Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Review: Lasting Scent Candles Cloved Cinnamon

Has a scent ever knocked you off your (proverbial) feet?
Well, this one kicked me to the curb and then some!

Lasting Scent Candles is a new-to-me vendor with a long turnaround time and a lot of mystique surrounding them. People swear by their tarts; people have even gone as far as to say they are some of the strongest out there. You know me, I like to find out for myself.

...and if this is what I have to go on, I am highly impressed.

Cloved Cinnamon is just that, clove and cinnamon (more cinnamon and clove, though), and I mean the strongest as strong can be. It smells veeeery similar to Scentsy's Cinnamon Bear mixed with Hot Tamales candy (yes, I know they are virtually identical scent-wise, but the addition of one into the other is how strong this is).

I am in love. This lasted at least 8 hours and I will DEFINITELY be repurchasing this, if it ever comes back (I am pretty sure it was limited/discontinued). Lasting Scent Candles is definitely making an impact in my book!

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Lasting Scent Candles Cloved Cinnamon
Cold Rating8.5/10; super strong on cold sniff, and I didn't even let it cure more than 3 days! I wanted to melt it so bad...I couldn't resist the spiciness! Also, not important, but I loved the fiery red color of the wax.
Lit Rating9/10; lots of cinnamon and clove, but heavier on the cinnamon. Very similar if not identical to Scentsy's Cinnamon Bear, but less artificially spicy (I was not overly a fan of Cinnamon Bear).
Throw Rating8.5/10; amazing throw. Really strong in the bedroom and we could absolutely smell it in the living room. Lasting Scent has proven to be amazing when it comes to strength, based on the few things I have melted from them.
Overall Rating: 8.5/10; one of the best scents I have melted to date. Cinnamon. Clove. Red Hots. Hot Tamales. Cinnamon Bears. Atomic Fireballs. Hot. Spice. Nice. All in one. So, so, so good. (Also, regarding their long TAT, I don't mind this: it's like surprise wax when I forget it's coming!)

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Lightning Round Reviews #1!

Sometimes you don't want to hear me yammer on and on and on about wax, right? Well, here's a new idea I'm trying out on the blog...a lightning round of reviews: I'll give you a quick (relatively) tally of my votes and a short sentence describing the item at the overall rating portion. I am starting to pile up on my wax empties!
Gold Canyon's Sugar Cookie Candle
Cold Rating: 8/10; one of the most realistic sugar cookie scents I have ever smelled.
Lit Rating: 7/10
Throw Rating: 7/10
Overall Rating: 7.5/10 (fantastic! I didn't keep this, but we burned it for a few hours. I would definitely buy this!)
Tiffany Candles Coconut & Pineapple
Cold Rating: 6.5/10
Lit Rating: 7/10
Throw Rating: 6/10
Overall Rating: 6.5/10 (would be a great blending scent!)
Haley's Heavenly Scents' Da Lime in da Pink Coconut
Cold Rating: 8/10
Lit Rating: 7/10
Throw Rating: 6.5/10
Overall Rating: 7.5/10 (definite repurchase!)
Rosegirls Orange Twist
Cold Rating: 6/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating: 6/10
Overall Rating: 6/10 (very average scent)
Candles From The Keeping Room's Apple Cinnamon Donuts
Cold Rating: 6.5/10
Lit Rating: 4/10
Throw Rating: 4/10
Overall Rating: 4.5/10 (rounded slightly down...this one was too fried and had hardly no apple on warm sniff)
Jaimie Lauren Cupcakery & Confections In Wax's Coconut Lime Verbena
Cold Rating: 5/10
Lit Rating: 5/10
Throw Rating: 7/10
Overall Rating: 5.5/10 (too much verbena and lime but not enough coconut, not my favorite scent from JLCCW)
Streetman Candle Company's Cranberry Woods
Cold Rating: 6.5/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating: 6/10
Overall Rating: 6/10 (not sure if this is a dupe, but it is much more perfumey than the B&BW counterpart!)
Front Porch's Pumpkin Cheesecake
Cold Rating: 6.5/10
Lit Rating: 4.5/10
Throw Rating: 6/10
Overall Rating: 5.5/10 (creaminess on cold sniff led to weird sour note while warming...not enoughs spices for me, pumpkin smelled "off")
Tiffany Candles Cucumber Melon (type)
Cold Rating: 7/10
Lit Rating: 7.5/10
Throw Rating: 8/10
Overall Rating: 7.5/10 (an excellently strong dupe for the B&BW scent! Amazed by the throw of this one!)
Ten Digit Creations Frosted Pink Cupcake
Cold Rating: 5.5/10
Lit Rating: 6/10
Throw Rating: 6/10
Overall Rating: 6/10 (the buttercream note was sort of strange, but I liked it...mild on the pink, the cake note was nice)
Tiffany Candles Champagne & Fresh Strawberries
Cold Rating: 4.5/10
Lit Rating: 6.5/10
Throw Rating: 5/10
Overall Rating: 5.5/10 (hardly any scent on cold sniff (paraffin wax); the effervescance from the champagne was not there not my favorite from Tiffany)

