I did not ask for this. I did not plan for this. My dear bloggy friends reminded me constantly, pushing and prodding at my feeble self control with their talk of blends and plans for this opening. Before I knew it, I was planning out blends. You know. Just in case. Then I found myself perusing the new website and testing out the new gift registry system. Just in case.
Before I knew it, Amy announced the website was open. My poor fingers had a mind of their own. How did they remember my payment information?! Why were my eyes complying, reading off the order and comparing it to my Just In Case list? How can one submit an order with such speed when they obviously had no intentions of ordering?
Alas, it was too late. I admitted defeat to my friends, confessed to my husband... then settled in with extreme excitement at the thought of another order. Imagine my pleasure when I discovered I was 12th in line - in the first group!
I placed my order on December 2nd, paid shipping on December 12th, and my package shipped on December 13th.
Sugared Violets: No description available.
A light, ever so sweet floral. I was asked if this is similar to Bath and Body Work's Pink Petal Tea Cakes. This does smell incredibly similar to PPTC. It's ever so slightly heartier and misses some vanilla from the original blend, but it's close enough to pass as a dupe. $7.68 for 7.4 oz
Cotton Candy Frosting/Grape/Pomegranate: Strawberry, Raspberry, Plum, sugary crystals and sweet vanilla/A strong, sweet and sour grape aroma/none available.
C'mon, guys. It's me we're talking about. I cannot make an order without buying something that's sweet enough that I get cavities just by sniffing it. The tart grape melds with the pomegranate in a sweet and sultry way, cotton candy spins its way around the mix, adding a dash of sugar here and there. $10.24 for 8.7 oz
Whipped Cream/Watermelon Cake: Delicious, fluffy whipped cream with hints of whipped churned butter, blonde sugar cane, Madagascar vanilla, and vanilla extract/Fresh sliced Watermon and rich decadent cake.
Fresh watermelon with a healthy heaping of whipped cream. A sweet and creamy cake hides in the background, only occasionally peeping its head through. $10.24 for 11.0 oz
Marshmallow Noel/Vanilla Bean Noel Type/Blueberry Noel: "SMT Blend"/A rich, sweet vanilla sugar cookie with a slightly roasted marshmallow background and a hint of caramel/"SMT Blend"
Oh, sweet wax goddess. What have we done to deserve Blueberry Noel? Why have I attempted straying from SMT, sampling other vendors' renditions only to come crawling back, begging for forgiveness? I can change - I can be better! This is a blend I borrowed from the lovely Julie after she confided in me about some blends she had in mind. Teach her to tell me! LOL! Sorry, Julie, I hope it's okay that I took this! This particular PBN blend has some extra creamy vanilla and some salty caramel from the VBN blend. I never would have picked up the caramel before, but adding it to this blend made those notes really shine. Is this blend going to become my go-to for the year? Will I ever get off my PBN train? Stay tuned to find out. $10.24 for 11.5 oz
Sugared Violets/Sugar Cookie/Tea & Cakes: None available/A warm butter cookie, with a background of vanilla/Orange & almond tea cakes with a sip of steaming black tea!
A delectable blend that leaves me speechless. On cold sniff, this has lots of crunchy bakery notes. I'm an impatient being and melted this already, so I know how awesome it becomes once melted. In short - delicious! The sugared violets is light enough that even those who aren't fans of florals will enjoy this. $12.50 for 11 oz
Pink Sugar Type/Marshmallow Noel/Cotton Candy Frosting: Cotton Candy, Vanilla and Caramel, Bergamot and orange citrus top note, with touches of Berries, Muget, Strawberry, Plum, and a dry-down of Dry Fig Leaves, Musk, Anise, with just the slightest hint of Musk and Woodsy Aroma/"SMT Blend"/ Rich creamy frosting flavored with a STRONG base of sugary sweet cotton candy confection! Strawberry, Raspberry, Plum, sugary crystals and sweet vanilla.
