Prior to making the journey to White Barn, I stopped at my two local BBW stores and grabbed a few small items. They FINALLY had the french candles so I picked up Paris Cafe which is supposedly a dupe for Espresso Bar from back in the day. I personally don’t think this is an exact dupe and am picking up a slight bitter almond note. I’ll still give it a try and burn it since others seem to enjoy this much more than the original EB.

All three stores I visited that first day of SAS had $3 tester candles available. I picked up these few scents that I enjoy, but not enough to get the 3-wicks of. I was pretty shocked at the amount of fragrances they had available and would’ve grabbed more if I didn’t just stock up in January. Along with these baby candles, I picked up a couple summer wax melts to use in the next couple months.

While I did find the one candle that I wanted and some other fun items, I just wasn’t all that impressed by the selection and sale prices BBW had to offer. There were some body care items I wanted but at 50% off it’s not the best deal. Unlike years past, I’m not planning on returning again to haul anything else. What do you think about this SAS and did you find any exciting items? Share in the comments!

The post Spring 2017 SAS Haul appeared first on Melting With Michelle.

Butterbeer – “Sweet butterscotch topped with a dollop of sweet cream”
This straight up smells like a creamy butterscotch candy. I’ve never actually had a legitimate butterbeer so I can’t vouch how realistic this wax is. I can tell you that we’ll definitively be melting this when we’re having Harry Potter movie marathons!

Gryffindor – “Frosted lemon meringue cheesecake with raspberry glaze”
I’m not even a Gryffindor, but this scent sounded delicious. I was unfortunately let down upon smelling it because it just smells like lemons with the slightest hint of raspberry and barely any bakery. I’m crossing my fingers this develops more when warm!

Hedwig – “Chai tea, creamy cheesecake, and clove”
Within the past year I discovered my love for chai tea, so this scent naturally appealed to me. However, it really just smells overwhelmingly of clove with possibly undertones of chai. It really reminds me of a craft store which is unfortunate and I’m praying the cheesecake note will come out when warm.

Umbridge – “Tea & cakes, sugar dusted roses, and cotton candy”
From the sounds of the description I was hoping for a Pink Petal Tea Cake dupe. This really just smells like a rose tea though without any sweet bakery notes. If you’ve ever drank the Get Gorgeous tea before, this is an exact dupe for it! I’m sure it’ll be enjoyable but not what I was looking for.

Banner – “Warm buttery cornbread topped with creamy mac apple ice cream and brown sugar”
This is a hands down dupe for BBW Summer Boardwalk! I adore that fragrance but I’m already pretty stocked up on it and don’t need another melt in it. I was really hoping for more of the cornbread note.

Corpsman – “Graham crackers, pie crust, and creamy zucchini bread”
We are saving the best for last here. Above everything you get that graham cracker note and then the buttery crust. I’m not exactly sure if I smell any ZB on cold but I’m hoping to be able to distinguish that when warming; I can only imagine it’ll make this fragrance better!

While I wasn’t overwhelmed by the actual fragrances, I won’t pass full judgement until I’ve melted them. Overall, the company had a fairly quick delivery speed and included a free sample in my bundle too. I do enjoy the design elements that appear on the wax – you can really tell how much time goes into making them. I probably will end up doing another haul once the Harry scent is back in stock and plan on stocking up on my favorite Corpsman fragrance!

Where is your favorite Super Tarts scent? Share in the comments!

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The first stop was Yankee Candle’s friends and family sale where everything (except accessories) was 50% off. I ended up picking up a medium jar of Olive Oil & Thyme, a medium pure radiance jar of Autumn Air, a small jar of Cranberry Chutney, and a new pumpkin shaped illumi-lid. PSA – Autumn Air is almost an exact dupe of Radiant Red Maple! Also, I couldn’t believe how much fragrance oil was dripping from the Cranberry Chutney. All together this purchase came to $35!

