Band of Bloggers | Vol 1 / January 2016

Welcome to the revamped version of Order of the Odor.  We've reorganized and are expanding our monthly topics beyond just all things smelly.  We hope you visit each member's blog to see their contribution each month, and we hope you participate too by leaving your own answers in the comments.

To kick off a new year and a new group effort, we asked . . . 

What vendor (wax or anything) are you MOST excited to order from this year?

This year, while I intend to severely limit my purchase of wax in favour of a determined push to pare down my current stash, this hasn't stopped me from keeping my eye on a few vendors! Wax addict alert! (What, you don't think like that? Why are you reading this! JK!)

I am most interested to purchase from Sugar & Spice Gourmet Soy, Haley's Heavenly Scents and Candles by Victoria. These are all veteran companies that have stood the test of time and trends in the wax community. I have had them on list of to-buys for ages but I kept pushing them back in favour of other openings because I knew they would always be there.

CBV will likely be the first purchase because of their annual Super Bowl Sale (if they run it again) which almost always have a great discount. The timing of the sale (Feb) is a little earlier that I would like but this just gives me a good incentive to keep melting!

What about you, what vendors do you intend to order from this year? I would love to know! I haven't had my pulse on the wax world for the last six months or so, are there any new, up and coming vendors I should look into? Tell me!

Don't forgot to visit the rest of the Band of Bloggers to find out their answers to this question. Waxy conversations are fun!

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Please visit these Band of Bloggers blogs

and help support the blogger community!

Deb, at It's Always Something.

Julie, at The Redolent Mermaid.

Lauren, at Lolo Loves Scents.

Liz, at Furianne. 

Michelle, at Waxing About.

Sunnee, at Fragrance Obsessed.

Thank you, and have a great day!

Wax Notes | Nov & Dec 2015

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving!

All my holidays greetings to you that I missed earlier because I have pretty much lost my blogging and melting mojo. It is a little hard to blog when there is nothing to blog about. I will be back for a little bit in the next few weeks because I broke my NO-BUY during the Black Friday for Pocket Full of Peonies (a newish vendor) and Tiffany Candles (couldn't resist a restock). So yay, hauls!

Green Tea & Willow (Ten Digit Creations)
If the colour green had a scent, I would this would be it. It smells fresh and sweet in a natural way. This is a scent for spring or if you are in the mood for spring!

Annette's Secret Sangria (K's Kreations)

Blackberry Cotton Candy Wafflecone (Rosegirls)

Clementine Lavender (CFTKR)
I thought it would be a softer scent but it's rather sharp and sometimes I think ginger when I get a sniff. Medium throw, medium scent impact.

Twisted Lemon (Ten Digit Creations) - Not Pictured
A more acidic lemon scent, it energises me when I sniff this. Medium throw, medium scent impact.

Peppermint Meringue (Ten Digit Creations) - Not Pictured
Heavier on the meringue than the peppermint. Medium high throw, medium scent impact. Surprisingly this tart lost its scent really quickly. Generally, TDC lasts 2-3 melts for me.

Singing in the Rain (Rosegirls)
You know what, I don't think I care what is really in the blend. All I care about is that it's lovely and I never want to be out of it!

Bailey's in Bed (Crabby Candle Co.)
Creamy and just sweet enough to qualify this as bakery, this is one of the few bakery type scents that I can tolerate. It's not outright boozy but it does suggest that this is an adult scent. Medium scent throw, medium scent impact.

Christmas Cookies (Tiffany Candles)

Lavender (Tiffany Candles) - Not Pictured
I really loved this rendition of Lavender by Tiffany Candles. It's very different from other Lavender scents I have tried so far. Much more herbal, less sweet. Medium scent impact, medium high scent throw.

Vanilla Nutmeg (Thirty Street Crafts)
I was looking for something not-bright and not-fruity and I reached for this one. The vanilla is just sweet enough to temper the nutmeg down to mellow. Beautiful this one. High scent impact, medium high scent throw. This scent really lingers in your space and it lasts forever. I think I must have melted it 4 times at least and the scent barely weakened!

Gabi's Melonade Stand (Enchanted Candle Company)
Loving this scent. It's much more mellow a lemonade scent than you would think and I think it's due to the sweetness of the watermelon. Lovely! So sad I won't be able to get more. High scent throw, high scent impact.

Delicate Daisy (Rosegirls)
This scent was ridiculously perfume-y sweet that I had to switch off my warmer several times in between to breath a little. Definitely not for me. Medium throw, medium impact.

Over The Moon (Rosegirls)

An unmemorable scent, I think it was sweet.

Avocado & Sea Salt (Ten Digit Creations)
Don't let the name of the scent scare you away, this is primarily a marine-based scent with hints of sweetness coming through at times (the scent notes includes grapefruit and rose). I feel that the avocado helps to mellow the sharpness that marine scents can get. High scent throw, medium scent impact.

