Get lost in an Enchanted Forest

Hello 2013! I'm sure you've made all kinds of resolutions (I know I've got a whole list to get through!) and I thought perhaps, like me, one of your resolutions is to do a bit of traveling. I say, why not start now with Enchanted Forest, the new scent from The Vagabond Prince, and our debut fragrance review of 2013.

Enchanted Forest transports you to a deep, dark European forest where the floor of this treed maze is engulfed with blackcurrants: the two aspects of this fragrance that embrace you from the start.

As the scent warms green and woody aspects, which mingle with the sweetness of the black currant, emerge. Though, the enjoyment of these notes is interrupted by animalic castoreum tones. Unfortunately these notes become all too evident for my liking. (Though, to be fair, I'm smelling this on a smelling strip - perhaps on the skin the castoreum wouldn't be so prevalent).

Suddenly the phone rings and I'm pulled away from this black currant heaven; by the time I return to the smelling strip, the dry down greets me. There are pine needles a plenty whose notes tingle the nose, the sweet black currant tones still cling on at the back, and yet there is also a soft undertone of cedar which intermingles with the rest and brings a distinct woodiness to the fragrance.

An Enchanted Forest it is indeed, which the perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour has done well to capture.

Intrigued? You can find out more about The Vagabond Prince Perfume House and their debut fragrance at Fragrantica.

Are you one of the lucky winners of a sample from Fragrantica? Do you love it, do you hate it? Make sure to leave a comment below!

Purbliss: Killer Kandles

This week we're experiencing pure bliss!  Wait a second, I spelled that wrong!  We're experiencing PurBliss, all natural soy wax candles.  Purbliss is a family run business out of California.  Their candles are sustainable and eco friendly, which is great news for the environment!  I've been lucky enough to receive some samples of two of their ranges and today we're focusing on PurBliss's Killer Kandle range because, as I've just learned, it's being phased out!  So, since they'll only be around a short while longer, let's get started.

First up we've got Cherry Bomb, which smells exactly how you'd expect!  Taking the lid off of the candle tin I'm met with a sweet explosion of cherry candy.  Delish!  The scent is strong and I have to fight to keep myself from tasting it since it smells so yummy.  In use, the scent is delicate and soft, but still sweet cherry candy.  It is a flavorsome aroma, but, truthfully, the hot throw could be stronger!

Next we've got Desert Passion.  It's got a great cold throw strength of dry cedarwood and warm, yet fresh, aromatic pine, which is lifted by lemon top notes.  This guy's got a lot going on in its earthy aromas!  In use, the fragrance calms into a light citrus scent, gently warmed by its aromatic-woody dimensions.  It is a sophisticated fragrance with a great cold throw, but could definitely be a bit more robust in use.

Finally, Killer Kandle number three: Lemon Drop Pop.  The strength of this candle's cold throw is, yet again, fantastic!  It fills the nose with lemon drop (go figure!) sweetness, pledge cleanliness and herbal warmth.  It isn't as tasty smelling as Cherry Bomb, but I'm not bothered by that as the scent is much more dynamic overall.  In use, the bouquet is very linear and fills the room with a pleasant and gentle citral aroma.  Like with the others, its hot throw could also benefit from a tad more strength!

All in all these candles have great scents with fabulous cold throws that draw you in, yet (as noted) the hot throw could offer a little bit more to keep you coming back!

Have you tried these scents?  Love them, hate them?  Make sure to leave a comment below!

Yankee Candle Summer Love: Loves Me Lots

The beach is calling and so is romance!  Yesterday our Summer Love began with First Kiss.  It was pretty good for a First Kiss, but there have definitely been better ones!

Today we continue our search for summer romance (although, technically, we can very easily find it at a Yankee shop and in the form of their latest Limited Edition range Summer Love).  Shall we see if he Loves Me Lots?

Loves Me Lots is a completely different from First Kiss.  It's cold throw belies strong notes of sweet citrus, fresh marine, and soft aromatics.  These aromas blend to create an enticing scent which made me anxious to check out its hot throw.

In use the fragrance does not disappoint, if anything it gets better.  The citrus and aromatic characteristics are ever present, but the notes that jump to take the lead are lusciously marine.  Wow - it's a fabulous clean and fresh fragrance and I want more!  I wonder if I could convince Yankee to make this a permanent scent in one of their standard ranges?

So, I think I will pass on First Kiss and I definitely enjoy Loves Me Lots, but will it be my True Crush?  Find out in tomorrow's post!

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

Nevermind that it's October - Christmas is here! (otherwise known as: Yankee Candle: Three New Holiday Fragrances)

Unbelievable.  I just decided on what air freshener to fragrance my home with this Fall and then I receive the news that Yankee Candle has their Holiday Fragrances out.  No rest for the weary, I tell you!

Don't worry, this holiday season Yankee Candle has stocked their regular favorites:

But they have also launched three new variants, and I've got my hands on them for your smelling pleasure.

Let's begin with Cherries on Snow.  Firstly, the variant name.  Truthfully, and I don't know about you, but I don't associate cherries with winter and I have definitely never seen them on snow.  Maybe 'Clementines & Snow', or 'Winter Pomegranate' would have been more appropriate - what do you think?  Please, comment below!  Anyway, let's put Yankee Candle's attempt to creatively expand their range to the side, and look at the fragrance.

Remember me?

When I picked this up in the store it smelled so wonderfully of sweet cherry candy, but when I unwrapped the candle at home to properly assess the cold throw I was disappointed.  It smelled exactly like a Strawberry Shortcake Doll - a light sweet berry scent mixed with plastic.  Disappointingly, yet unsurprisingly at the same time, the hot throw was not very impressive either.  The Strawberry Shortcake Doll smell pervaded my testing area with no traces of the sweet cherry candy scent that I experienced in the store.  Thumbs down on this one.

Mountain Berry is next up and thankfully this one wasn't a let down.  The cold throw is a menthol-y evergreen invoking scent that pleasantly tingles the nose with its freshness.  It didn't change much in hot throw either.  The scent was still strong and evergreen, but had lost the hints of menthol that were in the cold throw.  Very pleasant.  One last thought, and I am not sure if many of you will know this association, but this fragrance immediately reminded me of the Original Spring Green variant of Vitabath from the 1980s (a favorite around my grandparents' house).

The last new launch from Yankee Candle for this holiday season is Christmas Rose.  Out of the three scents this had the strongest and most overbearing cold throw.  Like the Mountain Berries, nothing much changed at all with the hot throw.  It was still strong, overbearing and a linear rose scent.  If you like roses, you shouldn't miss out on this one!

So, there you go.  Yankee Candle's three new launches for this holiday season.  And just in time, too - I mean, it's nearly November for goodness sake!