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Hope you enjoyed this new type of post! Let me know your thoughts on it! :)

Review: Beezy-Tarts' Mulled Cider

Do you have a Trader Joe's near your area?
If so, during the fall/winter, try their Spiced Apple Cider...
...trust me, I'm doing you a favor. That stuff is liquid amazement. It's got a shelf life of a millennium, apparently. We make sure to buy 3 or 4 extras before they get bought up by the masses (Trader Joe's, in case you didn't know, is notorious for having something one day and not the next).
Pretty much any tart/scent with the word "cider," "apple," "spice," or "mulled" I will want to try. They are generally pretty amazing.

Beezy-Tart's version of mulled cider is more apple than spice, though there is a teeeeeeeeeny weeny bit of spice if you smell really close! The apple is definitely the dominant note, and boy, is it intense. It is the fresh apple I've talked about so many times before, not the fake, candied, sweet apple. This was in the destash I bought from a gal on Facebook, and it's the size of a sample (I know because I have receiving similar items from Beezy-Tarts in this size), so I'm pretty sure it was her sample. For it being such a small tart, it really was ridiculously strong...I've had chunks that weren't even this intense. It's nose-clearing-ly strong!

I really like this, but my only complaint is I wish it had more spice. To be a true mulled cider scent, I think there must be at least 50%-50% apple/spice. This was more like 80%-20% apple/spice. That's not much of a complaint, I suppose. This lasted a whopping 7 hours, and I see myself purchasing this again to blend with something spicy on my own!

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Beezy-Tarts' Mulled Cider
Cold Rating7.5/10; almost all apple, but not a complaint! Loving apple all-the-live-long-day. Not ready for spring/summer scents yet.
Lit Rating8/10; hints of spice more apparent on warm throw. Just a great fall/winter/I want it back now type of scent. Beezy-Tarts has been rising on my top vendors lost!
Throw Rating9/10; I think I could smell this coming up the walkway...and the back door was shut... :O
Overall Rating: 8/10; amazed at some vendors' ability to make tarts this strong. Fresh apple. Lack of spice. Hoarding of Trader Joe's juice. Bomb shelter.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Review: Rosegirls Strawberries and Cream and Wildberry

Strawberries are amazing, don't you agree? There's a breakfast restaurant in San Diego (that we may or may not call OHOP...not IHOP, but OHOP) that makes a daaaaaamn good strawberry crepe.
Mmmmmmmmm, crepes.....
(That remote is in every picture....ugh. *mental note to self* MOVE THE REMOTE!!!)
I've become quite a fruity tart fan, as well as a bakery fan. Rosegirls Strawberries and Cream and Wildberry is a really good mix of fruits and creaminess! You get the wildberry first, strawberry second, and the creaminess somewhere in between. With all this being said, I think it might be great mixed with marshmallow smoothie or vanilla bean noel, and would repurchase it in a blend. It was also suuuuper strong...almost knock your socks off strong. My love for Rosegirls does not need to be rehashed, and if you haven't tried them, you need to. They are only opened once a month, so act quick when they reopen!

