SCENT EXPOSÉ: The Case of the Apple Cinnamon Cider Mystery

This candle has caused quite of bit of intrigue in the candle community.

It mysteriously popped up online with absolutely no fanfare well after all the fall candles tested and were released. Then it disappeared!

Then there was a promotion where "exclusive members" ie people living in certain cities (Chicago?) where you could get points by using the BBW app got a ACC candle free with purchase. Utter BS!

Then it kinda floated around the online ether like a ghost and you could only get a glimpse of it if you searched for it on Google which lead you to it on BBW's website but you couldn't find it if you looked directly on the website. Many people (myself included) did this and bought it during the B2G2 sale.

There is a candle conspiracy theory that suggests BBW bigwigs did all of this on purpose to cause hype for a newly concocted candle that didn't test with the others. If that's true, it worked cuz everyone and their grandma ended up buying it.

Now it seems to have stuck around and is even sneaking into the stores but the mystery and intrigue over this candle hasn't ended for there is a new conundrum - what does it smell like?

Before ACC was available to the masses, there were 3 distinct camps of theories -

1. there were those of us (ol schoolers/Slatkineers) who thought it might the now forgotten Slatkin era fall staple Spiced Cider, which based on the name and notes, it makes sense
2. there were the newbies who (for whatever reason) thought it might be a renamed Cider Lane (the notes don't mention caramel at all, but whatever)
3. lastly, the naive BBW babies who innocently thought it was new

Once folks got their hands on this badboi, reviews on social media were all over the place. As usual, very few (if any) were reliable or trustworthy so I had to sniff it for myself. Now like I said earlier, I bought it online during the B2G2 sale and the packaged arrived while I was out of town on vacation. When I got back home, the first thing I did was pick up my package and give ACC a big huff.

Having finally sniffed it, I was able to come to my own conclusions -

• Alas, it is NOT a repackage of Spiced Cider which is kinda disppointing. The 2 scents do have a similar apple-cinnamon vibe to point of being apple-cinnamon siblings but they are definitely not the same

• It is also NOT Spiced Apple Toddy aka watered down Leaves, similar vibe though

• I wondered if it could be one of my fall favs, Spiced Pumpkin Cider . Alas, it is not; there is no pumpkin spice or added citrus  

• It most certainly is NOT Cider Lane, which I dunno why anyone thought that. There is absolutely no caramel..which you'd think would be apparent given there is no mention of it in the notes but whatever

Now a few people on social media mentioned that ACC smelled like a certain particular candle and I refused to believe it because it just sounded too random. However after I sniffed ACC, I had to concede to the general consesus - ACC smells almost exactly like..wait for it...Spiced Pomegranate Cider

The notes for Spiced Pomgranate Cider were "Ruby red pomegranate, sweet apple cider, muddled blackberry, star anise"

Take out the pomegranate and the blackberry and you basically got ACC!

The blend itself is pretty straitforward. You get sweet mulled apple cider heavily spiced with cinnamon and a little star anise with maybe a tiny hit of vanilla..that's it. Again, Spiced Pomegranate Cider without the pomegranate.

There are 3 things wrong with ACC

1. In my most personal opinion, it doesn't smell very fall-ish. Like SPC, it smells very Christmas-y with an almost Tis the Season-ish vibe to it..which brings me to my next point
2.  It smells really artificial and waxy..which a few of BBW's cider based scents smell waxy - Tis the Season, Celebrate, Spiced Apple Toddy, Spiced Cider
3. It's just so blah; I felt an overwhelming sense of meh when I smelled it. It's not a panty-dropper, it won't give you a nosegasm or fallgasm, it's not something you'll pee yourself with excitement to burn.. it's just..blah

And that's what's so dissapointing about this candle. All the intrigue, all the buildup and all the hype..for what? A boring scent that smells so strikingly similar to a pre-existing candle. Why go thru the all that trouble to invent a scent that smells like something that has already been out already? Wouldn't it have just been easier just to bring back SPC? Or better yet, bring back a cider scent that actually smells good like Spiced Cider or Spiced Pumpkin Cider?

In conclusion, ACC is absolutely not worth the hype. It's not a bad scent by any means, just not a very exciting one. I'm personally very annoyed that I allowed BBW to bamboozle me into buying that damn candle noseblind; I would not want to the same thing to happen to you. But in the off chance you fell for BBW's shenanigans like I did, I say either hold off on burning it until Christmastime or keep it to do an exchange.