WALK 'N' SNIFF: Fall 2019 Scents ~ Fall Preview Part 1 (Fall Traditions)
Last week, I went to WB twice - I went last Friday as sort of a pick me up after a particularly long stressful day and then again at another with my bf on Saturday out of boredom. That said, I was able to sniff everything that has been released for the Fall Preview (which I believe officially started either July 18th or 19th). So grab a coffee or a cocktail, light up a candle and get yourself comfortable cuz there is a lot to discuss.
Normally with these WALK N SNIFF reviews, I just focus on the new/"new" stuff under the assumption that the other returning have been sniffed ad nauseam and there is no reason to talk about them at length. However, I have gotten requests to spend some time of returning classics, especially since my tastes and sense of smell have evolved over the years. So yeah, I'll be reviewing EVERYTHING but will spend more time on newer stuff. However, because that's a lot of candles to talk about, I'm gonna split this "Fall Preview" into 3 parts, one for each collection.
The collection I'm gonna focus on today is collection I've gotten the most requests for as it has the most amount of returning classics - The "Fall Traditions" collections. So let's go from oldest returning classic to the most recent newness.
Leaves - ahh, Leaves - fall in a jar. I've talked about this candle sooooo many ttimes on this blog that lately I never really felt the need to bring it up and talk more about it. For me, it really is the perfect fall candle and a staple every year; putting on my first sweater, getting my first Pumpkin Spice Latte and lighting my first Leaves candle are my highlights of the beginning of fall. Leaves is also one of my bf's all time favorite candles and he made a beeline to it as soon as he saw it in the store. After sniffing it and the fallgasm passed, he said unprovoked "this doesn't quite smell the same as it did before". I agreed; so many of these returning classics just don't smell the same as past versions - either the formula and/or notes have been tweaked and the lack of quality in fragrance oils have effed up the formula, even change in wax color makes a noticeable change in scent. So yeah, while the notes and composition are the same, the quality of Leaves has changed; it feels watered down and less robust than it did when I sniffed it for the first time years ago during the Golden Age.
So what does Leaves smell like? Obviously it doesn't smell like actual fallen leaves and it's not supposed to. As I said before, Leaves is a conceptual scent evoking the season of fall with its notes mimicking the colors of fall leaves; it doesn't smell like foliage but rather the blend conjures images of foliage. Anyway, you get a base of apple/apple cider spiced with cinnamon/cinnamon bark and a bit of clove. There's a tiny hit of orange/mandarin that lifts and brightens the blend, keeping it up from being a basic apple-cinnamon scent. The notes used to mention berries and there is something berry-ish that adds to the sweet yet tartness of the apple/apple cider as well as darkens the blend a bit. And lastly there's that golden nectar adds sweetness as well an earthy mustiness that sorta keeps Leaves away from being a gourmand scent and more conceptual. Overall it's a beautiful blend guaranteed to get you in the mood for fall.
Marshmallow Fireside - this scent has been insanely popular for sooooooo many years and I still don't understand why...though I have noticed that most people who say that love it had an emotional attachment and that it brought back childhood memories of roasting marshmallows over a fire. I don't have said memories as I never did that as a kid and wouldn't until I was well into my adulthood so perhaps that's part of my indifference to this candle. Many don't know this but the formula changed years ago - MF first came out in 2011 and was quite popular backintheday. Then in the summer of 2012, there was a scent called Summertime Smores in the Lakeside collection, which was essentially a summer (albeit watered down) version of MF. Ever since the formula for MF was changed to the one for SS; so the MF that we know now is not the original MF but rather a repackage of SS. Years I ago, I bought an old version of MF and sniffed a difference.
So what does MF/SS smell like? You get a "smoldering wood" base that's similar to the Fireside candle - a bit of cedarwood, a bit of sandalwood, maybe some oak and a perhaps a bit of amber for warmth. And there is a sweet, gooey vanillic note that gives the illusion of "marshmallow". And with both versions of this scent, you do get a sense of roasting marshmallows outdoors. A few others have mentioned this and I don't really know what causes it, but there's something that kinda reminds me of laundry softener or sheets; a soft powderiness, maybe from the vanilla note. Now the difference between the old and new-ish MF is there is an unmentioned citrus note like bergamot lurking in the background; I guess that's what made Smmertime Smores more summery. That citrus has dissipated a bit since the 2013 release of MF, but I still get hints of it ever so slightly. At any rate, MF is a more palatable and guest friendly alternative of firesidey scents that can be a bit intense for some noses.
