Product Obsession! Scented Wax Bars

For quite some time now I have had a love affair with scented wax bars.  They have taken the place of nearly all candles in my home.  Having children running around, I feel better about flameless wax warmers than I do a candle burning.  I know some will argue, "what about the hot wax?"  Well, the wax isn't hot enough to cause any kind of severe burn.  Candles create hot wax too...  as well as an open flame.   Either way, point blank...  I've converted to wax warmers. As you can see in my photo above, I'm rather obsessed.  I have a basket that is decorative when closed, but inside it conveniently hides away all of my bars. 

A couple of weekends ago I was switching out the fragrance in the warmers throughout the house when I realized I didn't have anything pumpkin scented!  SHOCK! HORROR!  I made sure I bought some later that day.  Yes, I am that lunatic. I had a couple of fall appropriate scents, but I had my heart set on pumpkin. 

I came home with four new waxes.  One isn't shown here because it wasn't a bar, rather a single tart (in the scent pumpkin spice) that I already have melting down in my living room warmer. The three bars I selected are all from ScentSationals.   They are in the scents: vanilla pumpkin cream, country hayride, and harvest fair. 

I have not used the vanilla pumpkin cream one yet.  When I sniff the bar, though, it is divine.  You definitely pick up on the mix of pumpkin and vanilla.  My husband said it reminds him of an actual pumpkin pie.  I have to agree.   If you close your eyes and smell it, you almost anticipate being handed a slice of fresh pumpkin pie with a dollop of whipped cream on the top.  Mmmmm!

I have country hayride in one of my bathroom warmers.  It smells like Michael's craft store when you first walk in.  It is spicy and incense-like.  It is thick and almost smoky. 

I have harvest fair in another of my bathroom warmers.  It is fresh and crisp.  I think of cutting open a pumpkin or gourd and that smell that comes along with doing so mixed with cider.   I think there is a touch of cinnamon in it, too, warming the fragrance a bit.

All of them are delicious and perfect for fall.  The ones I have already used are keeping my home smelling awesome. 

Here you can see the 6 little cubes that comes in the bar.  You only need 1 cube at a time and it will last quite a while before you need to add another or replace entirely.

Scented Wax Bars

Last weekend, I was out running some errands and picking up some stuff for indoor potted plants.  I was shopping at Meijer, and every time I am there, I have to swing through the plug-in warmer section and sniff any new bars they might have.  I found a couple that I hadn't noticed before.  Originally, I had four, but ended up putting two of them down.  One was a sugared almond (or something like that) and the other a coconut lime.  It smelled okay, but was pretty heavy on the lime and not so much on the coconut.  

The pink one is hibiscus rose from the brand ScentSationals.  The purple one is soft lilac petals from Hanna's At Home.   I haven't tried any from that line yet (H.A.H) but have seen and sniffed several from its/her line. 

The hibiscus rose is just that....  you can tell there is a tropical flower, but it is balanced by the rose.  It is a beautiful combination.    The soft lilac petals really smells like actual flowers.  It smells like the kind of flowers you'd find just taking a walk through a neighborhood that has houses with newly bloomed spring flowers in the front yards.  It is so realistic it is crazy!  I'm amazed at how well they've captured this smell.  

I bought these because I think they'd be amazing to have warming and scenting up my home this spring (the tiny bit left) and summer.    It just gives a freshness to the home that is energizing and cheery.  

If you have a tart warmer, what kind of scents are you burning?

ScentSationals Fragrance Cubes (haul)

I have said this before but,  I adore scented wax cubes for tart warmers.  I went crazy in the fall and winter stocking up on cozy, food-like, and pine scents.  Now that spring has arrived and I'm craving fresh, floral, and fruity scents, I realized I only had a couple!  YIKES!  This weekend I solved that problem.  We were out running errands and I bought three spring-like fragrance cubes.  I want some more, just because I like to have a large selection to choose from, but this gets me started.

When I pick these out, I have to keep in mind what my husband enjoys because he, too, will have to be in the house smelling them.  So, we go back and forth picking up bars and making the other sniff it. I'm easier going than him...  I think most of them smell amazing.  We narrowed down the selection to these three: Lemon Meringue (his pick), Sheer Orchid (his pick), and Apple Blossom (my pick).  See what I mean? HA!  I was more agreeable on the selection and was A-okay with the ones he picked up.

Lemon meringue is extremely fresh and, obviously, full of citrus. It is sour and sweet at the same time.  It kind of reminds me of the taste of a lemon head candy.  Yes, somehow the smell reminds me of the taste of a lemon head.  This one would work well pretty much all throughout the house, whether in a living room or even a bathroom.

