My favorite hand soaps.

This is another way for me to enjoy fragrance. You have to wash your hands, so why not buy soap in fun different scents? It's also a pretty cheap way to try new scents and decorate your home.

Generally, the soaps I am most often buying are from the anti-bac collection from B&BW. These are always on sale, there are a ton of different scents to choose from, and they are always getting new scents. They can be found in stores and on bathandbodyworks.com. They come in three different types - moisturizing, foaming, and deep cleansing. People definitely have their favorite. I have to say most people I find like the foaming (my close friend, sister, dad). Me and my mom like the deep cleansing (I like to make my own foaming lather instead of it coming out that way....I know I'm weird), and I have to say I don't really know anyone that prefers the moisturizing. When it comes to the anti-bac collection, the soaps smell great and do the job but don't really moisturize at all. I still need to put hand cream on after. Here are some of my favorite scents:

Pink Grapefruit. Yum. (Sorry for the half empty bottles.)



Kitchen Lemon. Clean.



Crisp Cucumber. Fresh. This is part of their new configuration - odor eliminating.



There's also the new Summer Vanillas. I haven't tried these yet but I like the scents in the candles. Berry, Coconut, and Lemon.



I also like Tropical Passionfruit and Nectarine Mint (not pictured).

Now we come to C.O. Bigelow. These hand soaps are probably my favorite when it comes to the formula - very smooth and doesn't leave your skin so incredibly dry. However they don't come in as many scents and most scents are only found in Bigelow stores. I think the only one B&BW sells is the lemon. But that one is excellent too!

Lavender. Relaxing.



I also have vanilla and coconut (not pictured).

Then comes Perlier (made in Italy). These are probably the highest quality, the most expensive, and hardest to get. You have to get these online unless you spot one at a TJ Max or a Marshalls, which is likely but they would only have the most classic scents there. You can find them online at HSN or Perlier's website. HSN has pretty good deals. These probably have the most natural ingredients and leave the skin the most moisturized.

The only one I currently have is the honey. Their first ever scent which has a high percentage of real honey in it so it's good for your skin. This is the jumbo size.



They have a ton of other scents to check out. My favorite one is probably the Coconut Milk - the most natural, authentic scent of coconut I've ever smelled. Theirs is not synthetic or too sweet smelling. LOVE. I've actually received compliments on that soap when people that visit have used it.

Then sometimes B&BW will come out with the caddies - mainly during seasonal or holiday. They're great for presentation but I find myself never using the lotion - I always prefer a cream to a lotion, even for my hands. (Vanilla Bean Noel pictured - my all time favorite B&BW scent)



And B&BW will also come out with figural soaps that help with decorating during holidays - like the Halloween one pictured.



What are your favorite soaps to use?

L'Occitane Candied Fruit Candle

I have to say, L'Occitane products are very expensive - even for me, a person that doesn't mind spending a little more on something I like. But they do have nice products and fragrances. I was surprised to see incense, since most similar stores don't carry that. I guess they're famous for their hand creams but they have a variety of beauty, body care, skin care, and home fragrance items.



I didn't know where to start when I went in to the new L'Occitane store in one of our malls, so my friend suggested this candle. I got it in the small size that comes in a box. Then I had to get the little plate that goes with it (but you have to buy separately), which is also an incense holder which I talked about in an earlier post.



Loccitane.com describes this scent as "A sweet fragrance combining flowers and dried fruits coated in honey, with a patchouli, vanilla and caramel base." The first thing I smell is the patchouli, which I usually don't like, but it's not too strong like it sometimes can be. I think because it's mixed with sweet which makes for a unique, interesting combination. I would say it's still a masculine fragrance and a nice scent for this cold spring night. The candle itself does not give off a lot of fragrance and I have it sitting right in front of me so I don't know if I'll go back to their candles but I would say give this one a try.