Repeat Melts
Nilla Strawberry Noel (Rosegirls)
Serendipity (Ten Digit Creations)
Sinus Relief (Tiffany's Candle)
Japanese Honeysuckle (Smelly Buttons)
French Pear (Smelly Buttons)

Haul | Sniff My Tarts (2)

Apple Pie (4 x Crueller Doughnut)
This scent is amazing! Apple-y and cinnamon-y all at the same time!

Lavender Vanilla Coconut Milk (3 x Cookie Sandwich)
Least favourite scent of the bunch. The coconut milk scent is really sour and I can't get past it.

Peggy’s Blueberry Noel (4 x Grubby Cakes)
Thanks to an earlier RAOK from Julie, I already know and like this scent. Sweet, tart and fruity.

Cotton Candy Bliss / Strawberry Jam / Pina Colada
This is a sweet scent, the Pina Colada is nicely rounded out and made more interesting with the addition of the strawberry.

Lemon Sampler (6 pack scent shots)

Lemon Cake
Yum, more lemon than cake.

Lemon Colada
Funny enough, this doesn't remind me of pina colada but of a laundry lemon scent.

Lemon Cookies
Something's up with this, it smells a little stale

Lemon Ice Cream
I am half and half on this scent, I am deciding how much I like the vanilla ice cream note.

Lemon Sugar Pound Cake
Amidst the Lemon Sugar scent, there is a sour-milk note which is making me wrinkle my nose.

Lemon Sugar Type
This smells good, a sweet lemon scent, I suspect this is the base scent of the sampler.

Cream Cheese Frosting / Fruity Loops (8oz Chunks)
I just wanted more Fruit Loops in bigger quantities and this is pretty good.

Cream Cheese Frosting / Mandarin Orange (8oz Chunks)
The Cream Cheese Frosting scent is more prominent in this blend, sweet and tart, but made energising from the Mandarin Orange. Sweet and fruity.

Honeydew Melon / Red Mac Apple type / Lemon Curd (8oz Chunk Pie)
The Red Mac Apple scent is the strongest of the three, the Honeydew Melon adds to the sweetness while the Lemon Curd adds a twist of acid.

Peppermint / Spearmint / Pink Sugar (8oz Chunk Pie)
A tried and true crowd pleaser scent! The peppermint and spearmint are both strong but don't overpower the pink sugar.

Haul | Candles From The Keeping Room (1)

I am really happy to finally be able to place a Candles From The Keeping Room order. It took me several tries before this successful order! In fact, I feel that Rosegirls might be easier to get than CFTKR! I can see why they are so popular, the scent on cold sniff is fantastic, strong and true to the description!

Amazing Grace Type Italian bergamot and sparkling lemons are sweetened with freshly picked citron and neroli. A white floral jasmine, orange blossom and rose are blended with sheer musk and cedarwood.
This one is light on cold sniff. I don't smell the Amazing Grace scent for now.

Apple Grove A perfect combination of Cameo, Macintosh, Red Delicious, Fuji and Granny Smith apples.
Delicious delicious delicious!

Baby Grace Type A fresh accord combining feminine notes of mimosa flowers, poppy, pepper, white woods, fresh greenery and musk.
This smells exactly like the perfume. So beautiful!

Cherry Blossoms Fresh orange top notes sweeten this lush white floral bouquet. Forest ferns adds a natural sensation as light green tones balance the bouquet. Warm woods and a hint of musk warm the floral accord.
This is fairly light on cold throw. Hopefully it's better on warm.

Jade A blend of sweet jasmine, white lilies and violets; middle notes of lavender, rose combined with a delicate touch of sun ripened pineapple; bottom notes of fresh apple and fresh green melon.
Clean, green flora bouquet. It's sweet and fresh!

Lavender Mint
I love how herbal and just purely lavender this is. Fantastic!

Nectarine & Honey A sumptuous blend of nectarine, honey and delicate white florals. Fragrant rose and fresh air musks add to the calming serenity.
This is such a beautiful scent, the honey scent is very much stronger than the nectarine, but the fizziness of the nectarine sneaks in and makes itself known.

Sea Salt & Yuzu Notes of Satsuma orange, ruby red grapefruit, Japanese yuzu, Mediterranean sea salt, sun-kissed apricot, ripe nectarine, blue water lotus and aloe leaf.
I put this in my cart as I was going through the categories quickly while the site was open. I am so glad I bought it, it's a very elegant citrus, highlighted by that hint of salt. I can't wait to melt this.

Even though I watched all the youtube videos and read all the blog posts of CFTKR hauls, I was still a little taken aback at how many samples Carol provided. What she gave is comparable to some of the hauls I have made with other companies! I am also excited with what she picked out for me, these are scents that I definitely want to try!

