THIS IS THE BOMB.COM: Fireside

Products: candle and bulbs
Area used in:  main bedroom
Time Period: end of October - December

Description: An inviting reminder of warm embers in the fireplace - sweetened with notes of leather, sandalwood and rich amber

Missing note: cedarwood


Oh Fireside...it's not winter time without ya! You're smply the best....better than allll the rest! I've always been in love with the scent and it will remain a staple for me for many winters to come!

So around Halloween time, I started burning the ever so unscented Applewood Bonfire. I got tired of it and decided to take it back for an exchange. I wanted something woodsy and masculine. Obviously one candle fit that description..muthaf***in Fireside! Granted, it was a little early to be burning this and I intended to get this candle for Christmastime but there was nothing in the fall selection(besides my baby Black Pepper Bergamot)  that had the kind of scent that I was lookin for. Plus I just love Fireside!

Fireside has been around for-friggin-ever! Very few scents nowadays have stood the test of time and yet remains a fan favorite like this one. It's just perfect; it's warm and cozy and just a little sensual. How can anyone not like it?!

First off, let's talk about the label. In the past, I honestly paid little to no attention to the candle labels, all that was important to me was the scent. But over the past year, I have been paying a lot more attention to the labels and the stock photos BBW uses for them. In the past, the labels for Fireside have been kinda boring, just a stack of logs. But this year's label really drew me in. It's just so quaint - a sparkly Christmas tree, stockings hung up with care with hope that Saint Nick will soon be there and a roaring blazing fire...if this doesn't get you into the Christmas spirit, I dunno what will! It just makes me wanna turn on that blazin Yule log video, put on some Christmas music, cuddle up in a blanket and gulp eggnog all night.

Anyhoo, the performance on this bad boy has been A+. Tall dancing flames from top to bottom; a lil too high maybe. This is one of the few candles that let out a few ember-y sparks when lit. The wax pool remained consistently deep and even. It's sooo beautiful to burn at night. My only complaint is about the throw, it was surprisingly weak. In the past, Fireside would dropkick you in the face as soon as you walked in the room. This year's version..mmm not so much. This seems to be an ongoing issue with the White Barn line of candles this year; it just seems watered down and significantly weaker. It still fills a room mind you but I wish it had the knock you out strength that it had in the past.

Now onto the scent..... *sigh

Over the years, many many people have written Fireside off as (say it with me)..."cologne-y"
Many of you already know how I feel about that and that I prefer those types of scents. Normally I'd agree if I think a certain candle smells cologne-y and explain why or try to reference an actual cologne that the scent smells like. This time I have to say I disagree, I do not think this smells like cologne at all. I can't say that I or any other guy would want to walk around smelling like a burnt up Yule log. And to me, that's what this candle is supposed to smell like and it definitely does.  Now with that said, I agree that there is something a bit masculine about Fireside as it has very masculine notes. However just because a scent is manly doesn't necessarily make it cologne-y.

Back to the scent. It's very rich and very smoky, emphasis on the smoky. The smoky aspect kinda intensifies as the candle burns, I'm guessing because of the soot from the wicks. I like that though. The top note is definitely the leather note, it's pretty dominant and it keeps the blend smelling more like an actual home fragrance and less like straight up burnt wood. I guess I could say I smell the sandalwood and cedarwood. There is a sweet muskiness which could be from the sandalwood and almost pine-like winter wood which could be cedarwood. Then again it could be marketing just tricking me; with all the smokiness and muskiness as well as that leather note, whose to say what wood note is actually in this. Finally there's the amber note that wraps all of the notes together as well as adding a warmth that otherwise I don't think it would've had. And there's a warm spiciness about Fireside that kinda reminds me of Black Pepper Bergamot. With that said, it makes Fireside smell kinda sexy to me. It makes me think of a hot burly hairy guy with salt pepper hair layin butt naked in front of the fireplace on a bearskin rug with Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" playing in the background...

Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, I do believe I'm getting the vapors! *purrrrrrrrr

I also had old wf bulbs from either last year or the year before so I didn't have to buy new ones. Thank goodness cuz for some reason they've disappeared online along with Sparkling Icicles and Black Pepper Bergamot and I don't remember seeing them in the store. Very strange! Anyhoo, the bulbs are pretty good, not as  strong as I would've liked though I wonder if that's because they're kinda old.

Anyhoo, in conclusion, Fireside is just amazing! For those of you who have been worried in the past about this scent knocking you, this year it shouldn't. It's rich, it's warm, it's cozy, it's inviting, it's sexy. It's perfect to burn in the living room at night or in the bedroom for that matter. It's a great scent for the holidays without it being minty or spicy and piney. If you haven't tried Fireside, I highly recommend that you do!