I Just Can't Walk Away

   So many things to cover today and tomorrow, possibly into Tuesday before work. Let's make a list so I don't forget, okay?

• Catch up on the Gwynnie Bee trial before it ends.


• The new MH and EAH dolls coming out


• Scentsy's overinflated sense of self worth (aka: their holiday collection)


• AG GOTY 2016 Leaks


• Maybe the one possible leak for BF 2016 and her possible release date

Before you say this doesn't sound like a lot, please remember what else is going on:

• the flooding courtesy of our not!hurricane


• decorating for Halloween because October is when my "wait for it" ban is lifted


• the ants go marching...

And most distracting of all: Mums bought me Sisters Season One and Two on DVD and it came the other day and I'm tired of waiting to watch it. Do you know how long I've been waiting for that show on DVD? I don't know how far Mums will make it should they release other seasons because it started hitting home, but we'll have a Sisters post in the future, I'm sure. (You've been warned.)

I should head upstairs and swap out my warmers for more fall/Halloweeny ones.

Oh, and my Scentsy review on Rum Raisin Cookie, just to keep this from being mostly lists:
   I was the most excited for this scent because it kept being described as an oatmeal raisin cookie. I think those smell amazing even if they don't always taste so yummy, so I was super excited. I also have a rum raisin cookie recipe that is so good that even people who don't LIKE oatmeal raisin cookies like it. So I had expectations.

Freshly baked cookie dough sumptuously spiced with rum, raisin and clove will transport you to the corner bakery.

  Something about this combo doesn't quite work for me all the time. I'm thinking it's the rum note that's off, but it might be the way it combines with the clove because it smells too... something. I'd say spicy but that's not quite right. It's too strong initially but as your nose adjusts or the rum gives way to everything else, it settles and is a really nice scent that does remind me a lot of rum raisin cookies. But then the smell turns again and it's too much... and basically I waffled. On the most decided plus side, this is a scent that lasts for days. It was still going strong (in a good way, mostly) on day three. I imagine I'll use it happily for the rest of the bar over the season, but I'm not sure I see myself buying this one again.

Finally, we sat down to tester town. A lot of them were scents we'd already tried before (she has been selling these since 2012 so with things being brought back season to season, it's a much smaller list when going with stuff we haven't encountered before) or maybe I'd tried a few she hadn't (when z was selling and Cass wasn't). In any case, she emptied her tester case out and spread them out on the table and we traded off. She grabbed two of the new catalogs and a couple of pens so we could mark which scents we liked, which were maybes, and which were Not Evers.

I made a few additional notes, like the scent that immediately started to trigger a headache and the few I knew I wouldn't like myself but I wouldn't hate if Mom or Widget fell in love. It's important to make that distinction, okay? Because whenever Cass moved back and brought over a bunch of testers to the house (not either townhouse) one of them actually gave three of us instant headaches and for awhile I had it written down but then I lost it. It's not really a scent you want to accidentally order because it sounds good, y'know?

There were a few surprises and a couple of, "OH, GOD, WHY?" followed by, "Hey, Matt, come smell this!" because why should we suffer alone. :P I sniffed everything because I like to give them a fair shot each time and also something unusual happened about halfway through the sniff tests.

For those playing along at home, the catalog link is here.

At first we started with new scents (either new-new or new to us) and we found a few surprises (she expected B-A-N-A-N-A-S to smell awful and I think I might like it when melted) of the good kind. Then we went through and started eliminating ones we knew what they smelled like, but when we finally braved Sugar Cookie again, we found that it smelled different than it had before. I don't know if they reformulated it, or our senses changed or what, but it was actually one we both kind of liked whereas before it was one we both kind of hated. I say kind of liked in this case because neither of us added it to any of the six pack orders we made, but I think we both filed it away for future use.

We also found that Thunderstorm had also undergone a change, or we had. It went from being a disappointment to being one we both wanted to try. I don't recall if she actually added it to her order, but I did add it to mine.

Alas, Sugar hadn't changed but I could finally ID what it smelled like: Pink Sugar perfume. Which I have and I own and I love. On me. But it requires that fun chemical reaction to take it from overly sweet to "yeeeeeeeeessssssssss" and I don't think that can happen in a warmer. However, if you dig the way the perfume smells, you might dig Sugar.

After awhile it was pretty funny to see us sniffing the new and new-ish ones because the ones she loved, I hated, and the she hated, I loved. Basically any of the bakery ones or anything with a healthy dose of cinnamon is yummers for me and death to her. I'm not a big fan of the more spa-like/romance scents because they seem to utilize more musk than is strictly necessary but she loooooooves them.

However, we did find a few scents that we agreed on. Sadly, I was the one who found most of the "Why, God, why?" scents on my turns. After awhile it became a bit of a challenge on my part because why not?


