Enticed by Yankee Candle fall scents

Leaves are turning, days are crisp, jackets and scarves are making their appearance, and, of course, festive fall scents abound! Like in years past (make sure to check out 2011 and 2012) Yankee Candle has launched a whole array of new scents for the season. Since we're already halfway through fall and there's not much time left before the holidays, below are three of the most interesting 2013 autumnal launches from Yankee Candle.

1. The most comforting
Cozy Sweater is indeed the coziest of the scents in Yankee's fall offerings. That said, it's not the coziest because it is the warm floral-musk-patchouli scent that Yankee claims it to be, but because its scent is floral and powdery with the tiniest bit of patchouli for warmth. It's like a big hug from grandma. The cold throw of this candle is amazing. It is pleasant and strong, but not overbearing (kind of like grandma). It's a mix of soft florals, though mostly rose, and powder. The hot throw produces a much gentler scent which is mostly powder and rose, with a little bit of waxy-base emerging. Despite this flaw, the rose and powder notes prevail and the candle manages to conjure memories of kind words, comforting hugs, and being surrounded by grandma's love and warmth.

2. The most delectable
Fall is full of tasty treats and Yankee's Salted Caramel candle is one of them! While the cold throw is not the strongest, it is still buttery, caramel-y, and toffee-like: just one deep smell and you can virtually feel the caramel getting stuck in your teeth. Delish! What's more, the hot throw does not disappoint. The soft, sweet gourmand scent fills the evaluation room with its delectable notes and though it's more of a maple syrup-y scent in use (no caramel or salt here), it's tasty all the same!

3. The most peculiar
The third most interesting fall scent from Yankee Candle is Pumpkin Wreath, mainly for being the most unusual of the six new scents in Yankee's fall line up. The cold throw is strong, but confusing: pastry-popcorn gourmand mixed with hot cinnamon (imagine a candy (or whisky) fire ball), spicy clove, woody-dryness. It's all over the place, but in fact, this is what it's supposed to be. Here is the fragrance description on the Yankee Candle website: oakwood, cinnamon bark, and clove! The hot throw experience isn't as confusing. The mixture of gourmand-spice-wood comes through warm, if a little waxy, and unfortunately (or fortunately?!) very weak. While it may not be one you'd want to scent your home with, for once it's a candle which matches its description!

There you have it! Three new scents for your fall wardrobe and in the nick of time - I've just received Yankee's holiday catalog! Guess I'd better get smelling before Christmas is upon us!

If you've enjoyed any of these three scents, or any other new candle launches this fall, make sure to leave a comment below!

Yankee Candle Fall 2012: Apple Pumpkin

Have you ever eaten an Apple Cinnamon Nutri Grain bar?  If so, then you can perfectly imagine the aroma of the new Apple Pumpkin variant from Yankee Candle's Fall 2012 candle range.  It is an instantly recognizable apple-cinnamon-crumble-y-pie crust scent.  It's pleasant,  but disturbingly 'foody'.  Nutri Grains are definitely tasty, but to be honest, I'm not quite sure I'd want my home smelling of 'em!

With trepidation I wondered, would the foodiness aspect of the fragrance be present in use?  I had to find out, so I hurried to my evaluation area and anxiously lit the candle.

Sadly, the strong notes that are easily perceived in Apple Pumpkin's cold throw are all but missing in the hot throw!  Yes, the disliked foody-Nutri-Grain aspects have disappeared to leave a soft apple-cinnamon scent behind, but the fragrance itself is completely unexciting and boringly status quo.  Where is the pumpkin?  Where is the clove and ginger the website claims is in there?!  What a (wholly unsurprising) bummer that Apple Pumpkin isn't as dynamic as the marketing portrays it to be!

Oh well...despite the disappointment in what Apple Pumpkin could have been, at least it is an overall decent apple-cinnamon scent!

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

New Spring Candles from Bath & Body Works

We're off to the tropics today people!  I visited my local BBW recently and quickly became trapped inside forever, sniffing away at their hundreds (or what seemed like hundreds!) of re-launched and newly launched candles.  


There's Coco Lobo, Jungle Kiss, White Palm (which I am told is the best seller so far), Mango Beachwood ... and the list goes on and on !  You can check out the full product line here.  There was no way I was going to be able to evaluate all eighteen of the tropics candle line, so I settled on the one that I thought smelled the most interesting, even if it was a relaunch from last year: Tropical Spice.