Biolage Matrix Top notes of forest fresh green leaves and lemon zests, and well rounded with fruity notes of peaches, apples, and pineapples.
As a shampoo scent, I thought this would be very soapy but it's sweeter and fresher in real life. I love this!

Blissful Blackberry Type
I think this might be a BBW dupe. I am surprised that it's not more fruity and have a better blackberry scent note. Hopefully it will be better upon melting.

Champagne Pear Type Sparkling champagne with the fresh scent of a ripe juicy pear.
A very spritzy scent. I don't particularly distinguish both scents but like it's light, bubbly and energetic.

Clementine Lavender
This scent is right up my alley! The clementine is stronger than the lavender, juicy and citrusy but the lavender lingers after.

Green Figs Crisp Meyer lemons add a tangy twist to rich fig notes, while precious pomegranate seeds permeate the heart of this exotic citrus scent.
A pleasant, green type scent.

Green Tea Blend
This is a beautiful, fresh scent and I love it! I am also getting clean, citrus notes in there.

Lavender Cream Peppermint
Oh so good, sweet, relaxing and minty! I would totally buy a huge bag of this scent!

Mandarin Lime Fresh mandarin oranges to energise your spirit, and fresh lime to improve your mood.
I am kind of wondering if this might have been labelled wrongly, I don't really smell any Mandarin or any Lime in this scent.

Rain Forest Sugarcane An intriguing mixture that includes fresh lime, raw sugarcane and rare vanilla orchid, and a fabulous blend of Hawaiian hibiscus, pineapple, blood orange, palm grass, lemon mint and Kona sugarloaf.
Such a complicated blend on paper but it all comes together in a soft, sweet, fresh and green type scent. It's really good and if it melts as good as it smells now, I think I will get more of this!

Violets and Birch Green accord, fern, white birch, violet, clove bud, orchid, cedar leaf, musk and amber.
Violets are really overpowering scents to me but I think the Birch tones it down a little with its woodsy notes.

Wax Notes | October 2015

For most people, the end of the year is a time for winding down but it seems to be speeding up for me! Lots to do, lots to do!

I am finished with my last two haul posts for CFTKR and SMT and will be scheduling them up in the next couple of weeks. Once those are published, it will really be just these fortnightly or monthly wax notes. Sometimes I do get tired of doing these but it also gives me a sense of satisfaction to see how much I have melted. My web presence will definitely be diminishing but I will still be making my rounds around my favourite blogs and commenting! So, hope to see you all around!

 

Yellow Rose (K's Kreations)
This scent performed better than the previous K's wax I had been melting. It was more sweet rose than tangy lemon. Medium throw, medium scent impact.

Berry Verbena (Ten Digit Creations)
This scent is intriguing, I quite liked it because it's not your usual berry scent. There was a really citrusy-herbal scent note throughout it. Medium throw, medium high scent impact.

Drink Me (The Bathing Garden)
The vanilla scent is the strongest note I am smelling, with a dab of cherry blossoms underneath. Medium high throw, medium high scent impact.

Green Apple (Thirty Street Wax)
This smells exactly like a Green Apple slurpee from 7-11. Tart and refreshing! Medium high scent throw, medium high scent impact.

Starbursts (Beezy Tarts)
Wow, this scent is sickly sweet, so sweet it makes my teeth hurt smelling this. And it does smell exactly like the sweet! Medium high throw, medium high scent impact.

Dippity Daze (K's Kreations)
Not much scent.

Jelly Beans (Crabby Candle Co.)
I quite like this scent but only if it didn't had that artificial plastic note underlying it. High scent throw, medium high scent impact.

Lavender Cupcakes with Honey Frosting (Rosegirls)
It's been awhile since I had a really good piece of wax melt in my room, it almost feels like all my wax had decided to weaken in strength and I was really worried that I should have melted through them quicker. But I am so glad that's not the case, and this Rosegirls' chunk is still throwing well. It's really sweet, with the honey frosting scent being a lot stronger for me than Lavender and Cupcakes.

Repeat Melts
Candy Crush (Up The Creek Scents)
Marlin (Enchanted Candle Co.)
Happy (Streetman Candle)

Wax Notes | September 2015

Lately I have been in a melting rut. It also scares me how much wax I have and no matter how much I melt, it doesn't seem to diminish in any way. Do you feel that way?

Cantaloupe & Fresh Oranges (Glitterati Candle Co.)
I always feel the need for some citrus and energy in the air, especially on the weekends! And this scent fits the bill, there is also that sweetness from the cantaloupe scent to balance out the sharper edges of a citrus scent. So nice! I am going to have to figure out how to order from Glitterati soon! High throw, medium high impact.