The following day when I realized that Bath & Body Works had a 2/$24 sale, I rushed to the store because Chocolate Pistachio finally came in. I picked up one Pumpkin Spice (a repackage of Nutmeg & Spice) and one Chocolate Pistachio candle. Then, to use my $10 off $30 coupon, I grabbed two Crisp Morning Air soaps that were on sale for $3 each. This purchase came to $21 and with merchandise credit I didn’t pay anything out of pocket!

On Saturday I made a trip to the closest White Barn which is an hour road trip.  There I grabbed a 3-wick of Pumpkin Pie and Pumpkin Banana Muffin. I was also lucky enough to find the Golden Autumn Day soap in-stock (which I have been wanting for the past month) and got the same deal. After using the rest of my merchandise credit I ended up paying $18 out of pocket – well worth the trip!

On our way back home we stopped at the Yankee Candle outlet in Wrentham, MA. I was itching to use the free large jar candle coupon with any $10 purchase. I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw Tarte Tatin, Rhubarb Crumble, and Paradise Spice sitting on the shelves. I quickly snatched the rare finds up and picked out Sugar Flower as my freebie. This  haul amounted to just $28.

I’d say that I’m pretty stocked up for this upcoming season now, at least until Cider Lane is released! It was nice to get out of the terribly hot weather for a bit and do some retail therapy. Did you haul anything during this weekend’s sales and are you excited for Fall? Share in the comments!

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The Perfect Summer hand soap collection might be my favorite of 2016 thus far. Lemon Buttercream is a beautiful bakery lemon scent that will be amazing for next Spring. Lakeside Afternoon is a nice fresh scent perfect for Spring/Summer in the kitchen. Finally Boardwalk Vanilla Cone is a delicious scent that smells exactly like creamy vanilla ice cream inside of a waffle cone. I have stocked up quite a few back ups of these scents as they’ve quickly become new favorites.

I normally don’t purchase too many of the BBW accessories, but I couldn’t pass up the little sharks and the ice cream cone shower pouf! Seriously, look at the sponge sprinkles! I also am not usually the biggest fan of their pocket bacs due to the residue they leave behind, but these fragrances smell exactly like the soaps. Then finally we’ve got Beach Nights Summer Marshmallow body care. Holy crap. I am IN LOVE. To me, this smells like a dupe of Goose Creek’s Peanut Butter Sugar fragrance and I can’t get enough. I may have 3 body cream back-ups already…

Before I knew how much I was going to love the rest of the Perfect Summer collection, I was mostly excited for these wallflowers. Funnel Cake smells like greasy fried fair food and I’m kind of obsessed. I really wish they had this in candle form – it is definitely different than Cinnamon Sugar Donut. Also, for some reason I am not a fan of the Pomegrante Lemonade 3-wick but really enjoyed how the wallflower smelled. Looking forward to seeing how these two fragrances warm up.

Last but not least, I did pick up some candles. Big surprise there, right? For some reason BBW released a small Fall preview at the same time as the Perfect Summer collection’s release. With these “new” scents being on sale, I picked up a couple of the beloved Pumpkin Spiced Cheesecake which is a favorite of mine. Then I FINALLY decided to pick up my very first Cinnamon Sugared Doughnut candle ever. I’m not sure why this has never interested me in the past but I think it’s time to give it a try.

I think it’s safe to say I’ve got an addition to BBW and I’m not even ashamed. Between new soap, body lotion, pocket bacs, shark accessories, and a couple candles my house is in desperate need of some organization. At least everything smells great though! I’m absolutely putting myself on a BBW ban until the Fall items are released in August. Have you fallen in love with anything in the Perfect Summer collection? Share in the comments below!

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I’ve known about Scentsy for quite some time, but the higher prices and consultant based shopping always turned me off. Finding out about the RRM dupe was a total game changer though. My fiancé and I browsed the site, and purchased a small haul of things to try out.

I purchased three Scentsy bars – 2 Apple S’mores (the dupe) and 1 Bonfire Beach. To my delight, Apple S’mores smells EXACTLY like Radiant Red Maple. Bonfire Beach is pretty comparable to BBW Summer Bonfire with a bit more freshness and citrus. I’m excited to see how strong this brand’s fragrance throws soon and will definitely give a more in-depth review.

