WALK 'N' SNIFF: American Boardwalk SAS Edition
Initially when I first heard that BBW was bringing back the American Boardwalk collection for SAS, I thought it was a good idea. Back in the day, people really seemed to enjoy it and there were a mix of scents for everybody to enjoy - clean crisp watery scents for the fresh/outdoors lovers and sugary sweet dessert scents for sweet lovers. Truth be told, I vaguely remember this collection - the period of time when this collection was released was a bit of a blur for me. I really had my eyes on Beach Grass and White Sands as I didn't really remember what those two smelled like and I tend to gravitate to fresh, clean watery scents. So with that said, yesterday when I went to Garden State Plaza to get my SAS shoppin on, I took some time reacquaint myself those candles.
Honestly, I wasn't feelin any of them...
Summer Boardwalk
Ah, Summer Boardwalk..E'RYBODYS FAVORITE!!! Everybody goes absolutely nuts for this candle!
I have a confession to make.... I HATE SUMMER BOARDWALK!!!! *runs and hides from angry mob
I can see why this candle has sweetie/bakery/gourmand lovers creamin their panties. It's soooo sweet..and that's why I hate it. I can't get past the ooey gooey sweetness of it; I feel like I need an insulin shot after I sniff it. And it's potent as hell; every reviewer has remarked on how strong and lingering the throw is...and I believe it! Even the cold throw will knock you out. The scent is instant even when simply lifting the lid. My other issue is with the blend itself, so many notes fighting for supremacy...toffee, caramel, popcorn, green apple, cream..for me, it's too much goin on!
Ice Cream Shop
I don't like this one cuz it's too close to Summer Boardwalk, it's like Summer Boardwalk's annoying little brother. To me, ICS is like a mix of Summer Boardwalk and Creamy Nutmeg from back in the day. It has the toffee and cream notes from SB and the nutty creamy almost amaretto like note from CN. If you're expectin this to smell like the Neopolitan ice cream that it's marketed as being like, you're gonna be sorely disappointed.
Saltwater Taffy
*Again, another one I just didn't like. I don't care what anyone says, I'm stickin to my opinion and no one can talk me out of it...SWT is the precursor to what now know as Strawberry Picnic from last year's Lakeside collection and recently as Strawberry Sorbet from this spring's Sweet Shoppe...in another words Strawberry Picnic and Strawberry Sorbet are repackages/repackages with a twist of SWT as SWT came first.. They all share the same artificial waxy Chapsticky strawberry note. The only difference is SWT is lighter and creamier and has a slightly saltier. And it could be nose playin tricks on me, but I smell a slight Gelato-esque raspberry note. Anyway, I'm not a fan of this one.
Suntan
This, like Summer Boardwalk, was and is another fan favorite. Not for me though; I didn't like it back then, I didn't like when was renamed/revamped as Poolside last year and I don't like it now. I wanted to like this one cuz soooo many others do, but I can't make myself do it. For me, this scent is awkward and I'll tell y'all why. It really smells like legit sunscreen/suntan lotion, think Coppertone. I smell it and I see the picture of the lil blonde girl with the puppy pullin down her swimming suit. It's too spot on; I don't think I would want my apartment to smell like straightup sunscreen.
White Sand
I really really wanted to like this one cuz it's just sounds so fresh and tropical and beachy. Alas, I wound up not liking it as much as I thought I would. I will say this, it's a very relaxing and almost spa-like scent; it's very similar to Tiki Beach and Meet me in Tahiti but with a citrusy kick. However, what turned me off was that I sniffed something really sharp, maybe it was the grapefruit note. Whatever it was, I couldn't get past it.
Beach Grass
Again, another one I want to like but was disappointed. It's not that I didn't like the scent cuz I actually did. It's very fresh, clean and watery - right up my alley. However a) it just smelled too close Renew & Refresh or Seashore as it was known when it was part of this collection way back when. They both smell fresh and watery with a faint floral kick, the difference being BG smells more dewy and green. And b) Beach Grass's cold throw was just too damn weak, so I could only imagine how weak the warm throw would. Reviewers back in the day all complained that warm throw was borderline nonexistent. Despite me liking the scent itself, I frankly didn't see the point of getting this one. Personally, I say go with Renew&Refresh - the throw is stronger and the scent is better.
for other opinions of these candles, check out these old reviews from when they first premiered
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN_LSIzMuxQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH1FLnjh0ek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loATKdW6Fbc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oetIhSjH-28
Honestly, I wasn't feelin any of them...
