Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Scents That Won't Quit: My Favorite Long Lasting Fragrances (Part 1)

I think one of the most important elements to enjoying home and body fragrances is the strength and longevity of the scent, so I thought I'd do a roundup of my favorite brands that have a lot of wonderful, long lasting fragrances.

First up, Wax! Topping my list at number one is:

(Photo Credit: Tee Brown)

One of the reasons I love SGA blends so much is that for me they've been consistently awesome. I've tried a few dozen different blends from this brand and can't think of a single one that I didn't like or that had weak throw. Most of the blends I'd describe as strong to super strong and last an average of 10 hours, some even going 12+ hours and still having fragrance the next day. That paired with the owner Julie's great communication with her customers and prompt shipping make it a winning vendor in my book. I have never had an order go over TAT, never had an item arrive damaged, nor had anything missing from my orders. She offers a wide variety of sizes for every budget too, from scent shots and pretty shapes to the popular 9 oz chunk bags and loves for a reasonable rate. Plus SGA makes some of my most favorite scents; her bakery blends are especially amazing!
These are some of my favorites I'd recommend everyone try-



(Photo Credit: Julie Johnson)
Number two on my list should come as no surprise; it is the "unicorn" of the wax world after all. I have reviewed different Glitterati scents here on my blog several times and have found many favorite blends. Despite the difficulty levels of getting hands on this wax, Glitterati has many loyal customers due to the super high quality of wax and fragrance oils and the top notch service of owner Janine. For me the vast majority of Glitterati scents last about 8-10 hours and have fairly strong to strong throw. They are cheerfully colored bits of wax heaven that are competitively priced and come mainly in scent shots, chunks and mini loaves. This is another brand where consistency in product and efficiency in shipping are key. The items I have received have always been in perfect condition and my packages always mail out the Friday after they're paid for.
Here's a list of my most favorite Glitterati blends-
Citrus & Herb: sweet basil, lime, geranium, linden blossom & cyclamen 
Lemon Meringue Toasted CoconutPumpkin Pecan Waffles Marshmallow Fireside 
Plum Tart: rich pastry, heady baked plums, and light spices
Tahiti Treat: zesty tropical fruits and berries with a very slight musk base note Tart Berries & White Tea


(Photo Credit: Julie Johnson)

 3) Candy Panda
Another popular vendor and for good reason. This company offers quite a few wax and bath & body products in hundreds of different unique scent blends. While their whipped sugar scrubs are fan favorites and I do own a few, I go through sugar scrubs sooo slowly that I've only tried 3 different CP scrub scents. While they smell and feel amazing, I'm not interested in collecting a ton of them and probably won't reorder any until I have used the ones I've got. In recent months they've also expanded their line exponentially to include loofah soaps, room sprays, body spritzers, lotions and several other body products that seem to have met with an overwhelmingly positive response from their devoted customer base. Since I have not had the pleasure of trying any of the newer items I can't comment on them at this time, but I really hope to purchase and review some in the future. For the purposes of this post I will be focusing on why I love their wax. Candy Panda offers nearly any wax scent your heart and nose could desire, and almost all the ones I've tried have performed really well. I usually get a solid 8 hours out of one Candy Panda scent shot with strong to fairly strong throw. Their wax is sold only in 5 packs of 1.5 oz cup scent shots for $6.75, which I have to admit turned me off at first. I would have liked the option to buy single shots to try a wider variety of scents for less $, but now that I've tried and discovered several favorite blends I don't mind buying the 5 packs as much because I can gift or trade some of the cups with other wax lovers. The only issue I really had with the cups is that their lids were a flimsy plastic that would often crack or come off in transit, despite the team's careful packaging. I saw recently in the Candy Panda Facebook Group that they are going to be switching to a sturdier "soufflé cup" which will hold approximately .8 oz of wax and be sold in a 5 pack for $5 (for 4 oz.) Kudos to the CP team for listening to customer feedback and solving a quality control issue!
Here are my most favorite Panda scents-



(Photo Credit: Julie Johnson)

