WALK 'N' SNIFF: Candle Day

* I did mean to write this yesterday but I was absolutely exhausted and just didn't have the energy to write a post.

As you may (or may not know), this past Saturday was the infamous Candle Day - for those of you who don't know what that is, Candle Day is a day always at the beginning of December where candles are sold at their most lowest discounted sale price; it used to be $8.50, then eventually $8.95 and now $9.50...which don't get me started on how unwarranted and undeserving BBW's currant quality of candles are for a price increase but that's a rant for another day.

So all of the stores in my area opened at 7:00. My bf and I planned on getting to the mall at around 8:00 or 9:00; sure the store would be crowded but nothing we couldn't handle. Well we both endured a night unending restlessness (we both get constant insomnia) we were already up at the crack of dawn so we decided to get ourselves together and just go. We arrived at a smaller mall (thing it wouldn't be as crowded as the nearby bigger mall) at 7:30 and the place was completely packed with barely enough room to walk around. By the time we got all the candles we wanted, the checkout line was snaking around the store labyrinth style and out the door; we both stood in line almost an hour (although I can't complain about the line  as I have seen videos with check out lines outside and almost around the block).  So there was one candle that I was missing so we headed to the big mall preparing for an even worse onslaught of people... it wasn't nearly as crowded! I got the candle I wanted (the increasingly rare White Winter Woods) and grabbed a few more candles to use my extra 10off30 coupon and hightailed it out of there.

my haul and my bf's haul

Now that's out of the way, let's get on to the review. I'll be back talking all of the Candle Day newness - The  Popup Collection, the new floral collection and some miscellaneous. After I scouted out all of the candles I wanted, I was able to get me sniff on.

Peaceful (9278AGA2) - This was really the only new Aromatherapy scents that I wanted to sniff and I liked it enough that I ended up buying one. However, it smelled so familiar to me but I couldn't quite place it. As I was writing this, I would occasionally huff it and then it hit me - it reminds me sooooo much of Blue Winter Sky which was basically Beach Sage & Mint with peppermint. I get that same vibe with this candle...and I don't mind it; both Blue Winter Sky and Beach Sage & Mint both have an herbal aromatherapy-ish air about them.  I would also describe Peaceful as a wintery version of Eucalyptus Spearmint - not the same but definitely related. The scent is straightforward; the peppermint is there but I personally also get the same kind of mint that's in Eucalyptus Spearmint. There is a crisp, slightly earthy and mentholy note that could be tree oil; there are definitely notes present that aren't mentioned - eucalyptus perhaps, maybe some sage. Overall, it's very pleasant; definitely a (as my bf calls it) "feel good" candle when you have cold/flu/sinus allergies (which is why I bought it) but not one to burn all the time. 

Unicorn Sprinkles (9281AGA6) - I don't know if all stores received this one; one of my WB had them while the other didn't. As you may (or may not) know, this was from the random Online Only Unicorn Candles collections that recently popped up again for Candle Day. *sigh Once again, yet another candle that is absolutely not worth the hype; the name is more exciting than the scent itself. It just smells so artificial and generic. You get an odd vaguely berry blend, raspberry mainly with maybe a hint of strawberry and/or blueberry. The berry blend is very sweet and powdery replicating "cotton candy". And there's a hint of a candy-like lemon note. Basically if you mixed Gelato with Fairy Gumdrop and added a hint of Sugared Lemon Zest, that's essentially Unicorn Sprinkles. It's not bad, it's not good, it's just blah.

ADDENDUM: For those of you who actually do like this scent and missed out on Candle Day, it has been confirmed to be coming back for spring.

Sugared Blueberry Donut (9295K3A5) - So right off the bat, this is NOT Blueberry Pie or a variant of it. As far as I can't it's an entirely new scent however it doesn't quite live up to what its name suggests. You get a cooked sweet blueberry for sure; that is spot on. There's a vanilla based bakery note but it doesn't really smell like a donut per se. To me it smells like a cookie, like shortbread. That said, I totally agree with everyone's assessment that it smells like the recent holiday bodycare Santa's Blueberry Shortbread. Blueberry Shortbread or Blueberry Sugarcookie would've been a more accurate name than Blueberry Donut. It's an ok scent, very cute and guest friendly but nothing exciting or groundbreaking.

Cereal Marshmallow Bar (9284AGA2) - Despite not being the biggest fan of bakery scents, this one really intrigue; I was very curious how to how BBW would be able to replicate scent-wise one of my favorite childhood treats. Said curiousity died once I heard what it was a repackage of and realizing post-sniff that they were right. This is a straightup repackage of Key Lime Pie with little to no discernable differences. I guess BBW took notice of folks (myself included) saying that KLP's lime note smelled like Trix and Fruity Pebbles and just ran with it. So yeah, if you've sniffed and/or burned KLP, you know what CMB smells like. On the one hand, I get using KLP as a dupe but on the other hand, it is kinduva lazy cop-out.

Ballerina Rose (9306M8A1C) - I'm guessing this scent was one of the more popular scents from back when the ill-fated Rose collection cuz it was one of the few scents that were randomly released nationwide and now it's back. This is probably one of the most spot on rose scents I've sniffed from BBW, which is probably why BBW is pushing it. You definitely get rose accented by peony which adds a wet dewy freshness. There's also a distinct green note like fresh cut stems. Lastly there's an intense powdery musk, which I personally found a little off-putting. I'm not too crazy about rose scents so I'm kinda indifferent about it but for those of you who are into rose scent, I think this is a scent worth trying; it's very bright and pink and feminine, perfect for spring.

ADDENDUM - for those of you who are wondering, ballerina roses are indeed an actual thing

ADDENDUM: Ballerina Rose is NOT the only scent from the Rose collection we'll be seeing in the near future for spring...

Winter Daisy (9298AGA3) Ok, let's address the white elephant in the room and just say what's on our minds - wtf is a "winter daisy"?! I looked it up and could not find a definitive answer. And last time I checked daisies, like most flowers, are dormant in winter and bloom in early spring. And the scent itself doesn't make me think of daisies of any kind, winter or otherwise. In fact, I'll go so so far as to say there's really nothing particularly floral about this scent; it smells oddly... "cologney". There's a very heavy sandalwood note that gives the blend a distinctly manly vibe. Then there's an intense lemon/verbena that's nice but also odd. And there's a hint of freshness that could be a floral note but I can't say with much accuracy what it could be. I actually kinda like this scent but it's kinda strange as well as misnamed and mismarketed.

ADDENDUM: Tinadivalicious said in a review that it reminded him of the 2018 version of Sparkling Woods which was quite similar Lemon Verbena . He may be onto something; that version was drastically different (and lemony) than the prior 2016 version which was god-awful