A small outing; Christmas already?

Alright B&BW, ya got me. Sort of.

I ran a couple errands today and of course stopped by B&BW whilst out with the plan to buy a couple Mason Jars, but before I could check out, there I saw it. 4 Christmas Pocketbacs.

• Candy Cane Bliss - Peppermint Schnapps. Am I right?
• Winter Cranberry - Tart cranberry with a hint of a pine note.
• Fresh Sparkling Snow - Smells a little like watermelon to me. When it dries, I can definitely smell tree.
• Fresh Balsam - Smells a bit earthy and woodsy. Not as terrible as I figured an anti-bac in this scent might do.

These are going in the cabinet for now and NOT coming out until after Halloween at least. Back to your regularly scheduled Fall programming. 

New online

 

   

   

  

   

2/$22 + New Packaging

Hey guys!

As you are probably well aware, there was a big deal about the 2/$22 - I posted about it today. It was pulled from the website and in place of it was $6 Fall Traditions and a 25% off + $1 shipping on orders over $25. B&BW confirmed on their Facebook page my suspicions that the sale would resume it's run through Sunday starting tomorrow. I already expressed my thoughts earlier so I'll say naught more on it but it was in fact in stores still - at least it was in the stores I visited today! 

Also, I made an error in a previous post by stating Pink Chiffon Body Butter has released. One of my local stores has it out but the others don't, so selection might vary, if you're deadset on it call ahead and find out. The official launch as I am told for the new packaging will be October 7th.

Fall hauls! Yankee Candle, Target, B&BW

Long time no haul right?! Well I say no haul but what I mean is more than three items. Hehe. Technicalities win. 

So I went out shopping because I just got paid and I haven't felt up to shopping lately and let's face it, when life gets stressful, a little retail pick-me-up is nice! I hit up Target, B&BW and for the first time, Yankee Candle.

Got my hands on some Pumpkin Spice M&Ms (delish btw!), Pumpkin Spice Waffles which I partook in last year and found utterly delicious and some "ground goblin" candy. It's just apple licorice rope with sugar crystals. Pretty good stuff!

This particular haul we paid only $4 for because I had some items collecting dust that I needed to exchange. I had to have another Pumpkin Carving. Roasted Pumpkin Butter is beautiful and delicious smelling. It literally smells of Peanut Butter and a hint of Pumpkin. Cider Line was an unexpected like actually. During the June SAS, PIC kept picking up the mini candles of last year's Cider Lane which I found too apple-y but in debating on what else to get, I smelled Cider Line out of curiosity to see if it smelled different and to me, it did. I get a nice rich caramel note out of the cold sniff. Wonderful! I look forward to burning it. For the repackage, aren't those minis adorable? There IS in fact a shower gel in travel size also for those wondering. 

Lastly, Yankee Candle. I've always passed up even setting foot in Yankee Candle because of the price tags mostly. I see some of their products at grocery or department stores and honestly, I was aghast at their prices but I found a coupon over at B&BW Sistas page that got me to set foot in there just to see what I was missing. $5 small jar candles. When I walked in, I was greeted by a rather exuberant employee who looked pretty darn bored until I came in. She was rather nice but quite eager to put candles under my nose. I saw a lot of interesting things such as a candle called North Pole and Peppermint Bark. They don't appear to come in small jars, so here's what I got: Campfire Treat which is a nice and light marshmallowy vanilla with a very slight hint of smoke, Red Velvet which smells exactly like you'd expect, and Salted Caramel which smells to me exactly like the Salted Caramel Glade products at Target. All winners! I also smelled some others that I liked called Golden Sand and Black Coconut. I'm not in a summer mood despite the blazing Florida sun. So anyway, I am gonna burn some of these and see how they do. I got some coupons from the lady and she signed me up for emails and such so we'll see if I like it! I look at it this way, if I don't, PIC's mother DOES so I can pass the savings to her.

And in case anyone wants it, here's the coupon.

And that concludes my fun filled day!

Amber Blush Sheer Mist + PC Body Butter Has landed + Candle Fiasco

Hey guys!

First and foremost, the Pink Chiffon Body Butter has LANDED in stores! At least, the ones I've been to. It's kind of ambiguous since they didn't put it out in the center with the other Pink Chiffon stuff but what can ya do?

Also saw a new product today (going to a diff store so maybe pictures?!) called Sheer Mist or maybe it was Sheer Perfume Mist. The manager was talking to another customer about it, describing it is a middle ground between FFM and EDT. She said it's something of a mixture, designed to last longer than the FFM. It's in a FFM bottle with a golden ring with leaves going down the side (think Forever Red's bow) and prices at $19.50. It's apparently a let's see how well this does type thing.

And once again, the candle fiasco kicks back up. Before, it was the holiday/test scents/phone orders thing. Now today, when I got up, I went to check the website and found that the 2/$22 deal was gone but there was $6 Fall Traditions online only and 25% off your entire purchase + $1 shipping on orders over $25 after the discount is applied. 

happyfall25 if you're interested.

At any rate, when DOD went on, decorated wallflower bulbs were pulled and put back out when over, FFM in MH and PP were pulled during FFM sales and now the 2/$22 is suspended online presumably due to the coupon code. I understand they're here to push product and make money, but I gotta say, I am prettyannoyed with this. I don't even order online but once in a blue moon and it just burns my behind up because let's face it, shipping is ridiculous and when there's a $10/$30 it's still not a great deal because you're saving usually only $2-4 so you might as well just bring it in store and buy your stuff there. Understandable from a business standpoint. Customer friendly? Not so much. There's a disclaimer that says B&BW can change their promotions at any time - we've seen it in action before, sales that should've gone until x time suddenly over three days early, or sales that were extended. Sadly, it is what it is.