Apparently this year's ScenTrend is coconut milk and it had mixed results on my end. I think it was more of a 'no thank you' on Cassy's end but only one was a gagging no for both of us.

Four scents have the little trend icon, one of which is the aforementioned bananas. I thought it would smell like banana laffy taffy (which the scent write up sort of implies) but it doesn't. It smells pretty good in tester form. Cass was ready to hate it but she kinda liked it. Not enough to buy herself, but not what she was afraid of either.

Coconut Flower, however, got a thumbs down from us both. The pineapple in it is too strong or something. Coconut Cotton, however, is one I'll likely try one day. I cannot say this next one strongly enough: Sedona Sunset smells horrible. I sniffed it first and I tried to play it off but then I started coughing and ugh, it was just not a good idea. Cass sniffed it and immediately made her "Do not want" face and Matt agreed. It's very strong (to me) which is probably great if it's your thing.


I think, for the sake of Future!Me, I'll list the various scent reactions here, just in case I lose my catalog or I can't be bothered to hunt it down. You're more than welcome to chime in if you want to play along, too.

Fields of Gold: smells exactly like an old man in church or on his way to church. He's got too much of his cologne on and it's entered the room well before he did and it will linger. The write up is pretty, the scent color is pretty, but the scent is a decided no for both of us. What I did find interesting was that a) I liked it for how awful it was, though I wouldn't buy it and b) it was one I thought had plenty of scent but Matt, after receiving a summon of "you gotta smell this" from his wife, said that it didn't really have a strong scent to him. This wasn't the last time he'd say that about one I thought smelled way too strong. Interesting to me, anyway.

Bamboo Yuzu smells okay. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. Cass seemed interested and I think she bought it to see if it was like a little sister to her Yuzu Dragon that she loves so much.

Blond Wood & Moonflower: This one was a surprise. I picked it thinking it was going to smell pretty bad and I wanted to get it out of the way, however (!) it was so good that I ordered a bar when we got around to that. It smells a bit like summer nights at the beach, which is probably their intent. This also got a "not bad" from Cass. I think it went to Matt and he said no for them but I went ahead with it.

Bonfire Beach is one Cass liked and I'm on the fence about. It's got something that doesn't quite work for me, but I'm never 100% sure if the ones I'm meh about are because the testers smell off sometimes due to whatever plastic the container is made of.

Dark Harbor is like an older cousin to Two Harbors from awhile ago (one I love, actually) so it should surprise no one that I'm taking a chance on it. There's a lot of amber being used in these bars (no, I'm not including all the descriptions because I am lazy) which will lead to some days where I love them and some where I think "ugh, no."

Ugh, no: Fresh Cut Daisies. Not awful enough to earn exclamation points, but not going to enter the house either.

My Only Sunshine happens to smell pretty similar to Kahiko Hula despite having nothing in common description wise. I snorted when Cass marked KH, "Too happy."

Mystic Magnolia doesn't smell at all like magnolias to me, however it does smell good. So I snagged one. Another with amber.

Poppy and Blush Suede was one we sniffed towards the end, thinking it would be bad, but it's a maybe for me. It's got musk so... enh? I might give it a whirl sometime but not today.

Sea, Sun & Fun: Another maybe for me. More amber. Funny, I don't think of amber as being a very spring/summer scent but it's everywhere in the new releases.

Sunburst Blooms: no. Just... no.


In the Classics:
No in all its forms: Aussie Plum, Beach (ugh, how do you screw up the Beach so badly?), By the Sea, Camu Camu, Coconut Lemongrass, Simply Vanilla, and Sweet Pea and Vanilla

Maybe-Mehs: Cinnamon Vanilla, Perfectly Pomegranate, Skinny Dippin', Sunkissed Citrus

Tried 'Ems:
Black Raspberry Vanilla is a very, very strong scent and it will override all kinds of things. I found it's too strong for me to use an entire cube all at once for the life of the cube. I have to walk away before it fades, and it takes forever to fade.

Blueberry Cheesecake: Ditto, only much sweeter.

Clean Breeze: What it says on the tin, really. If you want one that will get rid of something stinky, this is one to use. But you will likely get sick of it, too, so keep that in mind.

Pumpkin Roll: See Blueberry Cheesecake. Lasts forever and is very strong and sweet.

Welcome Home: One of my favorites. Cass hates, I love.

White Tea and Cactus: Ari approved and one that cleans without being too strong, however I get bored with it before its done.


Spring and Summer:
Not Happenings:
A Wink and a Smile, Havana Cabana, Lemon Verbena (so strong, might die), Lilacs and Violets, Nashi Nectar, Pineapple Sorbet (we ended with this and it was not a good idea), Polynesian Dreams gave me a headache, and I don't really care for Yuzu Dragon or Watermelon Mint.