Sweater Weather - as you may or may not know, Sweater Weather was a failed test scent back in 2012. After Touchthefiretwice and Littleballadeer's raving reviews about it, it became an underground hit...so much so that it was released wide the following year and has been a fall staple ever since. Alas, my beloved SW suffers from the same watered down syndrome that all the other returning classics share. It doesn't smell quite as crisp and lost that robustness that had when it first came out. And since maybe 2015 or 16, it almost sweeter..and I don't know if that was a deliberate move on BBW's part to make it more palatable to the basics or if it's a end result of using downgraded fragrance oils. Now don't get me wrong, it's still an amazing scent and absolute fall must have however it does seem to lose a little ummph with each passing year.
So what does SW smell like? It's a very herbal blend, which you don't find very often in fall scents. The predominant note is eucalyptus that gives a refreshing mentholy coolness. Then the juniper that's a bit on the medicinal herbal side also adds coolness/crispness. The sage is very earthy and brings the scent down and makes it more outdoorsy. I would love to know what other notes are in this blend as it is more complex that what the description suggests. At any rate, the combination of mentioned top notes create this cooling and refreshing blend that really gives you a sense of being out and about on a brisk autumn day; I always say that it always makes me think of walking around Central Park in my favorite sweater in fall. SW is a nice departure from all of the apple and pumpkin and cinnamon we're assaulted with during the fall season. And I love the in recent years SW has been coming in cooler blue/blue-green colors.
Crisp Morning Air - *sigh you know I love me some conceptual scents and I love me some cologney scents but this one has always left me cold. So I believe this first came out in 2016 and many of us were excited because of the soap and pocketbac was the JAM..so imagine the overall disappointment when the candle came out and it smelled NOTHING like the soap, not even remotely similar. And lately BBW has trying to push CMA super hard, even releasing it in the spring; there's already 2 versions of this candle out and that's before the fall candles came out. It just not that good of scent..though maybe that's why they're pushing it so hard; hell, it worked for Ma-blah-gony Stankwood. So like I said, the soap is so good - it's crisp, slightly sweet, herbal, and outdoorsy with an almost Sweater Weather vibe to it. The candle...not so much. For a scent called "Crisp Morning Air", there are no cooling notes for "crisp", nothing bright to capture "morning" and nothing ozonic to mimic air. It's a bunch of woody/ forest-y notes. And there's sharp and acrid citrus note that I believe is bergamot and it sort pushes this candle further into the cologney category. It's not a bad scent but not a particularly good one; it's kinda misleading and, with Sweater Weather around, kinda unnecessary.
Maple Cinnamon Pancakes - this candle and folks on social media's reaction to it always makes me laugh; it's proof positive that the power of suggestion is real. With genuine conviction, people vehemently swear that they get warm fluffy spiced pancakes with a drizzle of maple syrup. Every year since its release, I sniff it hoping to smell whatever these individuals are smelling; as of yet, still don't get any semblance of "Maple Cinnamon Pancakes. What I do instead get is Pumpkin Caramel Latte, note for friggin note! Yes contrary to what you may hear on social media, MCP is indeed a repackage of PCL. The "maple" is caramel, the "cinnamon" is autumn/pumpkin spice and the "pancake" is latte (PCL never really smelled like actual coffee, but more like coffee creamer). BBW , keep it real - it's PCL! And with Blueberry Maple Pancakes, do we need yet another maple pancake candle, especially one that doesn't smell like maple pancakes?!