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Rosegirls Strawberries and Cream and Wildberries 
Cold Rating: 7/10; I get mostly wildberries on cold sniff, but strawberries is a secondary (fainter) note. Creaminess ensues.
Lit Rating: 8/10; almost like smelling an actual bowl of fruit and cream! Very realistic, and lasted a long time, about 6 hours!
Throw Rating: 8.5/10; like I said, super strong! Could smell this throughout the house.
Overall Rating: 8/10; simply stunned at the realistic scents involved here. Not a fake strawberry! Love of Rosegirls growing. Better in a blend?? Wondering if frozen fruits have as many health benefits as fresh ones.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Weekend Wax Review: February 22-24

Another week has come and gone. Oh my it's almost March! Yikes, time is flyyyyyyyyying by! Another weekend means more tartage! Follow me!
I started out Thursday night with Lavender Serendipity from Ollie's Soaps. I have never had any lavender from her, and this was nice, but the serendipity was very muted. On cold sniff, 6/10. While warming, 5.5/10. The throw was a 5/10, for a total of 5.5/10. Not my favorite from Ollie's Soaps and I doubt I would repurchase it, so...
I decided to add Vanilla Lavender from Crabby Candle Co. I have had this tart for quite a while and have been looking for an excuse to melt it. This upped the lavender amount, making a really nice sleepytime tart! On cold sniff, 5/10. While warming, 6.5/10. The throw was a 6/10, for a total of 6/10, slightly rounded up. It lasted all through the night, and then a tiny bit when I woke up. I would probably repurchase this.
Yes, that's a Star Wars poster, and yes, that's an X-Files poster in the background. We are dorks. Anywho, in the living room this week, I have been constantly burning the 14.5 oz. 3-wick White Barn No. 3, Renew & Refresh candle from Bath & Body Works. This candle is freaking AMAZING. Renew and refresh is right!!
I started it on Friday last week and finished it Friday morning. It was like a constant This is the very first candle I have ever finished on its own from B&BW! I usually change so much that they never get done. Well, this one was so good, I bought 2 more during the 2/$22 this week. On cold sniff, 7.5/10. While warming, 8/10. The throw was a 6.5/10, for a total of 7/10, and an already made repurchase! So nice!
The first tart of Friday morning in the bedroom was More Trix Up My Sleeve from Candles By Victoria. I just don't get it. I don't know what I am doing wrong. These scent shots DO NOT WORK FOR ME.
I upped the light bulb in my Scentsy warmer to a 40 watt bulb on the advice of the CBVAU Facebook group, and it STILL didn't work! This is after 1 hour of melting, and it's barely even made a dent in it. Any other damn wax melt would be completely finished by now, but NOT CBVs! I don't get it. This was a lemony cereal type. On cold sniff, 6/10. While warming, 4.5/10. The throw was a 2.5/10 because you had to be right on top of it to smell ANYTHING and I AM FRUSTRATED WITH CBV STUFF. Someone HELP me!! The total is 4/10. Ugh. It only lasted 2.5 hours before I dumped it out in anger.
Next, I had a fluted tart (not shown above, but this is the photo I found of the tart in my folder!) in Sugar Mint from The Scented Princess. This lasted 4 hours and I would repurchase it. Click this line to view my other thoughts on this scent!
Friday's nightly melt: Rosemary Mint from Back Home Scents & Suds. I have never heard of this company and I got this tart from my Simply Sensational Sampler February box. It was really strong at first, but fizzled fairly fast. I woke up at 2am (after falling asleep at midnight) and couldn't smell anything. On cold sniff, 6/10. While warming, 5/10. The throw was a 5/10, for a total of 5/10! I might repurchase this scent, but I am looking forward to making a purchase from this company anyways!
Saturday morning I woke up and wanted something creamy, so I decided on Candles From The Keeping Room's Coconut Marshmallow. I have heard a lot about this scent, and I enjoyed it, but it's not my favorite scent ever. I melted this one for about 3 hours and I would repurchase this to blend. It was creamy, toasted coconutty, and you could really smell the fluff of the marshmallow. On cold sniff, 5.5/10. While warming, 7/10. The throw was a 6/10, for a total of 6/10!