Yankee's May Scent

Lilac Blossoms

"An alluring grove of lavender, white, and deep purple lilacs." This is a true lilac scent. That's really all I can say about it. I'm only going by the scent sample from the calendar so I don't know how strong the candle would be - but probably pretty strong judging from their other floral scents. This scent will always remind me of my mother since it's her favorite flower. Slatkin also has a nice lilac candle called Lilac Blossom - singular instead of plural. :)

Yankee's April Scent

Garden Sweet Pea

I brought the calendar home from work so I could post the pictures for each month that go along with the scents.

"The sweet perfume of delicate blooms accented with hints of pear, peach, freesia, and rosewood." This is a sweet floral - similar to other sweet pea scents I've smelled, like from B&BW. It reminds me of a candy - like sweet tarts or smarties or something. But the mixture of floral and sweet is nice.

SCENTBUG Review

Finally I'll give my review of the Slatkin & Co. SCENTBUG Home Fragrance Oil Fan found at Bath & Body Works.



I bought the black one so it goes with my decor. They come in a variety of different colors though. I was hesitant to try this product. First, because it has the name "bug" in the title (to be completely honest). I hate bugs and that really turns me off. Then because I thought I didn't need another form of home fragrance - but there really is nothing else like this of this caliber. When my sister said she loves hers and I finally figured out what it really was all about, I bought one and now I love mine too!

You put 2 AA batteries (which are included) in the bottom and that's also where you store the extra cotton pads.



Then you put several drops of oil onto one pad and put it in the little drawer that pops out when you push it.



Then on the other side is the little button you push to turn it on and it turns green. There's a little fan that runs quietly that pushes the scent through the air. You press the button again to turn it off. So easy!



I put mine in my bathroom and only turn it on when I want to freshen the room. I haven't yet had to replace the pad or put more oil onto it. It still fills up the small room pretty quickly and I've had it for a couple months. I love this mainly because there's no continuous fragrance, which if you read this blog you know I hate. You turn it on when you want it, it fills the room with fragrance, and then you turn it off. I put a very neutral scent - Fresh Linen - in the one in my bathroom because it goes with other home fragrances and is year-round but you can use any of their oils. Usually whatever they have a candle in, they have it in the oil too.



I think this is a great addition to the home fragrance world. Plus, since it uses batteries (which I haven't had to replace yet either) you can take it into any room whenever you want to freshen any area of the house. Plus it's so light and small too. It doesn't take up much room so you can put it virtually anywhere and you can get a color to match your decor. You can use this if you want fragrance that is not as strong as a room spray or if you don't want to wait for candle wax to melt. Plus unlike diffusers, there's no mess with the oil. I definitely recommend these. Tip - my sister likes to change out the oil in hers so she can have different scents and when she does, she saves the cotton pad if it still has oil on it and stores it in a plastic bag so she can reuse it later.

{Currently Burning - Slatkin & Co. Green Tea & White Pear}

Incense

Time to talk about another form of home fragrance.

I think this is a love it or hate it thing. I've always liked burning incense - ever since I was introduced to it at a local hippie store/head shop - whatever you wanna call it. But recently I found it again at a privately run scent shop. It's a good way to get scent quickly and it's usually enough to fill a room. You will need an incense burner/holder to catch the ash but I always used to stick an incense stick in a votive candle if you don't have one. They come in a ton a different scents, although they do all have a similar type of aroma. I tried vanilla this time and it's really nice. Dragon's blood is very popular and one of my friend's favorite scents. I think all parents still think that if incense is burning, someone is smoking pot, and I'm sure a lot of people still use it to cover that up, but it's an interesting alternative to candle burning as well.



I bought this little dish from L'Occitane that holds their mini candles perfectly but since it has the little hole in the center, it's an incense burner too! How cool. :-) Wait till you see it with the little candle it's made for. I bought it with one of their most popular scents. That review is to come.



{Currently Burning - Pineapple Orchid by Slatkin & Co.}

Yankee's March Scent

Midnight Jasmine

This is pretty nice for a floral scent. I like jasmine and it's good for spring. It is a tad perfumey but I would say I like it overall. It's a soft floral with the sensual, romantic jasmine fragrance so it could be called a "floriental" scent.