Cape Cod (Vintage Chic Scents)
I was in the mood for something aquatic so I threw this in the warmer. It's a beautiful, watery scent blunted slightly by a driftwood note. Sweet and girly too! Medium high throw, medium high impact.

Rosemary Mint (Tiffany Candles)
A wonderfully clearing, yet relaxing scent. It can be a bit bracing at times but there's also a sweetness about it and it didn't bother me too much. I am not surprised that this is one of TC's best-selling scents. Medium high throw, medium high impact.

Southern Tea (K's Kreations)
I don't find this very tea-ish because of a rather strong fruity note to it. And I keep smelling this hint of cookies. Sadly, I don't find this matches up with its scent description when melted. Medium scent throw, medium scent impact.

Spring Rain (K's Kreations)
Another disappointment, it doesn't match up with my initial cold sniff or scent description. I wonder if K's wax just doesn't do as well in a lower wattage warmer or its shelf life is not as long as other brands'. I will have to try it out in my tealight warmer to weed out the problem.

Shirley Temple (Vintage Chic Scents)
I am enjoying this scent, it's sweet but has a lime-y quality to it (the Fizzy pop scent). Fun, summer melt! Medium high scent throw, medium high scent impact.

Rose's Powder Room (Vintage Chic Scents)
It's a very cloying, powdery scent, I was hoping for a brighter scent from the bergamot and peach notes. On second melt, the scent became closer to what I thought it would be, I really enjoyed it then. Medium scent throw and medium scent impact.

Fruit Loops (Ten Digit Creations)
It seems to me there is a less of a cereal note in this scent than other vendors. But it's still a really pleasant, yummy scent. Medium scent throw, medium impact.

Smart Cookie (Vintage Chic Scents)
The chocolate scent is very strong and, unfortunately, not very pleasant. It smells like bad chocolate. The mint scent is very faint. I was hoping this would be a scent that I could get behind because it smelled so good on cold sniff. On second melt,  the scent improved! More mint, less bad chocolate. Medium high throw, medium high scent impact.

Afternoon Tea (K's Kreations)
It seems that K's tarts do better in a higher watt warmer, I have this melting on my tealight warmer and the scent is doing great. Just like sweet lemon tea but with a touch of bitterness. Medium-low throw, medium-low scent impact.

Marlin (Enchanted Candle Co.)
I really do love Enchanted's wax. This is such a beautiful and energising citrus blend! Medium high throw, medium high scent impact.

Apple Orchard (K's Kreations)
Really liking this scent. It's more tart than sweet though but I can almost see myself crunching myself into an apple with this scent. Medium throw, medium scent impact.

Repeat Melts
Strawberry Mint Ice Cream (Rosegirls)
Happy (Streetman)
Sea of Tears (The Bathing Garden)
Blueberry Noel Marshmallow (SMT)

Wax Notes | August 2015

Hello everyone! How has everyone been this summer! I have been really busy with work and travel that's why I haven't been very much on the blog. But I did manage to schedule a couple of haul posts from Tiffany Candles and One Little Indian Scents, I hope you enjoyed that. I still have two more hauls to share from Sniff My Tarts and Candles From The Keeping Room. So look out for that!

Wildberry & Sweet Lemon Confection (Rosegirls)
I really wanted to like this blend more than I did. I think it was the Wildberry note that was turning me off. I would want to buy Sweet Lemon Confection in just the Mini-melters for the pure scent note. Medium scent throw, medium scent impact.

Happy Days (Vintage Chic Scents)
A clean, laundry scent. Laundry scents are really too strong for me, and with the addition of the clean cotton scent note, it's a double whammy. But if you like laundry scents, I would say you would love this scent. Medium-high scent throw, medium high scent impact.

Bartlett Pear (K's Kreations)
I am going to stand by my initial thoughts on this on cold-sniff when I said it smelt like apples. Essentially, it's a juicy fruity scent. Medium scent throw, medium low scent impact.

Peach Peppermint Schnapps (K's Kreations)
No throw and scent. Very disappointing. :(

Strawberry Mint Ice Cream (Rosegirls)
I mostly get a sweet strawberry scent, the mint is very slight and only wafts in and out. My colleague did comment that it was a little artificial smelling. Medium throw, medium scent impact.

Satsuma (Thirty Street Wax)
In the mood for an energetic scent (even thought it's at night) so I reached for this. It's great, exactly what I want for in a satsuma scent. Satsuma is sharper than orange and not as sugar sweet. Medium high throw, medium high scent impact.

Repeat Melts
Happy (Streetman Candle Co.)
Springtime Breaktime (Enchanted Candle Co.)
Long Winter's Nap (Enchanted Candle Co.)
Pink Sugar Rose Red (Two Timing Tart)