WALK 'N' SNIFF: 2nd Phase of Fall 2017 Candles *UPDATED*

So my bf and I went to WB for the first time since the beginning of SAS; I was really hoping that my store would have the hookup with some late addition and new scents to sniff and sure enough it did. And of course we took advantage of Labor Day sales and the 25% coupon an got ourselves some goodies. I won't waste your time and mine going into what we bought (if you're interested, I posted our fall haul on IG) but rather will get straight to the point and the reason you're here - sniff reviews

Just a headsup, I wasn't in top sniffing form because I've come down with a summer cold and everything was burning my really sensitive nostrils. I tried to sniff everything new but could only sniff quickly once or twice. That said, sickness aside, I think I've sniffed enough to write a decent review. Ok so here we go!

Honeyed Pear - BBW has been on a major honey kick lately and they were definitely banking on it's popularity with this scent...which would be fine if you actually smelled honey...but you don't, at least not a whole lot. You don't so much get baked pears with a drizzle of honey as the name and notes suggest but rather a pear crumble with the crumble stuck together with honey. You get a sweet baked pear note with a hint of vanilla, very reminiscent of Slatkin's 2012 scent Brandied Pear. I also got a Warm Apple Pie/Berry Waffle Cone-esque buttery bakery note. If this was called "Honey Pear Crumble", it would make much more sense. It's a cute scent but nothing exciting.

Cinnamon Pretzel Twist - everyone is going apeshit for this scent and I don't get the hype. So I will give it points for accuracy, it does smell like a legit pretzel; it's like you're walking by an Auntie Anne's shop in the mall. It's smells like a soft pretzel with a little hint of salt drizzled in a vanilla glaze and cinnamon sugar. Personally I didn't find this combo appealing. It also smelled a little burnt to me; like the same burnt smell you get from Pumpkin Cinnamon Bun. Not a fan of this at all!

Sea Salt & Maple Popcorn - it's really surprising how many soooo many people (*cough cough newbies) think that this scent is new. No my dears, it is not; it actually first came out fall 2014 in the Artisan collection. And it isn't anything remotely special - Summer Boardwalk 2.0

Harvest Pear - I was initially very intrigued with this scent. I was hoping it was a repackage of (or at least similar to) Apple Crumble as BBW tends to interchange apple and pear notes but nope. I heard that it actually smelled like pear which made me happy as I love pear scents. Finally after smelling it, I was a little disappointed. You do get a crisp green pear note, similar to 2014's Heirloom Pear but (like Heirloom Pear) it smells really cheap and artificial. Then there's Apple Crumble-esque crumble bakery note with an almost Buttercream Frosting kind of vanilla note. With a name like "Harvest Pear", you expect it smell fresh and crisp and juicy like an actual pear and not the cheap bakery gourmand scent that it actually is. It's soooo not worth the initial hype and intrigue.

Autumn Apricot - absolute total waste of candle! It just smells like peach; no spice, no woods, no vanilla, nothing to give it some depth or make it smell remotely autumnal. Not only is it boring and out of place but it just smells cheap and generic, like a Glade candle or something you'd find in Rite-Aid or CVS.

Spiced Coconut Milk - another scent that just seems out of place and is a total waste. So right off the bat, this is NOT Pumpkin Coconut; it's a new blend that I actually prefer over PC. If you took Nutmeg & Spice and added the coconut note from Lavender Coconut, that's essentially SPM. It's a creamy vanilla with maybe a hint of sandalwood with a heavy blast of nutmeg and the meat and husk of coconut. It kinda smells like a spiced rice pudding with coconut shavings on top; that's how it should've been marketed and put in the Sweet Shop collection instead.

Peppered Plum - the star of the show!!! The only candle this fall worth the hype! So contrary to what you might hear on social media, this is NOT Wine Cellar/Smoked Berries& Incense..although the two are very similar, they could be twins. It is also not Plum Wine Amber from backintheday either. As far as I could tell, this is a completely new scent so cheers to that! You a get deep very sweet plum, maybe a little hint of pomegranate; it's on the cusp of smelling fruit juice/candy-like but not quite. It smells more like a sweet plum wine rather than plum fruit - think Manischewitz or Asian plum wine. There's an earthy, musky Oriental saffron note, the same note that's in Wine Cellar which is why so many people that it was Wine Cellar. The black pepper note is surprisingly timid and just adds a little warmth. Speaking of warmth, there may be a hint of amber which, like saffron, is often added to wine scents. This also reminds of Black Tea Rose in the sense that it's elegant and sophisticated with a dark, lush, sensual, animalic aspect to it. Scents like this is what keeps me coming back to BBW/WB. If there is one scent to stock up on, it's this one.

Comfort ~Vanilla & Patchouli -the newest member of the aromatherapy gang. As far as I can tell, it's a new scent but hardly anything exciting. It's soooooo heavy on the patchouli, very musky and earthy. And there's vanilla, similar to the creamy vanilla note in Lavender Vanilla.

Happiness ~ Bergamot & Mandarin - honestly, to me this just smelled like Orange Ginger without the ginger

But First, Coffee - total repackage of Paris Cafe.

Eat, Drink, & Be Scary - repackage of Bourbon Sea Salt Caramel

Vampire Blood - same scent as last year, smells exactly like the soap. Smells like those strawberry candies your grandma has in her purse. Maybe a little hint of floral, absolutely no plum

Happy Halloween - Shit Cinnamon Poopkin with added clove and an intense licorice/star anise note. Didn't think SCP could be made to smell worse, but BBW somehow succeeded

Almond - the same Almond that's in the Elements collection aka Creamy Nutmeg

Cardamom & Ginger - I'm almost positive this is the ancient and long discontinued Aromatherapy scent Lemongrass Cardamom. That said, it smells like it sounds - citrusy lemongrass with a little bit of herbal spice from the cardamom and ginger.