Continuing the creamy trend, I grabbed for Front Porch's Country Cinnamon, one of my favs. It's very spicy, very creamy, very wonderful. On cold sniff, 6.5/10. The warm throw rating it 7.5/10. The throw on this one is a 6/10, for a total of 6.5/10! Great spicy scent, and I recommend that if you like spicy, you will like this scent! I will always repurchase this, and it lasted about 4 hours.
Next, we've for Front Porch's Cake Shoppe...and I was not a fan of this. It smelled like buttery maple frosting. It just wasn't my thing and I would not repurchase it, but if you're into suuuuper sweet bakery scents, you'll dig this. It lasted about 2 hours in our bedroom before we needed some air. On cold sniff, 5.5/10. While warming, 4/10. The throw was a 6/10, for a total of 5/10.
Keeping with the Front Porch kick, I found Mimosa & Mandarin in my wax bin and figured, why not? This was veeeeerrrry bubbly and effervescent. The orange almost takes a backseat to bubbles. Not a fan, and it only lasted an hour. It was giving Josh a headache. Not a repurchase. On cold sniff, 6/10. While warming, 4/10. The throw was a 5.5/10, for a total of 5/10. Meh.
One more icky one from Front Porch, unfortunately...I'm not trying to get rid of anything, just trying new stuff. Welcome Friends started out as a nice, spicy scent, but drifted into weird "prim" territory. I am finding I don't like "prim" anything in mah tarts. On cold sniff, 6/10. While warming 3.5/10. The throw on this was a 5.5/10, for a total of a reluctant 5/10. It only lasted an hour before headache inducing spices kicked in and I WON'T repurchase this.
Just in case you haven't heard by now, Closet Full of Wax is having a FREE SHIPPING sale until the end of February. OMG! She has some really great scents on her list, so if you're looking to try a new vendor, try out Michele's shop! I have been obsessed with her Bedtime Bath scent, so this was Saturday's nighttime melt. It's so nice, so soothing, lavender, chamomile, and...some3thing else. It's a Johnson & Johnson dupe for a shampoo or bath product, I think? Amazing, lasted most of the night, will repurchase again! On cold sniff, not too much, 5/10. While warming, 7.5/10. The throw was alright, 6/10, for a total of 6/10!
Sunday morning I was in a spicy mood, so I decided on Sweet Fixations' Cozy Home. This was just not good. It had all the reminders of a kitchen cupboard, and not in a good way. I swear I got a hint of curry in this tart. I dumped it out after about 30 minutes after I got up (7am). Not a repurchase and not a good start to the morning. On cold sniff, 5/10. While warming, 3/10. The throw was a 5/10, for a total of 4/10, rounded slightly down.
I picked a winner with this scent, though! Tiffany Candles' Apple Cinnamon Spice is easily one of my favorite scents from her. I have this in a 3-pack in her new wax, so if it's as strong and nice as this one, then yay! This lasted about 5 hours. Perfect blend between apples and spices. Always a repurchase, and maybe even in candle form! On cold sniff, 6.5/10. While warming, 7.5/10. The throw was a 6.5/10, for a total of 7/10, rounded slightly up.
As I've said before, I've been loving Closet Full of Wax lately! Bahama Mama was not my favorite scent, but it was nice. I ended up adding a tart in Coconut Lime Verbena from Tiffany Candles to give it a change in scent. This lasted 3 hours. I would repurchase Coconut Lime Verbena, but not Bahama Mama. On cold sniff, 5/10. While warming, 5.5/10. The throw was a 5/10 as well, for a total of 5/10. With the coconut lime verbena, it'd get bumped up to a 6/10.
Currently, I have CFTKR's Pink Sugared Fluff melting. It has been on 2 hours without a sign of stopping. It's very pink and very sweet, but I enjoy it thoroughly! It's got medium-strong strength. I would definitely repurchase this, I think this is one of my favorite scents EVER. On cold sniff, 6.5/10. While warming, 7.5/10. The throw is a 6.5/10, for a total of 10/10. The numbers don't matter here, folks, this is a definitely one of the best!! Delicious!