Mahogany Apple - another scent that is unnecessary and yet still manages to pop up unannounced and unasked for. For whatever reason, BBW is OBSESSED Ma-blah-gony Stankwood and there was period of time when they were experimenting with mablahgony blends, with Mahogany Coconut being, for awhile, the most successful. Banking with MC's moderate success, they decided to create an autumnal version and thus Mahogany Apple was born. So yeah, MA is basically MC but with an artificial Jolly Rancher green apple note instead of coconut..although sometime I swear I pick teeny-tiny hints of coconut. It just doesn't scream fall to me; this could've worked as maybe a spring scent because the apple is so green and crisp as well as that pop of lavender but it's a bit out of its league amongst the other fall scents.
The Perfect Autumn - this is one of those situations where the name is more interesting than the actual scent. When it first came out last year, I was quite intrigued but was let down once I sniffed it; the scent itself just didn't quite live up to its name. It is a little on the generic side; you can find a similar smelling blend at almost any candle company during fall thru Christmas. So basically, if Leaves and Frosted Cranberry had a baby, it would be TPA. It's a cranberry based scent, not as bright as Frosted Cranberry but not as dark as Cranberry Woods. There is a bright juicy apple/apple cider note as well as some mulling spice, particularly cinnamon and dominant hit of clove. The notes mention pumpkin...yeah no, can't say I get any pumpkin. The candle just feels like it's there just to be there with no real purpose beside..well..being there. The marketing is all wrong; if this called "Spiced or Mulled Cranberry Cider" and marketed as a late fall/Thanksgiving scent or even a Christmas scent, it could work but to call it "The Perfect Autumn" is a bit of stretch. Also with true autumnal spiced harvest scents like Leaves or Cranberry Woods or Harvest Gathering, TPS feels lost and unnecessary.
ADDENDUM: Did you know the original name was "Spiced Cranberry & Clove" ? Last year they sold wf bulbs with that name and it was absolutely the same as TPA.
Finally what you and have both been waiting...saving the best for last...the ne lone new scent in this collection...
Pumpkin Clove (9162AGA2) - when I first heard about this candle, I had 0 interest in it. And when it started popping up in stores and folks on social media were saying that it smelled like my arch nemesis Shit Cinnamon Poopkin, that justified my indifference. But sometimes you can't trust online noses and you just have to sniff it yourself....and so I did. Much to my utter surprise, I friggin LOVED it! Even my bf loved IT and he's anti-pumpkin thanks to SCP as well!
So let's just get the obvious out of the way - is it similar to Shit Cinnamon Poopkin? Yes. However, although similar in vibe, it is absolutely NOT a repackage. I would even go so far as saying that Pumpkin Clove is better, 10 times better than SCP; it's everything SCP should be and more!
If I had to describe this on a simplistic and basic level, I would say imagine SCP mixed with a bit of Pumpkin Patch/Carving and a bit of Kitchen Spice. You get an actual pumpkin base...notice I said actual pumpkin and not pumpkin spice, 2 different things. Anyway, the pumpkin is definitely more canned pumpkin puree and not fresh uncut pumpkin growing in a patch. There's some vanilla-like creaminess that gives the blend a pumpkin spice coffee creamer kind of vibe. And then there's the spice blend; it's neither red hot nor is it cinnamon sugar but rather fresh spices; like you're taking spices out of your spice cabinet as you're getting ready to bake some spicy fall treats. There's some cinnamon/cinnamon bark, some nutmeg, maybe a bit of cardamom but the main spice you get is in the name - clove. Clove is very potent smelling spice but in home fragrance as well as in real life but in PC, it's quite subdued and blends well with the pumpkin. I also get a wood note, like sandalwood maybe..or it could just the type of spice essential oils used in the blend; whatever that wood note is, along with the spice blend instantly makes me think of scented pinecones and potpourri brooms; that said, PC is definitely what I call a "craft store" scent along with Leaves, Harvest Gathering, Pumpkin Hayride and Evening Hearth. Overall, it's a very inviting, warm, comfy-cozy scent that really puts you in the fall spirit; definitely an October/November mid-late fall kinda scent, perfect for Thanksgiving.
If I had one criticism, it would be the name...Pumpkin Clove..it's just so blah. This is a new candle that deserves the "The Perfect Autumn" treatment. Unlike the other "pumpkin" scents at BBW, this one leans more conceptual than bakery despite the gourmand notes. It should've been called something like "Fall Craftstore" or "Autumn Market" or "Pumpkin Harvest", something more interesting and eye catching than just Pumpkin Clove. Hopefully we will see this scent again with better name in the future and fingers crossed, it'll give SCP a run for its money and make it finally disappear for good!