So, long short, 2/$22 IS AVAILABLE IN STORE. Just not online.

Current Bounceback handout + Sales + First impressions

Hey again guys! Today I have images of the current bounceback being handed out in stores right now along with some thoughts about the new packaging and Amber Blush. 

Advertising the new look. Free body care item of your choice with any purchase of $10 or more (up to $13 value)

Front, excuse the glare. Advertising the new look on a lot of the others, Pure Paradise is in thee too! For those of us that don't live near test stores or make orders, this is news for us. I've been reading Cia for a while and I saw these originally through her. I saw some of the other new labels and it's pretty, nice little overhaul.

Speaking of the new packaging. When I first saw the pictures, I thought, oh, those look tiny! They definitely look their weight in oz. in person. The shape takes some getting used to, but the stackable factor that Cia mentioned to me before was tested and true and I was a happy camper upon playing with them in store. The bottles themselves feel a little odd though, the material itself I ought to say. It feels, almost flimsier? I don't know if that's the word that I'm looking for.  Ever get an hourglass bottle with a spot that feels so thin it might break? It reminds me of that. Sadly.

As you are well aware, the prices are in fact going up. Amber Blush rings in at $12.50 for the lotion and shower gel. The TMC and FFM appear to be the same, and Body Butters don't appear to have changed either, despite the label changing. These new bottles will be launching next month to coincide with the use of these bouncebacks. I do speculate that prices will however change. 

In the past, we were not able to use these spend $10 get a free item for anything other than lotion, shower gel or bubble bath as it capped at $12. Some stores reportedly let this slide for TMCs but with the new wording, we are able to get TMCs. For how long? I don't think very long. Amber Blush's TMC does ring in at $12.50 same as the others but I forsee a price change coming soon. Probably about a dollar. I won't be surprised if we once again see that blasted $.50 margin that prevents the procurement of a TMC with coupons. So my guess, and this is just a guess, is that the TMC will go up to $13.50 eventually. Probably with the launch of the new look storewide. 

I don't think the FFM, Body Butters, or anything else will change pricewise but the labels are getting new artwork. 

Now, with these new bottles comes reformulation according to the advertising. How does it compare? Well, I didn't buy the regular lotion as I am largely a TMC girl unless the scent is lovable and there's not a TMC available, but I did get a shower gel and used this morning. Here's my thoughts: The scent is lovely, (I'll get into that part later), it doesn't last out of the shower well, per B&BW SG standard, but I noticed the lather isn't as nice either. It's different and probably not in a good way. I noticed the lather seemed extremely watered down. It does rinse out of a loofah better than the others, but it doesn't feel as creamy if you will, as they probably intended. I thought the idea of adding more shea was to make for a creamier wash but I feel it's done the opposite. 

It does leave my skin nice and soft just the same, maybe a touch more but we'll see how it holds up for other scents. After all, maybe this experience was exclusive to Amber Blush.

While I'm on about it, the scent of Amber Blush is really nice. It's a very sweet, fruity scent drenched in musk. It's sort of an odd combination but I find that I quite love it. As I said, take Sugar Berry Smash and add a dash of maturity and a lot of musk and this is what you get. I've heard comparisons to Cashmere Glow and Twilight Woods but I don't like either of these on bottle smell so I've never bothered to try them and can't give an accurate comparison. In the bottle, I don't notice much of a similarity. I can say it has a Forever Red feel to it, but much sweeter. I like it for now, we'll see how it withstands the test of me wearing it nonstop for a week.

Lastly, as I mentioned last night, the 2/22 is on right now and should be thru Monday at least. I'm pretty much stocked up on candles as I went nuts last candle sale. Happy shopping.

Amber Blush online now + other newness

So when I wrote my post yesterday, I had done so when I got in from work and missed one valuable detail. The release of Amber Blush is TODAY in fact. My store doesn't put anything out early usually so I had to figure I didn't just get lucky. Hehe. Anyway, here it is online (with those new minis I mentioned!) and other newness.

 

  

  

   

   

  

   

 

Amber Blush + Candle sale

Hey! Long time no post.

So, my store set out Amber Blush tonight and I couldn't resist buying it, obviously.

The official release as far as I can tell is September 23rd, but some stores are putting it out early. I decided on the TMC over the lotion because not only do I prefer TMC, I found the TMC was sweeter than the lotion and the lotion was more floral. Something I noticed in common with Beautiful Day. The shower gel, just like Beautiful Day, has a much fruitier smell to it as well. I sprayed the FFM on my wrist and it doesn't smell a whole lot different than the EDT. The minis also reflect the new bottle shape but the same price. Amber Blush will have a mini shower gel contrary to most scents nowadays, probably because it's meant to be an addition to the signature line that isn't seasonal and those do come with mini gels. 

At any rate, super excited for it and might get a mini lotion, maybe. 

Tomorrow starts 2/$22 3 Wick candles. Signs went up tonight for it. Probably thru Monday as per usual. Excited? Meh, I might grab a Roasted Pumpkin Butter, Pumpkin Carving and something else. I guess you have too many Fall candles when you are desperate for a third, right? 

Oh! Lastly, those lip balms I mentioned a long time ago went out. They are fresh picked lip balms fashioned similar to EOS in Strawberry and Apple flavours and rounded shapes. They are  much smaller though and clock in at a whopping $8. Thanks but no thanks. Cute as they may be, they aren't $8 cute!

What's new since Labor Day?

Being the lil slacker I am, I missed some newness over the last week so here I'll take the time to post what I find new on the website! While some of it may not be fresh to the site today, it's certainly new to me and perhaps to you if you don't check frequently.

 

   

   

   

  

  

   

   

   

 What I found interesting was those bundles of wallflower bulbs. They are selling for $15, no box or anything. Cheaper than if you bought them separately.