WALK N' SNIFF (part one): Holiday Traditions
So last weekend I had the opportunity to visit BBW twice - once with my best friend on Friday and again with my boyfriend on Saturday. I didn't buy anything as I'm waiting for Black Friday but it did however give me the chance to sniff and re-sniff the newer candles that weren't available the last time I was there.
*sigh
I'm probably gonna get some flack for what I'm about to say..but ya know what? Eff it, I'm gonna say it anyway. I am very very underwhelmed with this line! There was nothing remotely exciting and new; not one candle wowed me! Everything is repackages/repackages with a twists or bastard children of other scents. Everything just screams "mass appeal"! Before I rant about the lack of newness post Slatkin and upset my nerves, let me just get to the real....
Here's what I think of the candles that I saw...
Vanilla Firewood
I know, not a Holiday Tradition candle but I still saw it and have something to say about it. It's friggin gross! It smells like straightup barbecue sauce! How? I dunno, it just does! So BBW thought that this hot mess was good enough to go wide but not Snowed In? Hmm....
Cinnamon Frosting
So Frosted Cupcake and Cinnamon & Clove Buds made love by the fire and Cinnamon Frosting is their love child. CF smells EXACTLY like Frosted Cupcake mixed with Cinnamon & Clove Buds or Spice (Frosted Cupcake is a bit of a whore) There's that intense red hot cinnamon/clove spiciness with BBW's generic buttercream scent. I like to call CF Pumpkin Cupcake's stepsister; two buttercream scents with varying spices. Now if this scent was like an actual cinnamon roll with icing (like oh I dunno, what's on the label) I'd be all over this but as it stands, no not so much. Pass!
Merry Cookie
First of all, how adorable is that snowman cookie?!?! Anyhoo I've heard varying things about this candle; some say that it smells warm and sweet while others say it smells burnt and funky. Based on cold throw, I do admit it smells pretty yummy though I could see how it could quickly change into a burnt smell once lit. I'll gladly give BBW some credit by saying it does smell like a legit sugar cookie. It's just so boring and mass appeal-y though and that in and of itself turns me off. However for all yall sweety/bakery/gourmand lovers, this bud's for you!
Mint Chocolate
Normally I'm not of fan of chocolate scents in non-edible form and despise mint chocolate scents period with a passion. However, there is something about this candle that I like. I got to sniff it back when it made a surprise appearance at the summer SAS and I really liked it then too. It's sweet without being cloying, the chocolate isn't artificial and plastic-y smelling and the mint is really cool and fresh. MC smells like a straight up Peppermint Patty or an Andy's Mint. Honestly I think this is the best candle in this whole collection! I think might actually buy this bad boy!
Twisted Peppermint
I've never been a big fan of this scent. I lot of people say that TP smells very medicinal and I gotta say that I have to agree. It's very menthol-y; I think the only time I would want to burn this candle is if I was sick with a cold or something cuz otherwise it would be way too overwhelming. Just sniffing the lid cleared my sinuses! And there's offputting about TP that I can't quite put my finger on. Perhaps it's the musk note which I don't know why BBW would put musk in a scent like this. And maybe my nose is playin tricks on me but I swear I smell something ginger-y, like dried sugared ginger candy. I dunno...
Winter Candle Apple
I never really understood why this was considered a winter time scent (unless I'm missin something, I always thought candied apples was more of summer/fall thing) I just feel like there are so many other scents that are more wintery than WCA. Anyhoo, I digress. I can't really say that I get much of an apple scent. With Caramel Apple, you get both the apple note and the caramel covering note. Not so much with WCA; you really just get the candy glaze. Honestly, I think this smells more like gummi bears/worms than anything else. Also there's something kinda body care smelling about WCA, like a generic shampoo/conditioner or bubble bath. It doesn't have that inviting and enticing vibe that most bakery/confection/gourmand scents tend to have. I feel like such a scent should make you make you wanna eat whatever that scent is supposed to mimic and frankly WCA just doesn't do that.
Red Velvet Cupcake
As a Southerner, I have had my fair share of red velvet confections over the years - cakes, cupcakes, cookies, cocktails etc! So when I heard BBW was coming up with a red velvet scent for wintertime, I got super excited. Then I heard the reviews - that it's boring, generic, mainstream, mass appeal-y. And no friggin cream cheese! WTF?! It can't be a muthaf***in red velvet cake scent without muthaf***in cream cheese! Isn't that just a chocolate cupcake?! Anyhoo, I was a little leery when I saw it in the store but I decided to be open-minded and sniff it anyway. I was pleasantly surprised - it's not that bad. It does smell like the cake portion of a red velvet confection. But I am extremely disappointed that instead of being experimental and using a cream cheese note, BBW went all safe and mainstream and used its generic standby buttercream note thus making it smell like a chocolate Frosted Cupcake. RVC is basically FC's mulatto bastard lovechild!
Now my thoughts on the scents not available in stores yet...
Vanilla Bean Noel
This scent has been around for-frggin-ever and it continues to fly off the shelf. Personally, I've never been a fan of this scent at all and never will be. Honestly I never saw the point of having this scent around. BBW already has Vanilla Snowflake, Merry Cookie and Frosted Cupcake - three very vanilla-y scents. Besides its name, what's the appeal of VBN?
