WALK 'N' SNIFF: Winter 2014 Candles Part Deux
Let's talk about the Holiday tradition and Martinis and Mistletoe candles shall we....
First of all, how friggin cute are these Holiday Traditions candles, with the little animals?! Anyhoo, I won't talk about Twisted Peppermint, Winter Candle Apple, Evergreen and Vanilla Bean Noel cuz E'RYBODY should know what those all smell like.
Holiday
This SOB came out back 2012, replacing Slatkin's go to holiday spice candle Spice and has been a Christmastime staple ever since...I dunno why cuz it ain't all that! If you like red hot spicy cinnamon scents like Cinnamon & Clove, then you'll probably like Holiday - they both smell very similar. Holiday also has bergamot in it which you think would give it a very aromatic citrusy kick but nope not so much. It makes the blend for some reason smell very ancient and dusty/musty smelling, like an old person's home. Holiday makes me think of old dusty/musty cardboard boxes of Xmas decorations in your grandparents' attic.
Cinnamon Caramel Swirl
This come out last winter and B&BW has been pushin this hard ever since and I don't know why. It was "Pumpkin" Caramel Swirl this fall and now it's back as a winter scent. It smells like cinnamon and caramel, that's it. It's not good, it's not bad, just ehhh
Fresh Sparkling Snow
FSS is my all time FAVORITE winter soap and I have to have it every year. I've been sayin for the longest that there should be a coexisting candle to go with it; hell, if Twisted Peppermint, Winter Candy Apple and Vanilla Bean Noel can be a soap, why not FSS?! So when I heard that B&BW finally answered my prayers and there was actually a candle, I creamed my proverbial panties! It smellslike the soap for tbe most part, albeit a little sweeter. The "icy melon" note is more pronounced; I never noticed that there was melon in the soap and pocketbac, but you can't miss it in the candle. As much as I like this, I can't say that it strikes me as a "winter" scent. That melon-y action just makes me think of summer. It's very reminiscent of B&BW summery/melony/oceany scents - think Oceanside, Sunrise Lagoon (Island Waters), Seashore (Renew&Refresh) and Seaspray (Turquoise Waters)
And now onto the fabulous looking Martini and Mistletoe collection. Last year, this New Year's themed collection had a very 1920's/Art Deco/Great Gatsby vibe, however this time around it has a very 1950's/Rat Pack/Lawrence Welk vibe. I think Im diggin the collection the most. I'm not gonna bother talkin about Tis the Season, Peach Bellini or Cranberry Pear Bellini.
Holly Jolly Christmas
I've already talked about that mess, not gonna waste my time and yours talking about it again.
HJC will apparently a one day (Black Friday?) special candle like last year's Buttercream Mint
Champagne Toast
CT made it's debut last winter and was a runaway hit. I loved it and I wrote a review about it. I'm beyond glad that it's back in action this year. CT smells like a Mimosa or a very fizzy orange soda. I already did a review last year, so go check that. If you liked Sparkling Berry Fizz from the Summer sips collection, it was basically a repackage of CT.
Black Tie
Again, I did a review about this last year so I won't go into a great depth about it. It smells like a sexy men's cologne.
Sparkling Confetti
I don't care what anyone says, I don't care what the notes for this says, I've gotten into arguments about this one and I'm stickin to my guns and will go down swingin....This is Party Dress from last winter. Yes, the notes are different, who f***ing CARES!!! I've sad this before I'll say it again, don't take the notes on candles seriously! SCis a little sweeter, not as intensely floral as PD, but the initially smell EXACTLY alike. Like BT smells like cologne, SC, like PD, smells like perfume.