Strongest is the pink sugar. It weaves itself through a bed of creamy marshmallows and vanilla, teasing with hints of sugared confections. $12.50 for 13.6 oz
Amy and Donna were kind to include freebies.
Caramel Banana Cupcakes: A yummy vanilla cupcake with swirls of banana, caramel, and kissed with a hint of cinnamon. Swirled on the top of this gourmet delight is a sweet sugared cream cheese frosting.
This has a slightly artificial note to the banana. There's a hint of caramel, but the banana drowns out all other notes. 0.9 oz
Pink Stiletto/Iced Pineapple/Blonde Moment: Sweet sugary crystals, sweet red fruits, raspberry, pure spun cotton candy/fresh cut pineapples with an ozony green top note/iced champagne mixed with rich sweet raspberry and cranberry.
Sweet pineapples mixed with a berry explosion. My mouth already stings and tingles smelling this. 1.0 oz
Mexican Fried Ice Cream/Peach Coffee: Rich buttery whipped cream, vanilla bean, toasted nut, grated cinnamon, melted marshmallow/"SMT Blend"
Fresh vanilla coffee beans with a dash of peach. I was unsure of this when looking at the scent name. Now that I've let my nose at it, I'm intrigued. 0.8 oz
Now that all the fun stuff is out of the way, on to the price breakdown!
Total Before Shipping: $63.40
Total After Shipping:$74.17
Total Wax Received: 65.9 oz
Freebies Received: 2.7 oz (included in total wax received)
Price/Ounce without shipping: 96.2¢/ounce
Price/Ounce with shipping: $1.13/ounce
My one regret is that I did not buy more of my sugared violets/sugar cookie/tea & cakes blend. I need more of this. If you're at all a fan of tea & cakes or sugared violets, try that blend!
Did you partake in this past opening? What do you think of their addition of RTS tarts?
LIZ! These photos and this order!! I am so excited for you!! Man, this arrived lickety-split, eh? Glad you got the Blueberry Noel blend, I wan to compare notes after we melt ours. Yours has yellow in it, super cute! I am lusting over your mini frosted cookies in Sugared Violet. I am still scratching my head at how I missed that scent. And your violet tea cake blend sounds supremely decadent. The peach coffee does throw me for a loop. Not sure I can get on board with that. But crazy blends like that can be fun, especially if they work. I always love your money break down, as it gives me some idea if it is a good deal. And the SMT break down impresses me every time. Such a great value for great quality scents.
ReplyDeleteThese DID arrive fast, didn't they?? And in the middle of the holiday shopping/shipping crazy, too!
DeleteWe will definitely compare notes on our blueberry noel blend! I liked how yours was a blast of purple!
I'll have to share some of my precious sugared violet with you in my next care package <3
I totally agree with you on SMT value. I was wary this time around because I knew my last price breakdown was from their loaf sale but I was still astounded by the cost. These gals are right up there with VCS and RG and they still cost so much less!
Thanks for such an informative post. Not being on fb has left me completely clueless about this brand and the way their order system works. Now I know that there's groups you are put in to order. I'm gonna try to figure it out for their summer opening.
ReplyDeleteThe Mexican fried ice cream/ peach coffee sounds insane in an incredible way. The sugar violets alone and in a blend intrigue me more than the fruiy blends do-mixing floral and bakery could be fun and funky-which is what I like. Great post.
-jaybird -the candle enthusiast
Sometimes I think it would be easier to stay off of Facebook and away from the craziness. It's become a major way I stay in contact with friends and family back home, though, so I always end up keeping it.
DeleteWhen you order, you don't actually know what group you're in until after the ordering period has ended. Once everyone has their orders in, Amy and Donna will organize everyone's purchase in chronological order and start working in groups of 30. They usually do this so you know when to expect your shipping invoice. If your name isn't on the current list, no worries! If it is, keep an eye out.
I was channeling some Glitterati when I blended my sugared violets. I love how Glitterati's florals blend so nicely with bakery so I tried to do that here.
Thanks for stopping by! :)