SCENT EXPOSÉ: The Stupefying Stumper of Salty Pretzel Milkshake
I'm sure I don't have to say that a scent like Salty Pretzel Milkshake is very much outside of my wheelhouse. A gourmand scent that's savory and sweet AND there's caramel involved in the equation? NO THANK YOU! I initially had zero interest in this candle at all and absolutely no desire to sniff it...that is until fairly recently.
So this candle has been receiving a ridiculous amount of overhype on social media which always turns me off to a scent regardless of whether it is actually good nor not. After rooting thru all of the basic and utterly useless "OMG this smells so good" drivel and finally reading posts from people who actually review, I noticed something interesting - everyone was saying something different about notes-wise. Some say that they smelled what the note description suggested, while others smelled notes that weren't mentioned at all while others claimed it smelled so close to another runofthemill scent to the point of possibly being a repackage. This immediately made me think that there might be a batch variance.
Now for those who don't know what that is, a batch variance is a phenomenon when a candle that smells a certain way but smells totally different in another store or region. Sometimes a test version of a candle will go out and once it completely sells, another version fresh from the factory will go that smells slightly tweaked or completely different. Or leftover test candles will go out but then a different more seller friendly version will get released. One famous case of batch variance was Red Radiant Maple in which there were 3 separate versions sent nationwide, all smelling incredibly different from each other and each having different batch numbers. Another infamous batch variance as Coastal Oak & Sea Salt where I found myself in most drama and conflama I've ever had the displeasure of being involved in as a blogger with folks on social media getting arguing that what I smelled was wrong..even though I provided prove that there were 2 different batches and that there were people who smelled it and agreed with me.
The validity of batch variance is still very much a major source of contention and heated debate on social media. Most would rather believe that their noses and theirs alone have the magical, nigh god-like power and quality that can pick out notes that feeble plebeian noses can't. Even with this candle, few concede to the possibility of batch variance and would prefer to settle on the assumption that their noses are different if not better. That all said, the possibility of batch variance intrigued me and forced me to get my Scent Sherlock on.
So I went to BBW and WB and smelled two different batches with 2 different batch numbers. Let's talk about the BBW batch first...
Salted Pretzel Milkshake 1.0 (9125K3A1) this may be the original batch as what I smelled is line with what I've heard quite a few others said. So there's a creamy/milky base but nothing that suggest vanilla ice cream milkshake. And there's a salty savoriness that with the power of persuasion could represent pretzels. Then there's heavy but oddly unintrusive ooey gooey caramel note enhanced by whatever that savory salty note is. Here's the kicker - I totally smell coffee. It reminds me a lot of Espresso Bar in the sense that it's a really dark note with a bit of umami and with a hint of bitter chocolate. This coffee note is nowhere mentioned in the notes but I smelled it almost immediately..which brings me to this point...
So @candlefella on IG was one of the first people to say that he smelled a definite coffee note. He also mentioned something really interesting; apparently the boxes this candle came in had a totally different - SALTED CARAMEL FRAPPUCINO! The theory is that BBW couldn't use the word "frappucino" cuz it's trademarked so they had to change the name to something basic thus appealing to customers. However the original name makes more sense cuz that's what this batch smells like.
I also think this version may be a repackage of a long forgotten test scent called Twisted Caramel Gelato; it was a failed test scent/WB exclusive from the Poptails collection back in 2015. My WB store get it super late so because of that (and the fact that it's a caramel scent), I vaguely remember what it smells like. But peep the notes tho - "sea salt caramel, vanilla ice cream, coffee liqueur" Hmm, wonder what that sounds like?! Still waiting for confirmation from someone who actually owns TCG to do a thorough comparison.
Salted Pretzel Milkshake 2.0 (9120K3A4) this batch I smelled at a WB store. This version kinda threw me loop cuz it smelled similar to the previous batch but I could smell some differences. The best way I could describe this is one is Summer Boardwalk without the apple. Creamy (probably creamier than the first batch) and salty (less salty than the first batch). And it could be nose playing tricks on me but I picked up a hint of coffee. Yeah this version just smells less robust and watered down.
There's yet another batch that ends with "-K3A3" and this version is the one that everyone has been saying smells so similar to Salted Caramel to the point of possibly being a repackage. There's a "K3A2" that folks have been saying are heavy on the pretzel aspect to the point of smelling bakery. And finally there's a "K3A5" that I a lot of people have been saying smells like Pumpkin Peanut Brittle with a touch of caramel.