Merry Mistletoe
MM was a Christmastime staple in 2011 and 2012. Last winter it tested as "Winter Wreath" but didn't go wide. Finally it's back in action and I for one could not be happier. Like many of the old school Slatkin era scents, this is a little complex and hard to describe. You definitely get an apparent pear note, a tiny hint of cranberry and there's a double whammy of spruce and rosemary that gives this a refreshing astringent pine-y action. To describe this on a very simplistic basic level, you can kinda say this smells CPB without the fizz with Fresh Balsam without the eucalyptus...kinda. The combo, to me at least, just makes me think of Christmastime. Now I don't wanna say that this smells "cologne-y", I've heard other reviewers refer to it as that in the past; I will say there's something "masculine" about this scent. This won't be everyone's cup of tea, especially yall sweetie lovers out there. But for your hardcore Slatkin fans or those who you who like fresh/clean/herbal/woodsy/cologne scents, this bud's for you!
White Winter Petals
This one kinda slipped under the radar and had everyone thrown for loop. I knew it was going to be a fancy soap but didn't know it would b a corresponding candle/wf bulb. And it didn't test, it just went straight to store. I admit, the name turned me off initially; I'm not a fan of floral scents and I thought it inappropriate for winter and just seemed out of place in this collection. But then I smelled it and I gotta say I was digging it. Thankfully despite what the name suggests, it's not nearly as intensely floral as you might think it would be, on the contrary it's quite subtle. It has a white powdery dewy aspect to it - think lily or jasmine or lilac or peony. And there's definite "holiday greenery" note that's hangin out in the background, like a sweet spruce. It's like a toned down eucalyptus-less Fresh Balsam with added floral, think Lilac Blossom. And it has cooling outdoorsiness like Sweater Weather. WWT is a little strange but I think folks, like me, will gind themselves liking it by surprise. I do wish B&BW could've come up with a better name - White Poinsettia, Winter Snow, Snowflake Blossom, Winter Tinsel, anything other that Winter White Petals
First of all, how friggin cute are these Holiday Traditions candles, with the little animals?! Anyhoo, I won't talk about Twisted Peppermint, Winter Candle Apple, Evergreen and Vanilla Bean Noel cuz E'RYBODY should know what those all smell like.
Holiday
This SOB came out back 2012, replacing Slatkin's go to holiday spice candle Spice and has been a Christmastime staple ever since...I dunno why cuz it ain't all that! If you like red hot spicy cinnamon scents like Cinnamon & Clove, then you'll probably like Holiday - they both smell very similar. Holiday also has bergamot in it which you think would give it a very aromatic citrusy kick but nope not so much. It makes the blend for some reason smell very ancient and dusty/musty smelling, like an old person's home. Holiday makes me think of old dusty/musty cardboard boxes of Xmas decorations in your grandparents' attic.
Cinnamon Caramel Swirl
This come out last winter and B&BW has been pushin this hard ever since and I don't know why. It was "Pumpkin" Caramel Swirl this fall and now it's back as a winter scent. It smells like cinnamon and caramel, that's it. It's not good, it's not bad, just ehhh
Fresh Sparkling Snow
FSS is my all time FAVORITE winter soap and I have to have it every year. I've been sayin for the longest that there should be a coexisting candle to go with it; hell, if Twisted Peppermint, Winter Candy Apple and Vanilla Bean Noel can be a soap, why not FSS?! So when I heard that B&BW finally answered my prayers and there was actually a candle, I creamed my proverbial panties! It smellslike the soap for tbe most part, albeit a little sweeter. The "icy melon" note is more pronounced; I never noticed that there was melon in the soap and pocketbac, but you can't miss it in the candle. As much as I like this, I can't say that it strikes me as a "winter" scent. That melon-y action just makes me think of summer. It's very reminiscent of B&BW summery/melony/oceany scents - think Oceanside, Sunrise Lagoon (Island Waters), Seashore (Renew&Refresh) and Seaspray (Turquoise Waters)
And now onto the fabulous looking Martini and Mistletoe collection. Last year, this New Year's themed collection had a very 1920's/Art Deco/Great Gatsby vibe, however this time around it has a very 1950's/Rat Pack/Lawrence Welk vibe. I think Im diggin the collection the most. I'm not gonna bother talkin about Tis the Season, Peach Bellini or Cranberry Pear Bellini.
