WALK N SNIFF: Fall Preview ~ Fall Wishlist Collection, Pumpkin Patch Collection, WB Core
Finally, at friggin last, I got to smell some fall goodness! I feel like I'm the last damn person on the continent to smell them and make my own opinions since you can't get them on social media.
So I went to a regular BBW first but it only had a few of them. Then I schlepped to a WB store a bit farther out and lo and behold, they had them all.
Sadly the candle sale was over (not that it was a particularly good one) and I refuse to buy them full priced thus I left empty-handed but at least I finally got to sniff them all for myself. So without further ado, let's get this WALK N SNIFF review started...
Let's start with the Fall Wishlist Collection. As usual, I'm only focusing on the new stuff (my store didn't have Harvest Bloom and it's not online, so I'm assuming it failed. Nor did I see the mysterious and elusive Apple Cinnamon Cider)
Pumpkin Patch (8179AGA2) - there's really not much to say about this - it's Pumpkin Carving. Notice I DIDN'T say it was a repackage - Pumpkin Patch was Pumpkin Carving's original name back in the Slatkin era (I have a whole rant about newbies calling it a repackage without knowing the history). Anyway, the scent is pretty straightforward; it's by far the closest you'll ever get to an authentic pumpkin scent at BBW (pumpkin NOT pumpkin spice) and it is soooooo much better than Shit Cinnamon Poopkin. So you get the pumpkin note, spiced with a tiny bit of cinnamon and a lot of nutmeg and sweetened with brown sugar (not molasses as the notes suggest.) If you want a more in depth review, go here.
Caramel Apple (8171AGA1) - so before you ask, NO this isn't Cider Lane. Much like Pumpkin Patch/Carving, this is a Slatkin era scent fresh from the scent vault that predates Cider Lane. I had a Caramel Apple years ago and at the time I actually preferred it over Cider Lane. So does this new version smell like the original? Yes and no. The basenotes smell the same but the blend itself has been severely tweaked...and that could just be a matter of using a downgrade of fragrance oils to replicate an old scent. The old version had an almost nuttiness that this new version doesn't have. The old version also had a very apparent pear note which seems to be very watered down in this new one. Other that, it's essentially the same. So you basically get a bright juicy apple with a little bit of nutmeg with a brown sugary caramel note. Usually caramel notes in BBW smell/feel very sickeningly sweet and very drippy/syrupy/ooey-gooey but the caramel in CA is a bit more subtle and you get sense of it hardening like candy. If you like Cider Lane or dislike the "lane" aspect of it, then you'll like CA.
ADDENDUM: those of you who may remember the old CA may disappointed as it doesn't smell entirely the same. Personally I prefer the old CA; this new one is at the cusp of smelling a little generic.
Autumn Day - this isn't a new scent but I wanna talk about it briefly as I do get folks on social media asking me what it's like. So, like the 2 scents above, this is a Slatkin era scent . It first appeared in 2011 as "Acorn & Fig" but was changed to Autumn Day the following year. It was a fall staple for awhile then it disappeared; it did reappear randomly in the WB core collection on 2016 and kinda came back albeit very tweaked as Autumn Night in 2014. So I've said this before and I'll say it again - COMPLETELY DISREGARD THE NOTES CUZ THEY ARE BS! The notes back when it was Acorn & Fig are way more accurate - pear, fig, birch and sandalwood..and that's basically what you get. You get fresh off of the tree pear (NOT APPLE) mixed with a creamy non-bakery fig note as well as an even creamier sandalwood note. The cedarwood gives the blend a outdoorsy/foresty feel and the birch adds an almost mint-like coolness. Imagine staying at a farm or cabin, you're up at the crack of dawn, there's dew on the ground and the air is really crisp and heavy with smell of wet leaves. That's basically Autumn Day.
Now let's move on to the Pumpkin Patch collection; again, just focusing on the new stuff. My store didn't have Bourbon Pumpkin..meh)
Campfire Pumpkin - this is indeed a repackage of Pumpkin Fireside which was a WB exclusive in 2016. Think of it as an autumnal version of Marshmallow Fireside and a big sister to Salted Oak Bonfire. So first of all, there is absolutely NO pumpkin aspect to this at all. And it's not pumpkin spice either as there is no ginger or allspice notes. It's mainly cinnamon and nutmeg..which BBW seems to think is pumpkin-y..it aint! You get a toasted/caramelized sugary vanilla blend almost at the cusp of marshmallowy but not quite. And it's not in the notes but I swear I get roasted/candied chestnuts or something like that. It's a really nice and cozy "warm blanket" scent that's perfect for mid to late fall. I do wish they would stop marketing this as a "pumpkin" scent cuz it really isn't.
