Friday, April 28, 2017

Candles From The Keeping Room: April Opening


I caught a marvelous opening at Candles From The Keeping Room. Well, they are all pretty awesome and there is always a scent (or two or three) I am eyeing but I promised myself to keep it small(ish) this time. And I think I accomplished that reasonably well. And most of these are new to me via samples with only two bags being repurchases. The bags are 6 ounces and run $5.50 each. 


Coconut Rum Cake- Dark rum, banana, sweetened condensed milk, coconut cream and vanilla sugar.

The softly spiced dark rum and dusky coconut pair well. This is no artificial banana candy note, but almost a banana liqueur. No cake in sight, this is a moody black pirate concoction and I love it. It threw medium-strong with that same heady combination of vanilla bean coconut cream and rum. 


Yum Yum Buttery Rum- Vanilla simmered in rum, topped with fresh cream and just a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon.

I fell pretty hard for this one on cold sniff. I never got around to melting it because I shared it, but I knew I would be aiming for it on the next opening. I actually got two bags of this, but one is for a friend who shares my love for all things Butter Rum. Definitely brimming with rum, infused with vanilla and a splash of heavy cream. The spice is not obvious but contributes a warmth. I feel a little drunk just smelling it. 


Fresh Picked Strawberry. Every dang time I can score it. I will. My absolute, hands-down favorite single strawberry scent from anyone, anywhere. Just look how lovely. Strong throw. Field ripe Florida strawberries, sweet and juicy, crunchy seeds popping between the teeth. 


Apple Ale- Apple with a little cinnamon and clove, caramel, rum and barley, with a base of woods, musk and vanilla.

Sugary red apples brewed into a mead that has been mulled into a chilled unfiltered apple cider. A touch of the hops and barley is certainly there. I like this. I don't know if I could melt it frequently, but I like it. In the kitchen and living room this scent threw medium-strong and smelled of that same sweet mellow apple and hops. No spice. No woods or musk to my nose.


Mulled Wine- Apple cinnamon wine made for sitting in front of a fire on a cold winter's night.

This was a repurchase. I am not sure why but this one really stole my heart. I hope Carol brings this one back in the fall. I bought two bags of this but one is for Deb, who is also my Butter Rum BFF. Apple cinnamon is already a weakness of mine, but add in some of that red red wine.... dark clove and fruit filled warmth and I am on cloud 9. 


Twisted Mermaid- Berries, citrus, sugary sweetness and vanilla.

I had not tried nor even heard of this one until close to opening day. I messaged Carol asking if I should try to grab this one and she said, unequivocally... "YES." And whatever Mrs. Carol says, I will abide by. And she was right. This is one tart and mouthwatering fruit candy scent. Looking forward to melting this one. But let's take a moment and coo over these sandal shapes. And that pink?! Twisted Mermaid is pretty awesome. 


Sun Kissed Sugarcane- Morning dew and citrus zest brighten sweet notes of sugarcane and sandalwood. 

If I had not had this in a sample I would have probably easily passed this gem up. But thankfully, Carol knows her stuff and knows that samples more often than not enable further purchases. I did pass on this stunning sunny scent onto a friend who I wanted to try it, but this full bag will tide me over until the next ordering opportunity. A summery fragrance of luscious yet sour citrus with vanilla musk and sandalwood. Spa like, aromatic, fruity floral leaning. 


Strawberry Cotton Candy, my beloved Fresh Picked Strawberry with cotton candy and a sugar glaze. I want to roll in this. It smells exactly as it is named. No description needed. Good grief I hope this will be available again one day. 


Free samples:

Rose in Lavender Patchouli, herbal and pine filled lavender with a backdrop of dark powdery patchouli. Need.

Grubby heart in Buttercream Sprinkles, smells like a more sugary version of Vanilla Bean Noel. I am loving this new scent that is taking many vendors by storm. Carol's is fantastic. 

Blue bunny in Blueberry Cream Type, not sure who is the originator of this type but it is pretty nice. A candy blueberry with a musky, soft floral undertone. 


Orange sunshine man in  Tarocco Orange is a favorite of mine. I have personally used this fragrance oil in a blend before and it is incredible. A true blood orange. Fresh squeezed oranges with a splash of Ruby Red grapefruit juice and slices of blood oranges. 

Dark pink cookie in Napa Valley Sunset is another fast favorite. Wine, oak barrels, flower gardens and vineyards. More, please.

Blue flip flops in Mahogany Coconut, at the risk of sounding like a skipping CD... is a fast favorite. Mahogany Teakwood and coconut woods. Making my list.


