Goose Creek Candle Review: Caramel Pumpkin Swirl

                

My Review for:   Goose Creek- Pumpkin Caramel Swirl

                 

Goose Creek Description: "The heartwarming aroma of a home-made cheesecake drizzled with creamy caramel and harvest fresh pumpkin sauce."

                                        

Fragrance Notes:

                                             Top:    Buttery Swirl, Caramel

                               Mid:   Creamy Pumpkin

                                  Base:  Sweet Cheesecake

What Does A Cheesecake Candle Smell Like?

This is my first Cheesecake candle and I'm really curious what Goose Creek's Cheesecake note will be like. I have nothing to compare it to, so I'm flying blind here. On cold sniff, I can smell a blend of spices, sweet caramel, and a light dairy note that definitely reads cheesecake. I'm impressed  how well they captured that particular note. It isn't cake or pie, I can easily smell the difference. I think this was well done, but I have nothing to compare it to, so I don't know if another company makes a better or more authentic Cheesecake note. Because the cold sniff was fainter than I thought, I really hope this fragrance opens up upon Lighting. When lit, this is an attractive looking candle, with the flame dancing nicely over the hazel-brown wax color. This also comes as a novelty candle w/ a jar shaped like a pumpkin. I am a sucker for anything Pumpkin, and these jars are adorable. Goose Creek put all their pumpkin fragrances in pumpkin jars last year. I got the pumpkin jar for a gift, right after buying myself the exact same scent. The one I bought for myself was a larger sized artwork jar candle. It was rather hilarious actually. Now I have two of them, so I hope I really like this particular scent. I'll briefly mention the larger jar, I bought for myself, and how it has weaker scent strength and about a 6/10 for throw. In comparison to my pumpkin jar, this one was a poor imitation! My little Pumpkin was much stronger than my large jar. It wasn't even close. It threw like a champ w/ it's fragrance strength taking over my entire living room. It took less than an hour to fill my mid-sized living room with it's gourmand deliciousness. My pumpkin jar has a richness to it's scent that my large jar lacks. My large jar isn't balanced as nicely, and the Cheesecake note comes through a bit sour or tangy. It lacks the strong spice & bakery notes, I get from my pumpkin jar. I'm really happy Mike surprised me with the pumpkin jar because if I was reviewing my large jar, this would have been an entirely different review. I can't recommend the large jar. I just don't think you will get the whole Pumpkin Caramel Swirl Cheesecake Experience. I CAN recommend the pumpkin jar. I DO recommend the pumpkin jar. This is a nice, warm, autumn/fall Pumpkin scent STAPLE. It screams leaves changing color & days getting shorter, though you can burn it all year and mix/layer it with other scents for variety. It's a complicated scent and a joy to smell. Every time you smell it, if you pay attention, you will pick up different notes from Goose Creek's expert layering. It's a must for pumpkin & cheesecake lovers. It could use a tad more CAKE and slightly less dairy, but it's almost perfect. It's definitely not your average, everyday bakery cake/cookie candle. Expect different. Expect sweet. Expect drizzled. Expect Creamy. Expect that your going to like it. -Fragrance:   8/10 -Throw:         9/10 -Overall:        A Until Next Time, my Candle Subjects! 💗The Candle Queen

Yankee Candle Review: Summer Scoop

            

My Review for:   Yankee Candle- Summer Scoop

                 

Yankee Candle Description: "Yum … an absolutely luscious treat of plump, sweet strawberries buried in rich whipped cream."

                                        

Fragrance Notes:

                                             Top:  Pink Cotton Candy, Strawberry, Berries

        Mid:  Spun Sugar

              Base: Praline, Vanilla

I'm On The Fence With This One....

