DROPPIN CANDLE KNOWLEDGE: Bronzeblogger's Holiday/Winter Candle Collection
As per my own tradition, as today is the official first day of winter, I thought I'd present my collection of holiday/winter candles.
So just like with my fall collection post, I'll talk about each one briefly (going a bit more in depth on the really old/rare ones) - give a bit of history and trivia and scent analysis. And I've placed links for the scents that I've already actually reviewed, so just click the name if you're interested.That said, let's start from the bottom and work our way up
debut: 2009
This was a one hit wonder from the before times pre-Golden Era. Like I said in my review, I happened upon it online but because it was before the BBW candle fandom really became a thing, no one talked about it and certainly no one reviewed it. I always kept an eye open for one on the black market, eventually finding one and it quickly becoming a holiday fav. Like most scents from this backintheday era, it's a unique, complex, high end blend that feels very nostalgic, like a good holiday scent should. With its Yuletide mix of balsam, citrus and spiced wrapped in musk, it has a distinctly old school old fashioned vintage vibe to it; very Dickensian Christmas. Its fragrance also reminds me of the Christmas Punch I make for Christmas day.
ADDENDUM: Holiday Pomander was repackaged as last year's Citrus & Spice
Sleigh Ride
debut: 2009
So this is a straightup piney scent...which I'm all about now but not so much backintheday when this candle was released. I would buy it some years later during my treasure hunting days and it has stayed in my sniff-only collection since. Now when it comes to BBW and their piney blends, they tend to fall into 3 distinct groups - herbaceous (like Evergreen), cool/crisp (like Fresh Ballsack) or sappy sweet (like Tree Farm); Sleigh Ride is in the herbaceous category with a hint of crisp. There (what I think) is a cedar base topped with a Christmas tree evergreen note. There's a bit of crisp alpiney juniper berry note (similar to the old and now forgotten Juniper Breeze candle. There's also the tiniest bit of rosemary accentuated the fir/evergreen notes. There's also, as is always the case with BBW, some notes that aren't mentioned; I pick up something slightly peppery - like bay leaf perhaps or bayberry. What's kinda weird about this candle is on first sniff, it kinda smells like wet lettuce but once you get a good huff, it's a more upscale pine scent.
Vanilla Spice
debut: 2010
Yet another one hit wonder from backintheday that I found and bought whilst treasure hunting. Now normally a vanilla based scent would be something I would avoid like Covid19 but because it came highly recommended by my candle comrade in arms Touchthefiretwice, it was a scent I had to try and find. I'm glad it did as it's lovely. It has a extremely similar vibe to The Perfect Christmas - there's vanilla that's a bit on the powdery marshmallow-y side with a odd mix of red hot-esque cinnamon and pine; it's an odd mix but it works and feels very nostalgic and ol school holiday-ish. The difference is that VS has a distinct amaretto/ cherry note as well as the tiniest hint of orange peel that really pushed the scent into in vintage Christmas feels. If I had to choose betwixt VS and TPC, I think I would go with VS.
debut: technically 2010, renamed/repackaged in 2012
Did you ever encounter a scent that you hemmed-and-hawwed about; sniffing it, putting it back, resniffing it, considering for the possible future? That was me and this scent. I finally tried it in 2013 and I'm glad I finally did as I ended up loving it, so much that has been a Christmas staple for me. I'm not gonna go in depth as everyone knows what this smells like and this did come back this year. I will say that the name suggests something savory/bakery/gourmand but it's definitely a conceptual scent.
ADDENDUM: This was originally known as "Winter Cabin" which fits the scent more - chestnuts roasting on an open fire in a cabin in the woods on a wintery night
debut: 2012
Another one hit wonder. So I initially did not like this candle, at least on warm throw. I was all about the cold throw but not so much once I lit it up. It was a scent that I came around to, enough to buy another years later and added to my sniff only collection. So if I had to describe to a recent candle enthusiast, I would say think Sweater Weather mixed with Flannel. It has the same notes as SW but instead of eucalyptus, there's an intensely sweet tree sap/resin note. While it's not so bad on cold sniff, it goes in a random direction once warm - the sap, mingled with the other notes, smells too much like cod liver oil, very bizarre. But the cold throw is so lovely; it really captures being out on a snowy winter day. If BBW could fix the cod liver oil problem, this would make for a pleasant addition to the non-holiday winter pantheon.