Summer Boardwalk
Ah, Summer Boardwalk..E'RYBODYS FAVORITE!!! Everybody goes absolutely nuts for this candle!
I have a confession to make.... I HATE SUMMER BOARDWALK!!!! *runs and hides from angry mob
I can see why this candle has sweetie/bakery/gourmand lovers creamin their panties. It's soooo sweet..and that's why I hate it. I can't get past the ooey gooey sweetness of it; I feel like I need an insulin shot after I sniff it. And it's potent as hell; every reviewer has remarked on how strong and lingering the throw is...and I believe it! Even the cold throw will knock you out. The scent is instant even when simply lifting the lid. My other issue is with the blend itself, so many notes fighting for supremacy...toffee, caramel, popcorn, green apple, cream..for me, it's too much goin on!
Ice Cream Shop
I don't like this one cuz it's too close to Summer Boardwalk, it's like Summer Boardwalk's annoying little brother. To me, ICS is like a mix of Summer Boardwalk and Creamy Nutmeg from back in the day. It has the toffee and cream notes from SB and the nutty creamy almost amaretto like note from CN. If you're expectin this to smell like the Neopolitan ice cream that it's marketed as being like, you're gonna be sorely disappointed.
Saltwater Taffy
*Again, another one I just didn't like. I don't care what anyone says, I'm stickin to my opinion and no one can talk me out of it...SWT is the precursor to what now know as Strawberry Picnic from last year's Lakeside collection and recently as Strawberry Sorbet from this spring's Sweet Shoppe...in another words Strawberry Picnic and Strawberry Sorbet are repackages/repackages with a twist of SWT as SWT came first.. They all share the same artificial waxy Chapsticky strawberry note. The only difference is SWT is lighter and creamier and has a slightly saltier. And it could be nose playin tricks on me, but I smell a slight Gelato-esque raspberry note. Anyway, I'm not a fan of this one.
Suntan
This, like Summer Boardwalk, was and is another fan favorite. Not for me though; I didn't like it back then, I didn't like when was renamed/revamped as Poolside last year and I don't like it now. I wanted to like this one cuz soooo many others do, but I can't make myself do it. For me, this scent is awkward and I'll tell y'all why. It really smells like legit sunscreen/suntan lotion, think Coppertone. I smell it and I see the picture of the lil blonde girl with the puppy pullin down her swimming suit. It's too spot on; I don't think I would want my apartment to smell like straightup sunscreen.
White Sand
I really really wanted to like this one cuz it's just sounds so fresh and tropical and beachy. Alas, I wound up not liking it as much as I thought I would. I will say this, it's a very relaxing and almost spa-like scent; it's very similar to Tiki Beach and Meet me in Tahiti but with a citrusy kick. However, what turned me off was that I sniffed something really sharp, maybe it was the grapefruit note. Whatever it was, I couldn't get past it.
Beach Grass
Again, another one I want to like but was disappointed. It's not that I didn't like the scent cuz I actually did. It's very fresh, clean and watery - right up my alley. However a) it just smelled too close Renew & Refresh or Seashore as it was known when it was part of this collection way back when. They both smell fresh and watery with a faint floral kick, the difference being BG smells more dewy and green. And b) Beach Grass's cold throw was just too damn weak, so I could only imagine how weak the warm throw would. Reviewers back in the day all complained that warm throw was borderline nonexistent. Despite me liking the scent itself, I frankly didn't see the point of getting this one. Personally, I say go with Renew&Refresh - the throw is stronger and the scent is better.
for other opinions of these candles, check out these old reviews from when they first premiered
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN_LSIzMuxQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH1FLnjh0ek
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loATKdW6Fbc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oetIhSjH-28
After reading this post, I went to my candle stash and got out the ones that you did comparisons with. I never would have noticed it, but you are right R&R and BG smell very similar. MMIT, TB and WS are all the same sort of smell. I guess I have all of these because I gravitate towards clean, fresh scents. LOL
ReplyDeleteMy BG is very strong on cold throw. Stronger than my R&R. I think that BG smells more like Spring.
I have a SB 4 oz candle and I really like it. It IS very strong. I swear I can still smell it the in the air the next morning. I dont know if I want to get a 3 wick of it though.
I'm glad you agree with me and not just my nose playin tricks on me
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found yourself a strong BG. And I can see how it could be compared to Spring; they're both green and dewy. Only difference, besides it bein 10x stronger is that Spring has that green apple not, which I love
Yeah the SB 3wick is super potent. Id stick with the 4oz if I were you