Blueberry Maple Pancakes (8165G3A2) - *SIGH here we go again - another bakery scent that is overhyped on social media. Anytime I see a picture of one particular (always bakery) scent flooding my newsfeed, I immediately assume it's not that great. And this one is no exception. So right off the bat, this is NOT Blueberry Pumpkin Patch as we all assumed it would be; this is, surprisingly enough, a new scent. Most folks who have sniffed this pretty much all come to the same consensus - it smells like pancakes with blueberry syrup and I totally agree. Imagine you're in IHOP and you've gotten a stack of pancakes and you've just poured on blueberry syrup and that my friends is BMP. There is a bakery note that gives the illusion of fluffy buttermilk pancakes. The blueberry note smells less like fresh but cooked blueberries and more like artificially flavored/sweetened syrup. And like everyone else, I got 0 maple...though I've heard that the maple comes out more when you burn it. Now overall, does this candle deserve all of the fanfare it's getting on social media? Absolutely not! Honestly when I smelled it, I wasn't impressed and felt a general sense of meh. It's not a bad scent at all and I do plan on getting one for the sake of novelty (and I do enjoy pancakes with blueberry syrup) but I do not plan on getting more than one.
Pumpkin Peanut Brittle (8172K3A1) - yet another bakery scent getting overhyped by the basic masses. So let's get some things out of the way - first off, this is NOT the perpetually failing and practically forgotten Roasted Peanut Butter but the two have a similar vibe and could be siblings. Secondly, I don't get peanut brittle at all. Honestly I get white trash hors d'oeuvres - peanut butter on saltine crackers. There's nothing to the scent that suggests a brittle or anything else candy for that matter. There is a nuttiness but it reads more like crunchy peanut butter, with a hint of cinnamon. And there's a bakery note that makes me think of crackers; it almost reminds me of Pumpkin French Toast or Pumpkin Spiced Cheesecake. If you're really into bakery scents, especially salty-sweet ones, then this bud's for you. but if you like your scents less basic and more nuanced, this scent is only worth a sniff for the sheer novelty of it.
And now finally, the 2 new additions to the WB Core line
White Barn No.1 (8169K3A1) - so this really isn't new; it first came out in 2012 and again in 2013 as WB No1 ~ Nutmeg & Spice (as came back as 1 of 2 batches of Pumpkin Spice in 2016; the other batch as Pumpkin Gingerbread. It's a blend of fall spices but it's not sharp or red-hot; it's almost ever so slightly chai latte -ish. Speaking of latte, WB No1 always had an unexplained milky creaminess to it but this version's updated notes make sense - vanilla chestnut. There's a sweet frothy creaminess with a hint of earthy nuttiness; think Starbuck's Chestnut Praline Latte at Christmastime. That blend of vanilla and chestnut kinda reminds me of Chestnut & Clove. That said, if I had to describe this scent simply, I would say think Kitchen Spice from backintheday mixed with Chestnut & Clove. It's a smooth, soothing cozy scent that could take you thru fall and into the holidays.
The Perfect Autumn (8149G3A9) - with a name like that, it immediately intrigues you; it certainly intrigued me. Then I smelled it and the intrigue immediately dissipated. So everyone rightfully assumed it would be a repackage of the incredibly popular Cranberry Pumpkin that for whatever reason keeps getting ignored by BBW....it's definitely not. I thought for sure it was repackage of a failed test scent form 2012 called Cranberry Harvest as the two scents had practically the same notes. I never had it cuz..well..it failed but I talked with a friend who has one but swears TPA isn't it. So it's a new scent but it's so not a very exciting one. TPA basically smells like Frosted Cranberry mixed with Leaves. You get a tart abut incredibly sweet Ocean Spray cranberry note with a apple cider and a s***-ton of clove. There's is absolutely NO pumpkin whatsoever. Because it's sooo heavy on the clove, it almost smells holiday-ish. If this was marketed as a Christmas scent or even a Thanksgiving one, TPA would work. But to call it literally "The Perfect Autumn" is a gross blowhard of an overstatement. And with scents like Leaves and Cranberry Woods and Harvest Gathering around, TPA is soooooo unnecessary. Why BBW didn't just bring back Cranberry Pumpkin is just beyond me.
So I went to a regular BBW first but it only had a few of them. Then I schlepped to a WB store a bit farther out and lo and behold, they had them all.
Sadly the candle sale was over (not that it was a particularly good one) and I refuse to buy them full priced thus I left empty-handed but at least I finally got to sniff them all for myself. So without further ado, let's get this WALK N SNIFF review started...