Normally with these WALK N SNIFF reviews, I just focus on the new/"new" stuff under the assumption that the other returning have been sniffed ad nauseam and there is no reason to talk about them at length. However, I have gotten requests to spend some time of returning classics, especially since my tastes and sense of smell have evolved over the years. So yeah, I'll be reviewing EVERYTHING but will spend more time on newer stuff. However, because that's a lot of candles to talk about, I'm gonna split this "Fall Preview" into 3 parts, one for each collection.
The collection I'm gonna focus on today is collection I've gotten the most requests for as it has the most amount of returning classics - The "Fall Traditions" collections. So let's go from oldest returning classic to the most recent newness.
Leaves - ahh, Leaves - fall in a jar. I've talked about this candle sooooo many ttimes on this blog that lately I never really felt the need to bring it up and talk more about it. For me, it really is the perfect fall candle and a staple every year; putting on my first sweater, getting my first Pumpkin Spice Latte and lighting my first Leaves candle are my highlights of the beginning of fall. Leaves is also one of my bf's all time favorite candles and he made a beeline to it as soon as he saw it in the store. After sniffing it and the fallgasm passed, he said unprovoked "this doesn't quite smell the same as it did before". I agreed; so many of these returning classics just don't smell the same as past versions - either the formula and/or notes have been tweaked and the lack of quality in fragrance oils have effed up the formula, even change in wax color makes a noticeable change in scent. So yeah, while the notes and composition are the same, the quality of Leaves has changed; it feels watered down and less robust than it did when I sniffed it for the first time years ago during the Golden Age.
So what does Leaves smell like? Obviously it doesn't smell like actual fallen leaves and it's not supposed to. As I said before, Leaves is a conceptual scent evoking the season of fall with its notes mimicking the colors of fall leaves; it doesn't smell like foliage but rather the blend conjures images of foliage. Anyway, you get a base of apple/apple cider spiced with cinnamon/cinnamon bark and a bit of clove. There's a tiny hit of orange/mandarin that lifts and brightens the blend, keeping it up from being a basic apple-cinnamon scent. The notes used to mention berries and there is something berry-ish that adds to the sweet yet tartness of the apple/apple cider as well as darkens the blend a bit. And lastly there's that golden nectar adds sweetness as well an earthy mustiness that sorta keeps Leaves away from being a gourmand scent and more conceptual. Overall it's a beautiful blend guaranteed to get you in the mood for fall.
Marshmallow Fireside - this scent has been insanely popular for sooooooo many years and I still don't understand why...though I have noticed that most people who say that love it had an emotional attachment and that it brought back childhood memories of roasting marshmallows over a fire. I don't have said memories as I never did that as a kid and wouldn't until I was well into my adulthood so perhaps that's part of my indifference to this candle. Many don't know this but the formula changed years ago - MF first came out in 2011 and was quite popular backintheday. Then in the summer of 2012, there was a scent called Summertime Smores in the Lakeside collection, which was essentially a summer (albeit watered down) version of MF. Ever since the formula for MF was changed to the one for SS; so the MF that we know now is not the original MF but rather a repackage of SS. Years I ago, I bought an old version of MF and sniffed a difference.
So what does MF/SS smell like? You get a "smoldering wood" base that's similar to the Fireside candle - a bit of cedarwood, a bit of sandalwood, maybe some oak and a perhaps a bit of amber for warmth. And there is a sweet, gooey vanillic note that gives the illusion of "marshmallow". And with both versions of this scent, you do get a sense of roasting marshmallows outdoors. A few others have mentioned this and I don't really know what causes it, but there's something that kinda reminds me of laundry softener or sheets; a soft powderiness, maybe from the vanilla note. Now the difference between the old and new-ish MF is there is an unmentioned citrus note like bergamot lurking in the background; I guess that's what made Smmertime Smores more summery. That citrus has dissipated a bit since the 2013 release of MF, but I still get hints of it ever so slightly. At any rate, MF is a more palatable and guest friendly alternative of firesidey scents that can be a bit intense for some noses.