When I was in the store I couldn't believe the cold throw the candle had!  Was it really a mix of coconut and vanilla and a huge slug of CINNAMON?  I had to get it home to check it out.  Once I did, though, and my nose cleared from smelling the many different variants in the store, I realized I was wrong!

My nose had been polluted by all of the other scents wafting around me!  Home and in a fragrantless environment, the cold throw showed its true colors.  Vanilla and cinnamon.  No coconut whatsoever, that must've been from another candle.  Talk about disappointing!  Five bucks says they've just taken one of their seasonal holiday scents and reconceptualized it (new wax color, new name, new label, old scent).  Oh well and ho-hum, life goes on!

I still pursued the smelling of the candle, even though I was disappointed by the uninteresting cold throw of vanilla, cinnamon and a tiny bit of sweet-bubble gum at the back (which keeps it from smelling Christmas-y).

There isn't too much to report on the hot throw.  It was a vanilla-cinnamon scent that struggled to over power the scent of wax when burned for over an hour.  Common and boring - I was so wrong when I picked it up in the store!  Such is life, I guess, good thing I was less disappointed with the other candle I bought.

Launched at the same time as the tropical line is BBW's more floral themed line of candles.  These variants include Lilac Blossom, Flower Shop, First Bloom, Spring and a few others.  I picked up Green Grass, which is a new launch this season.

The cold throw is a very green fragrance with hints of dry grass under a fresh watery cucumber with aspects of clean white floral.  Very pleasant indeed.  The hot throw is linear and scented the room with clean, bright cucumber and grassy-green scents.  This candle was definitely better formulated than the Tropical Spice, as was proven by its superior hot throw.

Assessment? Green Grass is definitely preferred to Tropical Spice, but if neither take your fancy, don't worry - there is no need to decide between these two!  There are still twenty-three other newly launched/re-launched candles to choose from!  Go get smelling!

Chateau Lorraine - would you like some wine with your skin care?

This past weekend while swanning around L.A. and admiring all the ridiculously expensive cars cruising the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway for all those not in the know), I dropped by the Rosenthal Malibu Tasting Room to delight in some local wine with friends.

I could go on about all the wonderful aromas and the dynamic flavors of wine we sampled, but I'm not going to.  While pausing to let my palette rest between tastings I found a free sample of body lotion.  Not one to pass up introductions to new products, I snagged one, stuck it in my bag and promptly forgot about it until I arrived back home.

At the time I picked up the lotion, I thought it was odd that a wine tasting room would have personal care samples, but once I read a little bit about the product it all made sense.

Chateau Lorraine Skin Care was created by father and son team, Ron and Chris Lewis, owners of a private label manufacturing company.  They were inspired to create their own line of products based on - you guessed it - the wine grape.  They found that wine grape extracts have a potent amount of antioxidant and anti-aging properties, which make it the perfect ingredient for a luxurious skin care range.  You can learn more about the product range, ingredients and technology of Chateau Lorraine Skin Care here.

As for me, I'm just interested in the scent of my free sample - Chateau Lorraine: Private Reserve, Antioxidant Body Lotion.  The description states that there are grape seed and blackcurrant oils in the formula: from this I infer that the scent will be fruity and sweet, but the deep purple packaging leads me to believe that this could be a heavy, possibly oriental scent.  What will it be?

Neither!  Intriguingly the scent opens with delicate gourmand hints of cream overlaid with cinnamon.  In use it develops into a light scent of green grape skin, but unfortunately as the lotion absorbs into my hands and arms the subtle scent nearly disappears and becomes mingled with hints of base, as in the formula's chemical base, not rich, fragrant dry down notes.  Although a bit base-y in scent, due to the subtlety of the fragrance my skin wasn't left smelling strong or horrible.  There is no doubt that this lotion's scent would easily sit silently under whatever perfume you wear.

My assessment?  I won't be purchasing this product, but the use of the wine grape and other grape related ingredients to create an antioxidant and anti-aging product is notable and unique, as is their distinctive way of reaching their target market through leaving samples in wine tasting rooms!

News Alert! New Fall Launch from Nest Fragrances

For her new fragrance Laura Slatkin, founder and CEO of Nest Fragrances, combines the enticing Tahitian vanilla bean with the gourmand scents of white chocolate, cinnamon, caramel and ... white rum.

Tahiti Vanille: A tasty cocktail or a luxurious home fragrance?  You be the judge - the 8.1oz, $32 candle will be available later this month at specialty stores nationwide.  For specific locations, visit Nest Fragrances.

Want to know more?  Read the full press release here.