If you've been a follower of this blog for a while you're probably familiar with my whining about falling in and out of love with handcrafted bar soaps. I decided to give it another try, see if I can rekindle that crazy love I had for the stuff not so long ago. So when
Petals Bath Boutique had their winter release last week, I went ahead and ordered some things. Petals is primarily a bath and body products vendor but lately seems to be offering wax melts more and more. I really wanted to try a few more of those too.
Just one week later, my winter release haul arrived. Let's see what I got!
Sugar Plum - 'Not too sweet but just sweet enough. Sugared plums with a heart of citrus zest on a base of warm vanilla musk.'
On the Petals site, this is called Sugar Plum Fairy, but on the label it's just Sugar Plum. I decided to give her lotion a try, since I already have one of her body custards. This is indeed a sweet scent. The plum is there, deep and slightly dark, with the sweet creaminess from the sugar and vanilla. The citrus adds some brightness, but never really does reveal itself as 'Hey, there's citrus in there!' This reminds me of a Bath & Body Works type scent.
Sugar Plum - 'Not too sweet but just sweet enough. Sugared plums with a heart of citrus zest on a base of warm vanilla musk.'
I got a bar of soap in the same scent. What a gorgeous piece of soap! Scents almost always smell slightly different in soap form than in other products, because of the chemical process the soap goes through. This time the scent has a very obvious musky note that is not really there much in the lotion version. These two should compliment each other when I use them together. Hubby even says this is not too girlie, and that he will use this soap too.
Sleigh Ride - 'Top notes of orange zest with a center of tart Granny Smith apples on a warm and spicy base of clove and fresh mint.'
This is the soap we're switching to the day after Thanksgiving. I was hoping I'd like this scent, and was greatly relieved to find that I love it. I mainly get a warm, spiced mint scent. Hubby thought it smelled woody. Neither of us really get any of the orange or apple notes but I guess I can see how they might be working in the background to push some sweetness into this. Ohhh, this a great scent. Can't wait to use this!
Sugared Almonds - 'Toasted almonds topped with sugary notes of raw sugar cane, coconut milk and vanilla.'
I'm not sure if this is part of the winter release or one of the general catalog scents. I decided to 'regular' scent to have for hubby if I should fall back out of love with bar soaps, or to have for after the holidays if I do stick with them. SUCH a yummy scent! The almond note is strong, almost cherry candy-like. The sweetness of the other notes give it a bit of depth. The vanilla is working hard to make its presence known. This scent is strong! I'm sure this will linger on the skin after use. Oh, and there's goat milk in it! I hadn't even noticed that when I ordered. Yay!
Gingerbread Man - 'Fresh bakes cookies, molasses, ginger, cinnamon and spices.'
Ya gotta have a gingerbread scent at Christmas, right? Since Better Homes & Gardens failed this year and released none of the good classic Christmas scents, I decided to pick this guy up from Petals. This is a spicy gingerbread, the molasses coming through strong. This is not the sweeter type, like you get with frosted types. This cute little guy is 1.7 ounces, so I'll chop him up and spread him amongst my warmers.
I'll Be Home - 'A deliciously refreshing holiday fragrance that blends pomegranate, strawberries, raspberries, with subtle hints of fresh peppermint leaves and vanilla.'
This sounded interesting, and the shapes were so festive that I just had to get them. If I didn't now better, I would have said this was an 'iced cranberry' scent. There is tartness, but maybe that's just the mint mixing with the dark fruits. There is a bit of a harsh note that I'm hoping settles down when it's warmed. I would call this a tart scent, not a mint scent. The candy cane is .9 ounce, and the stocking is 1.5 ounces.
Nutcracker - 'A perfect nutty blend of vanilla, hazelnut, maple syrup, coconut flakes, citrus and clove.'
I wanted to try Kia's clamshells tarts, so when I saw this Nutcracker scent, I grabbed it. I had this scent years ago as a sample from some vendor and *loved* it. I don't really see it around much, unless it has a different, more common name. Then again, I don't look around much these days either. It reminds me of the hazelnut cream scent that I often love. I don't get any citrus note from this. Don't really detect any coconut either. That's okay, because the rest of the notes blend together to make a rich, sweet, yumminess. It's actually a much darker, red-brown color than what the picture shows.
I was a little disappointed when I saw these clamshells though. I hadn't noticed that the website says these are 2 ounce packages. They looked like regular clamshells, but they're actually much more shallow than the clamshells we're all familiar with. This one is actually only 1.6 ounces of wax. Oh well, live and learn.
Peppermint Stick - 'Swirls of peppermint candy and sugar crystals.'
I did not order soap in this scent because I already have a bottle of commercial brand peppermint body wash that I thought I'd be using this Christmas season. I did want to try the scent though, so I got it in wax form. A very nice, typical peppermint scent. Perfect for Christmas. This pack does weigh 2 ounces.
Peppermint Stick - 'Swirls of peppermint candy and sugar crystals.'
And then I got a sample of this scent in soap anyway. LOL That made me happy. The scent if a little deeper and fuller, almost a little sweeter in soap form.
Aspen Hill - 'A truly unique and irresistible blend of blue spruce, earthen moss and sugar crystals with hints of cassis and orange.'
I had debated ordering this but had decided not to because I didn't want to walk around smelling like a Christmas tree. I'm glad I got a sample of it, just so I can see what it smells like. And it's not really that bad. I don't even get a strong spruce scent. There is sweetness, just a hint of juicy orange, and some almost wood resin hints. Good scent for men, but not strictly masculine.
Sundance - [no scent description]
No clue what this scent consists of but it's very nice, sort of pretty, like a shampoo. I see on the label there is goat milk and oatmeal, as well as clay, so I wonder if this will be good for the face. That's what I'm going to use it for. This was another free sample.
Mayan Gold - 'A warm spicy blend with notes of sweet orange, sandalwood, vetiver, vanilla bean and decadent chocolate.'
And finally, another free sample, this one looks way messier in the picture than it really is. The picture doesn't show all the different brown and gold swirls running through it. With sandalwood AND chocolate, I knew this was not a scent for me even before I smelled it. I don't really get a chocolate note, but I still don't like this. It's one of those sophisticated scents that a certain someone I know would probably like.
And that is my Petals Bath Boutique winter release haul. I can't wait to start using these things, and am especially curious to see how the lotion works for me.
Did you order from the winter release?