Let's start with the Fall Wishlist Collection. As usual, I'm only focusing on the new stuff (my store didn't have Harvest Bloom and it's not online, so I'm assuming it failed. Nor did I see the mysterious and elusive Apple Cinnamon Cider)
Pumpkin Patch (8179AGA2) - there's really not much to say about this - it's Pumpkin Carving. Notice I DIDN'T say it was a repackage - Pumpkin Patch was Pumpkin Carving's original name back in the Slatkin era (I have a whole rant about newbies calling it a repackage without knowing the history). Anyway, the scent is pretty straightforward; it's by far the closest you'll ever get to an authentic pumpkin scent at BBW (pumpkin NOT pumpkin spice) and it is soooooo much better than Shit Cinnamon Poopkin. So you get the pumpkin note, spiced with a tiny bit of cinnamon and a lot of nutmeg and sweetened with brown sugar (not molasses as the notes suggest.) If you want a more in depth review, go here.
Caramel Apple (8171AGA1) - so before you ask, NO this isn't Cider Lane. Much like Pumpkin Patch/Carving, this is a Slatkin era scent fresh from the scent vault that predates Cider Lane. I had a Caramel Apple years ago and at the time I actually preferred it over Cider Lane. So does this new version smell like the original? Yes and no. The basenotes smell the same but the blend itself has been severely tweaked...and that could just be a matter of using a downgrade of fragrance oils to replicate an old scent. The old version had an almost nuttiness that this new version doesn't have. The old version also had a very apparent pear note which seems to be very watered down in this new one. Other that, it's essentially the same. So you basically get a bright juicy apple with a little bit of nutmeg with a brown sugary caramel note. Usually caramel notes in BBW smell/feel very sickeningly sweet and very drippy/syrupy/ooey-gooey but the caramel in CA is a bit more subtle and you get sense of it hardening like candy. If you like Cider Lane or dislike the "lane" aspect of it, then you'll like CA.
ADDENDUM: those of you who may remember the old CA may disappointed as it doesn't smell entirely the same. Personally I prefer the old CA; this new one is at the cusp of smelling a little generic.
Autumn Day - this isn't a new scent but I wanna talk about it briefly as I do get folks on social media asking me what it's like. So, like the 2 scents above, this is a Slatkin era scent . It first appeared in 2011 as "Acorn & Fig" but was changed to Autumn Day the following year. It was a fall staple for awhile then it disappeared; it did reappear randomly in the WB core collection on 2016 and kinda came back albeit very tweaked as Autumn Night in 2014. So I've said this before and I'll say it again - COMPLETELY DISREGARD THE NOTES CUZ THEY ARE BS! The notes back when it was Acorn & Fig are way more accurate - pear, fig, birch and sandalwood..and that's basically what you get. You get fresh off of the tree pear (NOT APPLE) mixed with a creamy non-bakery fig note as well as an even creamier sandalwood note. The cedarwood gives the blend a outdoorsy/foresty feel and the birch adds an almost mint-like coolness. Imagine staying at a farm or cabin, you're up at the crack of dawn, there's dew on the ground and the air is really crisp and heavy with smell of wet leaves. That's basically Autumn Day.
Now let's move on to the Pumpkin Patch collection; again, just focusing on the new stuff. My store didn't have Bourbon Pumpkin..meh)
Campfire Pumpkin - this is indeed a repackage of Pumpkin Fireside which was a WB exclusive in 2016. Think of it as an autumnal version of Marshmallow Fireside and a big sister to Salted Oak Bonfire. So first of all, there is absolutely NO pumpkin aspect to this at all. And it's not pumpkin spice either as there is no ginger or allspice notes. It's mainly cinnamon and nutmeg..which BBW seems to think is pumpkin-y..it aint! You get a toasted/caramelized sugary vanilla blend almost at the cusp of marshmallowy but not quite. And it's not in the notes but I swear I get roasted/candied chestnuts or something like that. It's a really nice and cozy "warm blanket" scent that's perfect for mid to late fall. I do wish they would stop marketing this as a "pumpkin" scent cuz it really isn't.
Blueberry Maple Pancakes (8165G3A2) - *SIGH here we go again - another bakery scent that is overhyped on social media. Anytime I see a picture of one particular (always bakery) scent flooding my newsfeed, I immediately assume it's not that great. And this one is no exception. So right off the bat, this is NOT Blueberry Pumpkin Patch as we all assumed it would be; this is, surprisingly enough, a new scent. Most folks who have sniffed this pretty much all come to the same consensus - it smells like pancakes with blueberry syrup and I totally agree. Imagine you're in IHOP and you've gotten a stack of pancakes and you've just poured on blueberry syrup and that my friends is BMP. There is a bakery note that gives the illusion of fluffy buttermilk pancakes. The blueberry note smells less like fresh but cooked blueberries and more like artificially flavored/sweetened syrup. And like everyone else, I got 0 maple...though I've heard that the maple comes out more when you burn it. Now overall, does this candle deserve all of the fanfare it's getting on social media? Absolutely not! Honestly when I smelled it, I wasn't impressed and felt a general sense of meh. It's not a bad scent at all and I do plan on getting one for the sake of novelty (and I do enjoy pancakes with blueberry syrup) but I do not plan on getting more than one.