I initially enjoyed Yankee's take on Strawberry Ice Cream. On cold sniff, my first thought is, this candle is pretty weak. My second thought was, mmmmm...This is a candle that actually smells like it's name! The blend of strawberries, with creamy vanilla and cotton candy, is well done. Even with my super sniffer, I had trouble telling what note was what. It's perfectly layered. This is a very sweet and cohesive scent.. Even unlit, every time I smell it, it gets better. Sweet, creamy, perfect, You want to put a spoon it it because it smells so good. The wax is a really pretty shade of pink, slightly darker than a scoop of strawberry ice cream. Let's Light Her Up! An hour in, the wax is pooling nicely, but I can barely smell it from my bedroom doorway. My bedroom is about the same size as my living room, but I can close the door to trap the scent in. Without my door closed, it would be too faint to smell. You have to get up pretty close to the candle. I'd say, both the throw and the fragrance itself, are weak. This is probably one of the weakest candles I own. I really like this candle and I'm hoping, maybe I just got a dud. It happens. After burning a little longer, I detect something different. It's almost like, the longer it burns, the lighter the throw. Something is overpowering the strawberries, giving this candle an artificial tone it didn't have before. I can't guess what this is. I get up close, and it smells like wax, smoke, and artificially sweetened strawberry. Something has changed, minimizing the good notes and replacing them with an unappealing sweetness. I honestly don't even know what I'm smelling any more. How could a scent, that was perfectly blended UNLIT, change so drastically? I can't save this candle. The artificial sweetness has taken over everything and it's so strong that I can't imagine it adding anything to any of my other scents. This isn't a candle for mixing. What a shame. It was SO promising on cold sniff... I really don't know what happened to it.  It's a reminder, the longer you burn the candle, the more those middle notes come out. The base is what lingers and helps boost, or mellow the smell. In this case, spun sugar is the BODY of the fragrance, and it's just too sweet. It ruins the top notes I loved so much. I don't know who I would recommend this candle to. When a candle's scent unlit is better than when it's lit... I bring it back to the store. If you like cloyingly sweet, artificial smelling strawberry, try this candle. If you don't, don't waste your money. If you are in the mood for strawberries, The Returning Classic Strawberry is much better and less sweet. -Fragrance:  4/10   (too sweet & artificial) -Throw:  6/10   (will softly scent a smaller room) -Overall:  C- Until Next Time, my Candle Subjects! 💗The Candle Queen

Yankee Candle Review: Warm Pineapple Upside Down Cake

My Review for:   Yankee Candle- Warm Pineapple Upside Down Cake

                 

Yankee Candle Description: "A special treat--warm pineapple sweetened with brown sugar and soft vanilla. "

                                        

Fragrance Notes:

                                   Top:  Sweet Brown Sugar

                                              Mid:  Golden Pineapple, Crystallized Sugar

                                   Base: Creamy Vanilla Glaze

A Rather One-Note Candle:

This is the first returning favorite I've purchased from Yankee Candle. I'm not the biggest pineapple fan, but I DO like cake and bakery scents. Pineapple is fine...as long as it's not too sweet. In hind sight, I should have looked at the fragrance notes more closely. There is not a "cake" or "pie" or bakery note to be found. Just pineapple, sugar, and more sugar. On cold sniff, a lovely natural pineapple smell floats up to you as soon as you take the lid off the jar. Freshly cut pineapple. Although I like this particular pineapple note, it is so dominant, I can't smell anything else. It's not the type of scent that lingers. After you've smelled the candle for about a minute you can't smell it strongly anymore. Your nose gets used to it. It randomly wafts by you, then disappears. This is all on cold sniff so let's see what happens when we Light It Up. Because this candle seemed to be a little weak in fragrance, I assumed it would be weak in throw as well. When I come across a weaker candle, I tend to burn it in my bedroom. My bedroom is around the same size as my living room, but it has a door I can close, to trap in the scent. That's where I decided to burn Warm Pineapple Upside Down Cake. The candle has been burning with my bedroom 3/4 way shut. The scent is stronger, but still weaker than I would like. I have to walk all the way into the room to smell it. I was unaware this candle lacked bakery notes, so I kept smelling for them. I'm mystified as to why they call this candle "Pineapple Upside Down Cake", when there is LITERALLY no cake notes. A better name for it would be, "A Pocketful of Pineapple", or something similar. The pineapple & sugar in this are sweeter when it's lit. It's Pineapple and sugar + sugar + more sugar. I search for more, but all that happens is, I smell burning candle wax about as much as I smell pineapple. The pineapple seems a little less fresh too. No longer freshly cut. This candle badly needed a bakery note to add dimension to it. To create layers within the fragrance, almost ANYTHING would have been fine. This is weak and very one note. This candle is essentially 3 notes: Pineapple, Sugar, Vanilla. Sugar just adds sweetness and I can barely detect vanilla. I think it gets lost in the sweetness. Too bad... that might have saved it from becoming just a mixing candle. It seems to be the type of candle that plays well with others. I'm keeping it for this reason only. Note: For it's first mixing test, I burned it with Orange Dreamsicle. I was hoping the pineapple would bring out the orange, and all the different sugars would bring out the vanilla. It's not a bad mix. The Boyfriend said he liked it. IMO, the generic, muted orange has actually drowned out the pineapple from my candle. The sugars didn't help bring out any of the vanilla in Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I WILL say that, up close, I can smell the pineapple, and it's a beautiful blend. Unfortunately, you can only smell this mixture, hovering over the two candles, with you nose right above the flame. This might work really well if you have 2 Upside Down Pineapple Cake candles available to burn with the 1 Dreamsicle. I don't, so this mix doesn't work, but I am encouraged by it's potential, mixing it with future scents. -Fragrance:  6/10 -Throw: 5 -Overall:   C Until Next Time, my Candle Subjects! 💗The Candle Queen

Yankee Candle Review: Orange Dreamsicle

                                           

My Review for:   Yankee Candle- Orange Dreamsicle

                                                                22 oz. Jar Candle 

Yankee Candle Description: "A favorite childhood summer treat you never outgrow . . . a cool blend of orange and vanilla ice cream. "

                                        

                                                                                                               Fragrance Notes:

                                                     Top:  Lemon Peels, Juicy Orange,Sparkling Grapefruit

                                               Mid:  Tangelo, White Peach, Sweet Mandarin, Buttercream

Base: Vanilla Bean, Tonka

I Am SO Disappointed...