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Happy melting, y'all! Any highlights from your weekend? :)

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Review: Jaimie Lauren Cupcakery & Confections In Wax's Coffee Cake & Spice

Do you want to know something sad about me? Well, do ya?!
...I basically can't get through the day without my old, trusty friend anymore. Maybe you've met it...its name is coffee.
I'll admit it: I'm addicted to coffee. Also, I have become quite a fan of (good) coffee scents!

Jaimie Lauren Cupcakery & Confections In Wax (JLCCW, for short) is a great company. Jen, the owner, has some of the best customer service in the business. Her business is really an amazing one: the company is named after Jen's daughter, Jaimie Lauren, who is on the Autism Spectrum! She also has special tarts for sale (they used to be puzzle pieces, but I think she is changing them??), and if you buy these tarts, the proceeds will go to the Autism society. Very, very cool! She is in the process of getting her own .com website since she used to have an eBay store and they had high fees.

Now, I ordered a 12 pack tart sampler. Coffee Cake & Spice is the 4th one I have melted and I CANNOT wait to place another order! Her products are super scented, last a reasonable amount of time, and perform well, too (strength is good, no melting problems, etc). This little tart was spiiiiiicy! I loved it, it was very strong with a hint of coffee underneath a nice, cakey scent. Super wonderful! The coffee cake is definitely reminiscent of a strudel/strusel cake, flaky, buttery, and fragrant, like you've got cake baking in the oven! I would have liked to get this in more tarts by itself, or possibly a blend with another scent.

That's another thing worth mentioning about this company: Jen is constantly coming out with new scents, as well as asking her fans for help naming new blends and scents! It's a lot of fun to be part of her Facebook group. :)

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Jaimie Lauren Cupcakery & Confections in Wax's Coffee Caked & Spice 
Cold Rating: 6.5/10; each individual note (spice, cake, and a slight hint of coffee?) is in there, and you can smell them together and individually on cold (and warm) throw!
Lit Rating: 7.5/10; ummm...simply grand! If you like coffee cake scents, this is definitely one to try. It'd be good in a blend, too!
Throw Rating: 6.5/10; this had a nice throw, and it lingered a little bit into the living room!
Overall Rating: 7/10; just like grandma's coffee cake on a Sunday morning: strong, delicious, and spicy! So, so good!!

Friday, February 22, 2013

Review: Sweet Fixations' Pink Fruit Loops

In my year of exploring wax vendors and scents, I have really come to love all things fruit loops. It really is a wonderful duplicate of the cereal. Sometimes, things edge into Trix territory, but that's okay, because at the end of the day, I know that sweet, fruity mix is going to make me entire house smell wonderful for hours to come.
Y'all know me and decorations on tarts: the cuter, the better. This little tart from Sweet Fixations had AN ACTUAL FRUIT LOOP in the middle of it! Fearing the worst type of melt-down on the desk, I removed the piece of cereal. But, look at that cool purple tart with the awesome pink glitter! Major points in my book for creativity on the tart as well as on the label!

This scent is a really wonderful blend! You definitely smell both scents on cold sniff, and you get both notes while melting this tart as well. Sometimes it's heavier on the pink, sometimes it's heavier on the 'loop. It wasn't too strong and the scent stayed mostly in the bedroom. I would definitely repurchase this scent, and I would eventually love to have a fruit loops candle! I really enjoyed it, and Josh got a kick out of it, too!

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Sweet Fixations' Pink Fruit Loops 
Cold Rating: 6/10; you can pick up on the pink sugar right away! The fruit loops is a little more subdued on cold sniff, but it comes out after a while.
Lit Rating: 7/10; great blend, and a great dupe for the popular cereal! I really enjoyed this one, and I liked that I could smell more pink sugar sometimes, more fruit loops other times, and a blend all the time! :)
Throw Rating: 6/10; It wasn't terribly strong, but it wasn't weak by any means. It just wasn't more than middle of the road.
Overall Rating: 6.5/10; rounded slightly up on this one as well! This is something any pink sugar or fruit loops fan would enjoy. Love, love, LOVE the decoration, as well as the cool label! Infinite love of children's breakfast cereals coming from this household. :)

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Review: Front Porch's Pumpkin & Apples

(Look, I figured out how to make my photos larger! Yay for me, a college graduate who apparently can't read the little button that says "small, medium, large, x-large!")
Pumpkin.
Apples.
What could go wrong??
Well, nothing. In fact, this tart was bloody amazing. There's just a touch of pumpkin and spice, but apple is definitely the dominant note in this. It's a fresh apple, too, not an artificial or sweet one.
(Does fresh apple smell a bit like laundry or soap to anyone else???)
This is a definite repurchase. It was also super, super strong! Josh and I got a huge kick out of this one, but I doubt it will be on the remake list ever again since Front Porch always restocks the same 10 scents over and over and over. Just once I'd like to see something I request get onto the site (well, minus Honey Almond, but I think I asked after the scent had already been remade). This was so, so wonderful!

