It's the most wonderful time of the year... to Halloween fans! Pardon us as we borrow a tradional Christmas song, but if you are "in" to Halloween you understand completely! The excitement is building right now, and to help push you over the edge, we offer a mega-scent review in time to let you plan scenting for the holiday, (or perhaps time to hit that Paypal button several times before the big night arrives!)

Andrea, Julia and Avery have been brewing up this review for weeks and admit that this project was a favorite. They are looking forward to sharing these sweet, spicy and sinister scents. What they found from their testing: there were a few tricks, and many were real treats!

Pumpkins Galore

Irish immigrants carved out turnips and potatoes at Halloween time - but they soon found pumpkins bigger and easier to carve. We now equate all things pumpkin with this fun time of year - Jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice. The list goes on and on. And what better way to kick off our mega Halloween review than with a roundup of some great scents ala pumpkin??

Julia found a perfect pumpkin scent for the occasion

Death by Pumpkin...

... carried by Luna Bleu (Requested by a customer this is truly an awesome blend of Sweet Pumpkin, Fluffy Marshmallows and honey graham crackers!)

Here's what Julia has to say:

Gather ‘round, Zombies! We’ve got pumpkin smores over here! Raarrrgg! Death by Pumpkin by Lunableu was exactly like that. I smelled the graham crackers right away, and the pumpkin covered in sweet, sweet melted marshmallow. The scent had a lightly spiced, nutty, sort of cheesecake-y note to it that intensified the sweetness of this pumpkin overload. Awesome scent. Hold on to your hats, Zombies, and your marshmallow roasting sticks too, because this scent had one potent pumpkin punch. It was strong enough to wake the dead and I loved every minute of it.

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Looking for more sweet pumpkin scents? Andrea melted...

Sugared Pumpkin

... from Lathers & Lights (Supremely sweet vanilla cream folded into spicy pumpkin).

Listen to Julia's thoughts on this one:

How many different ways can we enjoy a pumpkin scent? That’s like asking how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop. Each pumpkin scent smells unique to me like Lather’s & Lights Sugared Pumpkin for example. This particular pumpkin scent smells like pumpkin puree mixed with creamy sweetened milk. The spice notes are very subtle, letting the pumpkin take the stage. This scent is hauntingly sweet too, like pumpkin pie filling before it’s baked. Sugared Pumpkin had a mild throw that wafted around my kitchen but didn’t scare me out of the room.


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More pumpkin-y goodness can be found in a scent Avery chose to review for us.

Frost on the Pumpkin

... from Candles from The Keeping Room (pumpkin, spices, honey and maple topped with sugary vanilla frosting.)

Avery's words:

Oh my! Here is another good pumpkin scent! This rusty colored tart has a nice, big throw. I was trying to figure out the "frost" part - but once it was melting, it was pretty clear that it was a vanilla buttercream "frosting" that this pumpkin was wearing. Not only do you get the full pumpkin scent laced with the traditional "pumpkin pie spices", you get a fuller scent that makes you worry about gaining weight, just by inhaling. So you see, Paula Deen was right...a little BUTTER cream always makes everything better!


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You can certainly have your pumpkin and drink it too as Julia discovered for us. Try a little...

Pumpkin Nog

... from Huckleberry Layne (spicy pumpkin pie baked to perfection for that special holiday dinner blended nicely with a rich and creamy eggnog drink!).

Julia tells us:

Even though All Hallow’s Eve is in October, well before winter officially sets in, it can still be a cold, cold night. Some families may even see snow on the ground as they make their costumed way through the neighborhood. Nights like these call for a creamy, spicy, warm pick-me-up like pumpkin eggnog. We may not have the time or energy to whip up a frothy mug, but with Huckleberry Layne’s Pumpkin Nog, we can at least smell the creamy goodness of the drink all through the house. The eggnog part of this scent was the most prominent to my nose and boy, was it good. It was like smelling a rich creamy eggnog lightly spiced with pumpkin pie spice. This scent may start out in Autumn, but it would easily please our Holiday noses too. The tart I tried was a generously sized grubby muffin. The scent had a medium, just right throw all throughout my kitchen.