When I opened the lid of the jar, I was expecting a little slice of heaven. Orange Dreamsicle, what could go wrong? Juicy Orange + Vanilla Ice Cream = delicious smelling... right? Not so much. Something is off/artificial on cold sniff. Maybe it's the Buttercream/Vanilla/Tonka combo affecting the orange notes, because the "juicy orange" is barely there. This smells more like the Popsicle stick after you finished eating all the ice cream. The vanilla is weird. It's not a food-y, bakery vanilla, which I think was a HUGE mistake, along with adding the buttercream. One or the other Yankee. Not both. The Vanilla is too sweet. Cloyingly candy-like, and it drowns out most of the orange/citrus notes. I smell neither lemon peels, grapefruit or peach, and the orange is not fresh, sweet and juicy. I'm so sad because this was a candle I was really looking forward to. Thankfully, Yankee has an excellent return policy. This is what keeps me coming back, despite the occasional disappointment. Let me clarify, this is NOT a bad smelling candle, by any means. It's rather mild, though it can be smelled a few feet away, with the top off the jar. Scents can transform when lit- So we'll see what happens.  After about an hour, I can only smell it from only a few feet away. Not a big deal. Some candles start to pool and you can smell them right away. Not this one. She's a slow burner. After 2 hours, the scent IS traveling.... but I don't like it. This isn't Breyers' Dreamsicle. It's the inferior, generic store brand. At least the throw is increasing. I can now smell it lingering in my hallway, but it still doesn't smell the way I think it should. I feel like the Where's The Beef Lady... Where's The Orange? The main body of the scent can sometimes take a while to come through. It gets stronger the longer you burn the candle. I'm HOPING this is where the orange will make it's appearance. I'm supposed to be smelling Mandarin, according to the fragrance notes... so I'll give this a few more hours. ......... Okay, it's been about 4 hours, and the throw continues to increase, but the fragrance itself, remains the same. I can now just barely detect it from the top of my stairs... but it is faint. It's a different story in my living room. My entire living room is now scented like this candle. I'm pleased with the throw, but not with the fragrance. I just don't smell the ORANGE in the Dreamsicle. Maybe it's just my nose. Everyone smells things differently. I ask for a second opinion from the boyfriend. This is the conversation that ensued: Me: What do you think about this candle? Him: It smells pleasant. Me: What do you think it smells like? Him ..... Me: Orange? Him .... Me: It's supposed to be Orange Dreamsicle. Him: Oh yeah, that's EXACTLY what I smell! Me ..... (rolls eyes). To sum it up, I'm not a fan. I expected more orange and a food-y, creamy vanilla. That's not what I got. I'm going to exchange this for a different scent. If you like the smell of Generic Store Brand Orange Dreamsicles, you can't even tell are ORANGE flavored, you might like this. It's fine. It's inoffensive. It's "pleasant." Note:  Sometimes you can dislike a candle but it enhances other candle fragrances when you blend them together. Those are what I call "mixing" candles. Since I haven't exchanged this candle YET, I thought maybe I'd try it with my Warm Pineapple Upside Down Cake candle. That particular candle is a little one-noted and weak, while Orange Dreamsicle can fill a room. Maybe the two together can jazz things up and bring out the best in each other. I'm hoping the Pineapple will bring out the orange, and the the Vanilla will help reveal some bakery notes, in the pineapple. It's not a bad mix. The Boyfriend said he liked it. IMO, the generic, muted orange has actually drowned out the pineapple from my other candle. The vanilla didn't help bring out any bakery notes in Pineapple Upside Down Cake either. I WILL say that, up close, I can smell the pineapple, and it's a beautiful blend. Unfortunately, you can only smell this mixture, hovering over the two candles, with you nose right above the flame. This might work really well if you have 2 Upside Down Pineapple Cake candles available to burn with the 1 Dreamsicle. I don't, so this mix doesn't work and I'm still exchanging the Orange Dreamsicle for something better. -Fragrance: 4/10 (where's the ORANGE?) -Throw: 6/10 -Overall: C- Until Next Time, my Candle Subjects! 💗The Candle Queen

Yankee Candle Review: AUTUMN PEARL

          

My Review for:   Yankee Candle- Autumn Pearl

22. oz Tumbler Candle                 

Yankee Candle Description: "A creamy blend of lush orchid, vanilla, and delicate freesia sweetened with a swirl of sugar. "

                                        

Fragrance Notes:

                                             Top:  Pink Orchid, Jasmine

                                    Mid:  Freesia, Patchouli

                                           Base: Creamy Vanilla, Spun Sugar

Lovely Candle, Love Scent

First off, what a nice presentation and unique wax color. It's hard to describe it, other then a neutral, mauve-ish gray, which seems appropriate for the "pearl" in it's name. On Cold Sniff, I definitely detect a powdery-sweet smell, with floral (orchid?) mid notes and a vanilla base. SO I would describe this candle as a sweet, powdery floral. It's intoxicating and I can smell it UNOPENED from my coffee table! That's a powerful fragrance. Thank God it's a fragrance I greatly enjoy. I am a sucker for Orchid. It's my favorite flower! The vanilla base mixed with the orchid... this is what I imagine a cloud would smell like... if clouds had a scent. I'm not a huge fan of powdery notes, but they have their place. I can't tell where it's coming from, so it's very possible I'm smelling the freesia mixed with patchouli, which is floral + earthy, creating (at least to my nose) a powdery likeness. These notes are sweetened by the vanilla, which is why it doesn't stray into baby powder/older lady perfume territory. It's actually soft, pretty, and quite pleasant. It's funny that both Tranquil Mist and Autumn Pearl, struck me initially, as "powdery", and yet, they have become two of my FAVORITE Yankee Candles. Besides Magical Frosted Forrest, they are my candles I'll have to reorder soon because there's only a few burns left! So... i really ration my burn time. I need to make them last.  The strength of the fragrance is so attention getting, it makes it seem like it has a stronger throw than it actually does. It easily filled my mid-sized living room with it's intoxicating essence, but didn't travel well outside of that. Still, I would say the throw is average to slightly above average, making it fairly safe for those of you who can get overwhelmed by florals. I highly recommend this to ANYONE and EVERYONE that enjoys the smell of orchids and vanilla. It's called "Autumn Pearll", but this scent transcends the seasons. It's timeless. You might want to stock up on this one. -Fragrance: 8/10 -Throw: 6/10 -Overall: A Until Next Time,