Ok I can see it being a nice soap or lotion but does it have to be a candle as well? I dunno, maybe I'm missing something...
Cinnamon Caramel Swirl
What the hell is the point of this scent? Someone please tell me? What does this have to do with winter/Christmas time? Why was this released and Frosted Gingerbread (a tried and true BBW winter time staple and an actual Christmas time confection) given the boot? It's stupid shit like this that pisses me off about BBW!
Buttercream Mint
Great, just what we need..yet another Frosted Cupcake bastard lovechild! It's Frosted Cupcake only this time it's mixed with mint! What a novel and original idea! Real talk...this is just pure unadulterated laziness! And then BBW has the audacity and gall to want to release this hot mess as Black Friday exclusive! Really BBW, REALLY?! BBW had the opportunity to create something truly new and unique or they could've brought something back from the Slatkin era - Marshmallow Peppermint, Holiday Gumdrops, Candied Sugar Plum. What does BBW do instead? They release this mess! Once again they went mainstream and mass appeal-y! Laziness, plain and simple!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the word that I would describe this line and the winter scents this year in general.....LAZY!
And now ladies and gentlemen, part deux...the Toast the night candles
http://realtalkaboutbbwcandles.blogspot.com/2013/11/bbw-walk-n-sniff-part-deux-it-happened.html?m=1
*sigh
I'm probably gonna get some flack for what I'm about to say..but ya know what? Eff it, I'm gonna say it anyway. I am very very underwhelmed with this line! There was nothing remotely exciting and new; not one candle wowed me! Everything is repackages/repackages with a twists or bastard children of other scents. Everything just screams "mass appeal"! Before I rant about the lack of newness post Slatkin and upset my nerves, let me just get to the real....
Here's what I think of the candles that I saw...
Vanilla Firewood
I know, not a Holiday Tradition candle but I still saw it and have something to say about it. It's friggin gross! It smells like straightup barbecue sauce! How? I dunno, it just does! So BBW thought that this hot mess was good enough to go wide but not Snowed In? Hmm....
Cinnamon Frosting
So Frosted Cupcake and Cinnamon & Clove Buds made love by the fire and Cinnamon Frosting is their love child. CF smells EXACTLY like Frosted Cupcake mixed with Cinnamon & Clove Buds or Spice (Frosted Cupcake is a bit of a whore) There's that intense red hot cinnamon/clove spiciness with BBW's generic buttercream scent. I like to call CF Pumpkin Cupcake's stepsister; two buttercream scents with varying spices. Now if this scent was like an actual cinnamon roll with icing (like oh I dunno, what's on the label) I'd be all over this but as it stands, no not so much. Pass!
Merry Cookie
First of all, how adorable is that snowman cookie?!?! Anyhoo I've heard varying things about this candle; some say that it smells warm and sweet while others say it smells burnt and funky. Based on cold throw, I do admit it smells pretty yummy though I could see how it could quickly change into a burnt smell once lit. I'll gladly give BBW some credit by saying it does smell like a legit sugar cookie. It's just so boring and mass appeal-y though and that in and of itself turns me off. However for all yall sweety/bakery/gourmand lovers, this bud's for you!
Mint Chocolate
Normally I'm not of fan of chocolate scents in non-edible form and despise mint chocolate scents period with a passion. However, there is something about this candle that I like. I got to sniff it back when it made a surprise appearance at the summer SAS and I really liked it then too. It's sweet without being cloying, the chocolate isn't artificial and plastic-y smelling and the mint is really cool and fresh. MC smells like a straight up Peppermint Patty or an Andy's Mint. Honestly I think this is the best candle in this whole collection! I think might actually buy this bad boy!
Twisted Peppermint
I've never been a big fan of this scent. I lot of people say that TP smells very medicinal and I gotta say that I have to agree. It's very menthol-y; I think the only time I would want to burn this candle is if I was sick with a cold or something cuz otherwise it would be way too overwhelming. Just sniffing the lid cleared my sinuses! And there's offputting about TP that I can't quite put my finger on. Perhaps it's the musk note which I don't know why BBW would put musk in a scent like this. And maybe my nose is playin tricks on me but I swear I smell something ginger-y, like dried sugared ginger candy. I dunno...
Winter Candle Apple
I never really understood why this was considered a winter time scent (unless I'm missin something, I always thought candied apples was more of summer/fall thing) I just feel like there are so many other scents that are more wintery than WCA. Anyhoo, I digress. I can't really say that I get much of an apple scent. With Caramel Apple, you get both the apple note and the caramel covering note. Not so much with WCA; you really just get the candy glaze. Honestly, I think this smells more like gummi bears/worms than anything else. Also there's something kinda body care smelling about WCA, like a generic shampoo/conditioner or bubble bath. It doesn't have that inviting and enticing vibe that most bakery/confection/gourmand scents tend to have. I feel like such a scent should make you make you wanna eat whatever that scent is supposed to mimic and frankly WCA just doesn't do that.