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With plenty of sweet pumpkin scents on board, Avery's challenge was to find a sexy pumpkin scent to review. Never one to back down from a challenge, she brought us...

Pumpkin Patchouli

... from Candles From the Keeping Room.

What did Avery think?

Pumpkin Patchouli by Candles from the Keeping Room was my first pick for Halloween melting. This scent is pumpkin with attitude! I melted one of the orange tarts in a tealight melter. The opening note is a cozy, rich pumpkin bakery scent - almost pie-like, but it finishes with a sultry smokey patchouli. This is a great scent for those that feel straight patchouli is too intense. The patchouli lingers in the air after the tart is finished, perfect for setting a spooky Halloween mood!


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Young and old alike can enjoy the time honored tradition of a trip to the pumpkin patch. How to capture that essence in a scent? Julia tried...

Pumpkin Picking

... from Country Home Scents (A comforting soft aroma of vanilla cream, sweetened with caramel and hints of pumpkin spice)

From Julia:

For having such a mild sounding description, this melt sure packed a punch. This gem pumped out scent like crazy! Pumpkin Picking was lavishly sweet and heavy on the pumpkin pie spice, without much, if any actual pumpkin puree smell. It was more like a delicious cinnamon buttercream. This scent is welcome here anytime.


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Rounding out our pumpkin scents, Avery tried...

Sweet Fresh Pumpkin

... from Blue Moon Candles.

From Avery:

Here is another trickster! This scent seemed to have a little spice on the cold sniff, but immediately after melting it was not noticeable. The orange tart brittle smelled just what the name implied it should - like the freshly cut insides of a pumpkin, the smell you get as you are “scooping guts” and carving out a spooky face. The scent was pretty mild, so I moved it to a smaller room. Later, when I went back and opened the door, I was met with quite a blast of scent. Now it smelled like a baked pumpkin - the sweetness of oven roasting. This tart was a little different that many of the pumpkin scents I have smelled, and it got even more interesting, because at the end of the tealight, it started to have a slightly spicey/bakery scent. Just a tad bakery, mind you, but never the less it was there! Kudos to Blue Moon for the festive packaging - it creates the mood, even before the tarts start melting!


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Ghosts, Goblins, & Skeletons - BOO!!

Don't be afraid of things that go bump in the night. It's Halloween after all. What would Halloween be without a few ghosts, goblins and skeletons in your closet? Let all the frights come out for a ghoulishly good time.

Avery scared up the scent Apparition for us, which she found at..

Dark Candles (haunting blend of a time long forgotton with sweet ginger plums amplified by a strong black tea and soft, fragrant marigolds)

Avery's thoughts:

There is no doubt, when this ghost shows up in your home, you are getting acquainted with the Lady of the House. Dark Candles is not known for "feminine" style scents, but somehow they have managed to give this spooky scent a girlish edge. The notes of tea and a floral, which must be the marigolds, blend nicely. As a big fan of ginger and plums, Avery hunted for those notes, but they did not stand out. She thinks this moderately scented blend (a perfect strength for a "dark" scent) is a nice addition to your fall and Halloween stash, especially if you are not one to burn tarts or candles leaning toward patchouli or incense. This tart was the standard scalloped style, and she recommends that you take a look at the "creepy and fun" Dark Candles website, guaranteed to get you in the Halloween frame of mind.

Everyone has to eat, right? We want to keep these monsters and goblins full so they don't want to eat us! First off Andrea brought us...

Monster Munch

...from Crosscreek Country Candles (lets give the monsters some luv for this yummers blend! We got hot caramel roasted peanuts, candy corn candies and gooey marshmallow, ya gotta grab some of this sweet treat).

Andrea says:

Surely even monsters want a varied diet! Maybe if I had this yummy blend of Monster Munch to throw at them they wouldn't even think twice about chomping down on little ol' me. This delicious concoction is just what the monster ordered! It starts out with a heavy caramel scent then morphs into something very sweet and droolworthy. At times you can even smell the saltiness of the peanuts. This 2oz melt completely filled a bedroom with long-lasting scent and made me hungry all the while. A great sweet (but not too sweet) scent sure to please any bakery lover out there.