The Candle Queen

Goose Creek: Bedtime Stories

My Review for:   Goose Creek- Bedtime Stories

                 

Goose Creek Description: "Roasting marshmallows by the fire,

the imaginations run wild as our favorite bedtime stories are being told. "

                                        

Fragrance Notes:

                                             Top:  Campfire Marshmallow, Warm Vanilla Bean

                                    Mid:  Whipped Cream, Light Smoky Notes

                                           Base: Vanilla Extract, Sandalwood, Soft Balsam

2nd Most Fragrant Candle....

Out of the 3 candles I ordered from my FIRST ORDER of Goose Creek Candles, Bedtime Stories was the middle child of fragrance strength. It wasn't as strong as my Butter Cookie Candle, but definitely stronger than my Pumpkin Caramel Swirl. On cold sniff, I immediately picked up on SWEET. The sweet notes in this candle are very obvious, though the particulars on these notes are a little tricky to pinpoint. After the initial sweet fragrance hits you, you than smell either a light powdery or floral note in the background. The powdery smell is most likely the sandalwood in the base notes. There is extra layering added to this once lit. The vanilla comes out to join the marshmallow. The marshmallow goes, from the bag on cold sniff, to the warmth of campfire toasted soon after the wax pools. Then you get a waft of herbal note some people might not like because of the toasted marshmallow scent. The herbal note I detect is probably the balsam, which doesn't come off as a fresh green note, like Christmas scents often do. This balsam has a little bit of bitterness to it, creating the char on top of the gooey marshmallow. The smokey sandalwood and the addition of the Balsam tones down the sweetness of vanilla and marshmallow, though one time I thought it smelled a little like plastic was thrown into my campfire.This only happened once, but I thought I should mention it. Bedtime Stories is an intriguing fragrance. It's not for people that dislike really sweet fragrances. It might give them a headache, though I doubt anyone that sensitive to sweet candles would want to try a marshmallow/whipped cream/vanilla candle. I enjoy burning this candle. It's sweet, but soft and less food-y than you would think. I really do feel like the label matches the scent. Cozy. Warm. Safe. Inviting. The throw is about a 6/10, filling my living room and part of my hallway. I think this is a great pick up for anyone that likes non food-y sweet scents, or anyone that just wants to try something a little different. Note: I wanted to see what would happen if I melted a little Goose Creek Holiday Rum Cake, while burning this candle. I thought it would be interesting to try to bring out a more food-y side of the marshmallow. Mixing the two created a fragrance that was TO DIE FOR. I mean it. All out DELICIOUS. I can't imagine anyone not loving this combination. I recommend trying other food fragrances with this to see what delicious combos can be made. Bedtime Stories is extremely versatile and I will update when I try something else with it! -Fragrance: 7/10 -Throw: 6/10 -Overall: B (above average for mixing!) Until Next Time, The Candle Queen <3

SPOTLIGHT: Yankee Candle Retiring/Discontinued Berry Trifle Profile

• Berry Trifle

"The mouth-watering fragrance of fresh berries, tangy and sharp, nestled on a white bed of soft vanilla cream—delicious!"

Top:  Raspberry

Mid:  Strawberry, Blueberry

Base: Vanilla, Cream, Sugar

Year Released:   2015 (?)

Year Retired:    2019  (?)