Pumpkin Peanut Brittle (8172K3A1) - yet another bakery scent getting overhyped by the basic masses. So let's get some things out of the way - first off, this is NOT the perpetually failing and practically forgotten Roasted Peanut Butter but the two have a similar vibe and could be siblings. Secondly, I don't get peanut brittle at all. Honestly I get white trash hors d'oeuvres - peanut butter on saltine crackers. There's nothing to the scent that suggests a brittle or anything else candy for that matter. There is a nuttiness but it reads more like crunchy peanut butter, with a hint of cinnamon. And there's a bakery note that makes me think of crackers; it almost reminds me of Pumpkin French Toast or Pumpkin Spiced Cheesecake. If you're really into bakery scents, especially salty-sweet ones, then this bud's for you. but if you like your scents less basic and more nuanced, this scent is only worth a sniff for the sheer novelty of it.
And now finally, the 2 new additions to the WB Core line
White Barn No.1 (8169K3A1) - so this really isn't new; it first came out in 2012 and again in 2013 as WB No1 ~ Nutmeg & Spice (as came back as 1 of 2 batches of Pumpkin Spice in 2016; the other batch as Pumpkin Gingerbread. It's a blend of fall spices but it's not sharp or red-hot; it's almost ever so slightly chai latte -ish. Speaking of latte, WB No1 always had an unexplained milky creaminess to it but this version's updated notes make sense - vanilla chestnut. There's a sweet frothy creaminess with a hint of earthy nuttiness; think Starbuck's Chestnut Praline Latte at Christmastime. That blend of vanilla and chestnut kinda reminds me of Chestnut & Clove. That said, if I had to describe this scent simply, I would say think Kitchen Spice from backintheday mixed with Chestnut & Clove. It's a smooth, soothing cozy scent that could take you thru fall and into the holidays.
The Perfect Autumn (8149G3A9) - with a name like that, it immediately intrigues you; it certainly intrigued me. Then I smelled it and the intrigue immediately dissipated. So everyone rightfully assumed it would be a repackage of the incredibly popular Cranberry Pumpkin that for whatever reason keeps getting ignored by BBW....it's definitely not. I thought for sure it was repackage of a failed test scent form 2012 called Cranberry Harvest as the two scents had practically the same notes. I never had it cuz..well..it failed but I talked with a friend who has one but swears TPA isn't it. So it's a new scent but it's so not a very exciting one. TPA basically smells like Frosted Cranberry mixed with Leaves. You get a tart abut incredibly sweet Ocean Spray cranberry note with a apple cider and a s***-ton of clove. There's is absolutely NO pumpkin whatsoever. Because it's sooo heavy on the clove, it almost smells holiday-ish. If this was marketed as a Christmas scent or even a Thanksgiving one, TPA would work. But to call it literally "The Perfect Autumn" is a gross blowhard of an overstatement. And with scents like Leaves and Cranberry Woods and Harvest Gathering around, TPA is soooooo unnecessary. Why BBW didn't just bring back Cranberry Pumpkin is just beyond me.
How'd you like Pumpkin Apple? I really like that one. I'm still waiting to smell Pumpkin Coconut. Blueberry Maple Pancakes smells like cheap frozen pancakes with "blueberry bits" in them.
ReplyDeletehttp://realtalkaboutbbwcandles.blogspot.com/2014/09/walk-n-sniff-we-love-fall-autumn-nights.html
DeleteI absolutely hated Blueberry Maple Pancakes. I got only the barest hint of a pancake scent in it, and really just smelled that artificial gooey blueberry smell. I really liked Pumpkin Peanut Brittle! Even though it isn't my beloved Roasted Pumpkin Butter. I described it to my co-worker as smelling like pumpkin toffee. Perfect Autumn was so disappointing. I agree that if this had been marketed as like "Thanksgiving Harvest" or something like that, it would have been better. But I get no "autumn" scent from it at all. I'm normally a big fan of clove scents, but it was overkill in this one.
ReplyDeleteUnsurprisingly, my nostalgic favourite is always Pumpkin Cupcake. It was my original favourite bath and body works scent, when I had a little single wick back in the day.
Autumn Day was such a watered down disappointment last time, I hope things have changed. Also, excited to try Pumpkin Fireside for the first time! Thanks for the walk n' sniff...as always, you're the best!
ReplyDelete