We also purchased a Scentsy Buddy – a cuddly stuffed animal that holds fragrance packs. The company was offering a shark buddy that we couldn’t pass up, especially since it came with a free scent pack! After asking Norma’s FB group which scents I should try out, Luna was a clear winner. Luna is a very fresh & floral, almost soapy, scent which is enjoyable. I’m really impressed with the quality of the Scentsy buddy and how well the fragrance comes through.

Even though I only did a mini haul, I can understand the hype around Scentsy. I’m obviously going to be stocking up big time on the Radiant Red Maple dupe and getting more scent packs for my shark buddy soon! Have you ever purchased anything from Scentsy and if so, what’s your favorite scent? Share in comments!

The post First Scentsy Score appeared first on Melting With Michelle.

I ended up at Foxwoods casino, which surprisingly has a BBW outlet, and there was a beautiful table of overflowing candles. All the usual spring/summer scents and a ton of last winter’s fragrances. Nothing was especially catching my eye at first, but then I saw it. The super rare test candle Key Lime Pie just sitting there waiting for me to buy it.

There ended up being 4 Key Lime Pie candles hidden on this table and I bought them all. No shame. I’ve since gifted one to my BFF and we both have been going crazy over this treasure. If you’ve ever smelled Yankee Candle’s Key Lime Pie and Vanilla Lime candles, BBW found the perfect balance between the two. Add in a hint of graham cracker crust and it’s just heavenly. The best part? These rang up at 75% and I had a coupon bringing the price to a little over $4 each.

This location also had a small selection of mini Fall candles. I was ecstatic when I saw Pumpkin Pie sitting there – I’m terrified this won’t make a comeback for 2016. I ended up picking up 5 of these little guys and they came to a little over $1 each. SCORE! (Finally.)

When the $10 candle sale popped up later in the week I decided to head back to Foxwoods and try my luck again. This was the only store that had a half-decent selection so the trip was totally worth it. I ended up getting 5 candles (pictured at beginning of post) for $6 each after coupon.

I’m happy that SAS is over so we can begin to discover upcoming collections. (I especially can’t wait to find out what Fall test candles come out in the next week!) At least now I know which BBW location I should head to first for future sales. What was your best score during SAS? Share in the comments!

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After speaking with some other girls in the New England area, it seems that RI & MA did not get any of the 75% off treasures the rest of the US received. This is SO disappointing. Can you imagine if I actually took the day off of work only to find that nothing special was being offered around me? I may not be the biggest fan of Yankee Candle’s products, but at least the store is fair and offers the same scents everywhere. It’s not like my stores even sold-out before I got there. They never received ANYTHING from the previous Fall or Winter lines. To everyone who’s been able to find last year’s awesome scents that most likely won’t be available ever again, I am so jealous!

Okay, now that I’ve gotten that off my chest, here are the only purchases I’ve made during this Spring SAS. Day 1 which was online only, I ordered 11 wallflowers and 1 candle. I was most excited about the Lavender Macaron scent coming out in wallflower form – so naturally I went a little crazy.

I did manage to find 75% off wallflowers in the scent Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake and stocked up. At the same time I luckily found one of the amazing fall body care fragrances from 2015 and picked up a couple shower gels. (Shown at top.) At another store, I wanted to reach $40 to use my coupon and the only notable items included in that purchase were 2 more candles and 2 more wallflowers.

Even though I’m disappointed with this SAS, I have gotten a few good deals. I’m officially putting myself on a wax ban until Fall fragrances come out – I’ve got a lot to burn through in the next couple months! In the meantime, let’s hope BBW will step up their game for Winter SAS and stop re-packaging the same boring scents nobody cares for! Have you been one of the lucky ones to find some treasures during this SAS? Share your haul in the comments!

The post BBW Spring 2016 SAS Haul & Rant appeared first on Melting With Michelle.

