Real Talk About Bath and Body Works Candles

Well 2016 is almost over...thank gawd!!! 2016 was...interesting. And the various collections at BBW this year was...interesting - late arrivals, whole collections missing in action (3 or 4 if memory serves me correct), seasonal collections being released hella early, the scents randomly and haphazardly thrown together under the most tenuous far-fetched themes. Spring was a cacophony of coconut, in Fall BBW seemed to get their act together kind of but was not entirely with wtf moments and winter was just a clusterf***y shitshow. Anyway, as is my tradition, I like to look back on the shining moments of BBW though the year and highlight NEW nosegasmic scents that I think were the best of the best. I'll start from spring to winter * means either exclusive or failed test scent *Prickly Pear Sugarcane - it is beyond a damn shame that this scent wasn't released; it's right up there with Lavender Marshmallow and Summertime Soda...why BBW why?! First of all, it was an entirely...

Well gang, thought the last bunch of testing spring scents were random as hell...it's about to get more random! Another collection has been making the rounds in both test and non-test stores..don't get excited! We've certainly seen some doozies lately nad you would think BBW would've learned their lesson but nope. Once again, they've lazily thrown together random scents in a nonsensical incohesive collection. So it's supposed to be a bright spring day/down home/country theme - think Happy Home / White Barn Market / Screendoors and Sweet Tea . It's a weird mix of herbal, floral, bakery and fruity.  New scents include... Blue Sandalwood and Sage - S andalwood, Crisp Bergamot, Lavender, Fresh Garden Sage (these notes sound suspiciously like Villa Bergamot /Bergamot Woods. It could also be Sage & Cedar/ Black Tie ) Sweet Cherry Pie - Bright Red Cherries, Flaky Pie Crust, Crushed Almonds ( this had better not be Creamy Nutmeg or Roasted Chestnuts ...

As is customary for the Boxing Day/day after Christmas, my BF and I made our way to the mall to get our post-Christmas shopping on. And of course, as it was the official first day of SAS, we had to peep in White Barn to see what was good. We actually went to two WB; the first one didn't have jackshit and was both very picked over and understocked while the second one had an abundance of goodies..although nothing (fragrance-wise) for 75% off. The 2nd WB  had all of the new Aromatherapy candles (10.00), all the Let's Get Away Candles (15.50), a few of the new WB Core candles (full price..24.50...yikes!) and a slew of fall leftovers Ok, so first let me get the WALK N SNIFF portion of newness I sniffed outta the way... Eucalyptus Tea - already did a review from the random online test version Black Chamomile - this seems to be the runaway hit of the revamped Aromatherapy collection...and I don't really know why. I've never ever used the Sleep/Detox bodywash/...

So we've had quite a few apple scents for the holidays over the years and occasionally I've heard people complain about it - why are there apple scents in winter...apples are for fall...apples are transitional...I don't need apple scents for Christmastime Here's the things guys, there is a reason...apples has ALWAYS been associated with Christmastime. As you (should) know...most of our traditions for Christmas come straight from pagan Europe. We've heard of a day called the Winter Solstice - the first official day of winter and the longest night of the year. Long before Christmas was even a thought in anyone's heads, the Winter Solstice was a big deal and a day worth celebrating..basically getting your party on before it's gets all crazy cold and dark for several months. In Germany, folks celebrated Yule (you know, as in "Yuletide" which was a 12 day extravaganza (as in "The 12 days of Christmas). Bonfires (and Yule logs)  would be lit,...

Well it's not even Christmas yet and already spring scents are popping up in test stores..and from what I've seen and heard, there's not very exciting and random as hell First off we're getting yet another marble collection...which I understand why seeing how abysmal the sales were for the fall marble candles. And like the fall ones, the scent choices aren't cohesive at all... Mineral Springs - Soothing Mineral Water, Night Blooming Water Lily, Dash of Lime (no one seems to pinpoint what this scent is other than it's not Desert Rain or Sparkling Limemade or Beach Day or Lily Pond ) Bergamot Mint - Sparkling Italian Bergamot, Crisp Eucalyptus, Mint Leaves (There was an  Eucalyptus Mint & Tangerine bodywash  backintheday. There also was a   Nectarine Mint candle  back in the Slatkin days. Anyway by all accounts this smells like Eucalyptus Mint with a hint of citrus) Copper Coconut - Raw Coconut, Sea Salted Shells, Soft Amber ( Lanikai Coconut...

