Post by stardustgirl on Sept 29, 2013 14:59:48 GMT -5
Argh. Php boards can misbehave with my computer and I was nearly through with formatting this so it would look pretty, when I hit "return" to get a line break and it gave me a new blank page and killed this one. aAAAAUGH! So, here's the un-pretty review:
I didn't do a review for my last order, though I meant to (OOPS!! maybe I can later if I remember which ones I got), but I'm taking a break from the Invasion Of The Tomatoes (if you garden or do canning that will make sense) to do one for this order. It even came a day early!!
Christmas Scents:
Rocky Mountain Christmas - yep, one of the new October scents. This scent has long been a fave of mine but my old source dried up and my stash was dwindling. I asked Victoria about it, and she came through (she's awesome like that). If you're familiar with other versions of RMC, this one has a bit more spruce and a hint of clove as compared to my old one which had more pine/menthol to it. In any case, it's an excellent holiday scent and captures well the combo of greenery and warmth without super-hot cinnamon (I do love cinnamon, but in a small room it takes over). If you're seeking a traditional warm cozy winter scent, this should be at the top of your list. To compare to other CBV tree scents, it's much warmer than Sugared Spruce alone (it's not sweet at all), it doesn't have the strong pine of Piney Forest, but does seem to have maybe a hint of the woody note of that one, and is nothing like Christmas Tree, which is basically Serious Pine In A Bottle. There are no noticeable fruit notes, so it differs from a large number of her Christmas scents in that way. I have tried out ALL of the CBV Christmas scents up to now, and while she has a lot of them, this one is different than the others. The closest one I can think of is Victorian Christmas, but this is sweeter and greener than that.
Snow Taffy - Smells like a vanilla cake on steroids! That's a compliment because while I love vanilla cake scents, they tend to be pretty shy. The description mentions lemon and strawberry notes, and while I cannot pick those out individually, the overall effect reminds me of sniffing a bottle of Creme Bouquet (a baking flavoring), which contains some subtle, indefinable citrus. If you walked into a major shall-not-be-named bath stuff retailer in a mall, you might smell something like this overall (not one specific scent).
Hot Toddy - Strong on the crisp Macintosh Apple and light on the spice. I want to compare this to Apple Cider but don't have that on hand. From my notes, I think that they may be similar but the apple notes are different and there is a tiny hint of orange in this, but it is nowhere near as mixed-fruity as Holiday Wassail. If you love that Macintosh Apple scent, make sure to check this one out.
Fall / Halloween scents:
Cider Webb - If you like cider-y scents but can't deal with strong spice, this one is good. The Sugared Corn Pudding mellows it out a lot, and it's like sitting down with a mug of cider and a big gooey dessert with the scents mingling right under your nose.
Autumn Brittle - Fruity! It's described as Almond, Pumpkin, Cranberry and Honey, but my nose says it's more Cranberry, Almond, Honey, Pumpkin. It smells sweet but not sugary and will make a nice break from fall spicy notes without being summery.
Sleepy Hollow - Jandre's CAS is another winner! Warm and outdoorsy, lemon / pepper / woodsy with a touch of spice. The name is perfect too.
Trick Or Treat - I smell more caramel from the bottom of the shot and more buttercream from the top - it smells yummy, like caramel corn with icing drizzled on it.
Butternut Pumpkin - Mmmmm pumpkin! I love pumpkin scents. I have literally tried all the CBV pumpkins. This smells just like the home-baked pumpkin scone I ate for breakfast this morning. If you search online for "Starbuck's pumpkin scone recipe", and bake them, you will know just what this smells like.
I Put A Smell On You - OMG. So Good. So, so good. There's something in there that reminds me of Bella Swan (likely the Love Potion No. 9 because I feel the same way about that one). It's like picking notes from all my crack-habit-type scents and putting them into one scent shot. I want to simultaneously eat this and wear it, while melting the scent shot. It doesn't smell Fall or Halloween-y at all, but the name sounded spooky and it's not bakery, so here it is.
Food & Bakery:
Reese's Banana Nut Bread - the first thing I melted from my last order, and had to re-order IMMEDIATELY, thus spawning this whole September order. I got it in a slice-some-scent, the bakery loaf style with little gingerbread men on it. When I opened the box, my dog Jack perked up and gave it several long, interested sniffs. This is a warm, cozy, bakery yummy scent that is not *too* spicy - just enough to make it tasty. If you are selling your house, melt this.
Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal - Apple is another scent I've sampled extensively from CBV. This one smells like the warmed baked apple in Cinnamon Apple Butter and lots of buttery notes, almost like apple pie filling just without the crust.
Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookie - I notice the butterscotch note most, and can't wait to smell this one when melted. It seems like one of those scents that really shines when it's warm (kind of like Sugar Cookie).
Almond Pastry - Cherry Almond (with emphasis on the cherry, to my nose). It reminds me of the dearly departed Aveda Cherry Almond Bark conditioner, the discontinuation of which still irks me to this day. Now it seems I can have the scent but I don't see conditioning my hair with candle wax anytime soon.
Cherries N Chestnuts - It's similar to a cherry / almond scent but the nut note is darker, roasted / baked aspect to it. If you want a winter fruity scent, this would be great.
Gingersnaps - Not like the cookie, this is a combo of Gingerbread and Bath Time With Pooh (which I've yet to smell solo… I know! I know! I'm the only person!) It doesn't smell bakery at all to me, it seems more… almost earthy. And it has That Note. I don't know what That Note is, but there seems to be one common note in all those shall-not-be-named retailer scents, and I notice it in this too. It's neither good nor bad… I just notice it.
Apricot Crumb Cake - This is another Pouring Pot fave I've not tried yet. It smells delicious! Super juicy apricot and a bit of fluffy cake.
Country Coffee Cake - should be Coffee Country Cake because the coffee note dominates, but the cinnamony / cake is definitely there. I like coffee scents, so that's not a problem for me. :-) It's like walking into a coffee shop.
White Chocolate Caramel Cake - Yummy combo, I smell the shortbread so this doesn't seem too "cake-ish" but that doesn't detract from the yum factor.
Fruit Loops Cupcake - Crack-scent alert! Crack-scent alert!! Fruit Loops + Pink Cupcake = OMGYEAH!!! Seriously, that's a favorite if you like sweet scents like those. Also, Fruit Loops + Pink Sugar Cookie = crack-scent alert as well, but I don't think that's an official scent. Not responsible for sugar coma if you do that combo.
Chocolate Zucchini Bread - Deep, dark, rich, bakery scent that makes for an excellent chilly weather warmer-upper in your melter.
Kettle Corn - Like walking into a popcorn store, or around that booth at the fair. I'm going to make my house smell like a circus (we already have clowns, lol!)
Strawberry Kettle Corn - Technically I ordered this last time but as soon as I melted it I had an "OMG NEED MORE NOW" moment and so, reordered it. The combo of sweet (but not overpoweringly so) strawberry and the salty kettle corn is amazeballs. If you like Under the Big Top, Three Ring Circus and Ringmaster, this one fits in with them. In fact… I'll do that now since I have the other three here:
**Impromptu strawberry comparison**
Ringmaster - the strawberriest of them all, sweet, fruity,juicy
Under The Big Top - the warm praline gives this a kind of bakery slant, but if you compare it to Strawberry Cookie, you can definitely tell one is a cookie and the other is nutty. Strawberry Kettle Corn has a hint of that but is much saltier.
Three Ring Circus - I notice the Blue Sugar in this one, so for all the combos of cotton candy and strawberry looking similar on paper, they're all quite different when you smell them.
Strawberry is probably the most either I love-it or hate-it scent for me from CBV. I *love* Strawberry Kettle Corn, Three Ring Circus, Under The Big Top and Ringmaster. I also really like Strawberry Jam (pretty much the most straight-up strawberry scent), but Strawberry Shortcake and Strawberry Banana Custard were absolutely not my cup of tea. At all. I'm not even halfway through her strawberry scents, so the big comparison hasn't happened yet. I'm most curious about Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam since I like Strawberry Kettle Corn and Under The Big Top so much. Without smelling it, I'd guess it is somewhere between the two in the nutty/salty area. Anyone want to chime in?
Pomegranatepalooza
Pomegranate and Cider - warm, Fall scent, more of a spiced/baked type cider note
Pomegranate and Apple - Tart apple note - maybe green apples, or a combo of green and red. Juicy and sweet, more summery than the cider version
Pomegranate and Oak - was on my order but she's temporarily out, so comparisons will have to wait a bit
Who Gives A Fig?
After really liking Melsea, I decided to try more fig scents. I'd mostly ignored them until now just because so many other things were attractive.
Me Tarzan, You Jane - I've not smelled the scent this is a dupe of, so I have no idea how that stacks up. It's very warm and kind of a sweet/earthy mix.
Fig Lychee - Strong, very sugary sweet almost like Fig Fruit Loops, lol! I've not smelled lychee on its own, so am at a loss for a more knowledgable description.
Mediterranean Fig - A very pretty, earthy scent. I swear I've smelled this in some other CBV scents because it seems familiar.
