What's next? CHRISTMAS! Although we are just now enjoying the bucolic autumn scenery of rural Indiana with its turning leaves and cold, brisk winds, I have to start thinking Christmas and getting it all settled and ready for release. Though we still have quite a bit of Fall scents on the shelves, thoughts turn to sweet scents, cinnamon and pine boughs.
Last week, I poured several testers in varied scents. It's too soon to see which will pass scent testing, but I expect them all to!
You'll probably see another Samper Kit for Christmas coming.
So what's being tested now?
First up would be the pine scent...a blue spruce fragrance called Christmas Tree Farm. There's a lot of pine and cedar notes in this one. It's a full-bodied scent, but not overpowering. Of course, there's always a low intensity option if you're unsure.
Butterscotch Milkshake was an absolute joy to pour. It smells amazing...and yeah, I know I keep saying that, but I just love these scents! It's a cross of the old Brach's Butterscotch hard candy and an old-fashioned butterscotch pie.
This is such a very precious time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, so The King's Gift is definitely on the list. Frankincense and myrrh are common throughout the Middle East, but not so much here. It's a lovely, hardy blend of natural spice that was a part of the wise men's gifts to Jesus at His birth. But where's the gold you ask? The wax is tinted a gold color and brushed with a gold mica, so it shimmers when you open the jar...it's just lovely. The wax melts of this fragrance are loaded with more gold mica and melt in golden, sparkly pools. If you've never seen wax melts with mica in them, you're in for a real treat. In fact, most, if not all of our Christmas melts will have mica in them to add that special touch of sparkle this season.
Citrus is abundant around Christmas time and has become a must-have item in our family's stockings for years. So, I felt it only apropos to add Prickly Persimmon, a citrus heavy fragrance to lighten up the robust scents of Christmas.
Speaking of robust, Frosted Window Panes brings all the familiar smells of Christmas into one candle. Orange spice notes from the kitchen, fir and pine notes from the Christmas tree, and an earthy smokiness from the fireplace.
Also from the kitchen, we have Sugar Cookie Snowflake. I mean, what can you say...it's vanilla, sugar and butter. It's classic. It's sweet. It's Christmas morning.
We have a few others, that may or may not make the cut. Like a wassail (blend of oranges, lemons, apple cider, and cranberries), flannel (blend of spicy bergamot, rich mahogany wood, and soft musk), caramel and a french toast...and yeah, it literally smells like french toast (I made pancakes after...sad, but true).
And there's just a not-so-quick update for you. If you didn't see a particular fragrance you were hoping for, just shoot us an email and we'll discuss the possibilities
I will be doing another blog on the testing process that we go through. It's such a critical thing, and most candle makers just through some stuff together, but it's really more involved than that. It's costly, time consuming, but so worth it when trying to bring you the very best candle I can possibly make. I need to be proud of what I'm putting out to my customers, and I hope that shows.
Anywho....stay tuned. It's the most wonderful time of the year!