Haul 1 – Online Order – 75% off (Saved $125)

The first haul was all about accessories. I loved the Easter line and ordered the chick plate, candle shade, and matching tea light holder. For the holder, I got the pretty Pink Peony tea lights. Pictured above in the first image, I also bought the hanging pumpkin candle holder, two Christmas illuma-lids, and two falling leaf candle shades. Can you believe ALL of this came to $28?!

Haul 2 – Local YC Store – 50% off

After making my first SAS purchase online, I ended up heading to my local store to see if they had any of the rare fragrances in stock. I was SO happy to find Carrot Cake which is a beautiful bakery spice blend with a cream cheese note. I additionally found the holiday hurricane which matches the votive holders I picked up back in December. And because I couldn’t resist, I treated myself to a new car fragrance in Vanilla Lime.

Haul 3 – Outlet YC Store – 5 for $50 (Saved $90)

White Chocolate Apple – I’ve seen this around for a while but never indulged. My fiancé begged me to give it a sniff in the store and I fell in love. This smells EXACTLY like a candy apple from either a Fall festival or Halloween. So lovely.

Merry Mint – This past holiday season I had my heart set on this fragrance, but never found it during a sale. I jumped for joy when I saw this in the store! It’s a milk chocolatey mint combination which is heavenly.

Key Lime Pie – I’ve been on the hunt for this retired fragrance the past couple of months and was ecstatic to find it. It’s a very tart lime scent perfect for late-Spring and Summer!

Tailgating – This is such a unique scent and was really hard to pass up. On cold, it smells exactly like an outdoor BBQ. Whenever I take a whiff I immediately think of hotdogs on the grill. This will be wonderful during the Summer months!

Candy Cane Lane – I’d heard some great reviews of this candle and it really is the perfect holiday mint! When I saw the abundance of oils gathered throughout the jar it went straight into my basket.

I think it’s safe to say that I’m officially on a wax ban! At least until BBW SAS of course. After this massive haul there’s definitely going to be a re-organization soon and maybe even a de-stash. What have you found during this SAS so far? Share in the comments!

The post Massive Yankee Candle 2016 SAS Haul appeared first on Melting With Michelle.

Bakery Air – Just as the name of this candle states, this truly is a bakery scent. The actual scent description includes notes of creamy butter, maple extract, pecans, cinnamon, clove, and vanilla. To tell you the truth, I mainly pick up on the cinnamon. Hopefully once this is burning the scent will round itself out.

Caramel Pecan Pie – Let’s be honest, I love anything and everything fall related, so I had no doubt I would love this scent. But it is SO light on cold that I can barely detect it. I’ll still give this a chance, but I’m not setting my hopes too high for a stronger candle when burning.

Storm Watch – I normally am not a fan of fresh scents, but this one smells wonderful! It reminds me of both a misty Summer morning and how the air smells after a rain storm. I’m excited to light this up within the next month; hopefully YC will still have large jars in stock if I really like it!

Be on the look out for more detailed post-burn reviews of these in the coming months. I don’t have too many Yankee Candles in my collection so I’m happy this glitch brought some newness into my life! Have you ever burned any of these? If you have, tell me what you think of them in the comments!

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Watermelon Lemonade – This is definitely an overplayed scent, but a good one for Summer none the less. I surprisingly didn’t have any in my collection so this was an obvious pick.

Lavender Macaron – A new favorite scent of mine this year which will most likely never come back. Making sure I have many back-ups for years to come!

Island Margarita – I’ve always liked this fragrance but never enough to buy one. At $8.80 it finally felt like the right time to give it a try.

Tea & Lemon – After falling in love with the wallflower it was only right to pick up the 3-wick.

Mocha Latte Swirl – The best coffee scent BBW has created to date that’ll most likely never be seen again. Another favorite I’m stocking up on when they’re at the right price!

I know there’s not much excitement over these fragrances anymore, but you have to admit it was a great deal! Hopefully this purge from the BBW warehouse will make room for some better collections later this Summer and especially Fall! What’s the cheapest you’ve ever bought a BBW candle for? Share in the comments!

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