Pink berries in Fruit & Melons & Berries smells like a honeydew centric fruit salad. I am really looking forward to seeing how this one melts. Great potential. 

Did you squeeze in any Candles From The Keeping Room tarts this time? Carol will be taking her annual break in May to travel and visit her mom and family. She will be taking scent requests for her next restock, which will be in June. I am going to see if I can get Mulled Wine added again. <3

What would you request?

12 comments:

  1. THIS ORDER THOUGH!!I am absolutely loving everything you picked up! Floored with how amazing everything sounds let alone smells. Killing it with the pictures too, such a great set up!
    That Sun Kissed Sugarcane is absolutely terrific on cold, I will probably hang onto it for awhile so I can just simply reach for it and sniff whenever I please.
    Id love to hear further melted reviews on any of the above melts especially Twisted Mermaid.

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    1. Thank you! I am over the moon with this order. I know my collection of tarts leans towards CFTKR but I just love the scents and longevity and the throw consistency. I have not melted my Sun Kissed Sugarcane yet but I am excited to do so. I hope it does well for us!

      I will make a summer basket here soon and will add Twisted Mermaid and Sun Kissed Sugarcane to it. It was SO HOT yesterday and today. My all natural deodorant has been pushed to the edge for sure. So basically it feels like summer here. Ready to melt those summery scents.

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  2. Whoa! Coconut Rum Cake? Apple Ale?? You certainly do find the good stuff!! Maybe I need to become a CFTKR stalker afterall. Thank you again for getting those other two scents for me. Being clueless and working weekends does not help this girl get to CFTKR openings.

    ~Deb

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    1. I will send you one of each of those when I get your tarts out to you. I am going to try and be a good girl by reading Hollow City so I can mail it back to you with your tarts before the end of the month. I love Coconut Rum Cake but I am not sure if I could melt Apple Ale all the time. You have to tell me what you think when you get it.

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  3. Works of art! All such wonderful sounding scents too. You manage to choose all the best CFTKR scents.

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    1. Aren't they? So pretty! There were about a bajillion more I wanted to order (Apple Grove!!! somehow I missed it) but I needed to be good. Well... semi-good.

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  4. Don't know if it's the stunning photos or what, but every single one sounds good to me. I should order those strawberries just to display as wax art. Still haven't melted the strawberry you sent, but I'm inspired to now, thank you for sending some of your faves:) Are the flip flop shapes new? I need! Napa Valley Sun is in my Yankee top 5, definitely gonna be on the lookout, feeling a summer order full of these goodies I hope. More unrefutable evidence that Carol is the best and no one can showcase her stuff like you. Enjoy your melts and your weekend.

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    1. Thank you! I am loving this scents too. Let me know what you think when you melt it. It is not everyone's favorite strawberry but it really hits my nose just right. I think the flip flops are newer, or at least I don't remember them in the past but Carol does have seasonal molds she uses sometimes. That Napa one is so great. I can see why you love it. I do too.

      Thank you Jay! The weekend flew by. I wasn't feeling the best though. I ended up napping both Saturday and Sunday and having some weepiness but that happens sometimes. I feel like I am coming down with something. But hey. With only one month of school left to go, the rest of the school year will fly by then it will be all weekends all the time.

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  5. My gosh, Julie, these photos look fantastic! Well done. I really like the little stand you've got them set up on - they look so great off-set against the white (or very, very pale blue, maybe.) Everything looks scrumptious, especially those little raspberries - they're adorable!

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    1. Thanks! My mom gave me an old candle stand that has a snuffer bell hanging from a curled handle. I spray painted it white and sanded it a little and use it on my bookshelf to hold my 3-wicks. I ended up repurposing it as a tart holder for this photoshoot. I was blanking on how to take the pics then inspiration struck. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

      The raspberries are such fat cute little things. They smell pretty good too. Carol's samples always leave me crushing over a new scent. Clever lady.

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  6. All of those sound absolutely amazing!! And your photography is beautiful, it displays them wonderfully!! I've yet to snag any smelly goodness from Mrs. Carol yet but I'm determined to one day! :) I do wish there was another way to keep up with the CFTKR openings though, besides FB of course because I feel like (and honesty maybe it's just me lol!) Not everyone has FB?

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    1. They do smell quite lovely!! And thank you for your very kind words <3 I hope you can get some soon. I do agree, the whole FB thing does make it hard. I was off of FB for about 4 years there when I started getting into wax I realized I HAD to be on FB to catch certain vendors I loved (mainly RG and CFTKR) so I made a "fake" profile just for wax, but then decided what the heck, it was time to just come back. So a fake profile or a friend who is on IG and can message or text you when she is open is a nice alternative. :-)

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