Here's a Christmas tag I made my myself. Anybody blogger, vlogger or Instagrammer can do it so feel free to tag yourself and others RULES: 1. Credit me in your post                2. If you're doing a video, you HAVE to be drinking a Christmas cocktail (maybe                        even one of my recipes) or if you're blogging or instagramming, you have to post a                    pic of you drinking a Christmas cocktail When do you get into Christmas mode? after Black Friday and not a day before Whats your typical Christmas day? open presents, eat Christmas themed breakfast while watching Muppets Christmas Carol, get dinner ready, eat dinner and watch a movie What's for Christmas dinner? different meat every year, brussel sprouts with bacon, oven roasted potatoes, sausage stuffing Favorite Christmas tradition?  don't ...

So as you may or may not know, Josh aka Touchthefiretwice  has another channel on Youtube as TheGentlemenNextDoor where he does non-candle related vlogs with his partner Fabricio. Anyhoo, they did a really fun Christmas tag   with really fun questions so I wanted to answer them all 1. Favorite Christmas movie? Home Alone followed by Santa Clause, Scrogged, Muppets Christmas Carol and Elf 2. Are you on the naughty list or the nice list?  neither  3. Show us an embarrassing Christmas photo... no 4. Have you ever had a White Christmas? twice, the Christmas after I graduated from college and my first Christmas when I moved to Jersey 5. Do you start your Christmas shopping on Black Friday or wait until the last minute? neither, usually the first couple of weeks of December 6. If you could be in any Christmas movie what would it be ? Elf 8. Name all of Santa’s reindeer... Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Donner, Comet, Cupid, Blitzen and of course Ru...

Alright so let's start at the beginning with Home for the Holidays - I won't waste your time with Cranberry Pear Bellini , Merry Mistletoe , Hot Buttered Rum or Chestnut & Clove Spice - Spice for awhile was a Christmastime staple backintheday . Then sometime in 2012 it became a WB core collection scent sold all year round. Then it disappeared..until now. Scentwise there's really not much to say about it - it's an intense red hot cinnamon scent along the lines of Cinnamon & Clove Buds and Holiday...but not nearly as piquant and in your face..and awful. You get that typical holiday spice blend with a hint of orange zest peel that gives it sort an old fashioned vibe. Creamy Nutmeg - yet another Slatkin era holiday staple that disappeared..well actually that's not entirely true. In 2013's Winter Market collection , it was repackaged as "Winter Vanilla Latte". So CN sounds like it would be a spicy scent but it's not, not at all. It's ...

So my bf and I woke up bright and early to get our shop on. Something in my gut told to me to go to Paramus Park instead of GSP; unlike GSP, PP is rarely crowded and because the WB store is still relatively new, it would probably be better stocked. So we get to the mall right as it opened and there were only a handful of people inside..that's a good sign I thought. We got to BBW/WB... completely and utterly jam packed with lines out the door and getting more crowded by the minute. I had no time to dawdle and look around; I got what I wanted and hightailed it outta there. So I wasn't expecting to see any newness; I really only wanted some Winter Mint & Spruces and Hot Cocoa & Creams...which  I was worried that I wouldn't even see those as both had disappeared online and too many people said that their stores ran out days ago. But lo and behold, not only did they have enough WM&S and HC&C for everybody but there was a shrine of newness right at the front of ...