Red Velvet Cupcake
As a Southerner, I have had my fair share of red velvet confections over the years - cakes, cupcakes, cookies, cocktails etc! So when I heard BBW was coming up with a red velvet scent for wintertime, I got super excited. Then I heard the reviews - that it's boring, generic, mainstream, mass appeal-y. And no friggin cream cheese! WTF?! It can't be a muthaf***in red velvet cake scent without muthaf***in cream cheese! Isn't that just a chocolate cupcake?! Anyhoo, I was a little leery when I saw it in the store but I decided to be open-minded and sniff it anyway. I was pleasantly surprised - it's not that bad. It does smell like the cake portion of a red velvet confection. But I am extremely disappointed that instead of being experimental and using a cream cheese note, BBW went all safe and mainstream and used its generic standby buttercream note thus making it smell like a chocolate Frosted Cupcake. RVC is basically FC's mulatto bastard lovechild!
Now my thoughts on the scents not available in stores yet...
Vanilla Bean Noel
This scent has been around for-frggin-ever and it continues to fly off the shelf. Personally, I've never been a fan of this scent at all and never will be. Honestly I never saw the point of having this scent around. BBW already has Vanilla Snowflake, Merry Cookie and Frosted Cupcake - three very vanilla-y scents. Besides its name, what's the appeal of VBN?
Ok I can see it being a nice soap or lotion but does it have to be a candle as well? I dunno, maybe I'm missing something...
Cinnamon Caramel Swirl
What the hell is the point of this scent? Someone please tell me? What does this have to do with winter/Christmas time? Why was this released and Frosted Gingerbread (a tried and true BBW winter time staple and an actual Christmas time confection) given the boot? It's stupid shit like this that pisses me off about BBW!
Buttercream Mint
Great, just what we need..yet another Frosted Cupcake bastard lovechild! It's Frosted Cupcake only this time it's mixed with mint! What a novel and original idea! Real talk...this is just pure unadulterated laziness! And then BBW has the audacity and gall to want to release this hot mess as Black Friday exclusive! Really BBW, REALLY?! BBW had the opportunity to create something truly new and unique or they could've brought something back from the Slatkin era - Marshmallow Peppermint, Holiday Gumdrops, Candied Sugar Plum. What does BBW do instead? They release this mess! Once again they went mainstream and mass appeal-y! Laziness, plain and simple!
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the word that I would describe this line and the winter scents this year in general.....LAZY!
And now ladies and gentlemen, part deux...the Toast the night candles
http://realtalkaboutbbwcandles.blogspot.com/2013/11/bbw-walk-n-sniff-part-deux-it-happened.html?m=1
I agree with so much of what you've said!
ReplyDeleteVanilla Firewood is a joke, and repackage of Enchanted Woods from the 2012 Forest Collection. I burned my SAS Mint Chocolate for the first time a few days ago, and it had INSANE burn and throw-- 80% mint with 20% dark chocolate-- definitely worth purchasing one of 'em.
I'm so unimpressed with Red Velvet Cupcake that I haven't even bothered to light it, and I put it in the back of my candle closet…I really just don't even care to try it at this point.
It's so pathetic that they're releasing Buttercream Mint as the Black Friday candle. At least last year we had 'Merry Christmas'…casual shoppers won't even realize the difference between Mint Chocolate and Buttercream Mint…the wax color, the label, or the scent!
Finally…unrelated, but I had a realization when I was going through some of my holiday candles a few days ago: Good Natured Christmas is 95% a dupe of…wait for it…Summertime S'mores. It sounds crazy, but if you smell them side by side, they're nearly indistinguishable. MESS!!!
Interesting! I was wondering what GNC was a repackage of. As out the box as it seems, GNC being a repackage of SS makes sense as they share similar notes. Same thing with VF; I was wondering what it was a repackage cuz I refused to be believe that ish was new and improved. Both GNC and VF are hot messes and wasted opportunities
DeleteI dunno what's goin on with BBW this upcoming winter. I feel like they kinda had their shit together back in fall but they're just all over the place!
Btw why dont you just exchange your RVC forsomething else?
WOW, so much of what you said is absolutely what I believe, too! Except...I love VBN, lol. I can't hate on it! Vanilla Firewood was the one I was most excited about, but if it smells like BBQ sauce?! YIKES! I love how you said "It can't be a muthaf***in red velvet cake scent without muthaf***in cream cheese!," totally agree there, too! Ah, well, maybe next year we can get some truly new scents...but I won't hold my breath! ;)
ReplyDeleteAHAHAHAH, your writing is fabulous! I love how you don't sugar coat anything...what's the point, you know? Keep up the great blog! :)
Awww thank ya darlin! You always have nice sweet things to say! :D
ReplyDeleteYa know, I really wanna like VBN cuz soooo many people are crazy about it but I just can't do it. Give VF next time you're in the store; it could very well be my nose playin tricks but it smells like bbq sauce that has spilled on already burned briquettes. And friggin RVC...it just makes me mad. All of this years winter candles, except toast the night, make me mad
Anyhoo, as always thanks for continuin to read my lil blog here as well as yourkind words