WALK 'N' SNIFF: White Barn Fall Exclusives *UPDATED*

So after weeks of anxious waiting and anticipating, we finally got a 2/24 sale..and there was much rejoicing throughout the land! A couple of hours after I got that wonderful heralding the good news Saturday morning, my bf and I made the sojourn to GSP.

And just a heads up to you BBWers who are planning on going to GSP to get their fall haul on, the store didn't Apple Picking (meh), Red Radiant Maple and Porchside Pumpkin. And for some reason they had Golden Cinnamon still in the drawers. I was really annoyed that they didn't have PP cuz I had my eye on that one since day one. One of the SAs (I'm assuming the SAs didn't know about that one cuz they thought it was a regular/nonexclusive scent in the pumpkin collection) looked in the back and in the drawers for me and said she'd call if she say it in their next shipment which was very sweet.

Anyhoo on the review...

Pumpkin Milkshake - so my gurl on IG, Stephan1mar1e, was the first to mention what this was a repackage of and e'rybody got on the bandwagon. After finally sniffing it, I definitely have to agree - it is indeed Vanilla Snowflake. I loathe VS; to me, it smelled like hot mayonnaise that's been sitting out all day. That said, I believe this incarnation has been tweaked. Instead of hot mayonnaise, I got the actual notes - sweet vanilla, a very cooling mint and a slight hint of coconut. This scent kinda pisses me of; it's an obvious repackage that obviously has no pumpkin in it...so why is a pumpkin scent? Furthermore it's been a winter staple for years, why all of a sudden is it now a fall scent? This is a scent that truly makes me feel that BBW thinks we're stupid. This was such a wasted opportunity for a more suitable pumpkin-ish scent

Apple Pumpkin Pancakes -  I was really intrigued with this one and wondered just how close it was to my bae Apple Crumble; some folks said it was similar while others said it wasn't at all. After sniffing it, I think it's similar but on a very basic fundamental level. You get a green apple note that's similar to AC and that's it. It's like a very watered down AC sans the crumble mixed with Pecan Pumpkin Waffles. There is a vague nuttiness, like a pecan or walnut, a very basic grainy bakery note and a slight hint of maple syrup. This also kinda sorta reminds me of Cider Donut from '13; again vaguely AC-like with a vague bakery note. I actually did not like this one at all; to me it just smelled too synthetic and waxy and I didn't like the combo of the AC-esque green apple with the nuts and syrup. This one again pisses me off; instead of releasing AC clones like this and CD, why don't they just release AC?!

Pumpkin Sugar Cookie - I do believe that this one seems to be the fan favorite of this collection. I wasn't a big fan of it but I definitely see it's appeal. You get an authentic borderline Merry Cookie-esque sugar cookie note, a little hint of pumpkin spices and sweet bright sugar crystals. And it could be my nose playin tricks on me, but I smelled a little bit of almond extract/amaretto. It's a nice unassuming guest-friendly fall scent - not too sweet and not too heavily spiced. And again, as usual, no pumpkin.

Coconut Vanilla - *eyeroll I do not understand BBW's obsession with coconut scents; why do they feel the need to have something coconutty all year round? And it would be one thing if this candle had "blow me away" appeal, it would be one thing but it doesn't; it's as basic as hell! It's basically Vanilla Coconut with a dash of pumpkin spice...again, basic. I dunno who BBW has running their marketing department, but they need to be fired ASAP. Now if this candle was called something like "Spiced Macaroon" and marketed it as a fall treat, I would be less annoyed. But to call this mess "Coconut Pumpkin" really pisses me off. Again BBW thinks we're stupid and gives us a repackage that doesn't work or belong instead of creating something new and unique

ADDENDUM - TTFT theorized that CV might be a repackage of a failed test scent from fall '11 called Toasted Coconut (aka Spiced Madeleine). Based on notes (coconut cream, toasted almonds, crystallized sugar), it totally makes sense

Pumpkin Cheesecake - so. I was talking about this scent with another IG buddy, whitbarncandlefan, and he said what I was dreading... it smelled like toejam! Fast forward to my WB visit and it smelled it...it totally smelled like  toejam. After a couple more sniffs just to make sure, I started getting the actual cheesecake note and I was diggin it. What I got was a warm freshly made cheesecake with a buttery graham cracker crust and a very slight cinnamon caramel drizzled on top. Don't get scared of by the caramel, it isn't as heavy as Cider Lane or Caramel Pumpkin Swirl or Pumpkin Caramel Latte; the note is very faint and pleasant..and for me, the caramel-hater, to say that speaks volumes. Anyhoo, I really like this one...I just hope I continue to get cheesecake when I burn this and not toejam.