4) The Bathing Garden
This vendor is an obvious choice for me because not only does she have many incredible and decadent blends, but she also offers up the most beautiful wax I've ever seen hands down. Her clamshells are sprinkled with some sort of magic; I have no idea how she crafts them, but her loving attention to detail is unparalleled. Plus my orders always arrive with a generous amount of freebies that are in such adorable shapes! The superb handcrafted nature of TBG wax makes it well worth the 6 week TAT, and my orders have always reliably arrived within that time frame and in perfect condition. I was at first apprehensive to order from TBG because I had read some reviews several years ago of weak throw from this vendor. But I'm glad I decided to try it for myself because if that was ever the case, it isn't a problem now in my experience. All the scents I've purchased in the last two years or so have performed very well. She offers approximately 3 oz clams for $3.75 and some smaller shapes for around $2. TBG also makes indulgent bath and body products that are very popular. I haven't ordered any of those myself but I was gifted a body butter which I adore as it has a soft, creamy texture and is very moisturizing with a long lingering fragrance. I also received a beautifully decorated and fragrant sugar scrub that I haven't tried yet. 
Here are some of my most favorite TBG wax scents:
Brown Sugar Cream Rose Bouquet - Whipped butter cream is blended with sweet brown sugar and sprinkled with sugared rose petals.
Calypso – Sea salt, vetiver, driftwood, jasmine, and coconut. I can’t stop smelling this scent…very fresh
Candied Peppermint Petals - Marshmallow peppermint crystallized over sweet rose petals.
Lavender Vanilla Custard- A strong lavender is blended with vanilla bean custard, with hints of marshmallow and caramel.
Painting the Roses Red - Butter Cream Frosting and coconut cream pie is layered over raspberries and roses.
Pearls of the Ocean – Pink sugar, suntan lotion, salty ocean, sand, fresh breezes, and mandarin.
Starlight Soda Pop – A bubbling citrus-y soda pop with vanilla and light woods.
Summer Melon & Mint - Cut melon, guava, mango, papaya, and strawberries garnished with freshly picked peppermint leaves.
The Fortune-teller – Cola drenched funnel cake, topped with butterscotch cream soda.
Victorian Midway- Spiced apple funnel cake, pumpkin frosting, and cinnamon brown sugar.


(Photo Credit: Karen Kawallek)

5) Lake Providence Lodge
Last but certainly not least is one of the kindest and most hardworking vendors I've ever encountered, with charmingly rustic wax that has blow your face off throw! Karen's wax is well known and beloved; she offers 2 oz white wax cups with brown paper trimmings for $1.95 as well as some large gorgeous molded shapes ranging from $5-$20 depending on the size. She has also recently branched out into charming metal crafts, such as custom stamped wax knives and vintage key necklaces. This is one of the most kind and courteous vendors I've ever interacted with and her packages are a joy to receive, items in perfect condition and always shipped promptly. The vast majority of scents I've tried from her have really strong and long lasting throw. My only complaint is that some of her vanilla blends have an odd undertone to my nose, but LPL offers many other scents that I thoroughly enjoy. Here are my favorites:
Breakfast at The Lodge ~ The smell of weekend breakfasts at The Lodge. Our French toast casserole, drenched in maple syrup, mingled with fluffy pancakes and sweet cinnamon rolls.
Cold Ginger Ale ~ An ice cold Mason jar filled with crisp and refreshing ginger ale, fresh squeezed lime and slices of lemon and orange. 
Evergreen and Orange ~ Sweet, sugared oranges blended with true pine and deep spruce.
Fresh Pear ~ Just like freshly sliced, tart and juicy ripe pears. This is a strong and true scent.
Glazed Orange Cake ~ A tall, sweet orange fluted cake drizzled with a rich vanilla and orange juice glaze. 
Lemon Fluff Cake ~ A rich, sweet lemon cake iced with a sugary marshmallow frosting. 
Pistachio Punch ~ A fruity and sweet blend of pistachios, ripe red cherries, juicy oranges and fresh pineapple. 
Rainbow Sherbet ~ This smells just like the sherbet mom served us that came out of the square ice cream box. Raspberry, lemon, lime and orange blended with a touch of our Strawberry makes this the perfect fruity sherbet. 
Strawberry Fluff ~ Our Strawberry mixed with our Melted Marshmallow. This smells sticky, sugary and sweet. 
Sweet Honey Cornbread ~ My Southern mama calls my cornbread “cake”.  It is nice and tall and very sweet so she may have a point! This scent smells just like a honey-sweetened, still warm piece of cornbread.
Volcano ~ An explosion of fruit! This is my own blend of a popular scent by the same name. It is a sweet mix of tropical fruit, sugared oranges, lemons and limes.

What do you think of my top 5 favorite strong and long lasting wax vendors? Have you tried and liked any of them? What are your most favorite strong wax blends?
If you enjoyed this post, please check back soon to read part 2 about my favorite long lasting bath & body and perfume vendors!

1 comment:

  1. I haven't had much luck with Candy Panda wax. I don't know why - I've tried a bunch of different warmers. I do love their scrubs. Totally agree with everything else on your list. If I had to add any more it would probably be VCS or RG, and I've been really impressed with my first order from Destination Wax.

    The Grove is probably my favorite from LPL. I love Looking Glass from TBG, and right now I'm melting pear caramel coconut birthday cake from SGA. I can't get enough crazy pants fluff puffs from RG, I hope she pours it again soon.

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