As the holidays begin to come around we all know what that means: Bath and Body Works holiday scents are back! So me being the quirky weirdo that has a problem with sniffing candles and I work across the mall hall from Bath and Body Works, I went over there and began sniffing candles. Before anyone comes at me for not getting them all: I DID MY BEST! HAVE YOU EVER SNIFFED 50 CANDLES?
That being ranted, here’s what my ratings mean:
Strength of candles
Strong: I could open the lid and got hit with one of the scents
Medium: I could smell it if it was near my face or I swirled the candle
Light: I had to put my nose in the candle and breathe deep
Ratings
1/5: I would not burn or purchase
2/5: I would not burn myself, but won’t stop someone else from burning it around me
3/5: I would burn if in the mood, but would not buy full price
4/5: would burn and buy
5/5: would burn, buy, and rebuy
THE CANDLES
Vanilla bean Noelle: subtle, but warm vanilla
Rating: 2.5/5
Fragrance notes: Vanilla Bean, Marshmallow Fluff, Vanilla Cake with Essential Oils
Twisted Peppermint: medium to strong sweet peppermint scent that could cure a headache
Rating: 3.5/5
Fragrance notes: Cool Peppermint, Sugared Snow, Vanilla Buttercream, Fresh Balsam, Hint of Musk with Essential Oils
Tis the Season: medium to strong cinnamon berry scent
Rating: 3/5
Fragrance notes: Rich Red Apple, Sweet Cinnamon, Cedarwood with Essential Oils
Winter Candy Apple: strong clean apple scent
Rating: 3/5
Fragrance notes: Candied Apples, Crisp Pears, Oranges with Essential Oils
Spiced Gingerbread: strong warm buttery fresh baked cookie scent
Rating: 4.5/5
Fragrance Notes: Vanilla Icing, Cinnamon Sugar, Fresh Ground Nutmeg with Essential Oils
Sugared Snickerdoodle: light warm vanilla that will make you think of cookies on Christmas morning
Rating: 3.5/5
Fragrance notes: Warm Spices, Creamy Vanilla, Sugared Musk with Essential Oils
Frosted Coconut Snowball: light to medium coconut scent that honestly smells a little fake
Rating: 1.5/5
Fragrance notes: Toasted Coconut, Vanilla Musk, Whipped Cream with Essential Oils
Merry Cherry Cheer (cherry frost): strong cherry and grape juice scent that smells like chapstick
Rating: 1/5
Fragrance notes: Juicy Cherry, Frosted Black Plum, Creamy Tonka, Juniper Berry with Essential Oils
Chocolate Peppermint Cream: that perfect peppermint hot chocolate scent for the holidays
Rating: 4/5
Fragrance notes: Crushed Peppermint Candies, Creamy Chocolate, White Sugar Crystals with Essential Oils
Fresh Balsam: strong evergreen tree smell that’s perfect if you have a fake Christmas tree, but long for a real one
Rating: 4/5
Fragrances: Woodland Balsam, Crisp Eucalyptus, Fir Branches, Cedarwood with Essential Oils
Frosted Cranberry: strong honestly better than Winter Candy Apple and perfect for a warm berry scent this holiday season
Rating: 5/5
Fragrance notes: Iced Cranberries, Blonde Woods, Red Apple, Tonka Bean with Essential Oils
Champagne Toast: strong scent to burn after Christmas for that bubbly scent
Rating: 4.5/5
Fragrance notes: Bubbly Champagne, Sparkling Berries, Juicy Tangerine with Essential Oils
Cinnamon Caramel Swirl: medium strong scent that makes you think of cinnamon rolls in the oven
Rating: 4/5
Fragrance notes: Gooey Caramel, Grated Cinnamon, Vanilla Bean, Maple Brown Sugar with Essential Oils
Merry cookie: medium strong basic vanilla cookie scent
Rating: 3/5
Fragrance notes: Fresh Baked Cookies, Sparkling Sugar Crystals, Rich Vanilla with Essential Oils
Pink fairy gumdrop: light medium sweet sugary candle with a hint of nostalgic waxiness to the scent
Rating: 2/5
Fragrance notes: Sparkling Sugared Berries, Pink Cotton Candy, Sprinkle of Fairy Dust with Essential Oils
Peppermint Marshmallow: strong sugary peppermint scent that will remind you of a fresh candy cane
Rating: 3/5
Fragrance notes:Crushed Peppermint, Fluffy Marshmallows, Powdered Sugar with Essential Oils
Marshmallow fireside: meduim scent smells exactly like a marshmallow
Rating: 4.5/5
Fragrance Notes: Toasted Marshmallow, Smoldering Woods, Fire Roasted Vanilla, Crystalized Amber with Essential Oils
Sparkling icicles: medium citrus musky scent
Rating: 3.5/5
Fragrance notes: Glittering Ice, Fresh Bergamot Sprigs, Bright Holiday Greenery with Essential Oils
Vanilla snowflake: light medium scent second best vanilla holiday candle
Rating: 3/5
Fragrance Notes: Frozen Vanilla, Iced Fir Needles, Mint Leaf, Coconut Flakes with Essential Oils