And Finally...
Lotus Blossom - sweet, light floral, seems like it will have a strong throw. Not perfumey or sharp.
That's it for the September Review!
I didn't do a review for my last order, though I meant to (OOPS!! maybe I can later if I remember which ones I got), but I'm taking a break from the Invasion Of The Tomatoes (if you garden or do canning that will make sense) to do one for this order. It even came a day early!!
Christmas Scents:
Rocky Mountain Christmas - yep, one of the new October scents. This scent has long been a fave of mine but my old source dried up and my stash was dwindling. I asked Victoria about it, and she came through (she's awesome like that). If you're familiar with other versions of RMC, this one has a bit more spruce and a hint of clove as compared to my old one which had more pine/menthol to it. In any case, it's an excellent holiday scent and captures well the combo of greenery and warmth without super-hot cinnamon (I do love cinnamon, but in a small room it takes over). If you're seeking a traditional warm cozy winter scent, this should be at the top of your list. To compare to other CBV tree scents, it's much warmer than Sugared Spruce alone (it's not sweet at all), it doesn't have the strong pine of Piney Forest, but does seem to have maybe a hint of the woody note of that one, and is nothing like Christmas Tree, which is basically Serious Pine In A Bottle. There are no noticeable fruit notes, so it differs from a large number of her Christmas scents in that way. I have tried out ALL of the CBV Christmas scents up to now, and while she has a lot of them, this one is different than the others. The closest one I can think of is Victorian Christmas, but this is sweeter and greener than that.
Snow Taffy - Smells like a vanilla cake on steroids! That's a compliment because while I love vanilla cake scents, they tend to be pretty shy. The description mentions lemon and strawberry notes, and while I cannot pick those out individually, the overall effect reminds me of sniffing a bottle of Creme Bouquet (a baking flavoring), which contains some subtle, indefinable citrus. If you walked into a major shall-not-be-named bath stuff retailer in a mall, you might smell something like this overall (not one specific scent).
Hot Toddy - Strong on the crisp Macintosh Apple and light on the spice. I want to compare this to Apple Cider but don't have that on hand. From my notes, I think that they may be similar but the apple notes are different and there is a tiny hint of orange in this, but it is nowhere near as mixed-fruity as Holiday Wassail. If you love that Macintosh Apple scent, make sure to check this one out.
Fall / Halloween scents:
Cider Webb - If you like cider-y scents but can't deal with strong spice, this one is good. The Sugared Corn Pudding mellows it out a lot, and it's like sitting down with a mug of cider and a big gooey dessert with the scents mingling right under your nose.
Autumn Brittle - Fruity! It's described as Almond, Pumpkin, Cranberry and Honey, but my nose says it's more Cranberry, Almond, Honey, Pumpkin. It smells sweet but not sugary and will make a nice break from fall spicy notes without being summery.
Sleepy Hollow - Jandre's CAS is another winner! Warm and outdoorsy, lemon / pepper / woodsy with a touch of spice. The name is perfect too.
Trick Or Treat - I smell more caramel from the bottom of the shot and more buttercream from the top - it smells yummy, like caramel corn with icing drizzled on it.
Butternut Pumpkin - Mmmmm pumpkin! I love pumpkin scents. I have literally tried all the CBV pumpkins. This smells just like the home-baked pumpkin scone I ate for breakfast this morning. If you search online for "Starbuck's pumpkin scone recipe", and bake them, you will know just what this smells like.
I Put A Smell On You - OMG. So Good. So, so good. There's something in there that reminds me of Bella Swan (likely the Love Potion No. 9 because I feel the same way about that one). It's like picking notes from all my crack-habit-type scents and putting them into one scent shot. I want to simultaneously eat this and wear it, while melting the scent shot. It doesn't smell Fall or Halloween-y at all, but the name sounded spooky and it's not bakery, so here it is.
Food & Bakery:
Reese's Banana Nut Bread - the first thing I melted from my last order, and had to re-order IMMEDIATELY, thus spawning this whole September order. I got it in a slice-some-scent, the bakery loaf style with little gingerbread men on it. When I opened the box, my dog Jack perked up and gave it several long, interested sniffs. This is a warm, cozy, bakery yummy scent that is not *too* spicy - just enough to make it tasty. If you are selling your house, melt this.
Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal - Apple is another scent I've sampled extensively from CBV. This one smells like the warmed baked apple in Cinnamon Apple Butter and lots of buttery notes, almost like apple pie filling just without the crust.
Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookie - I notice the butterscotch note most, and can't wait to smell this one when melted. It seems like one of those scents that really shines when it's warm (kind of like Sugar Cookie).