So yeah, if you're at all interested in this candle at all, do take these batch variances into consideration when go in to sniff and/or buy.
So this candle has been receiving a ridiculous amount of overhype on social media which always turns me off to a scent regardless of whether it is actually good nor not. After rooting thru all of the basic and utterly useless "OMG this smells so good" drivel and finally reading posts from people who actually review, I noticed something interesting - everyone was saying something different about notes-wise. Some say that they smelled what the note description suggested, while others smelled notes that weren't mentioned at all while others claimed it smelled so close to another runofthemill scent to the point of possibly being a repackage. This immediately made me think that there might be a batch variance.
Now for those who don't know what that is, a batch variance is a phenomenon when a candle that smells a certain way but smells totally different in another store or region. Sometimes a test version of a candle will go out and once it completely sells, another version fresh from the factory will go that smells slightly tweaked or completely different. Or leftover test candles will go out but then a different more seller friendly version will get released. One famous case of batch variance was Red Radiant Maple in which there were 3 separate versions sent nationwide, all smelling incredibly different from each other and each having different batch numbers. Another infamous batch variance as Coastal Oak & Sea Salt where I found myself in most drama and conflama I've ever had the displeasure of being involved in as a blogger with folks on social media getting arguing that what I smelled was wrong..even though I provided prove that there were 2 different batches and that there were people who smelled it and agreed with me.
The validity of batch variance is still very much a major source of contention and heated debate on social media. Most would rather believe that their noses and theirs alone have the magical, nigh god-like power and quality that can pick out notes that feeble plebeian noses can't. Even with this candle, few concede to the possibility of batch variance and would prefer to settle on the assumption that their noses are different if not better. That all said, the possibility of batch variance intrigued me and forced me to get my Scent Sherlock on.
So I went to BBW and WB and smelled two different batches with 2 different batch numbers. Let's talk about the BBW batch first...
Salted Pretzel Milkshake 1.0 (9125K3A1) this may be the original batch as what I smelled is line with what I've heard quite a few others said. So there's a creamy/milky base but nothing that suggest vanilla ice cream milkshake. And there's a salty savoriness that with the power of persuasion could represent pretzels. Then there's heavy but oddly unintrusive ooey gooey caramel note enhanced by whatever that savory salty note is. Here's the kicker - I totally smell coffee. It reminds me a lot of Espresso Bar in the sense that it's a really dark note with a bit of umami and with a hint of bitter chocolate. This coffee note is nowhere mentioned in the notes but I smelled it almost immediately..which brings me to this point...
So @candlefella on IG was one of the first people to say that he smelled a definite coffee note. He also mentioned something really interesting; apparently the boxes this candle came in had a totally different - SALTED CARAMEL FRAPPUCINO! The theory is that BBW couldn't use the word "frappucino" cuz it's trademarked so they had to change the name to something basic thus appealing to customers. However the original name makes more sense cuz that's what this batch smells like.
I also think this version may be a repackage of a long forgotten test scent called Twisted Caramel Gelato; it was a failed test scent/WB exclusive from the Poptails collection back in 2015. My WB store get it super late so because of that (and the fact that it's a caramel scent), I vaguely remember what it smells like. But peep the notes tho - "sea salt caramel, vanilla ice cream, coffee liqueur" Hmm, wonder what that sounds like?! Still waiting for confirmation from someone who actually owns TCG to do a thorough comparison.
Salted Pretzel Milkshake 2.0 (9120K3A4) this batch I smelled at a WB store. This version kinda threw me loop cuz it smelled similar to the previous batch but I could smell some differences. The best way I could describe this is one is Summer Boardwalk without the apple. Creamy (probably creamier than the first batch) and salty (less salty than the first batch). And it could be nose playing tricks on me but I picked up a hint of coffee. Yeah this version just smells less robust and watered down.
There's yet another batch that ends with "-K3A3" and this version is the one that everyone has been saying smells so similar to Salted Caramel to the point of possibly being a repackage. There's a "K3A2" that folks have been saying are heavy on the pretzel aspect to the point of smelling bakery. And finally there's a "K3A5" that I a lot of people have been saying smells like Pumpkin Peanut Brittle with a touch of caramel.
So yeah, if you're at all interested in this candle at all, do take these batch variances into consideration when go in to sniff and/or buy.
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