Sheer Orchid is also a fresh scent.  It has a clean quality to it, like soap.  It reminds me of being freshly stepped out of the shower. Obviously, it is a floral scent, but not artificial.  This one manages to be soft yet crisp in smell.  This is, again, one that I think would be perfect for any room in the house.

The last one we selected is Apple Blossom.  It is bright, cheery, and like a perfect bouquet of flowers.  It reminds me of something I feel like I've smelled at B&BW, but I can't figure out what, exactly.    This is like having your windows open, and the breeze carries in the odor of blooming trees and flowers.... or walking through a newly blooming flower garden.  The air is perfumed with sweet flowers, but it isn't irritating to the senses.  This one is a romantic smell, in my opinion.


All around, these three make perfect additions to my growing collection.  I'm going to be switching out the warmers to hold some of these very soon.  If you have smelled any of these, let me know what you think.  OR, if you have particular fragrance bars you like to burn in the spring, please tell me which ones!

Scented Wax Bars

Something I have been very interested in for the past seven month or so has been scented wax bars.  I bought my first flameless wax warmer in early spring and instantly became hooked.  The first warmer I had was a table top plug-in. Quickly after realizing how much I enjoyed it, I went back and bought a smaller version to plug directly into the outlet. Those are perfect for bathrooms and hallways. At the time, the only places I knew to find the scented bars, were either directly from the original source, (or the first source that I had ever heard of) Scentsy, or to go to Walmart.  Walmart was always the option I chose because it was easier for me.  I didn't have to find a rep to order through, I could smell the bar before I bought it, and they were cheaper by more than half the price off.  Walmart sold two brands, initially.  They had the Better Homes and Gardens brand and ScentSationals brand.  Later, they introduced a Paula Dean collection. 

It would seem that scented wax bars are becoming very popular, and understandably!  They're amazing!  You can turn the warmer on and not worry about a fire sparking.  The wax gets warm but won't scald the skin should it get on you.  I would say these are a safer option for those with small children and/or animals. 

  

The scent options seem limitless!  Especially as more time goes by and more stores and companies catch on, the selection becomes even larger.  There is always the core selection of fragrance to choose from, but each holiday and new season that rolls around, special batches come out that are "limited edition."

These are becoming easier and easier to come by.  Where previously it seemed you could only get them through Scentsy or Walmart, now they are popping up everywhere.  About a month ago, I was shopping in Kroger (a grocery store) and in their Christmas holiday aisle they had their seasonal candles on display.  Right there with the candles were about 8 different scented wax bars.  Two weekends ago, I was in my dollar store and in their candle aisle they had their own brand of wax bars.  Their selection was limited to about 6 different scents, but it was a start!  This past weekend, I was in Meijer and they are now selling wax bars.  I think they have a couple of different brands being sold.  I know for a fact they are selling the ScentSationals. Their selection of ScentSationals is larger, and with different options, than the Walmart one. 

Further good news!  If you are wanting to buy wax bars from the store, it would seem that no matter where you choose to spend your money, it will only run you $2.00 per bar. Scentsy is more expensive still, but the stores all have lower prices and all seem to be agreeing that $2.00 will be the going rate. 

My collection of scent bars is becoming quite large.  For a couple of dollars, I can justify buying a new bar pretty often to keep my home smelling nice.  I have recently been buying more fall/winter appropriate scents. A couple of weeks back I bought some Christmas specific bars.  This past weekend, I bought some nice cold weather scents. They're all cozy smells. 

The first two are Gooey Marshmallow S'more, which is quite chocolate-y, and Sugared Vanilla Shortbread, which makes me want to take a bit out of it.  It is quite sweet.

The next two are Fragrant Evergreen Forest and Warm Crackling Campfire.  Fragrant Evergreen Forest is as you might imagine; it smells like a pine forest.  It is a good Christmas tree scent. Warm Crackling Campfire doesn't exactly smell like a campfire.  I do pick up on some smokey and, perhaps, cedar notes.  However, this mostly smells like some sort of incense to me.

As for the warmers, themselves, you can pick up the table top warmers for right around $15.00 and the wall plug-ins for around $10.00.  The prices vary a bit, depending on the design.  I think some of the holiday ones can run a little bit more.  I still think that is quite a fair price for something that is ceramic and can be used over and over.  The only thing you'll  have to replace is the bulb when it has burnt out. If you consider how much the average person spends on scented candles from shops like Bath & Body Works, this is a serious bargain!