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If that's not enough to keep them full, try some...

Skelton Crackers

...that Julia found at Luna Bleu (An appealing mix of ginger, clove, cardamom,cinnamon and nutmeg blends with citrus and buttery cracker like notes. Sweet vanilla and smooth golden honey balances the finish. Both Sweet & Spicy at the same time)

Here's what Julia had to say about this yummy mix:

I really enjoyed this spicy mix. There were a lot of different notes going on in one scent, which could have seemed overwhelming, but all of the spices blended together and were all on a smooth sweet vanilla base. Skeleton Crackers was anything but scary. It was more of a happy, festive fragrance that rattled its bones around the house like a loony, dancing specter. Whether these crackers are made for skeletons or from them, they were a welcomed treat around here. I used only half of a tart at a time so that I could enjoy the scent twice, and this sweet, spicy melt was plenty strong.

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Spotted Hog had Andrea screaming uncontrollably with...

Banshee Bread Pudding

(This remarkable fragrance will have you literally screaming like a banshee for more. A rich dish of sweet sugary corn bread pudding. Sweet corn, vanilla and sweet bread.)

Andrea's thoughts:

This scent literally had me drooling for more! A definite scent for bakery lovers - a heavy bread scent but no yeasty notes. The vanilla kept this scent somewhat sweet and creamy with some buttery notes underneath. Oooooh this was good!! This scent filled my living area and lasted for hours, which was a definite plus for me!

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Andrea does scare easily, though. That's why she went back to Spotted Hog for...

Goblin Sin-O-Mon Sugar Cake

(This is a delicious vanilla pudding cake blended with brown sugar, chopped walnuts, cinnamon spice and a touch of maple syrup. Boo-licious).

Andrea said:

I don't do many cinnamon scents because I find the cinnamon too harsh and overpowering. Not so with this blend. The cinnamon is definitely there but it's well blended in with the brown sugar and a buttery cake scent. I'm not sure I could pick out any nuttiness from the walnuts. This scent had a milder scent throw but was simply delicious. It lasted a long time but still had me wanting more!

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Creepy Bats, Werewolves & Vampires

If you dare to venture out of the house on Halloween, you're better off doing so during the daytime. Otherwise you might run into a few bats, werewolves or even vampires - yikes!!

Avery flew right in to...

Bats in the Belfry

... .from Friendly Fumes. Avery has finally found a pumpkin to love! Trying many over the years, she has become quite fussy and selective! The scent, named "Bats in the Belfry" by Friendly Fumes, is strongly scented with pumpkin spice. The scalloped tarts, used with a tealight melter, had an impressive throw - starting with the buttery pumpkin but soon followed with a spicy cinnamon blend. She says pop this orange tart in your melter and you will announce that fall has arrived!

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Avery also puckered up for...

Kiss of the Vampire

... again from Friendly Fumes.

Avery's words:

When I first got ready to light this double-wicked candle, I made a mental note to tell our friends at FF that they had the color all wrong. This is a murky black candle and in my opinion…if the scent is Autumn Spice, then I should be looking at a gold, orange or tan candle. Well, the joke was on me! This is much more complex than a typical cinnamon clove fall blend. It is a “creepy” (and I say that in a festive way) blend that is very complex. I first noted a fireside, smokey type of scent. That caught my attention – I really did not expect that! As I sniffed closer to the scent wafting off the candle, there was orange peel – and of course the cinnamon I expected. What a fun trick – instead of the standard fall scent, I was treated to a scent that was bound to appeal to all the vampires and "darker characters" of the season – and fireside lovers as well. The candle burned well - although soot and smoke is probably permissible on Halloween, there was none!

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Since Avery was already on a roll, she took on...

Vamp

...from Blue Moon Candles (This is an alluring fragrance created from a blend of intensely rich-smelling Oriental flora accentuated by deep, earthy wood tones and spices).

