THIS IS THE BOMB.COM: Peppered Plum

Products: candle
Area used in: living room
Time Period: mid-October - Black Friday

Description: Sweet Plum, Fresh Saffron Spice, Black Peppercorn

For a hot minute there was a lot of intrigue over this candle in social media land, even before this candle made its initial debut. I didn't quite know what to think of it; one the one hand, the name only kinda turned me off but on the other, the notes did sound awfully enticing. I also had to take into consideration the overwhelming response to this candle on social media; under normal circumstances, I tend to avoid overly hyped candles like the plague cuz more often than not, I find said scents disappointing. However I must say that they hype was much deserved! Despite going in with some trepidation, PP ended up giving me both a nosegasm and a fallgasm at the same time..lord knows when the last time that happened. Even my bf asked me in the store if we were gonna buy this badboi, so if we both love it, you know it's a winner!

The performance has been a little iffy. I was worried cuz the wicks looked a little on the wimpy side. The first burn was kinda slow pooling out but it eventually fixed itself..or so I thought. Consequent burns were great but sometimes the wicks would act funny and there would be some canyoning action until the wax finally pooled. However, when it does burn right,it's great! And boy...ambiance like a mofo! Look at that picture; it is sooo beautiful to burn at night. The throw is medium strong which is a little disappointing; this is a scent I would love to be knockout but alas it isn't. The throw is medium strong and on the cusp of being a warm blanket scent, which is the kind of throw I love. This is definitely better suited for a smaller room. And scent does fill out and it linger for awhile after it's been blown out.

There has been some debate as to whether or not PP is a repackage of Wine Cellar/Smoked Berries & Incense and the consensus seems to be struck right down the middle. I will say the two are very very similar but my nose detects minor differences. Personally I hated WC and after days a-hemmin and a-hawin and trying to convince myself to like it, I brought it back to the store to be exchanged. That said, I LOVE PP and ended up getting more than one. Anyhoo, I'm hesitant to say that PP is a repackage with a twist of WC as I personally get more differences; I would just say think of them as twin scents, similar but different.

So what does it smell like? While the name and notes evoke the actual fruit of a plum, I get more of a plum wine/umeshu  . There's a sweetness that borders on fruit juice or candy like sweetness but there's a dark full-bodiness more resembling a sweet dark fruit wine like Manischewitz. I also get some dark fruit accents - pomegranate perhaps, maybe some blackberry action; the blend kinda gives me a Midnight Pomegranate/Dark Kiss vibe. And there may be a little hint of vanilla to ease the tartness of the fruit notes. Blended is the very noticeable saffron that adds a pungent, earthy Oriental vibe and makes the blend a bit more warm and vibrant; it's the same saffron that's in WC which combined with the dark fruit notes make people think it's a WC repcakage. And finally, the supposed pepper note. With a name like "Peppered Plum" , you would aspect it smell..well..peppery. There's nothing even slightly spicy or piquant in this scent; if there is black peppercorn, it's very subtle and only adds a bit warmth.  Last, there something musky, patchouli maybe? It reminds me Black Tea Rose in way as there's a lush, sensual animalic quality about it. And like BTR, it's very sensual, lusty, elegant and high end scent that will definitely give you a nosegasm.

Y'know, every once in awhile BBW creates something truly unique and upscale that keeps me comin back and not wanting to give it up cold turkey.  I do wish PP was marketed better; given a less blah name and placed in an actual collection and not simply thrown haphazardly into the WB Core collection; this could've been placed in the wood grain collection with Autumn Woods and Bourbon Maple. A scent this sophisticated and unique deserves better marketing and direction. At any rate, this is a lovely have a glass of wine/wrap yourself up in a blanket/read a book/snuggle with bae night time scent. You can light this anywhere in your home but I think it makes a better living room or boudoir scent. And because the dark fruit notes and spice aspect, this would make a lovely mid to late autumn scent and you take it right into Christmastime. And if you are anti-Wine Cellar like I am, don't let this candle scare you; I promise you that it is worth a few instore sniffs. Given my reputation as a certified "hard-to-pleaser", for me to hype up a scent means that it must be damn good! And if you love this scent as much as I do, stock up! Folks are already buying 10-20 of em at a time. You've got some time before holiday scents completely take over; stock up while you can cuz you already know PP will probably not return!