Clove - this one was really burning my sick and extra sensitive nose so I couldn't smell it for too long. It smells like a spicy scent you'd have for the holidays; at first I thought it was Shit Cinnamon Poopkin but I think this is good ol Cinnamon & Clove Buds though it could also be Spice. It's one of the 2, but I'm leaning towards C&CB.

Currant - this one is soooo strange, not at all would you think based on the name. It's not nearly as tart; it's oddly sweet with a bit of savoriness and a hint of green in the background. I couldn't put my finger on what it reminded me off but I was talking with fellow candle gurus Touchthefiretwice and and Theshow78, they theorized that it might be a failed test scent from Fresh Picked back in the Slatkin days - Tomato Garden, which based on reviews was very strange, oddly sweet for a tomato scent and had currant notes.

Sweet Fern - this one totally threw me for a loop; it smelled so familiar, like something I sniffed recently. I was going thru all of the fresh, green grassy scents that was in stores lately - it wasn't Wild Sage & Aloe, it wasn't Sunlit Garden/Green Grass and it wasn't Sea Grass/Snap Peas. Then it hit me - I'm 85% sure this a repackage of Desert Rain from the doomed Desert collection. It's a fresh rainy/dewdrop green grassy scent with a bit of dewy floral.

Seattle ~ Coffee House - people were saying that this was a repackage of Paris Cafe but after sniffing it, I'm pretty sure it wasn't. There were theories that it might be Espresso Bar from backintheday, it definitely isn't. I think this might be new. It smells like legit coffee beans/grounds; no "brioche" like Paris Cafe and no unmentioned chocolate like Espresso Bar. It smells legit like you've walked into a coffee house.

* There were two failed coffee based test scents back in 2014 in the Destinations collection - Cafe Italia and Road to Kona. Never smelled either one but CH could possible be one of those

Citrine ~ Happy Dust - straightup repackage of Ocean Therapy/Ocean Mist & Citrus

Jade ~ Healing Spell - I'm almost positive this is Incense from the Elements collection; if not, it's extremely similar

Amethyst ~ Peace Potion - totally Moonlight Path

Aquamarine ~ Clarity Elixir - definitely Beach Sage & Mint without a doubt

*My store didn't have Love Potion but word on the street it's Rosewater & Ivy






  

Comments

  1. So if I liked Wine Cellar but I wasn't in love with it - does that mean I would probably not be crazy about Peppered Plum?

    I appreciate your blog so much since I have no Bath and Body works on my island I rely heavily on reviews.

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    1. First of all, thank you for listening to me rant and rave about candles lol

      Secondly, I dunno how to answer that question. Personally I think PP is so much better than WC and it might surprise you. All I'll say is give a sniff with an open mind and no expectations

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  2. I can tell you that one of the medium candles (from that healing spell, peace, etc. collection) is "Moonlight Path" - I don't remember which one I THINK it's the "Peace" one, but the girl in the store told me, I smelled it - I'm positive that she's right...

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    1. Yes, a buddy told me that on IG after I wrote this but haven't had the chance to update

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  3. Yeah I wanted to buy 1 or 2 but I held off because I had a strong feeling they were re-packaged and they're also pricey for the size....they had a 2 for $22 sale or $14.50 each. I feel with that price I'm better off with the 3 wicks.

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    1. Yep basically. I dunno what the hell BBW is thinking with that price

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  5. I was almost ashamed of myself as I sat there sniffing the "witchy" crystal candles, sniffing the Amethyst one over and over and over, going, "What is this!? I know this scent!" And seeing as I'm still friends with all the people in my Bath and Body Works, I'm going up to my old coworkers going, "Smell this, what is this scent? It's so familiar!" And NO ONE KNEW IT. Finally I gave it one last sniff as I was about to leave and it like, exploded in my brain that it was Moonlight Path. I'll be honest, I'm the tiniest bit disappointed with that collection because I was hoping for new stuff, but it also has three of my favourite scents of all time (Moonlight Path, Beach Sage and Mint, and Ocean Mist and Citrus.)

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    1. It would've been nice to have new scents in this collection; lord knows it would've made what seems to be a random and unnecessary collection more relevant but asking for newness is too much to ask for

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  6. The pink crystal candle, love potion or something is a repackage of Rose Water and Ivy. Bc what even is originality anymore

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  7. I thought one of them ("Clarity?") was "Eucalyptus & Mint" or something similar to one of the Aromatherapy "minty" scents....

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    1. Nope, I just sniffed it a couple of days ago; it is most definitely Beach Sage and Mint

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  8. Okay so are "Comfort" from the Aromatherapy collection and "Incense" the same thing or very close??....

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    1. I might have to sniff that one again but for the moment, I'm gonna go with no, I don't think they're similar

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    2. Weird because I thought they were unless my nose is playing tricks on me - but I knew you were an "expert" at this sort of thing so I figured I'd ask, haha! Keep me posted if you can! :P

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  10. I just bought a 1 wick "Peppered Plum" because I KNEW I had a scent like this before and LOVED it - came here to do some homework and found it was very close to "Wine Cellar/Smoked Berries & Incense" - which I also had in the past and really enjoyed. I hope they will bring back one of those 3 for Fall this year. They're so close to one another I wouldn't mind which one came back. They all smell almost identical to me...

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