ADDENDUM: this did reappear the following year but failed and didn't go wide. The year after that, it appeared randomly for winter SAS in the 2013 packaging however it wasn't the same scent - it was a repackage of Winter Winter Petals
debut: 2013
This seems to sadly be a theme... yet another one hit wonder. This is one of those instances where you don't what you got til it's gone. I didn't really appreciate it when it was around and I stupidly didn't stock up cuz back then you didn't have to - most new scents, especially if they were popular, tended to come back. Well this one didn't and looking back, I could kick myself for not buying more. Another reason why at the time I didn't appreciate it was because it was a simple straightforward and, well basic scent - peppermint, vanilla and pine (think Twisted Peppermint mixed with Vanilla Balsam). Sometimes less more and simplicity tells more of a story that something complex. Folks who were around during the Golden Age have been begging for this to be brought back but those pleas continue to fall on deaf ears
debut: 2009 or 2010..I think
For a scent that was a holiday/winter staple for years, BBW has played this candle a little dirty in a recent years; it periodically appears off and on in a throwback collections as opposed to a regular collection yet instead we get these weird new mint chocolate replacements...anyway mini rant over. So full disclosure...since I was a kid, I HATED all things mint chocolate (cookies, candies, coffee creamers etc) until..well...right around the time I tried this candle circa 2013. I avoided all versions of this candle until then as it smelled slightly different and that difference really appealed to me. So the 2013 version had a warm cookie-like bakery vibe (think peppermint Oreos) that wasn't there prior and hasn't been there since; previous versions was more on the ice creamy side and recent throwback versions had a drier Andes Mint vibe to them. The recent mint chocolatey facsimile Peppermint Brownie is extremely close...more about that later...
debut: 2009 I think? renamed/repackaged in 2011
No need to go too much in depth about this bad boi, we all know this classic. This has been one of my go to Christmas scents for years! It's a simple and basic scent that just works and for me, it feels very nostalgic; it always brings me back to childhood Christmases. Now a few folks have pondered why this, an appley/cider-y based scent, is and has been an iconic Christmas scent as opposed to fall. I've already written an extensive blogpost about how apples have been a part of the Christmas tradition for centuries. A contemporary moderni-ish holiday decor inspired by past Yule/Winter Solstice festivities has been dried apple slices with cinnamon sticks on pine wreaths and garlands, which...
ADDENDUM: this scent was originally named "Holiday Wreath" with the name changing to Tis the Season in 2011
Snow & Slopes
debut: 2014
This has the double whammy of being both a one hit wonder and a failed test scent...sigh. I really wanted this to go wide as it sounded right about my alley but alas it wasn't meant to be (I heard rumors that it failed cuz customers found it too toothpaste-y...eyeroll) Based on that statement, you can imagine that it's obviously minty. There was some citrus involved (lemon and orange peel, maybe bergamot, think Sparkling Icicles mixed with Winter Mint & Spruce) that kinda gave the scent a dentist office feel. And it could be my nose, but I got..get whiffs of rosemary that made the blend smell very vintage and old world-y. I really hoped that the now forgotten Dashing in the City and this years recent Frosty Winter Air would be a repackage...wishful thinking
debut: 2013
This scent has been a fan favorite since its first release (though I don't remember it being as popular then as it is now and it definitely wasn't re-released in various collections and packaging as it is now). Believe it or not I still have a 2014 packaging that I burn on New Years Eve...and compared to recent incarnations, it hasn't gotten sweeter to appease the basics. That said, the first 2 incarnations were great. Now obviously, this smells NOTHING like champagne (I always say this smells more like a mimosa than a straight up glass of the bubbly) but it's still a nice enough scent and a great scent to ring in the new year with.
debut: 2011
This is one of many many ol school former staples that BBW has done dirty. It's a lovely scent and a fan favorite so I'm not sure why it hasn't been a constant fixture in holiday collections and not just in throwback collections. Now actual mistletoe has little to no smell so obviously this scent has taken some olfactoral liberties but it's still lovely. It has a old world feel to it; it makes me think of really really old Christmases of yore, back when it actually was celebrated for 12 days with 12th Night/Epiphany being the big party night full of revelry and mirth. Now, as is always the case with new formulations of old scents, recent incarnations of MM has been different - low grade oils used to replicate old scent recipes - recents versions being more sweeter and fruitier.
ADDENDUM: For whatever reason, in 2013 it was repackaged/renamed "Winter Wreath". And in 2016, there was Holly Berry Balsam which was a poor man's version of MM
debut: 2014
I'm not sure what made me want to buy and try this scent. The one I had in this collection is the only one I bought and owned, burning off and on ever since. There's not too much to say about it - it smelled like gingerbread. There was nothing about it that screamed "pumpkin"; slightly spicier and a bit earthier than your average gingerbread I guess. I will say out of all the few gingerbread scents we've seen so far, this one was the best and the most authentic.