This post was inspired by Shawn/Hearthandsoul's "Least Favorite Holiday Candles" vid . I myself also did a fall list back in the fall and wanted to do a holiday/winter list as well. As much as I love burning candles during Christmas time, BBW has never really been the best with holiday scents nor do they have the variety that Yankee and Kringle has. And the quality and variety of scents have gone downhill in the past 2-3 years; it's the same scents over and over and over ad infinitum. The ones I'm about to mention are scents that that have little to nothing to do with the holidays and wintertime in general yet for whatever reason they pop up every year like a cold sore. 10. Mahogany Balsam - let's take "fan favorite" Mahogany Stankwood and mix in Fresh Balsam and we can make it a holiday scent..let's call Mahogany Balsam..bitches will cream their Christmas theme panties! Yeah no! It's lazy, cheap and uninspired! A Christmas tree doused ...

Rumour has it...rumor has it... Rumour has it there's a lot more candles in store! So lifeinsidethepage/Bathandbodyworksdailyfinds released a list of upcoming surprise candles and everyone, including myself, went apeshit!  Okay so first of all, if you thought we were done with winter, think again. We're going (fingers crossed) see another Christmasy themed collection called "Home for the Holidays"..with a slew of returning Slatkin classics... Cranberry Pear Bellini, Chestnut & Clove, CREAMY NUTMEG , Hot Buttered Rum, Merry Mistletoe, MINT CHOCOLATE , Red Velvet Cupcake, SPICE (The capitalized ones are scents we haven't seen in years) As excited as I am to see so many Slatkin scents returning, I do have a concern... I'm hoping BBW brings back these back in their original form and not do a switcheroo and replace them with newer scents that smell similar. For example.. Cranberry Pear Bellini = Pomegranate Prosecco Punch or Pink Cha...

Thought we were done with Christmas/winter candles? Think again! Thanks to the efforts of Jenn aka @theshow78 and _scentsgalore on IG,  we have firsthand glimpses of whats in store. It's another lidless fancy decorative colored glass tumbler collection with a sort of old fashioned Christmas vibe and at first glance, it seems to be half and half mix of old and new...the new being... Caramel Sandalwood - Creamy Caramel, Luxurious Sandalwood, Fresh Cinnamon Bark, Tonka Bean (so right off the bat, it isn't Caramel Woods from this fall; it's leaning towards being possible newness. By all accounts it's a"cologney" scent with slight caramel flavor)  Fireside Christmas - Firewood Bundle, Pine Needles, Crisp Eucalyptus, Smoked Incense (it's been said this has a Fresh Balsam/Vanilla Balsam vibe with a hint of smokiness.. my money is on this being Winter Night from backintheday ) Iced Balsam - Iced Balsam, Aromatic Cedar, Bergamot, Snow-kissed Apple ...

I kinda took a little break for awhile, the election results really took the wind out of my sails. I was feeling very sangry (sad and angry) but I had some time reflect and I feel ready move forward. I had considered shutting all of my candle reviewing platforms down as there many people in the candleverse who voted for he who shall not be named but I realized if I stopped and gave up, they and he wins... ain't gon happen Cap'n! That said, lets get this party started. This posts and a few others are post I had planned on posting last week. So as I have said in many posts, this winter is a shitshow with all kinds of randomness and truly bizarre choices. As usual, with some thought and consideration, I've come up with some better and more appropriate choices Pumpkin Gingerbread instead of  Spiced Gingerbread First of all, isn't calling a gingerbread scent "spiced" a little superfluous and redundant? Isn't spiced implied? Anyway, this scent smells like...

So this post was inspired by Tinadivalicious' most recent video   about he thought were the worst offenders and I want to co-sign and add on to what he mentioned. I am a not entirely anti-repacakages.. I'm ok with them as long as the makes sense. If it's a scent that tested and failed so it was brought back with a new name..sure. If it's a scent that was mildly popular but could use a makeover...go for it. If it was a (good) scent from many moons that few remember..bring it on. But more often than not the the scents BBW repackages, especially in recent years are just crap and makes zero sense! Here's my list of I think are the most cringe-worth, head-scratch causing, faceplam inducing repackages 10. Snowflakes & and Citrus and Holiday Sparkle Original Scent: Midnight Blue Citrus and Bergamot Waters Both of these choices are equally absurd; they have nothing to do with the holidays nor are they remotely wintery. Better Choices: Snow & Slopes ...