Mehs:
Bora Bora Blossom, Jumpin' Jellybean (Mom likes), Lucky in Love (it says meh, but I vaguely remember thinking ick, no, so I'm confused), and Paradise Punch

Ask Mom:
Lush Gardenia

Ha, most of the spring and summer line is on my no list. I amuse myself too much, I think.

Corner Cafe: (Also known as the page of Cass hate)

No:
Berries Jubilee

Meh to Maybe:
Central Park Pralines, Mochadoodle, Dulce de Leche
Salted Caramel Cupcake is a special case: "You look like you're gonna cry!" is what Cass said when I sniffed it. Yes, yes I do because it sounded so good in theory but it smells EXACTLY like those wax melts you can get at the craft store. Which is why my catalog says that it smells like the 99 cent wax. That cracked Mums up.
Sugar Cookie got moved to the try later section.

Yessssssss:
Crumb Top smelled nummy so I'm giving it a shot. Sticky Cinnamon Bun smells a lot like Cinnamon Bear only less like huffing Red Hots.

Tried and True:
Baked Apple Pie is one we've used before. It's not super strong but it does last and it's one mom and I both love.
Vanilla Bean Buttercream: Um, yes. This is the entire reason I made my order yesterday, if the truth be told. I ordered it... not the last order, but the one before and it smelled AMAZING but then the bar went missing. No one admits to having stolen it, so I don't know where it went. Um, I ordered four. I would have ordered them in scent packs and lotions and stuff just because it smells so damn good, but no. Scentsy took that ball and threw it in the crazy person's yard. Woe.

Romance, or the Impy no love collection:

No Ma'ams:
Honeymoon Hideaway, Love You Berry Much, Luna, Peony Petals, Satin Sheets (ugh), Shimmer, and Sugared Blooms. Sugar is also a no.

That leaves Forever Yours as a meh and Sunny and Share which smells like laundry detergent, which has its uses.

Scentsy Man:
There are five scents here and three smell awfully similar. It's a bit of a progression, really. The lighter scent of the trio is Business Casual, which morphs into Mystery Man, and that turns into Shaka. I don't love the first two, but Shaka is a decided no. I don't like Atlas Cedar or My Dear Watson either, but Cass loves MDW so again, YMMV.

Spa:
French Lavender, Ocean, Rosemary Mint? All No.

Just Breathe smells like this air freshener Mums used to get when I was younger. It wasn't exactly an expensive or nice scent either, but the container looked a bit like a plastic shoe. I'm trying to remember what Cass compared it to because that was pretty accurate, too. I have a bar of this, btw. It was bought for masking awful smells and it was okay at that, but the hour or so when you had both smells was enough to kill a person. I got it during my first order with Cass and I still have some left. That should tell you how often it was used. (Not very.)

Cass loves Zen Garden but it wasn't one of my favorites, so it's marked with a meh.

That completes our tour of scents. See? I told you it was long.

In between updates on this, I found that I have lost a grocery bag of bars. They used to be in my bathroom at the other townhouse and then for months until December, they were in this room in my white Easter basket. Now? Now I don't know where past!me hid them, probably thinking it made perfect sense. Where would I have put them? I know they exist because it was the eleventy billion Grape Granitas I ordered when they were BBMBs, not to mention my Blueberry Cheesecake and a few others. Possibly it's where Vanilla Bean Buttercream went...

I hate losing things. I get all twitchy about it.

Annnnnnnnd I found the bag of bars when I started thinking about where I would have put it if I was trying to make it easy to find for my future self. Past!me put it under the bar area on the bottom shelf under all the Scentsy warmers not currently in use. :P Past!me is so smart.


As you might have gathered if you read through any of this, I made another order. Cass and I played the "can we hit free shipping?" game and came pretty damn close, so we kind of kept shifting through the maybes until we hit the goal. I ordered two twelve packs (one was intentional, the other was part of the hit FS goal, and it's mostly vanilla bean buttercream), a three pack of Scentsy Paks (which I got for a song because hostess credit!), annnnnnnd... three more warmers. Because I clearly needed more. :P



Blackberry Nightlight, Vintage Glass Nightlight, and Venetian Green Element Warmer.

I went in knowing I was going to order the nightlights (have you seen that purple one not plugged in? It's still gorgeous!) but element warmer was because it was half price. Huzzah! I've been a little curious about the element warmers and a little curious about this one since Cass let me peek at the new catalog before it was released.

And we're good for awhile unless Widget wants something or Mums does, or if there's a nifty warmer/scent of the month in the future.

Later, if I can stay awake, we'll attempt AG pics and a discussion of my order from another sniff good place.