Sweater Weather - as you may or may not know, Sweater Weather was a failed test scent back in 2012. After Touchthefiretwice and Littleballadeer's raving reviews about it, it became an underground hit...so much so that it was released wide the following year and has been a fall staple ever since. Alas, my beloved SW suffers from the same watered down syndrome that all the other returning classics share. It doesn't smell quite as crisp and lost that robustness that had when it first came out. And since maybe 2015 or 16, it almost sweeter..and I don't know if that was a deliberate move on BBW's part to make it more palatable to the basics or if it's a end result of using downgraded fragrance oils. Now don't get me wrong, it's still an amazing scent and absolute fall must have however it does seem to lose a little ummph with each passing year.
So what does SW smell like? It's a very herbal blend, which you don't find very often in fall scents. The predominant note is eucalyptus that gives a refreshing mentholy coolness. Then the juniper that's a bit on the medicinal herbal side also adds coolness/crispness. The sage is very earthy and brings the scent down and makes it more outdoorsy. I would love to know what other notes are in this blend as it is more complex that what the description suggests. At any rate, the combination of mentioned top notes create this cooling and refreshing blend that really gives you a sense of being out and about on a brisk autumn day; I always say that it always makes me think of walking around Central Park in my favorite sweater in fall. SW is a nice departure from all of the apple and pumpkin and cinnamon we're assaulted with during the fall season. And I love the in recent years SW has been coming in cooler blue/blue-green colors.
Crisp Morning Air - *sigh you know I love me some conceptual scents and I love me some cologney scents but this one has always left me cold. So I believe this first came out in 2016 and many of us were excited because of the soap and pocketbac was the JAM..so imagine the overall disappointment when the candle came out and it smelled NOTHING like the soap, not even remotely similar. And lately BBW has trying to push CMA super hard, even releasing it in the spring; there's already 2 versions of this candle out and that's before the fall candles came out. It just not that good of scent..though maybe that's why they're pushing it so hard; hell, it worked for Ma-blah-gony Stankwood. So like I said, the soap is so good - it's crisp, slightly sweet, herbal, and outdoorsy with an almost Sweater Weather vibe to it. The candle...not so much. For a scent called "Crisp Morning Air", there are no cooling notes for "crisp", nothing bright to capture "morning" and nothing ozonic to mimic air. It's a bunch of woody/ forest-y notes. And there's sharp and acrid citrus note that I believe is bergamot and it sort pushes this candle further into the cologney category. It's not a bad scent but not a particularly good one; it's kinda misleading and, with Sweater Weather around, kinda unnecessary.
Maple Cinnamon Pancakes - this candle and folks on social media's reaction to it always makes me laugh; it's proof positive that the power of suggestion is real. With genuine conviction, people vehemently swear that they get warm fluffy spiced pancakes with a drizzle of maple syrup. Every year since its release, I sniff it hoping to smell whatever these individuals are smelling; as of yet, still don't get any semblance of "Maple Cinnamon Pancakes. What I do instead get is Pumpkin Caramel Latte, note for friggin note! Yes contrary to what you may hear on social media, MCP is indeed a repackage of PCL. The "maple" is caramel, the "cinnamon" is autumn/pumpkin spice and the "pancake" is latte (PCL never really smelled like actual coffee, but more like coffee creamer). BBW , keep it real - it's PCL! And with Blueberry Maple Pancakes, do we need yet another maple pancake candle, especially one that doesn't smell like maple pancakes?!
Mahogany Apple - another scent that is unnecessary and yet still manages to pop up unannounced and unasked for. For whatever reason, BBW is OBSESSED Ma-blah-gony Stankwood and there was period of time when they were experimenting with mablahgony blends, with Mahogany Coconut being, for awhile, the most successful. Banking with MC's moderate success, they decided to create an autumnal version and thus Mahogany Apple was born. So yeah, MA is basically MC but with an artificial Jolly Rancher green apple note instead of coconut..although sometime I swear I pick teeny-tiny hints of coconut. It just doesn't scream fall to me; this could've worked as maybe a spring scent because the apple is so green and crisp as well as that pop of lavender but it's a bit out of its league amongst the other fall scents.
