RANT OF THE DAY: Describing Scents ~ To Suck or Not To Suck

You see it all the time on social media

Somebody will post a pic of candle, either new/testing or old. ...and that's it. The person won't say anything about it except a perfunctory "Look what I saw today" or "this smells really good" "or "this label/lid is cute"... that is if you're lucky. Essentially they avoid answering the question that is on everybody's mind - what does the candle smell like?" and will say everything but..if they say anything at all. And you do flat out ask what does the candle smell like, they completely freak out; their nerves get frazzled as if they're back in school and the teacher just asked them answer a math problem on the chalkboard. And this is their response...

"I'm not good/I'm terrible/I suck at describing scents"

 My face when people say that

I'm sorry, but that's bullshit!

If you have a working nose, a functioning brain and a basic grasp of your native tongue, YOU CAN DESCRIBE SCENTS! To say that you can't is a lazy cop out and it is not helpful!

Here's the thing..most of folks with sense are not buying upcoming candles because of what they look like, they're buying them because it sounds appealing scent-wise. And yes posting the notes is always helpful but it kinda isn't because a)most times the notes are bullshit and b)there may be notes that people are unfamiliar with. When you are posting an old or new candle that people have never seen/sniffed before, people are looking to you for knowledge and expertise to guide them in the eventual buying process; again, you not saying what it smells like isn't helpful. 

I am here to tell you that describing scents IS NOT HARD or rather it's not hard as you're making it out to be. I think it's not so much that people CAN'T describe scents but rather they WON'T and there are a few reasons why

1. They are intimidated by actual reviewers 

People think by describing scents that they have to give a depth review and get down to the nitty-gritty and pick notes apart and do superfluous scent comparisons...no, my dears you don't have to do all of that. Leave all of that to actual reviewers. Contrary to popular belief, saying what you think a scent smells like and giving an in depth review are NOT mutually exclusive. No one is expecting you to describe scents and blends and notes like your favorite reviewer, just say what you think it smells like; even if you say something basic like "To me, this smells like blah blah", that's better than saying nothing at all

2. They are scared of sounding stupid and being called out

Unfortunately we live in a day and age where social media has made people feel emboldened and entitled to their opinions behind the safety of their computer/phone screens. Everyone is a keyboard warrior whose duty it is to cyber call out anyone they don't agree with. I myself have fought online valiantly with keyboard warriors who it was their duty to call me out and put me in my place all because they didn't agree with me..only for them to slink away and unfollow me. Because of this, I try to not call out people whom I disagree with but will just shake my head and keep on scrolling (although I do make it a point to call out people who give absolute wrong information). Anyway the point of all this candle enthusiasts see all this and don't want it happening to them cuz frankly it's not fun. Here's my rebuttal - if you post with conviction, there is depth to what you're saying and you can back up what you're saying with something of real genuine substance and you post with conviction. People will always disagree with something you're saying, f*** em. There's nothing wrong with a civil debate but if people start getting crazy, THE BLOCK BUTTON IS YOUR FRIEND; just block and move on! Lastly, if you don't want to sound stupid, DON'T BE STUPID! If you don't know what a certain note is, look it up! There are soooo many websites out there that break down notes. I myself wrote a whole post about notes. Go to a market or garden and smell different herbs and spices. Go to your nearest Ulta or Sephora and sniff some fragrances. Don't know about past candles - look at old reviews on Youtube. Hell, talk to the reviewers and ask them questions; people private message me with questions all the time. EDUCATE YOURSELF! 

3. They're just being lazy

Yknow I get it, I've experienced it; you're in the store and you're bombarded with newness and your brain is going a 100 miles a minute. You're snapping pics on the down low hoping no one will notice and you don't have the time to make a long post. Ok, that's fair. But if you've bought candles and you're at home chillin, you have no excuse! I think some people just want to post what they saw and/or bought and call it a day. To say "I'm not good/I suck at describing scents" just because you don't feel like it is a total cop out;if  you cant be bothered saying what you smell cuz you just don't wanna think too hard and would rather someone else do it instead , that is LAZY!

4. They're just showing off

Let's all be brutally honest with ourselves - any time you post something about yourself on social media, you are showing off - hey, look at me, look at how I look, look what what I bought, look at what I'm eating, look at who I'm with, look at where I am/went. Social media is vortex of commercialism/consumerism and sheer unadulterated egotistic narcissism. With the advent of the social media, the climate of the candle community changed drastically; it went from folks just simply talking about what they've bought and burned to people breaking their next to be the first to post newness and shoving it in people's faces what they bought. These people have no intention on being helpful to their followers, it's all about getting likes and more followers..and that's sad. Before you post your candle pic, ask yourself this very simple question - Am I posting to be helpful or am I posting to show off. What you say in your post, ie what you think of the candle, will make the all difference

Describing scents is like singing; technically everyone candle do it, everyone can emit some sound from their mouth. Whether or not that sound sounds good is a different story. And yes some people sing better than others; for some it's natural and for others they've had years of training and education. But whether you can sing well or not, you shouldn't be comparing it to others because it is uniquely yours. And who knows, your voice might actually be lovely and could inspire others to use their voice but you won't know that until you open your mouth and let your voice be heard. Think of describing a candle like karaoke; no one expecting you to blow and give an all out concert performance; it's just something fun to do with friends with no pressure involved and and happily leaving the real singing to the professionals. Describing a candle can actually be fun if you just give a try!