There was a rare occurrence a couple of days before Christmas. Cory and I ventured out to the mall. We had a couple of coupons for Bath & Body Works and one for Yankee Candle that we wanted to see about using. Low and behold, in the mall store we found three of the one wick French Baguette scent so we picked up all three. They were the outrageous price of 2 for $16 or $14.50 each. I had a paper coupon that gave us a free item up to $14.50 if we spent $10 in the store and that's what we used to get the three smaller candles in this scent. In the end they were $5.33 each which is a price that we can both live with for those teeny tiny candles.
I bet you are wondering what that has to do with this review? Well, the reason that I bring it up is because I had heard that the newer release of French Baguette, the one we are reviewing today, doesn't quite smell like the old one. Without even thinking about it, I gave myself a baseline to test that theory and can tell you that it is in fact true. The new version is not exactly the same as the old. I personally like the old version better.
So... what's the skinny on the Bath and Body Works French Baguette three wick candle? Let's dive in and find out what I think about this hyped up Bath & Body Works candle.
First we will visit the outside of the candle starting with the lid and will work our way in.
Yikes! Just look at the fingerprints and smudges on that lid!
The container is of course glass and it has the elegant white frosted look with the plain and simple White Barn paper label. I love the simplistic look of this candle. It's not fussy or childish. In my opinion, this candle will blend in with even the most simple or minimal decor. The packaging on this candle is timeless and classic and I have a real appreciation for it. Translation = I love the look.
The bigger questions are how does it burn and what does it smell like?
I burned this candle more than once. For the first burn, I decided to place it on the bookcase in the dining room. My house is an older home so it isn't open concept. The dining room sits between the living room and the kitchen so it has a doorway at each end. I like testing candles in that room and on the hallway bookcase because both locations will give me a good idea on how scented a candle really is when it burns.
As a general rule for me, I don't pay much attention on the scent notes that are listed on a candle. Why? Because my thoughts are that the listed notes can have a bit of a placebo effect on your brain. You smell what your brain says you are supposed to smell instead of what the candle really is.
The listed notes for this candle are:
- Slow Rising Dough
- Crispy Crust
- Pat of Butter
On cold smell, it's similar to what a buttery baguette smells like, but in a fake kinda way. It's a bread smell, but it's a fake bread smell. I have a bread squishy that smells exactly the same as this candle does when it is cold. It's like Barbie dollhouse loaf of bread fake to me. Not at all what a real baking bread or baguette smells like. The scent on cold smell is very artificial ingredients. It's like comparing margarine to real butter.
When I lit the candle for the first time and allowed it to burn for four hours, it had a bit of a struggle getting fully pooled out. It took 3 hours for it to get to full pool. That was disappointing and what I thought was going to be a disaster in my review for this candle... but it recovered.
Scent wise when this one was burning? I got nothing for the first hour. In fact, I was a bit concerned and really started to wonder even more if this candle was a dud. When it got into the third hour, the dining room started to smell similar to what baking bread does really smell like.
The scent was there but it was an after thought. If I didn't know the candle was burning, it's possible I wouldn't have noticed it. Cory didn't know that I was burning anything until he saw that I had my burn video equipment set up around the bookcase so he went to investigate. He said he could smell it and that it smelled good, but he was about three feet away from the candle when he told me.
I set it in the usual place on the shelf which is about 4 feet away from my desk chair. It pooled out MUCH faster this time and scent wise, wasn't as quiet and shy as it was with the first burn. Whenever I walked out of the office and back in, the scent immediately said hello to me on my return. I really do like candles that want to be noticed when you walk into the room that they are burning in, and this one definitely passes that test for me in that department.
Speaking of the scent, it also had a bit of an improvement on the second burn. To me it doesn't smell like bread that is in the oven. It smells like I have a fresh loaf sitting right under my nose. All the time. It's a nice change from the fake smell that it threw the first time around and that lingers in the cold smell. It seriously made me hungry for fresh baked bread so guess what I'm doing later?
After burning it a few more times, the scent changed. I still like it but it is dead on movie theater popcorn. It still smelled delicious to me so I don't mind the scent change but it is something that I wanted to make sure I told you.
So your candle could end up being 1/2 bread and 1/2 popcorn scented.
One thing that a lot of people talk about with this candle is a yeasty smell. I don't get that scent at all with this candle. Yeast has a very distinct scent that is hard to describe, but I can confidently say that this isn't it. It is full blown, freshly baked bread then straight up popcorn and I'm kinda liking it.
Final Thoughts and Will I Buy it Again?
Usually when something is over hyped or considered rare, everyone gets into a rush to purchase it just so they can say they have it and I think that is the case with this candle. People LIKE it when they get it, but they don't LOVE it. Yes, it's something a bit different but in today's world you can literally get a candle that smells like farts and bacon. Is this candle really that special? I'm not so sure.
What I am sure about is that this candle is definitely not worth the regular price of $24.50. Then again I have yet to come across a Bath & Body Works three wick candle that is. Hot Cocoa and Cream comes close in my opinion but even that one won't talk me into opening my wallet THAT far. I snapped up the French Baguette three wick candles when they were on sale on the website for $10.50 each and can say that performance and scent wise, I think that is a reasonable price for this one. If you like the smell of fresh bread and popcorn. Now that I think about it, who doesn't like the smell of freshly baked bread?
It's a novelty candle to me. Not something that will become a staple scent in my candle hoard but not a scent that I'd shy away from either.
In a nutshell, I would purchase this candle again under the right circumstances. It will probably depend on what kind of mood I'm in the next time I come across it and what the price tag is for it that day. It's not a no for me but it's not a candle that I'd go out of my way to hunt down either. The words that come to mind when I think about buying it again that I think will say it all are... tomato... tomato. (tomato, tomahto)
Do you have this scent in your candle collection? If so, what are your thoughts on it? Share your opinions with the rest of us in the comments below here on on the YouTube review. :)
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