favorite and definitely a favorite of mine. This is usually my go to Christmas time scent; in fact, I still have two from last year which is why I won't be getting it this year. I'm goin with other scent this Christmas. Anyhoo, this scent is perfection! It's Christmastime in a jar in my opinion. If you don't know what this smells like, it's crisp red apples, spiced/mulled cider and crisp pine... think Spiced Cider mixed with Evergreen. Soooooo good!!!
Fresh Balsam
E'rybody knows what this smells like so there's not much to say about it. Although I must admit this was the first time I smelled Fresh Balsam in candle form; it's really nice and fresh. I'm only used to smelling the bulbs that my bf had..whoo, those things are potent!
Winter
Once again, e'rybody knows what this smells like and I have written about this scent plenty of times. Nothin new, it still smells the same. This year BBW finally mentioned orange in the notes as they haven't the past few releases despite that note being very evident....excuse me, I meant to say "clementine" BBW is trying to make it sound all fancy! Be real BBW, it's candied spiced orange peel, plain and simple! Anyhoo, it's back in two forms this year which I don't why BBW did this as both candles have white wax that will eventually change color so what's the point?!
Vanilla Snowflake
...DEAR... LORD!!! W..T..F?! I smelled this for the very first time...strange I know as it has been around for forever but because of the vanilla and coconut notes, I just never was interested in sniffing it. I finally did it out of curiousity and boy did I regret it! I've heard other reviewers remark about how strange this candle smells and I definitely agree. It's downright repulsive: it's one of the few candles that made me gag! It's right up there with last year's Thanksgiving! It smells like hot steamy mayonnaise on some kind of hoagie bread! How BBW managed to get vanilla and coconut to smell like mayo is beyond me! And what does coconut have to do with winter in the first place? I mean I kinda get it, shaved coconut = fresh fallen snow but still... UGGHHHH!!! To quote Men on Film from "In Living Color", "HATED IT!!!"
I think we have opposite tastes in candles, haha! I really like Winter Fig, and just bought a few of the three-wicks. I do think that it's a weird candle for this time of year, BUT it smells 95% identical to the Hermes Jardin en Mediterrannee and Jardin sur le Nil perfumes, which I loooooove but are totally out of my budget for now! I'll try burning them in the winter but will probably hang onto them more for the spring.
ReplyDeleteLol I'm definitely not hatin. I don't think Winter Fig is a bad scent, just an odd one . It's not my cup of tea but I can appreciate that somebody out is diggin it. You'll have to tell me what it's like post burn
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