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Front Porch's Pumpkin & Apples 
Cold Rating: 7/10; on cold sniff, I almost get 100% apple, but it's not a bad thing.
Lit Rating: 8/10; very lovely scent! Fresh, bright apple, but light pumpkin. This should basically be called "apple with a teeny-tiny hint of some sort of spice."
Throw Rating: 8/10; Super strong, I could smell this around the house!
Overall Rating: 8/10; rounded slightly up on this one because it's simply a great tart! Overpowering apple leads to a light pumpkin and spice undertone. Strong. Want and need to pick apples for real. Not looking forward to summer. Ick.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Review: Butterfly Lane's Peppermint Cake

Every year for my mom's birthday, my grandma makes her a peppermint/candy cane angel food cake. It's tradition. And it's delicious. Is it December yet?
Butterfly Lane is a new-to-me vendor. I placed a small order a while back for some scent shots and some heart tarts. Peppermint Cake intrigued me because I thought it might be similar to the cake I have smelled in real life, so I got it to compare.

This is way different, but in a good way!

While the peppermint note is super strong, the cake is not chocolate (thank goodness), but not quite yellow...to me, it's almond! Creamy cake mixed with powerful almond and peppermint...it's amazing. Even in the scent shot cup today, I can still smell both notes clearly, as if the wax was still there. This is a brilliant blend! I am such a fan. It was surprisingly strong, too. In total, I had this melting, oh, 6-7 hours? The peppermint died down in about 4ish hours, but was still in the background some. This scent is a definite repurchase!

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Butterfly Lane's Peppermint Cake 
Cold Rating: 7/10; a wonderful marriage of almond cake and peppermint!
Lit Rating: 8/10; this is a really lovely scent! Very minty, very cakey, very "pretty" smelling. Josh liked this one, too!
Throw Rating: 6.5/10; I could smell wisps of this around the living room, but it wasn't as strong there as it was in the bedroom. Overall, it was a medium-slightly high scent throw.
Overall Rating: 7/10; memories of my grandma's peppermint angel food cake. Unfortunate use of a dozen eggs. Kate Smith. Yum!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Review: Candles From The Keeping Room's Country Charm

Sometimes, I think it would be nice to live in the country. With no buildings. No noise. No planes flying overhead every 15 minutes. NO CITY PEOPLE. Then I remembered when Josh and I stayed at the town just outside of Manzanar National Historic Site...let's just say our bumper stickers were not welcome there. ;)
Candles From The Keeping Room's Country Charm...where should I begin my love letter?
Should I start with the spicy intermingling of cinnamon and nutmeg, holding hands through the air with delicacy?
Should I transition to the melange of fruits, including bright oranges, tart apples, and sweet but tangy cranberries?
Should I end with the sweet charm of a gentle country afternoon?
(...I'm sure this is all just in my mind, but this is how I picture the country smelling!)

I love this scent, it's one of my all-time favorites. It's definitely got charm! I started this about 2 hours before we went to sleep at 2 am and still smelled it bout an hour after I woke up around 9 am, so about 7-8 hours.. Carol, please don't EVER get rid of this scent! I will always repurchase this!

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Candles From The Keeping Room's Country Charm
Cold Rating8/10; great blend of spice and apples, with a slight country twang.
Lit Rating9/10; unforgettable and spectacular scent! Legendary, even! Yikes, I am obsessed!
Throw Rating7/10; slightly above average, lingered out into the living room some, but not pervasive there. I was mostly in the bedroom, but could still smell it elsewhere.
Overall Rating: 8/10; Carol has done it again with this fantastically spicy and fruity scent. It is just brilliant. I love it so, so much, this is one of the scents I would but in an 8 oz. bag! So nice!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Shameless Instagram Plug

Good evening, friends!

I wanted to let you know that I have had an Instagram account for quite some time. I try to remember to post photos of what I am currently melting on there, so if you wish to follow me, click the link below and be mah friend!

http://www.instagram.com/lololovesscents

Happy melting, as always! :)