Collection:    Holiday/Seasonal/Fruity Candles

Yankee Candle Site Reviews

• My Favorite Candle

"I was so disappointing over the holidays when I went to the store and was told this candle was discontinued. It is by far my favorite and buy it for many loved ones as a gift. Would love to see it back in the available scents!"

• Love This Scent!

"This is absolutely my favorite scent. I would've given this review 5 stars but for some reason Yankee decided to not put this scent out in the large jars this past year."

• Love This Candle

"The fragrance is not overwhelming. One of my favorite scents, wish it came in the large jar!"

• Disappointed

"I was excited about getting this candle because it sounded (I bought online) wonderful. I am disappointed because it doesn't put out any fragrance."

• Excellent & long lasting scent

"I bought a medium just before Christmas & lit it every morning. My living room was fragrant with this wonderful scent! My only complaint it the wick was off center so it didn’t melt evenly. I’m back to get another one and hopefully a larger one."

• Smells SCENT~SATIONAL!

"One of my absolute favorite fragrances! Very disappointed that Yankee did not bring it back in stores this year. Shame on you Yankee!!!! I burn it year round."

• Warm and inviting

"I bought this recently and have been burning it practically everday. It makes my entire great room smell sweet, warm and inviting. Should have purchased two."

• Smells heavenly

"The best sweetest smell you will ever find in any candle! Glad Yankee candle brought this scent back after a couple of years. @Yankee Candle, please keep this scent a regular!"

• Love this Candle

"Friends come in to my home and ask what smells so good. The fragrance is wonderful. I absolutely love this candle and would definitely recommend to all."

★★★★★★★★★★5 out of 5 stars.

· 2 years ago  

• Delicious Scent

"Smells like dessert! This delicious scent will be sure to wow any guest with its sweet berry and creamy notes. Great throw and a winter favorite!"

★★★★★★★★★★5 out of 5 stars.

• Fresh, Natural Fragrance

"Visitors walk in and say, "Wow, your house smells great! What are you baking?" It's my Berry Trifle Yankee Candles! This is a wonderful fragrance year round. Is there a fresh, summer berry pie in the oven, or a special winter holiday dessert? No, just 2 candles in my kitchen bay window. If we could vote on certain fragrances that would never be discontinued, this is one of the Yankee Candles that would get definitely my vote!"

• No Throw......

"Let me 1st say that I love Yankee Candles......I tried this candle because of the rave reviews it received. I must say I can barely smell this candle while it is burning. I could faintly smell it when I received it, before I lit it. I have now burned the candle in a small 8x10 room and still cannot smell it upon entering the room. Maybe I am not able to distinguish this particular scent, I am not sure!"

• !

"Remember when your mom would make berry jam on the stove?! This candle has bottled that smell - the sweet smell of berries reducing into jam. So good. This is by far, one of the strongest candles Yankee has out this season. It fills the air quickly, and the throw is amazing. If you were a fan of "Summer Scoop", this candle is very similar, but much, much stronger! It definitely is more berry than vanilla. If you're a fan of mixing scents, like me, I like to pair this with "Fudge Ripple", "French Vanilla" and "Christmas Cookie" - together, they smell like strawberry icecream. DIVINE! :) A+ Yankee!"

• Fruity for fall

"This is a nice fruity but not sickly sweet scent for fall if you're looking for an alternative to the pumpkin and baked good type scents that dominate the season. It's not as overtly fruity as some of the traditional summer scents, but it is refreshing and light. This has good throw, which made me happy because some recent purchases have lacked that. Will definitely repurchase."

• Excellent new Scent!

"I bought 2 jars one for me on e for a gift...will be purchasing more . this new scent is beautiful and the "berry Trifle" name and label looks so festive...as always yankee candles prove to have the best selection of scents AND their products true to scent accurately to the amt of hours advertised. other candles can have 3 wicks but don't have the rich scent throughout the life of the candle!"

Final Thoughts: To Be Continued....

Til Next Time!

The Candle Queen <3