First I must say that I am absolutely ecstatic about my entire Country Lane Keepsakes ordering experience! Carol's Etsy site has great note descriptions of the scents, lovely photos of the wax shapes and she allows you to request a scent to sample with your order. I requested to try a scent called Sunset because she only had it in stock in a larger 6 oz bag rather than the 4 oz, and I wasn't sure whether I would love it. I ordered 5 4oz bags, and at $3.95 that's slightly less than $1 per ounce, an amazing value! The shipping was $9.25 which seemed reasonable for the medium sized box that arrived. I ordered on a Friday and received 3 days later on Monday, so super fast shipping! I must note that my order was extremely, ridiculously well packaged. I received a medium USPS box with tons of those air filled packing thingies to cushion a smaller box inside. Two samples, Clean Cotton and Black Ice Type were sitting on top. My first thought was that samples are great, but maybe she had not gotten my note asking for a sample of Sunset. But I opened the second box, parted a sea of bubble wrap, and low and behold there was a second bag filled with samples and among them I received two Sunset tarts! I received SEVEN free sample scents all together, which is more than I've gotten from any other vendor! This is the most I've ever been impressed by a wax order and I'm always excited by each and every waxy package that comes in the mail.
When I finally picked my jaw up off the floor, I unwrapped a ton more bubble wrap and tissue paper and finally got to my order. To Carol's credit, all of the packaging paid off; each one of her carefully crafted and gorgeous wax shapes arrived in perfect condition.
I'll tell you, if all of these tarts smell as wonderful as I think they will, CLK has made a customer for life! I'm so glad I finally found room in the budget to place an order.
Now, onto the sniffs.
Cold Sniff Thoughts:
Guardian Angel (mixed animal shapes):
To me this is a unique and delightful aroma of smoke, cloves and other spices, rich homemade vanilla bean extract and fresh, sweet hay. It evokes images of Grandpa smoking a pipe in on the porch in a rocking chair overlooking a hay field, while the aroma of Grandma's freshly baked sugar cookies wafts from the kitchen. Heavenly! Fairly strong.
Warm Winter Vanilla Sugar: (yellow & orange mini loaves):
I was talked into ordering this scent by the wonderful descriptions on The Redolent Mermaid blog (not affiliated), but I probably would have picked this one for myself anyway because I adore vanillas. This one is no exception; it's like the most perfect vanilla bakery scent ever, warm and not overly sweet with just a pinch of spice. Very strong.
Coconut Sandalwood (hearts and 2 tiny cute bees):
There was a Bath & Body Works candle in this scent that I wanted to try but couldn't afford at the time, so when I saw this scent listed for CLK it was a no brainer buy for me. It is everything I'd hoped for; a creamy, not too sweet coconut expertly blended with rich, mellow sandalwood. It's so warm and inviting; I love it! Very strong.
Cherry Pipe Tobacco (stars):
My husband got excited when mentioned this one; he doesn't care a whole lot about my tarts (he's become nose blind to most of them, haha) but every once in a great while he likes to smoke a pipe and loves the smell of flavored pipe tobaccos. It doesn't disappoint; it is a realistic cherry juice with hints of spice, and warm, slightly sweet bottom notes of tobacco smoke. As a rule I hate smoking and can't stand the smell of cigarettes, but pipe smoke is an entirely different animal and I find this tart blend to be very comforting and evocative of nice memories. Strong.
Chocolate Orchid (crescent moons and a horse)
I may not have been inclined to choose this scent based on the name alone, but since a lovely MUA'er (thanks DiegoJose!) sent me a sample and I enjoyed it so much, I knew I must order it in vast quantities, haha! It's a special blend of sweet milk chocolate and a dark, musky, powdery, almost berry like perfume of orchids. I adore it; glad to have some more! Strong.
Free samples:
Sunset: (2 large stars):
I'm so glad I requested to try this one; it's a lovely bright and fresh scent with top notes of bergamot and sunny citruses, middle notes of powdery musk, and bottom notes of dusky tonka vanilla bean. It's very unique and pleasant but out of the norm scent wise for me. I'm undecided as to whether I'll order more. Strong.
Strawberry Fig (rose):
This is probably my favorite of all the shapes; soo pretty and perfectly crafted! The scent is also wonderful; ripe, juicy strawberries freshly picked from under the summer sun, and wonderful earthy bottom notes of dusky, dark dried figs to round it out. Fig notes can be hit or miss to me, but this blend seems very natural and well done. Very strong.
Mediterranean Cypress type (star):
Woah, this one was so fresh and realistic! When I opened the bag it was a blast of cypress leaves blowing on a summer breese, with a twist of lime. An unexpected new love for me. Strong.
Pink Sugar & Coconut (two butterflies):
I was very excited to see this one because I generally love this type of scent. This was no exception; it's a wonderfully sweet pink sugar and coconut flakes blend. I would definitely consider ordering this one. Strong.
Black Ice type (heart):
I wasn't entirely sure what to expect of this one as I've never sniffed whatever it's duping, but it is a very fresh and clean, masculine cologne type scent. Aptly titled; it is both cool/refreshing and dark/sensual. I'm not sure how I feel about it for me as a tart scent, but I think it'd smell great on my hubby as a body wash or cologne. Very strong.
Sun Washed Linen (cherub): Although I usually don't care for most fresh and laundry scents, this one isn't unpleasant. It's a citrus laundry detergent type scent, kind of like Gain. It's not too artificial or chemical like some are, but the aroma is so strong that it's overwhelming my nose. I'm not sure if I'll try this one or pass it on to another wax lover.
Clean Cotton (daisy):
A most basic fresh laundry soap type scent; definitely not for me as a whole scent category. Not terrible, but I'll be rehoming this one. Strong.
Whew, thanks for reading all my musings; I'm going to give my nose a break now! Have you tried CLK? What are your favorite scents?
No comments:
Post a Comment