Weekend Wax Review: February 14-17

Hello, friends, another weekend has come and gone. I included Valentine's day in this week's wax review because we did maaaaajor house cleaning on Friday morning and afternoon; my point is that I melted fresh scents all afternoon! It took pretty much all day to clean the condo, but it looks great!
That was the most exciting part of my weekend. How was your weekend, my fine feathered friends? Let's get to the meltin'!
Thursday morning I wanted somethin' sweet. My absolute favorite pink serendipity is from Candles From The Keeping Room. It's so, so good. The pink is strong, the cherry and coconut from the serendipity are prominent, ugh...I am trying to savor my last few tarts! This lasted about 5 hours. On cold sniff, 8/10. While warming, 8.5/10. The throw is about a 7/10, for a total of 8/10. Simply amazing and ALWAYS  repurchase!
Next, we've got cherry vanilla zucchini bread. Tiffany Candles' zucchini blends don't seem to be as moist and salty as other types are. The cherry is strong, but toned down by the bread and the vanilla. Very lovely, and 2 tarts lasted about 6 hours, then I changed out the scent. On cold sniff, 6.5/10. While warming, 7/10. The throw was about a 6.5/10, for a total of 6.5/10! I would repurchase this, and it might even be a good blend with sugar cookies or something.
I thought I'd switch our nighttime scent up a bit to incorporate something tropical. This, unfortunately, was not a good choice. I don't know if you can tell, but this Rosegirls chunk was a decent size, pretty large in fact. I ended up dumping this out after about an hour...I just didn't like it at all. The "paradise" scent was too artificially tropical, and the royal sugar cookie's butteriness did not cut well with that artificiality. On cold sniff, 6/10. While warming, 3/10. The throw was a 5/10, for a total of 4.5/10, rounded slightly down. If you're into weirdly tropical sugar cookie scents, you might enjoy this.
I changed the RG chunk out for Nutmeg Nellie's from CFTKR because I wanted something as far away from tropical cookies as possible. This was a creamy, delicious blend of nutmeg and something else, possibly vanilla? I got a slightly sweet note in this too, like maple. It lasted about 4 hours and then I fell asleep. I woke up and it was still sort of there. On cold sniff, 6/10. While warming, 7/10. The throw was a 6.5/10, for a total of 6.5/10! Very nice! Possibly a repurchase.
Right around 12:00 on Friday afternoon, we started our cleaning expedition. I was burning a candle in the living room (review to come soon) and melted Apple Mango Tango from Tiffany Candles (a Gain laundry type) in the bedroom. This is her old wax blend, but it was so strong. Perfect for cleaning day! On cold sniff, 7/10. While warming, 7.5/10. The throw was a 7.5/10 as well, for a total of 7.5/10. Really great clean scent, lasted about 5 hours! The next two, unfortunately, were not so good...
I had high hopes for this, but The Scented Princess' version of rosemary mint was...weird. It sort of smelled like a perfumey version of Tiffany Candles' Stress Relief. There was a weird herbal note that was slightly medicinal, yet smelled like perfume sometimes. Not a fan. On cold sniff, 5/10. While warming, 4/10. The throw was a 5/10 as well, for a total of 4.5/10, and not a repurchase. I only had this on for 45 minutes, which is a shame because her tarts are so huge that it was a waste.
(*I bought this from Granny's Kountry Candles just for the name, to be honest. It sounded fun and funky. I don't want to make this blog too R-rated (that's what Facebook and Twitter are for, lol!), but I do not partake in any, erm, indulgences, featured in the above scent shot? That's not my scene, plus, I had a bad secondhand experience at a Dave Matthews Band concert with my mom when I was younger (UGH, WORST CONCERT EVER). But, I'm always drawn to weird scent names).
This was a bust, though. It smells like some weird flower mixed with some old perfume. Not as clean as it smells. On cold sniff, 6/10. While warming, 3/10. The throw was a 3.5/10, for a total of 4/10. Ick. Burned this for only 30 minutes before I had to dump it because it was giving me a contact high...I mean headache.
Tiffany Candles' Verbena Bamboo is a new scent from her sampler pack and it was PERFECT for cleaning day. It was fresh, bright, and very strong. On cold sniff, 7/10. While warming, 7.5/10. The throw was a 7/10 as well, for a total of 7/10! Very nice, lasted about 4 hours before I needed to switch it out. I would definitely repurchase this!
