THAT'S SO TEST SCENT: Autumn Sunshine *COLD SNIFF REVIEW

Products: candle   

Area used in:  n/a
Time Period: n/a

Description: Chilled Orange, California Mandarin, Golden Amber, Green Fir Needle

So my candle homegurl Jenn aka @theshow78, surprised me with this candle as a very early birthday present. She knew I was very intrigued with this scent (as was she) and at the time neither one of us thought that it would go wide (and it didn't) so just in case it disappeared, she went ahead and got us each one. 

So when I first heard about about this candle, I thought for sure that it would be a repackage of the now forgotten Slatkin-era scent Mountain Leaves - mountain air, iced citrus, evergreen and vetiver - sounds very similar to AS right? You can see how I made that assumption. Alas, after sniffing it, it definitely was not ML which kinda bummed me out cuz ML is a really sexy cologney fall scent that needs to come back. But on the flip side, AS is a new scent!

AS is very..interesting and unique. It's by far one of the most complex scents I've smelled in awhile. You first get a melange of intense orangey notes - orange, mandarin, maybe a bit of clementine and bergamot. However that said, the blend isn't as sweet and juicy and gourmand as you might think. It's more orange peel than orange juice. You know when you peel an orange and your fingers have that astringent and bitter citrus smell from oils in the peel, that's what you get in this scent. There's a crisp green piney note hangin out in the background, a little remainder that this is not a spring/summer scent despite the citrusiness. I can see there being amber it this - amber is often used in home fragrance to add a warmth and brightness to a scent. There are definitely some heavier and earthier notes that they're not telling us - some cedarwood maybe? Sandalwood? Maybe a little hit of vetiver?

So right of the bat, this candle is...cologney, total mandle all the way. It doesn't so much smell like cologne as it does a bodywash/shower gel for men cuz it smells very clean and slightly soapy. I was talkin to Jenn about this candle and she said it smelled a little aromatherapy-ish to her. Then it hit me... AS totally reminded me of the ol school aromatherapy scent Lemon Zest  ; not a repackage but quite similar. It also kinda reminds of White Citrus for men, which basically has the same notes as AS. I ca easily see this being a signature bodycare for men.

I don't really know what to think of AS; don't get me wrong, I really like it but it's kinduva bizarre choice in this fall's lineup. On the one hand, it is a very warm, bright, sunny scent so the "Sunshine" aspect is accurate (think a masculine version of Coastal Sun)..not so much the "Autumn" part; this doesn't read as a fall scent at all! Because it's so citrus heavy with piney basenotes, the scent comes across less autumnal and more wintery (this is what that god-awful armpit smelling Winter Sun from last year should've smelled like). This could also work  as a summer scent if BBW did a "camping in the woods" themed collection or if they brought back the Summer Lakeside collection from 2012. But as a fall scent, it just doesn't work. Moreover, nothing about this scent says "mass appeal", I don't see this one flying off the shelves. There's no pumpkin, no falls spices, it's not bakery and it smells like cologne thus it would not be hit amongst the basic bitches of America. However, I do appreciate BBW finally coming up with a NEW scent that's both unique and complex. If this could get remarketed a la Black Tie, this might have a chance in the future!