The Perfect Autumn - this is one of those situations where the name is more interesting than the actual scent. When it first came out last year, I was quite intrigued but was let down once I sniffed it; the scent itself just didn't quite live up to its name. It is a little on the generic side; you can find a similar smelling blend at almost any candle company during fall thru Christmas. So basically, if Leaves and Frosted Cranberry had a baby, it would be TPA. It's a cranberry based scent, not as bright as Frosted Cranberry but not as dark as Cranberry Woods. There is a bright juicy apple/apple cider note as well as some mulling spice, particularly cinnamon and dominant hit of clove. The notes mention pumpkin...yeah no, can't say I get any pumpkin. The candle just feels like it's there just to be there with no real purpose beside..well..being there. The marketing is all wrong; if this called "Spiced or Mulled Cranberry Cider" and marketed as a late fall/Thanksgiving scent or even a Christmas scent, it could work but to call it "The Perfect Autumn" is a bit of stretch. Also with true autumnal spiced harvest scents like Leaves or Cranberry Woods or Harvest Gathering, TPS feels lost and unnecessary.
ADDENDUM: Did you know the original name was "Spiced Cranberry & Clove" ? Last year they sold wf bulbs with that name and it was absolutely the same as TPA.
Finally what you and have both been waiting...saving the best for last...the ne lone new scent in this collection...
Pumpkin Clove (9162AGA2) - when I first heard about this candle, I had 0 interest in it. And when it started popping up in stores and folks on social media were saying that it smelled like my arch nemesis Shit Cinnamon Poopkin, that justified my indifference. But sometimes you can't trust online noses and you just have to sniff it yourself....and so I did. Much to my utter surprise, I friggin LOVED it! Even my bf loved IT and he's anti-pumpkin thanks to SCP as well!
So let's just get the obvious out of the way - is it similar to Shit Cinnamon Poopkin? Yes. However, although similar in vibe, it is absolutely NOT a repackage. I would even go so far as saying that Pumpkin Clove is better, 10 times better than SCP; it's everything SCP should be and more!
If I had to describe this on a simplistic and basic level, I would say imagine SCP mixed with a bit of Pumpkin Patch/Carving and a bit of Kitchen Spice. You get an actual pumpkin base...notice I said actual pumpkin and not pumpkin spice, 2 different things. Anyway, the pumpkin is definitely more canned pumpkin puree and not fresh uncut pumpkin growing in a patch. There's some vanilla-like creaminess that gives the blend a pumpkin spice coffee creamer kind of vibe. And then there's the spice blend; it's neither red hot nor is it cinnamon sugar but rather fresh spices; like you're taking spices out of your spice cabinet as you're getting ready to bake some spicy fall treats. There's some cinnamon/cinnamon bark, some nutmeg, maybe a bit of cardamom but the main spice you get is in the name - clove. Clove is very potent smelling spice but in home fragrance as well as in real life but in PC, it's quite subdued and blends well with the pumpkin. I also get a wood note, like sandalwood maybe..or it could just the type of spice essential oils used in the blend; whatever that wood note is, along with the spice blend instantly makes me think of scented pinecones and potpourri brooms; that said, PC is definitely what I call a "craft store" scent along with Leaves, Harvest Gathering, Pumpkin Hayride and Evening Hearth. Overall, it's a very inviting, warm, comfy-cozy scent that really puts you in the fall spirit; definitely an October/November mid-late fall kinda scent, perfect for Thanksgiving.
If I had one criticism, it would be the name...Pumpkin Clove..it's just so blah. This is a new candle that deserves the "The Perfect Autumn" treatment. Unlike the other "pumpkin" scents at BBW, this one leans more conceptual than bakery despite the gourmand notes. It should've been called something like "Fall Craftstore" or "Autumn Market" or "Pumpkin Harvest", something more interesting and eye catching than just Pumpkin Clove. Hopefully we will see this scent again with better name in the future and fingers crossed, it'll give SCP a run for its money and make it finally disappear for good!
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