WALK 'N' SNIFF: Hello Beautiful and Hawaiian candles

I haven't been in a BBW stores in almost a month; frankly things have been so lame lately that I just hadn't a reason to go. In my desperation for some newness, I stopped in briefly at one of the BBWs in the City since I was in the area.  walked in, sniffed around and left empty-handed. So, let's get started

Hello Beautiful

So as I said in my last post , I theorized that BBW released this and Thousand Wishes to distract people from the fact that there were no new collections in the works...and it worked, people got distracted. After seeing so many people post pics of HB on Instagram, I wondered if it was worth all the hype....it's not. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I am not a fan of bodycare candles cuz the notes are always so muddled and generic smelling and HB is not the exception. First of all disregard the notes - I didn't get grapefruit nor did I get gardenia; jasmine, eh maybe a tiny bit. What I did get is an intense blast of peony..which happens to be listed in the notes of the actual bodycare. And there's something really soapy about the blend, like cheap generic bodywash for women. Overall, it's a soapy, dewy slightly sweet and vaguely floral blend similar to First Bloom or Fresh Bamboo or Garden Party...although those three are 10x better than HB. It also kinda reminds me of Sundress, like a more floral, dewy, feminine version of it. I don't really get the point of this scent and what is trying to convey and the name just makes me think of some poor hapless women getting catcalled by some greasy dude on the corner.

NOTE: Tinadivalicious said in his review that thinks it might be Sunkissed Days; I sniffed it in passing and don't really remember it but based on the notes (beach blossom, sundrenched sandalwood, wild freesia, seaside citrus and golden musk), it does seem plausible

*My store didn't have A Thousand Wishes...mehhhh! Most of y'all probably already knows what it smells like anyway


And now, onto the "ribbed for your pleasure" Hawaiian part deux candles. I won't waste your time or mine talking about Ocean Driftwood or Oahu Coconut Sunset

Coconut Leaves - so this has been a summer staple since 2011 (I think) and is regarded by candle connoisseurs as the ultimate supreme coconut scent in Slatkin/BBW history...I can't say I agree on that but then again I'm biased when it comes to coconut scents... which I loathe! So this review of it is strictly for the newbies who have never ever sniffed this before. So first of all, disregard the notes entirely as they're super vague. The original notes from back in the Slatkin days were coconut milk, juicy tangerine, papaya nectar and warm vanilla..and that's essentially what you get. The coconut is neither gloopy and sickeningly sweet nor generic and bodycare-ish but rich and smooth. The papaya adds a further rich creaminess and the tangerine sort of perks and brightens the party. And there's a hint of something green and leafy in the background that keeps it from smelling like a candy or beverage. While I'm personally not a huge fan of CL, I will say that out of ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL of the coconut scents on the market (with the exception of Island Colada and Coconut Water from back in the day), it's the most sophisticated.

Mango Shores - ugh, this is soooooo not worth talkin about. It's straight up Mango Coconut Cooler and if it isn't, it soooooo friggin close. LAME!!!

Blue Ocean Waves - so color my ass surprised - this ISN'T Turquoise Waters!!! Nor is it Freshwater & Seasalt or Bergamot Waters or Renew & Refresh or Island Waters or Sea Spray or Seaside Escape! I do believe it's a new scent...well, new-ish; it does smell vaguely familiar. Now don't get too excited by the newness factor cuz it's not terribly exciting. It smells quite close to Turquoise Waters, like a slightly more masculine version of it - TW's male twin. Take TW, remove the floral aspects, squeeze in a little more citrus, bump up the sandalwood and add a tiny hint of Bergamot Waters, and that's essentially BOC. It's fresh, it's crisp, it's clean, it's watery ever so slightly cologney.

NOTE: Quite a few people have said that this smells like the Violet Lily Sky bodycare from '14... I'm not at all into bodycare so I got nuthin

Vanilla Beach Flower - great, yet another vanilla and coconut scent, how friggin original! Well at least it isn't a repackage of any em, it's actually new! So what does it smell like?

So Honeysuckle and  Meet me in Tahiti went on a romantic vacation to Hawaii and made love on the beach for days on end. Well, Vanilla Beach Flower is their love child bastard! It legit smells like a half and half mix of Honeysuckle and Meet me in Tahiti. When I sniffed it, all the sweet, drippy, dewy notes of Honeysuckle (honeysuckle, jasmine, peony, orange blossom) immediately uppercutted me right in schnoz and right behind them were the tropical coconut, Tahitian vanilla and something juicy (pear?)  notes from MMIT. So if you enjoy super sweet and heady floral scents, then this bud's for you. If not, avoid it!

*So I didn't see Island Getaway and no one is really talking so I dunno if it's a WB exclusive or if it didn't get released at all