Yankee Candle Summer Love: True Crush

Summer isn't close to being over (thank god!), but our foray into Yankee Candle's Summer Love Limited Edition summer range is.  I don't know if I should be upset about this or not; it's like in Grease at the end of the summer when Danny and Sandy have to say goodbye.  They're sad to part ways, but yet ready for the summer to be over and for a new adventure to begin.  Oh, the complexities of life!

Anyway, we needn't worry about that today!  Instead, let's see if our summer love is a True Crush. 

When I opened the yellow hued candle I was instantly hit with a wall of fragrance.  Robust; citrus; aromatic; citronella; limoncello.  There is a lot going on with this cold throw and I have to admit that it isn't very pleasing.  The scent is almost like a lemon drop candy gone very wrong.  I'm sure you're not surprised to know that I didn't have high hopes for its hot throw.

But I can't always be right!  When I went into my testing room to see how True Crush fared in use I found something quite unexpected.  The character of the fragrance hadn't completely changed, but a soft and sweet scent pervaded throughout the space.  The 'lemon drop gone wrong' notes of the cold throw morphed to become something quite citrus-y sweet.  It is very enjoyable indeed.

Since it's the weekend (and if you have a husband that likes to shop on a Sunday like mine), take a gander around a Yankee Candle store and investigate the three variants in the Summer Love range: First Kiss, Loves Me Lots, and True Crush.  But remember, if you smell True Crush and think 'ew, gross',  don't be put off!  Purchase that candle and give it a chance.  You'll be pleasantly surprised at what Summer Love's True Crush will turn into!

Have you tried this scent?  Do you love it, do you hate it?  Make sure to leave a comment below!

The Loveliness of Lily Flame

The rolling English countryside

Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

Admittedly, and much to my husband's dismay, I am a lover of quaint shops that sell trinkets and decorative items.  It was in one of these shops that I happened upon Lily Flame for the first time, and where I quickly became a fan of their highly fragrant candles.

Lily Flame is a locally owned British company that manufactures hand made candles, as well as reed diffusers and room sprays.  On their website they picturesquely describe that "All our products are made by hand in the heart of the Somerset countryside."  Lovely - you can just see the rolling green hills.

Their scents are strong and their packaging is stylish.  Their labels are quite posh and I would have to agree that they "give that touchy feely extra specialness".  Lily Flame really hits all the marks for a home fragrance lover!

Recently I picked up their variant Lavender + Lime.  Lavender is a popular, reliable scent that consistently makes sales in the air freshener and personal care categories.  In recent years brands have tried to capitalize on this by expanding on the lavender concept.  For example:

There is Yankee Candle's Lavender Vanilla, BBW's Apple Lavender, Kiss My Face's Lavender & Lily and Archipelago's Lavender Spice.  In that selection there is a gourmand, a fruity, a floral, and a spicy option.  And how can we forget the citrus option - Lily Flame's Lavender + Lime?

Lily Flame's Lavender + Lime hits with a robust scent of fizzy-aldehydic sweet lemon drop candy.  Behind it sits the lavender, which adds an agrestic dynamic to the fragrance.  As previously stated the cold throw of Lily Flame candles is intensely strong, and this character holds true for the Lavender + Lime variant.

In use, the lavender notes come to the front and mix well with the sweet lemon drop citral notes.  This creates a very equally combined lavender and lemon (sorry, there really is no lime in there!) scent.  One final comment is that the fragrance strength in the hot throw is nowhere near as strong as in the cold throw.

I'm not sure if this is just an issue with the Lavender + Lime variant, but unfortunately I can't run to the nearest store to test other scents!  From the looks of it Lily Flame hasn't reached the shores of the United States yet!  (but are of course online to buy from the UK Lily Flame website ... and doesn't Whispered Wish sound like an intriguing scent?!)

Method Limited Editions

To tell you the truth, I am not the biggest Method user out there.  Actually, I don't think that I have ever used Method before, which is why I thought it was high time to do so.

Supposedly, 'sometimes change is nice', which is why Method launched a limited edition range in September.  The new variants include: 

Juicy Pear, Clementine, Waterfall and Lemon Mint  

Although I was tempted by the Juicy Pear, the variant I got my hands on is the Lemon Mint.  Lemon mixed with mint?  Now, that sounds interesting.

Sadly, it wasn't.  Neat, the fragrance is very functional, smelling first of sweet lemon drops and then alcohol.  There is no scent of mint, which is a disappointment.  Maybe in dilute?

Nope, not there either.  In use, it is a very earthy, agrestic lemon scent with spikes of menthol (which, although obtained from mint oil, it is a very different scent from mint!).  In addition, the earthy-agrestic notes nearly overwhelm the lemon making it quite a dirty scent.

I'm not overly enthralled with the fragrance of this hand soap, but maybe I should have known that this 'naturally derived formula' was going to smell well, natural!