Here are Avery's thoughts:

This crimson colored wax does the job if your are looking for that finishing touch to make your Halloween decorations look creepy and spooky. The melted wax looks just like blood! This scent, from the Gothic line, is a fabulous scent for those (like me) that like the deep woodsy scents that have additional notes that are dark and sultry. The overall feel of this blend is magical - vetyver and bergamot are not listed, but they sure seem to be making an appearance. The tarts are strongly scented, lasting about 2-3 hours. A quick note on packaging is due - it is hard to beat the presentation of these Halloween treats from Blue Moon. Cellophane bags with skeletons and haunted houses, velvety black labels, and black satin ribbons hold these mystical scents.

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DELICIOUS APPLES AND CIDER

After all these frights it was time for us to settle down with some apples and cider. Mmmmmm!

Julia rounded up some apples for us by...

Bobbing for Apples

...from Crosscreek Country Candles (You can sink your teeth into this apple blend without having to get all wet:) This a medley of some of my top aple scents all rolled up into one, it's like an apple aroma explosion! A Crosscreek Country Candles Exclusive Blend).

Julia reported:

Anyone who’s ever bobbed for apples quickly develops their own technique. There is the Stem Grabber technique, where you would grasp the stem in your teeth and yank. Then there is the tried and true Apple Trap technique where you corner the apple against the side of the barrel and go for a huge chomp. Either way you’re going to get soaking wet, but it sure is fun. What would Halloween be without a scent dedicated to the very art of apple bobbing? Crosscreek Country Candles gathered up their finest apples and mixed them all together in a big barrel for us to try our luck with. This tart scent was strong and true. It filled my kitchen with a fresh,juicy red apple smell. It was a pure apple with no extra spice, or vanilla, or woods… Just right.

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Carnival Apple

Coating apples with sticky caramel is certainly a delicious Halloween treat.

First Avery pulled up Blue Moon Candles and she thought:

Here is another bag of tart brittle in Halloween packaging that is hard to rip in to. I don't want to disturb the cellophane and satin ribbons. It appears that I want my bags, and I wanna burn stuff too! This scent reminds me of Halloween parties! The strong caramel radiates all over the room at first and then there is a little apple chaser. It is a great complimentary blend, and it makes me want to find some of that chewy buttery caramel to sink my teeth in right now! This tart brittle is a deep brick red, in various size chunks, so you can use what you need!

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Caramel Apples

Julia came back with Caramel Apples from Country Home Scents (Yummy! Imagine the smell of a crisp green apples dipped in gooey warm caramel)

Between bites, Julia tells us:

I know Halloween is near when I start thinking about taking a perfectly healthy apple and drenching it in buttery caramel and nuts. Grocery store owners must know this too because I can always find bags of caramel in the produce section. This melt from Country Home Scents was layered in apple green, and caramel brown with a sprinkling of nuts on top,just like a real caramel apple would be. It’s a decadent snack of sight and smell. Caramel and Apple is one of life’s simplest pleasures, and Country Home Scents offers a good blend of them. It’s an uncomplicated yin and yang of sweet caramel and tart green apple. I put this Caramel Apples melt in my electric warmer and the sweet apple notes hit me right away. The melt had a moderate throw.

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Andrea countered with...

Caramel Apple Pie

...from Nene's Kitchen Melts.

Andrea's thoughts:

These are some seriously cute chunkie melts that you can snatch up from Nene's. The large cups are red with brown chunks and an incredible cold throw. This cutie patootie did surprise me - I was expecting more of a bakery scent. This was a sweet candied apple type scent with hints of a buttery crust every now and again. This was definitely a good scent - just not what I expected.

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With the leftover apple juice, Andrea whipped up a batch of...

Hot Apple Toddy

...also found at Nene's (A superb blend of fresh pressed apple cider, lemon wedges, cinnamon, sugar crystals, rich warm vanilla, clove, nutmeg with hints of bourbon.)

Andrea sipped and said:

Mmmmm this scent made me swoon! This was a heavier apple scent with a good blend of spices thrown into the mix. This scent was almost syrupy without being sweet. It is really hard to describe but definitely one I would order again. This little melt had a really strong scent throw - wow!

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