ADDENDUM: In 2016, there was a candle called Pumpkin Spice in which one batch would be Nutmeg & Spice and the 2nd batch would be PG
debut: 2016
Not much to say about this one; we've seen this one over and over. While it is one of the best and most authentic chocolate smells BBW has produced, I'm not sure if it warrants being overly re-released ad nauseam as it does.
debut: 2017
Another one hit wonder..and one that BBW just really did not know how to market properly. It's a basic and straightforward - peppermint and rosemary (who knows what other notes are in the mix) but the blend worked; I describe this as Snow Day for adults as it felt more mature and sophisticated
debut: 2016
Here we are..yet another one hit wonder. Because it was a new scent and a non bakery conceptual herbal piney blend, I thought for sure it was gonna fail and not go wide. My gurl friend, @thehow78 hooked me up with one when it was testing. Sure enough, it did go wide and you best your ass I stocked up. Here's another blend that was straightforward and it worked. Now admittedly, it did/does have a Doublemint gum quality to it but it's still nice.
ADDEDUM: It did kinda come back albeit very weak and watered down as CHILL in the infamous 2017 Hygge collection
debut: not sure when, mid 2000s mabe earlier
Come on, iconic...a classic...a staple. It's just not winter at BBW without, well..Winter. Believe it or not, I could stand this scent when I sniffed it for the first time but grew to love it becoming both essential and nostalgic. As with classic scents pre- Golden Era, there's was deliberate attempt to capture a specific image - a high end blend of notes that conjures an old fashioned winter; pomanders, bayberry candles, snowcapped pine trees, a crackling log. Just perfection!
debut: 2018
sigh..another one hit wonder..which is odd as this seems like a perfect holiday bakery scent and it seemed to be popular. Not too much to say about this one; it's a mint chocolate bakery scent and extremely close to the 2013 version of the aforementioned 2013 Mint Chocolate.
debut: early to mid 2000s?
An iconic holiday scent and part of the holiday signature/bodycare trifecta. Now let's be real - does it smell like a twisted peppermint/candy cane? Not really. It's very much a bodycare borderline aromatherapy interpretation of peppermint. I like this scent but in small doses and for a specific reason when I'm sick, especially headaches.
debut: 2017
I love eggnog but I hate vanilla scents. While I do enjoy this scent, it is a little too vanilla forward to me. And for the life of me, I dunno what "butter rum" has to do with anything.
ADDENDUM: There was an Eggnog candle in the before time, later repackaged (tested and failed) as Eggnog Cheer in 2011. I had the original Eggnog candle but eventually gave it away. I'm pretty sure it and BRE are the same-ish.
debut: 2019
Repackage of aforementioned Holiday Pomander.
debut: 2019
This was..is a bit of a phenomenon - a non bakery/gourmand winter scent...that was actually popular. Sooooooo many people asked for this scent to return this year and return it did. It's an interesting blend of non bakery aromatherapy-ish vanilla, blonde woods accord and sandalwood with a hint of pine and cedar. It's a really lovely blend that could work as a holiday scent but could equally work for the rest of winter.
debut: 2015
It was kinda of a stretch to market this as a holiday, though it was a very PEACEful scent. When it first came out, I LOVED it! It was like a manly wintery version of Lavender Vanilla. Over time, I became less enthralled with it, not sure why. But yeah, it's basically a manly winter version of Lavender Vanilla - same notes with a bit more woody action.
debut: mid 2000s?
Ah, Evergreen. In the same way Shit Cinnamon Poopkin overshadows Pumpkin Carving despite it's authenticity and overall lovely, so is Evergreen overshadowed in favor of Fresh Balsam. Now I don't remember exactly which scent came out first but I don't remember FB being quite so popular backintheday as it is now, though maybe it was. Anyway, I always say that if you want a classic Christmas tree scent, it doesn't get better than Evergreen; it has become a tradition to burn this every year when I'm decorating my tree.
debut: mid 200s?
A classic and a true OG. Fireside didn't seem to popular for awhile and there was a chunk of time when it stopped being part of the holiday lineup. It reappeared again finally in 2018 and has been consistently appearing since. This is your classic crackling roaring (Yule) log in the fireplace on a blisteringly cold winter night. Charred smoky wood accented with warming amber, patchouli and leather. It always maked me think of sitting in a leather armchair in front of the fireplace with a cigar and/or a glass of brandy listening to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin or Bing Crosby crooning Christmas standards on the radio.
debut: 2019
I thought for sure that this would be a one and done and wouldn't return...but sure enough, it's back and I think it might be popular enough to be considered a holiday staple. It's a warm, cozy, comforting scent that feels very nostalgic and classic and I think it fits right in with the rest of the BBW holiday classics.
debut: 2020
Despite not being the most ardent bakery scent lover, something about this intrigued me. Again, a basic scent that just works. Take Peppermint Marshmallow and add a vanilla based cookie note and you've got PSC.
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