Holly Jolly Christmas
I've already talked about that mess, not gonna waste my time and yours talking about it again.
HJC will apparently a one day (Black Friday?) special candle like last year's Buttercream Mint
Champagne Toast
CT made it's debut last winter and was a runaway hit. I loved it and I wrote a review about it. I'm beyond glad that it's back in action this year. CT smells like a Mimosa or a very fizzy orange soda. I already did a review last year, so go check that. If you liked Sparkling Berry Fizz from the Summer sips collection, it was basically a repackage of CT.
Black Tie
Again, I did a review about this last year so I won't go into a great depth about it. It smells like a sexy men's cologne.
Sparkling Confetti
I don't care what anyone says, I don't care what the notes for this says, I've gotten into arguments about this one and I'm stickin to my guns and will go down swingin....This is Party Dress from last winter. Yes, the notes are different, who f***ing CARES!!! I've sad this before I'll say it again, don't take the notes on candles seriously! SCis a little sweeter, not as intensely floral as PD, but the initially smell EXACTLY alike. Like BT smells like cologne, SC, like PD, smells like perfume.
Merry Mistletoe
MM was a Christmastime staple in 2011 and 2012. Last winter it tested as "Winter Wreath" but didn't go wide. Finally it's back in action and I for one could not be happier. Like many of the old school Slatkin era scents, this is a little complex and hard to describe. You definitely get an apparent pear note, a tiny hint of cranberry and there's a double whammy of spruce and rosemary that gives this a refreshing astringent pine-y action. To describe this on a very simplistic basic level, you can kinda say this smells CPB without the fizz with Fresh Balsam without the eucalyptus...kinda. The combo, to me at least, just makes me think of Christmastime. Now I don't wanna say that this smells "cologne-y", I've heard other reviewers refer to it as that in the past; I will say there's something "masculine" about this scent. This won't be everyone's cup of tea, especially yall sweetie lovers out there. But for your hardcore Slatkin fans or those who you who like fresh/clean/herbal/woodsy/cologne scents, this bud's for you!
White Winter Petals
This one kinda slipped under the radar and had everyone thrown for loop. I knew it was going to be a fancy soap but didn't know it would b a corresponding candle/wf bulb. And it didn't test, it just went straight to store. I admit, the name turned me off initially; I'm not a fan of floral scents and I thought it inappropriate for winter and just seemed out of place in this collection. But then I smelled it and I gotta say I was digging it. Thankfully despite what the name suggests, it's not nearly as intensely floral as you might think it would be, on the contrary it's quite subtle. It has a white powdery dewy aspect to it - think lily or jasmine or lilac or peony. And there's definite "holiday greenery" note that's hangin out in the background, like a sweet spruce. It's like a toned down eucalyptus-less Fresh Balsam with added floral, think Lilac Blossom. And it has cooling outdoorsiness like Sweater Weather. WWT is a little strange but I think folks, like me, will gind themselves liking it by surprise. I do wish B&BW could've come up with a better name - White Poinsettia, Winter Snow, Snowflake Blossom, Winter Tinsel, anything other that Winter White Petals
You are right about WWP, very interesting, but I am not sure I will be buying it. My store did not have the FSS candle. Any idea when it will hit stores? TIA
ReplyDeleteWell, despite the somewhat light throw, it's been getting good reviews. I just bought a wf bulb so we'll see what that's like
ReplyDeleteas for FSS, that should already be in stores. All the stores I've been to had them already
FSS was nowhere to be seen. The manager just looked at me like it was stupid when I asked for it.
ReplyDeleteIt always seems like I know more than the staff when I go there. I dont know if they are just not spilling the beans or they really dont know. Most of the time, I am telling them about stuff that is coming out.
I have a few favorite sales people when I go there and even they dont seem to know as much. You are my secret weapon! :)
Aww shucks *blushes
ReplyDeleteIve learned never to take too much stock in what mamahers say, often times they and their sales associates are beyond clueless. I say dont bother going to your store and next time there is a sale just buy it online