Yankee Candle's new spring scents

It's the middle of January and spring is in the air! Well, it isn't really, but it is in my house and has been since December. That's when I picked up Yankee Candle's new spring fragrances!

Unfortunately I was only able to buy four out of the five new launches, Waikiki Melon, Paradise Spice, Golden Sands, and Black Coconut, but, nonetheless, don't their names sound like they'll carry you away to some fantastic faraway place?? I've got high hopes for these scents, especially the exotic Black Coconut!

Since Yankee tends to have such great cold throw, I'll start with this aspect of each candle first.

Paradise Spice's aroma is a gentle, sweet coconut, a pina colada type fragrance, that has layers of soft vanilla intertwined with it. There is an undertone to the fragrance which is hard to discern, and mostly makes the candle smell a bit odd. Possibly this is the 'spice' of the aforementioned candle, though it isn't cinnamon or clove like the Yankee website claims it to be, but possibly a bit aromatic in nature.

Next in line is Waikiki Melon. It has a soft, sweet, and water-y cold throw which pleasantly greets the nose. It's almost as if they combined a watermelon flavored jolly rancher with a perfectly ripe and juicy cantaloupe. It is a fresh, yet mellow and comforting, scent that is pleasing overall.

Onto Golden Sands. It has a more sophisticated cold throw than the others, yet is still a gentle scent. It is a clean, light floral with woody warmth. Despite it's serene tones, I wonder how this would smell in use.

Finally! The mysterious Black Coconut. It's cold throw is intense from first whiff - almost like the bartender on the beach has handed me a drink that's been made too strong! It's warm, creamy, coconut-y, and, oddly, whiskey like. Think Bailey's with a coconut accent (if that's at all possible!). This one should definitely have an interesting aroma in use!

And now, with these tropical scents in mind, we'll move onto their hot throws.

But unfortunately there isn't much to say about the hot throw ... for any of these scents. I tested and re-tested, but each time I nearly burned my nose off trying to experience their fragrance as they failed to scent the evaluation room. What a disappointment! No Black Coconut to indulge in! No Waikiki Melon to delight in!

Truly, it's lovely to have an island theme in my house in the dead of winter, but I have to admit that Yankee's scents did not succeed in whisking me away to any tropical escape. Oh, Yankee Candle, what's happened to your product?? I know the economy is still slow, but does the fragrance dosage or quality of ingredients in your candles need to suffer for it?

Ho-hum, how depressing!

Though, what about you? Have you tried any of these scents? Do you love them, do you hate them? Is your space being filled with a fabulously fragrant tropical bouquet? Make sure to leave a comment below!

Starting off 2012 not too impressed: Pacifica Body Butters

I searched high and low for an exciting and thought-provoking interesting new launch to begin 2012 with, but unfortunately there isn't too much out there in the way of new products yet.  So, today we will evaluate a product that caught my eye in Sephora, and one that my wallet appreciated, too, after the expensive holiday season.

Check out this packaging and the variant names:

Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter ... Pacifica Indian Coconut Nectar.  

They seem to instantly transport you out of the dreary winter weather and off to far-off golden sunset lands.  Or they did me at least.  (Sigh).  So, I thought to myself, if the packaging is making me dream of far away places, I wonder how well the scent will transport me there?  When I got home after my purchase I set myself up and began smelling.

I decided to be swept away to India first with Indian Coconut Nectar Body Butter and unfortunately I really regret it.  Talk about a disappointment!  The first whiff out of my evaluation beaker brought me a mix of a lot of shea butter, a tiny bit of coconut and a good amount of base.  And it got worse in use.  It smells of base and cheap shea butter - it's a deep, nutty-plastic-y smell.  It caused me to comment, "God, that smells horrible."  I would suggest that they go back and reformulate.

So, it was with much trepidation that I tested the Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter.  This was a much more pleasant experience, the scent being a soft white floral.  The in-use experience continued to be inoffensive, although the soft floral scent does seem to slightly struggle to cover the unpleasant notes of the base.  But unlike the Coconut, a passer-by would not notice the base scent, nor would you unless you're holding your hands under your nose as I am currently doing.

You know, for the first time I am really disappointed in the products that I have picked up to review here, but maybe that is because I had such high hopes for them.  I loved the packaging, I loved the price point ($5 each for 2.5fl oz/73ml) and the woman at the register did nothing but big up these products.  After checking out the Pacifica website I was even falling in love with the brand itself.

But all that is gone now!  What a depressing disappointment the Indian Coconut Nectar turned out to be (I'm throwing it in the trash, FYI) ... but at least the Tahitian Gardenia Body Butter was decent enough and will probably get thrown in my hand bag for future use, instead of the trash can for never use.