ADDENDUM - TTFT also theorized that this might be yet another failed test scent from fall '11 called Brown Butter Praline (aka French Caramel Cake). Again based on the notes (brown sugar caramel, praline, shortbread, fresh cream), it makes sense.

Cranberry Pumpkin - When I first heard about this one, I wondered if this was replacing Cranberry Woods the way Spiced Pumpkin Cider replaced Spiced Cider last fall. On the bad side, this is a poor replacement for CW. However on the good side, I really do like this scent a lot; I daresay this might be my favorite in this collection. It kinda reminds me of Blueberry Pumpkin Patch in the sense that you have a robust berry note alongside a pumpkin note that comes across more bakery; BPP smells more like a muffin or granola and CP has that same kind of vibe. To me CP should've been called "Cranberry Muffin" or "Cranberry Pumpkin Bread". The cranberry note is remarkably fresh and tart and sweet -  it's not as dark and sweet as CW nor quite a tart/sour and cool as FC but the happy medium betwixt the two. The "pumpkin" adds an earthiness but as I said before, it comes across very bakery. What I like about CP is that there's something quintessentially autumnal about it; it has the same "fall in a jar" vibe that Leaves and Sweater Weather and Autumn has. CP also makes me think of Thanksgiving; if this became the official Thanksgiving candle in the future, I would totally be on board. That said, I hope this scent sticks around.

ADDENDUM - So I was talkin with my IG buddies and they mentioned something they smelled in CP. After they said, I immediately grabbed my CP and huffed it..and I totally got what they were talking about....apple! There's totally a sweet candied red Macintosh apple note in the background that kinda adds to the bakeriness of this scent.

Toasted Caramel Vanilla - this one of those scents where the name totally tricks you into thinking it's something more exciting that what it really is. What it is a repackage of Vanilla Firewood from '13 albeit tweaked. The original VF smelled like straight up smoky barbeque sauce; I didn't quite get that this go round however the base notes are exactly the same. Much like the aforementioned Vanilla Pumpkin Milkshake, this version smells better than the original..though that doesn't necessarily make it good. You get an intense borderline Fireside like smokiness with a burnt sugar note. Vanilla..eh maybe. Caramel..absolutely not!

Brown Sugar Allspice - I thought I would like this one but it smelled a little weird to me. You do get heavy deep brown sugar and a sharp intense allspice kick. I'm sure there's more spices involved - nutmeg and ginger maybe. I think it's that sharp allspice that I didn't like and assaulted my nostrils in the worse way. I dont know wny this scent exists. Real talk, there are more superior "fall spice" scents on the market -Kitchen Spice or Creamy Nutmeg or Sugar & Spice or Nutmeg & Spice soooo whats the point of BSA? Also, there's a picture of an apple pie on the label...why isnt this an apple pie scent?! Apple Crumble + Brown Sugar Allspice = Apple Pie..duh!

 Lakeside Sunrise - apparently this one isn't an exclusive and has appeared online and in some stores. There's really not much to say about this one except it's a repackage of Sapphire Sky from the Intrigue and Opulence collection. It's cologney; it's in the same family of fresh cologne scents like Paris Daydream/Sparkling Icicles/Oceanside, Beach Day, Pacific Coast Highway, etc. In fact I would describe this as an autumnal version of Sparkling Icicles. There's fresh yet vague aqua/watery/dewy element. There's some citrus - lemon/lime and maybe bergamot. I get a little bit of woods, maybe sandalwood or cedarwood. Apple...eh, I guess. There's a slight crispness and fruitiness. If you've ever smelled Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue, that's exactly what this smells like. This is ok; personally I think they should've brought back Boathouse Row instead

And that's it. Stay tuned for my fall haul!

And here's Part Deux of my WB Fall Exclusive sniff review