Almond Pastry - Cherry Almond (with emphasis on the cherry, to my nose). It reminds me of the dearly departed Aveda Cherry Almond Bark conditioner, the discontinuation of which still irks me to this day. Now it seems I can have the scent but I don't see conditioning my hair with candle wax anytime soon.
Cherries N Chestnuts - It's similar to a cherry / almond scent but the nut note is darker, roasted / baked aspect to it. If you want a winter fruity scent, this would be great.
Gingersnaps - Not like the cookie, this is a combo of Gingerbread and Bath Time With Pooh (which I've yet to smell solo… I know! I know! I'm the only person!) It doesn't smell bakery at all to me, it seems more… almost earthy. And it has That Note. I don't know what That Note is, but there seems to be one common note in all those shall-not-be-named retailer scents, and I notice it in this too. It's neither good nor bad… I just notice it.
Apricot Crumb Cake - This is another Pouring Pot fave I've not tried yet. It smells delicious! Super juicy apricot and a bit of fluffy cake.
Country Coffee Cake - should be Coffee Country Cake because the coffee note dominates, but the cinnamony / cake is definitely there. I like coffee scents, so that's not a problem for me. :-) It's like walking into a coffee shop.
White Chocolate Caramel Cake - Yummy combo, I smell the shortbread so this doesn't seem too "cake-ish" but that doesn't detract from the yum factor.
Fruit Loops Cupcake - Crack-scent alert! Crack-scent alert!! Fruit Loops + Pink Cupcake = OMGYEAH!!! Seriously, that's a favorite if you like sweet scents like those. Also, Fruit Loops + Pink Sugar Cookie = crack-scent alert as well, but I don't think that's an official scent. Not responsible for sugar coma if you do that combo.
Chocolate Zucchini Bread - Deep, dark, rich, bakery scent that makes for an excellent chilly weather warmer-upper in your melter.
Kettle Corn - Like walking into a popcorn store, or around that booth at the fair. I'm going to make my house smell like a circus (we already have clowns, lol!)
Strawberry Kettle Corn - Technically I ordered this last time but as soon as I melted it I had an "OMG NEED MORE NOW" moment and so, reordered it. The combo of sweet (but not overpoweringly so) strawberry and the salty kettle corn is amazeballs. If you like Under the Big Top, Three Ring Circus and Ringmaster, this one fits in with them. In fact… I'll do that now since I have the other three here:
**Impromptu strawberry comparison**
Ringmaster - the strawberriest of them all, sweet, fruity,juicy
Under The Big Top - the warm praline gives this a kind of bakery slant, but if you compare it to Strawberry Cookie, you can definitely tell one is a cookie and the other is nutty. Strawberry Kettle Corn has a hint of that but is much saltier.
Three Ring Circus - I notice the Blue Sugar in this one, so for all the combos of cotton candy and strawberry looking similar on paper, they're all quite different when you smell them.
Strawberry is probably the most either I love-it or hate-it scent for me from CBV. I *love* Strawberry Kettle Corn, Three Ring Circus, Under The Big Top and Ringmaster. I also really like Strawberry Jam (pretty much the most straight-up strawberry scent), but Strawberry Shortcake and Strawberry Banana Custard were absolutely not my cup of tea. At all. I'm not even halfway through her strawberry scents, so the big comparison hasn't happened yet. I'm most curious about Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam since I like Strawberry Kettle Corn and Under The Big Top so much. Without smelling it, I'd guess it is somewhere between the two in the nutty/salty area. Anyone want to chime in?
Pomegranatepalooza
Pomegranate and Cider - warm, Fall scent, more of a spiced/baked type cider note
Pomegranate and Apple - Tart apple note - maybe green apples, or a combo of green and red. Juicy and sweet, more summery than the cider version
Pomegranate and Oak - was on my order but she's temporarily out, so comparisons will have to wait a bit
Who Gives A Fig?
After really liking Melsea, I decided to try more fig scents. I'd mostly ignored them until now just because so many other things were attractive.
Me Tarzan, You Jane - I've not smelled the scent this is a dupe of, so I have no idea how that stacks up. It's very warm and kind of a sweet/earthy mix.
Fig Lychee - Strong, very sugary sweet almost like Fig Fruit Loops, lol! I've not smelled lychee on its own, so am at a loss for a more knowledgable description.
Mediterranean Fig - A very pretty, earthy scent. I swear I've smelled this in some other CBV scents because it seems familiar.
And Finally...
Lotus Blossom - sweet, light floral, seems like it will have a strong throw. Not perfumey or sharp.
That's it for the September Review!