Bath and Body Works Fall Traditions

Now that Labor Day has passed us by, both myself and most of the country consider that the fall season is officially upon us.  Now we will begin seeing tons of Halloween candy on the store shelves and I will start burning all of the fall candles that I have bought over the past months.  I am so excited for the fall months, I can't wait until it begins to get cool enough outside to begin wearing my favorite sweaters and colorful cords.  Right now, I am in that period where I want to wear and use all my fall beauty products and clothing however it is too warm for them to be appropriate.  I am hoping that within the next two weeks, the weather will cool down and the humid will drop so that I can start really diving into fall products!

Every year, Bath and Body Works celebrates the beginning of the fall by releasing a series of products from body products to candles and matching hand soaps.  Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin is the fragrance that comes back every single year and in every single form and that I originally bought in 2003 when I first worked there during fall.  The candle scent bothers me too much, the heavy cinnamon and pumpkin notes make me ill however the other forms aren't quite so strong.  I still buy the hand soap however it took my years to use up my body products in this scent as I only use them from mid-September to the end of November.  For the longest time, I remember that Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin was the only scent that was released however this year and last year, Bath and Body decided to give in to their customers' love of fall and introduced four limited edition scents for the fall months.

We have four scents that were released this fall, three that are the exact same as last year and one that is a classic and returning only for the fall months.  Last year, the company offered the traditional pumpking scent, along with an apple and a vanilla scent.  There was also a berry scent that I didn't like when I smelled them.  This year, the pumpkin, apple, and and vanilla scents came back along with Brown Sugar and Fig, a classic scent that has only been available on their website for the past few years.  Last year, I bought a couple pieces of the vanilla products but skipped over everything else.  I don't use the pumpkin fast enough to buy, I hated the berry, and didn't love the apple either.  Seeing as three of these scents are exactly the same as last year and I never liked Brown Sugar and Fig when it was part of the collection in the stores, I can't see myself buying anything from this year's release...

Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin is still the start of the collection, this fragrance is a classic and has been around since as long as I can remember.  "Sugar, spice, and everything nice come together in your #1 fave fragrance for fall!  Lavishly spray on a cozy blend of freshly-sliced pumpkin, crisp apple, and spiced vanilla."  The top notes of the fragrance are: Fresh Pumpkin, Crisp Apple.  The heart notes are: Fresh Ginger, Fruity Jasmine, Cinnamon Spice, Touch of Gingerbread.  The base notes are: Spiced Vanilla, Hint of Rum, Sandalwood, Amber.  I like this fragrance but I use the body products so slowly that I would only ever buy the small versions.  This fragrance comes out mostly cinnamon and a bit of pumpkin and apple on, it is pretty strong and can really pack a punch. 

Dreamy Vanilla Woods is this year's version of the vanilla scent that I bought last year, I don't remember the name of last year's scent however I know that I still have a ton of the products left over from then.  "A dreamy blend of creamy vanilla, white orchid, and saffron woods."  This top notes are: Creamy Vanilla, Sparkling Bergamot, Juicy Mandarin, Orange Blossom.  The middle notes are: White Orchid, Jasmine Petals, Juicy Peach, Warm Cinnamon.  The bottom notes of the fragrance are: Vanilla Bourbon, Creamy Saffron, Amber, Sandalwood, Touch of Honey.  This fragrance is very heavy on the base notes, I smell the vanilla, amber, and sandalwood in this fragrance and none of the other notes.  This fragrance is very similar to an old vanilla scent that we had when I first started at Bath and Body Works many years ago, I still like this scent but I don't need to buy any more bottle of it this time around.

Honey Autumn Apple is another fragrance that was around last year by another name, I got a small bottle of the apple last year (just to try it out) and I wasn't in love with it.  I got the small bottle to decide if I liked how it worked with my skin chemistry and I wasn't a fan so I didn't go back and buy any of the full size items.  "A fresh blend of crisp red apple and sparkling nectarine with a touch of honey."  I love apple scents in the bottle but I don't always love how they come out on my skin, this fragrance is another that I like in the bottle but not on me.  The top notes of the fragrance are: Crisp Red Apple, Sparkling Anjou Pear, Watery Clementine, Juicy Blackberry.  The middle notes are: Sparkling Nectarine, Pink Peony, Vanilla Orchid.  The dry down notes are: Golden Amber, Tonka Bean, Touch of Honey.  I would have loved to like this fragrance last year but it wasn't meant to be and I will be skipping over it this year too.

The last of the Fall Traditions is Brown Sugar and Fig, a fragrance that has been a Classic scent for this company for several years now.  I remember when I was in college and this scent introduced one fall, I loved it in the bottle however the fig in it smells horrible with my skin chemistry so I never ended up buying any of it.  The candles were my favoeite piece however only the body care is available anymore in this scent.  "A delightful blend of fresh fig and sweet coconut milk topped with caramelized brown sugar."  The top notes are: Fresh Fig, Passion Fruit, White Peach.  The heart notes are: Warm Coconut Milk, Vanilla Orchid, Sheer Jasmine, Yellow Freesia.  The base notes are: Brown Sugar, Fig Leaves, Maple, Vanilla Bean, Velvet Musk.

The Fall Traditions fragrances are available in the regular Signature Collection products: Fine Fragrance Mist, Shower Gel, Body Lotion, Triple Moisture Body Cream, and the Creamy Body Scrub.  The Creamy Body Scrub was my favorite product in this collection last year, it was offered with this collection and the original Escape to the Tropics line in early 2011 and still is a favorite product of mine even though it not part of the permanent collections.   "A sweet trio of exfoliating sugar crystals, soothing Vitamin E, and hydrating Jojoba Oil, our exclusive formula leaves skin clean and irresistibly soft." 

I love the Creamy Body Scrub and I wish that it was carried in all the Signature Collection fragrances, this is one of the best scrubs that I have ever used.  It foams up very well, rinses clean, and never over dries my skin.  It is a shame that it is offered in so few fragrances and they all ended up being limited edition.  I still have a few bottles that I haven't opened yet but I am wishing that I could buy more and I already have it in the vanilla scent and won't use any of the other scents.  My life is so awful...

Fall Traditions will not be a collection for me, I have enough of the vanilla scent from last year and none of the others are scents that really work for me.  I guess I will start looking forward to the holiday scents!

photo courtesy of Bath and Body Works