RANT OF THE DAY: New Notes. Same Candle
Gone are the days of long superfluous verbose narratives of BS disguised as note descriptions on the bottom of the candles. Starting this fall, the descriptions were whittled down to bare minimum. However, the notes given in some cases are still seemingly untrustworthy; BBW has always played very loosy-goosy with the notes and the simple notes we have now are no exception. Still for the most part there are small diamonds of truth buried in crap. Often times, especially with older Slatkin era scents, the notes seem at first glance inconsistent if not erroneous. Sometimes with these scents, BBW picks out notes that used to be mentioned or weren't ever mentioned at all to use in the new description which often leads folks (*cough cough newbies) to utter confusion. So many times I've seen people post on Instagram that they were confused about the new notes and wondered if it were a new or tweaked scent...
*facepalm
What you see on the bottom of candle is NOT all that is in the fragrance blend; there are lots of notes that aren't mentioned. Much like a perfume or cologne, there are top, middle and base notes. There is more to what you see and sniff
Let's say you're ordering spaghetti and meatballs at a restaurant - on the menu it says "spaghetti and meatballs" but you know you're not just getting noodles with unseasoned meat covered in tomatoes out of a can. There's a cooking process with all kinds of herbs and spices and oils and cheeses that all come together to a delicious meal.
Well, it's the same with candles!
So backintheday, Slatkin was a little more honest with his notes and if people were turned off by a certain note..oh well, f*** em! Since his departure, BBW has definitely playing the marketing game and picking out notes that sounds more appealing to your average customers with less discerning noses and fragrance knowledge...which leaves us true candle connoisseurs and especially reviewers at a major disadvantage. We can't rely or trust the over-elaborated or straight up made up notes that are given and we smell hidden notes that aren't at all mentioned.
For shits and giggles, I myself like to research old Slatkin era candles and find the original notes. As a fragrance nerd who is intrigued with notes and blends, I find it fascinating to read the old notes for scents and compare them to notes given now to the same scents that have returned. That said, here's a little list of some classic and popular returning scents and their now hidden notes...
Chestnut & Clove...or rather Winter Cabin's original notes were fir, cypress, clove bud, bitter orange, sweet black cedar and incense
Tis the Season..or rather Holiday Wreath used to mention added notes of brown sugar and walnuts
Winter used to also mention notes of cedarwood , fir balsam, bay leaf and cinnamon
The original notes for Fireisde were birch, cedar, sandalwood, vetiver and amber
Frosted Cranberry had notes of vanilla, pink currant, apples and strawberry
Back when Autumn Day first appeared as Acorn & Fig, the notes were apricot, pear, fig, birchwood and sandalwood
The Slatkin era notes for Pomegranate Lemonade were gorgeous - pomegranate, grapefruit, lemon zest, rose petals, sheer woods and citron
Did you know that Island Margarita had notes of blue iris, sandalwood, plum and tangelo in the mix?
The popular Coconut Leaves used to mention cocnut milk, papaya, tangerine and vanilla
This fall Autumn's notes re-mention eucalyptus and fig and alternates between mentioning or leaving out cedarwood and fir balsam
Cranberry Woods routinely leaves out raspberry, cedarwood and amber
Spring leaves out tulips and daisies
Did you know that Fresh Balsam has apple in it? It seems to be the only note they leave out
Evergreen has lately re-mentioned the mint note but leave out the clove and white birch
The notes for Leaves tends to leave out mandarin and sometimes berries
Coastal Sun is a repackage of Citrus Flower and it's notes were meyer lemon, sparkling mandarin, orange flower, jasmine and verbena
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake is a repackage of Brown Butter Praline with notes of brown sugar caramel, praline, shortbread, fresh cream
Back when it was still known as Pumpkin Patch, Pumpkin Carving used to mention butter
*facepalm
What you see on the bottom of candle is NOT all that is in the fragrance blend; there are lots of notes that aren't mentioned. Much like a perfume or cologne, there are top, middle and base notes. There is more to what you see and sniff
Let's say you're ordering spaghetti and meatballs at a restaurant - on the menu it says "spaghetti and meatballs" but you know you're not just getting noodles with unseasoned meat covered in tomatoes out of a can. There's a cooking process with all kinds of herbs and spices and oils and cheeses that all come together to a delicious meal.
Well, it's the same with candles!
So backintheday, Slatkin was a little more honest with his notes and if people were turned off by a certain note..oh well, f*** em! Since his departure, BBW has definitely playing the marketing game and picking out notes that sounds more appealing to your average customers with less discerning noses and fragrance knowledge...which leaves us true candle connoisseurs and especially reviewers at a major disadvantage. We can't rely or trust the over-elaborated or straight up made up notes that are given and we smell hidden notes that aren't at all mentioned.
For shits and giggles, I myself like to research old Slatkin era candles and find the original notes. As a fragrance nerd who is intrigued with notes and blends, I find it fascinating to read the old notes for scents and compare them to notes given now to the same scents that have returned. That said, here's a little list of some classic and popular returning scents and their now hidden notes...
Chestnut & Clove...or rather Winter Cabin's original notes were fir, cypress, clove bud, bitter orange, sweet black cedar and incense
Tis the Season..or rather Holiday Wreath used to mention added notes of brown sugar and walnuts
Winter used to also mention notes of cedarwood , fir balsam, bay leaf and cinnamon
The original notes for Fireisde were birch, cedar, sandalwood, vetiver and amber
Frosted Cranberry had notes of vanilla, pink currant, apples and strawberry
Back when Autumn Day first appeared as Acorn & Fig, the notes were apricot, pear, fig, birchwood and sandalwood
The Slatkin era notes for Pomegranate Lemonade were gorgeous - pomegranate, grapefruit, lemon zest, rose petals, sheer woods and citron
Did you know that Island Margarita had notes of blue iris, sandalwood, plum and tangelo in the mix?
The popular Coconut Leaves used to mention cocnut milk, papaya, tangerine and vanilla
This fall Autumn's notes re-mention eucalyptus and fig and alternates between mentioning or leaving out cedarwood and fir balsam
Cranberry Woods routinely leaves out raspberry, cedarwood and amber
Spring leaves out tulips and daisies
Did you know that Fresh Balsam has apple in it? It seems to be the only note they leave out
Evergreen has lately re-mentioned the mint note but leave out the clove and white birch
The notes for Leaves tends to leave out mandarin and sometimes berries
Coastal Sun is a repackage of Citrus Flower and it's notes were meyer lemon, sparkling mandarin, orange flower, jasmine and verbena
Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake is a repackage of Brown Butter Praline with notes of brown sugar caramel, praline, shortbread, fresh cream
Back when it was still known as Pumpkin Patch, Pumpkin Carving used to mention butter
Nice post Bronze. I always try to go to the original while reviewing candles cuz I tend to find it most revealing. I wish they accurately listed what was within a blend. Loved the meatball reference.
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