THIS IS THE BOMB.COM (BOYFRIEND EDITION) - Salted Chocolate Caramel

Products: candle 
Area used in:  living room
Time Period: quarantine

Notes: Gooey Caramel, Creamy Milk Chocolate, Sprinkle of Sea Salt


So my bf LOVES anything caramel/toffee/butterscotch related - candy, desserts, ice cream, drinks and, you guessed it, home fragrance. Back in the good ol pre-COVID19 days  doing WALK'N'SNIFFs in stores together, he would make a beeline to the nearest caramel scented candle and start immediately Homer Simpson drooling. Yall already know how I feel about about caramel scents - I truly can not stand them (with very few exceptions) and avoid them like the plague.

Speaking of plague, right around the time we both got sick at the very start of quarantine lockdown, my bf made an online order and bought a few candles as sort of a pickmeup. I had told him prior to make this order that there was a brand spanking new caramel scent that was an online exclusive; you bet your ass it made the top of the list.  Since then, anytime he makes an order, he makes sure to stock up on this badboi.

So far we've gone through 2 (one our way to 3) and each candle had consistent performance.  The first burn was a little iffy with both and took awhile to completely pool out. However once it got its mojo going, the subsequent burns were excellent - consistent high-stepping flames and  very deep even pools. The throw is STRRRRROOOOONNNNNG - I haven't had a candle this strong in long time! The weekend I was at my sickest, my bf was burning it in the living room and I could smell it even with my bedroom door closed. Even though the aroma is very cozy, it's a little  too strong to be a "cozy blanket" scent but it's not so intense that it'll make you feel sick. The throw is quite fast spreading and the scent lingers for HOURS; you'll definitely have to open a window open after blowing this sucker out.

I must admit, while I was happy that my partner found a candle that was right up his alley, the thought of him burning constantly was giving me anxiety. I just can NOT with cloying-ness of caramel scents and then combine that with a scent note like chocolate that's always hit or miss. Needless to say, I had concerns. The first day the bf starting burning this I thought to myself "Great, I have COVID19 and while I still have my sense of smell (which disappeared days later) all I can smell is caramel...what did I do to deserve this?!" Much to my surprise, I got whiffs of it anytime the bf opened the door to check on me and found myself not disliking what I smelled. 

So the scent notewise is pretty straightforward - creamy chocolate and savory caramel. The chocolate is kind of the verge of being Hot Cocoa & Cream-esque.  It also tones down the ooey-gooey cloyingness of the caramel. The caramel is surprisingly pleasant - it's not too sickeningly sweet, it doesn't make the air feel sticky and the salt gives the caramel a nicely balanced savory sweetness. The chocolate-caramel combo has a candy/chocolate bar vibe to it, think Twix. The combo, particularly with the savoriness  of the salted caramel note gives me total absolute Chocolate Bacon Cupcake    vibes.

They're not the same but very similar - first cousins for sure. Yeah, if you've always been intrigued with Chocolate Bacon Cupcake, haven't found a cheap one on the black market and are (rightfully) unwilling to spend exorbitant amounts of money, Salted Caramel Chocolate is a pretty decent substitute.

All in all, this is a pretty darn good candle; I love when there is a candle I fully expected not like and it pleasantly surprises - that's what happened with this badboi. It's definitely my bf's fav, certainly not mine but I still enjoy it. It managed to transcend my anti-caramel bias and join the ranks of Cider Lane and Pumpkin Caramel Latte - the only caramel scents I can tolerate. I also thinks it's one of the best and most authentic chocolate scents BBW has ever created.

I do think this candle was marketed all wrong. First of all, it shouldn't have been an online exclusive. It wasn't good enough to just be sold online..at least for that brief part of 2020 pre-COVID19  BUT it was good enough that more people should have had the chance to sniff and buy in person. I vehemently dislike the look of this candle and this collection in general. Imagine this candle with picture of shiny chocolate bars or squares oozing with a deluge of amber colored caramel all sprinkled in shiny crystalline flakes of sea salt - gorg right?! Lastly, this shouldn't have sold as a spring scent...what does this have to do with spring?! This should've been sold in the fall - caramel scents just SCREAM autumnal. Plus more people get into bakery scents in the fall and going into Christmas time. Imagine if this was in a Halloween collection instead of Hot Cocoa & Cream all the damn time.

Anyway, unfortunately this candle is no longer on sale online so hopefully you've already stocked up...though if you're desperate enough, you could probably find it on the black market. Fingers crossed, this will come back in the near future...and NOT as an online exclusive.