The nighttime melt! After a day full of fresh, I needed something soothing. Ten Digit Creations' Honey Almond was the perfect thing. It started out slow, but eventually got to be a decent throw. I melted it 2 hours before we went to be and all through the night. On cold sniff, 6/10. While warming, 6.5/10. The throw was a 5.5/10, for a total of 6/10; this is something I would always repurchase because I love the combination of these two fragrances!
Started Saturday out with a spicy orange scent from Ten Digit Creations. I have been pretty impressed with what I have melted from this company! This was your standard orange clove, very lovely. It lasted 3.5 hours. On cold sniff, 5.5/10. While warming, 6.5/10. The throw was a 6/10, for a total of 6/10! Repurch!
Pomegranate is another new scent from Tiffany Candles' sampler bag. It was a nice, juicy pomegranate scent, and that's all there is to it! It only lasted about 3 hours. On cold sniff, 6/10. While warming, 6.5/10. The throw was a 5.5/10, for a total of 6/10. I might blend this with something if I decide to repurchase it!
After the first two scents, I decided to make it an unintentional fruit-scented day! I did Kiss & Tell, yet another new scent from Tiffany's sampler bag, next! This one is a mix of fruits and greens, and surprisingly, it sort of mixed together to create a perfumey scent. The greens were pretty dominant in my opinion, though there was definitely apple and cranberry every now and then. On cold sniff, 6.5/10. While warming, 6.5/10. The throw was a 5/10, though, for a total of 6/10!
 CFTKR's Pink Flamingo is supposedly a mix of orange, cherry, and a touch of vanilla...all I got was margarita mix! I swear there was an effervescent note in this. It was nice. On cold sniff, 5.5/10. While warming, 6/10. The throw was a 5.5/10 as well, for a total of 5.5/10. This lasted about 2 hours and then I needed something new. It was forgettable, and I won't repurchase it.
Moved onto Strawberry Noel from CFTKR next, and this one smelled like straight crunch berries! Very nice! On cold sniff, 7/10. While warming, 6.5/10. The throw was a 6/10, for a total of 6.5/10! It lasted about 3 hours. I would probably repurchase this!
I haven't melted a ton of Front Porch lately, but I dug around my stash to find something fruity from them. I felt the need to melt their stuff all of a sudden. I had a single in banana cream pie, and boy, was it spot on! There was banana, cream, pie crust...it was really nice, but the banana was more of an artificial, Runts candy type of scent. I loved it; I'm not a banana type of gal, and Josh isn't a fan of banana scents either, but he didn't hate it. On cold sniff, 7/10, super strong. While warming, 7.5/10. The throw was a 7.5/10 as well, for a surprisingly high total of 7.5/10; that being said, I don't know if I could melt this all the time, so I don't know about repurchasing it.
People seem to love lavender scents from Sniff My Tarts. I wanted something completely opposite from the fruit overload we had all day, so I melted lavender coconut milk from SMT. I put this in about 9:00 at night and it lingered into the next morning. It was really nice, toned down lavender scent. Not much coconut, but definitely "milky" (not sour, but smoothly milky, if that makes sense). On cold sniff, 6.5/10. The warm throw is a 7.5/10. The throw is a 6.5/10 as well, for a total of 7/10, slightly rounded up. Definitely a repurchase!
This morning, I was craving something tooth-aching-ly sweet, so I pulled out Sniff My Tarts' Ice Cream Scoop Vanilla Waffle Cone. GOOD DECISION. I wanted ice cream all day after this, lol. It smelled really, really good! It was super creamy, and very sugary! On cold sniff, 7/10. While warming, 7/10. The throw was a 6/10, for a total of 6.5/10. I melted this one about 4.5 hours, and I will definitely consider repurchasing it.
Immediately after the sugary waffle cone ice cream, I wanted to smell something spicy to cut the sweet in the air. Tiffany Candles' Pumpkin Patch was nice, too! Super silky pumpkin and a slight hint of spice. On cold sniff, 5/10. While warming, 6/10. The throw was a 5.5/10, not too strong, for a total of 5.5/10. I liked it and think it will be nice in her new blend. This lasted 3.5 hours.
I had one cube of The Bathing Garden's Oatmeal, Milk & Honey melting for 2 hours before I had to dump it out. This is not the day for this kind of scent, apparently, even though it smelled good, I got a huge headache (not from it, but from life being a pain in the ass). I will try it again another time since it smells amazing. On cold sniff, 7/10. While warming, 7/10. The throw is a 7/10 as well, for a total of 7/10 across the board.

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That's where I'm at now, deciding what to melt with a headache. What did you melt this weekend?
Have a great week, y'all!