Winter: strong spicy earth scent (this is one of my moms favorites)
Rating: 4.5/5
Fragrance notes: White Woods, Pine Needles, Sparkling Clementine, Spiced Clove with Essential Oils
Black Tie: light cologne scent for when you’re missing your man on winter break
Rating: 2.5/5
Fragrance Notes: Green Sage, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean with Essential Oils
Merry mimosa: strong almost mimosa, but not quite
Rating: 3.5/5
Fragrance Notes: Sparkling Champagne, Red Apple Slices, Iced Sugar Crystals with Essential Oils
Spiced apple toddy: smells exactly like apple cider
Rating: 4/5
Fragrance notes: Warm Apple Brandy, Spiced Plum, Tart Cranberry, Cinnamon Stick with Essential Oils
Peach Bellini: strong sweet peach scent
Rating: 4.5/5
Fragrance Notes: Succulent White Peach, Sparkling Prosecco, Sweet Orange with Essential Oils
First Frost: another cologne like scent that had lavender in it so I loved it
Rating: 5/5
Fragrance Notes: Sparkling Bergamot, Creamy Sandalwood, Iced Lavender with Essential Oils
Party dress: light
Rating: 1/5
Fragrance Notes: Sparkling Bergamot, Velvet Lilies, Tonka Bean with Essential Oils
Cherry Mocha: smells exactly like a Queen Anne chocolate-covered cherry
Rating: 1/5
Fragrance notes: Sweet Cherry, Decadent Chocolate, Whipped Cream Topping with Essential Oils
Cinnamon and Clove Buds: strong hot tamale candy scent that is missing something
Rating: 1.5/5
Fragrance notes: Cinnamon Leaf, Clove Bud, Ground Nutmeg with Essential Oils
Mahogany Balsam: strong evergreen woods scent
Rating:2.5/5
Fragrance Notes: Juniper Berry, Fresh Balsam, Mahogany Wood with Essential Oils
Vanilla birch: light perfect blend of vanilla and faint sandalwood
Ratings: 2/5
Fragrance notes: White Birch, Madagascar Vanilla, Warm Sandalwood with Essential Oils
Praline Pecan and Cream: perfect vanilla candle with a hint of nuttiness
Rating: 4.5/5
Fragrance notes: Roasted Apples, Sugared Chestnuts, Whipped Buttercream with Essential Oils
Citrus and Spice: smells like old soap
Ratings: 2/5
Fragrance Notes: Bitter Orange, Fresh Clove, Soft Musk with Essential Oils
Hot Cocoa and Cream: smells exactly like a cup of hot cocoa but can get a little sweet when burnt (my roommate used to burn this candle)
Rating: 3.5/5
Fragrance notes: Decadent Milk Chocolate, Fresh Steamed Milk, Mini Marshmallows with Essential Oils
Flannel: strong
Rating: 4/5
Fragrance notes: Fresh Bergamot, Heirloom Mahogany, Soft Musk with Essential Oils
Frozen Lake: perfect essential oil blend of lavender and eucalyptus with a pinch of musk
Rating: 5/5
Fragrance notes: Lavender Leaves, Cool Eucalyptus, Juniper Berries with Essential Oils
White Winter Woods: medium strength straight smells like a dying bonfire
Rating: 1/5
Fragrance Notes: Glistening Icicles, Dried Cedarwood Bark, Spiced Sandalwood with Essential Oils
Snowflakes and Citrus: this was like a nostalgic gum scent to me
Rating: 2/5
Fragrance notes: Frozen Lemon Peel, Fresh Squeezed Mandarin, Winter White Mango with Essential Oils
Grateful: smells like Cheerios with a hint of apples
Rating: 3/5
Fragrance Notes: Red Apple, Spicy Cardamom, Sugared Clove Buds, Graham Cracker Crumble with Essential Oils
Iced Cranapple: medium apple cranberry scent that is actually refreshing
Rating: 3.5/5
Fragrance Notes: Fresh Apple, Frosted Cranberries, Sugared Raspberry, Creamy Musk with Essential Oils
Black Cherry Merlot: cherry cough syrup
Rating: 1/5
Fragrance Notes: Dark Cherry, Black Raspberry, Sumptuous Merlot with Essential Oils
Evergreen: strong Christmas tree
Rating: 3/5
Fragrance Notes: White Fir Needles, Fresh Cedar Wood, Sweet Sap
Spiced Clementine: you get more of the spice than clementine
Rating 2/5
Fragrance Notes: Fresh Clove Bud, Cinnamon Stick, Clementine Zest, Ground Ginger with Essential Oils
The Perfect Christmas: it’s not, but still good
Rating: 3/5
Fragrance Notes: Fresh Cut Pine, Cinnamon Sugar, Toasted Marshmallow with Essential Oils
Ski Lodge: it’s hot cocoa and cream under a different name and kind of cuter packaging
Rating: 4/5
Elf Village: crushed candy canes
Rathing: 3.5/5
Fragrance Notes: Crunchy Peppermint, White Sugar Crystals, Frosted Mint Leaf with Essential Oils
Authors note: Yes, I am aware I did not get every candle of the holiday collection sniffed, but I did the best a one woman volunteer writer could do. The day after I submitted this article Bath and Body released a new wave of holiday candle scents that are not included in this article.