Better Homes & Gardens Fall 2022 Harvest Collection Wax Melts Reviews
August 12, 2022
This is a review of 7 Better Homes & Gardens wax melts for fall 2022, a new "Harvest" collection by MVP Group Intl. (the company that makes Mainstays wax melts for Walmart).
These are 3.5 oz. like the larger format Better Homes & Gardens wax melts that have been coming out since Spring 2021, with the same price of $3.33. But these are in a brand new package that looks smaller because it's thicker but not as tall and wide as the other 3.5 oz. clamshells. The clamshell looks a little like a pumpkin, so will probably only be used for fall scents in the future.
I'm not a fan of this new package for 3 reasons:
- They don't fit in the regular sized plastic wax melt sleeves so you can't store them with other wax melts.
- While each cube is thicker, it's surprisingly easy to break off a cube. However, because you have to push the back of the plastic clamshell in further to pop out that cube, the plastic can break. And once a plastic clamshell breaks, like perfume, the scent can start to dissipate within a few weeks or months.
- Each pack contains 6 cubes rather than 8. With 8 cubes, even though the price is $3.33, it works out to less than a standard 2.5 oz. clamshell (which is $2), because you get 2 extra cubes. With the new packaging, you're forced to melt a cube that's much larger than a standard cube. This might benefit those who do melt 2 regular sized cubes at a time (as now you can get away with melting just 1 larger cube), but if you usually melt 1 cube at a time, the extra 1 oz. is useless because you're still getting 6 cubes (albeit each cube is larger, but that doesn't make the scent or throw any stronger).
Blood Orange & Cinnamon
Blood Orange, Sugared Mandarin, Cinnamon, Clove Bud & Citrus Greens
This is a sweet orange scent, not overly citrusy and not all that authentic, like 40% real oranges and 60% sweet orange hard candies. It's fantastic! It's nothing like
ScentSationals Molten Orange, which is a more intense, slightly pungent orange. I really only detect orange in this scent, and none of the other notes, although I think I'm getting just a smidgen of cinnamon; I would have liked the cinnamon to be just a bit stronger in order to justify the cinnamon in the scent name! It was crazy strong for the first hour, then slowly started dissipating until it was pretty much gone within 3 or 4 hours.
Crisp Fall Leaves
Apple, Leaves, Balsam, Berry, Vanilla, Spice & Ambered Woods
I no longer have the Crisp Fall Leaves scent from
2017 to compare, but I'm sure this is the same scent even though the notes are different (2017 Crisp autumn apple, lustrous greens and smooth woodland elements infused with balsamic evergreen, ambered leaves, juicy berry and cinnamon-spiced vanilla). Although if you look at each of the notes, they're actually the same, just worded differently. It's a biting, slightly sour, slightly vinegary scent of pine and wood, with a teensy bit of smokiness. I've never been a fan of this scent, but I'm definitely in the minority, as most people seem to love it!
Farm Apple & Pumpkin
Apple, Pumpkin, Cinnamon, Orange & Maple Butter
This is the same as the
Farm Apple Pumpkin scent that has been around since 2014 or so and returns every year (no notes, only description: "Ripe and ready, farm fresh apples and pumpkins are an Autumn treasure"). It's a sweet apple scent with a little bit of an apple cider note. I detect some spices like nutmeg and a touch of cinnamon, but they're subtle, and there are no bakery notes, so this is not an apple pie type scent. I compared it with the older Farm Apple Pumpkin scent I have, and they're very slightly different (perhaps because my FAP is much older?). The new scent is sweeter and almost has a smidgen of a candy note. Looking at the notes, I'm not getting maple, but I do smell a tiny bit of orange (although I don't get the orange in my older version).
Pumpkin & Chai
Ginger, Pumpkin, Allspice, Clove, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Toasted Cassia & Black Tea
This is the same scent as
Pumpkin & Chai that came out last year. It's a cozy cold weather type scent of cloves (it's VERY clove-y!), nutmeg, and a bit of cinnamon (not much), along with that slight chai note. I'd say 70% pumpkin spices and 30% chai tea. Looking at the notes, I don't think I smell ginger, and cassia is a cinnamony type spice.
Spiced Cinnamon & Pumpkin
Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger, Nutmeg, Vanilla Bean & Pumpkin
When you look at the scent name and notes, you might think this is yet another pumpkin cinnamon scent. And while it is that indeed, it's also different than other "typical" pumpkin cinnamon scents. It's richer, warmer, and spicier. But the spiciness is not a hot, annoying spiciness; it's more warm and comforting. The cinnamon is more of a warm Ceylon cinnamon rather than a harsh Big Red or red hot candies type cinnamon. I'm getting a lot of nutmeg that gives this a distinct pumpkin pie vibe, and it's sweet but not sickeningly sweet. What really differentiates this scent from other similar scents is that it has a buttery, slightly salty note that almost has a tiny bit of a "popcorn" vibe or even buttered bread (but is probably the pumpkin pie crust). Most cinnamony, pumpkin scents are just "meh" for me, but this one is super high quality and incredibly delicious.
Vanilla Bean & Pumpkin
Vanilla Bean, Cinnamon, Caramel Creme, Toasted Nutmeg, Clove & Pumpkin
A scrumptious scent of toothachingly sweet vanilla buttercream blended with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a bit of rich caramel. It's like super sweet, rich vanilla glaze that you might drizzle over pumpkin pie. It's not really a bakery scent, and because of the extra sweetness, strong vanilla note, and caramel, it's not vanilla pumpkin cookie like
AmbiEscents Warm Vanilla Cream, or pumpkin pie with a buttercream or caramel like
AmbiEscents Vanilla Pumpkin Cream, both of which have stronger bakery and pumpkin notes. This scent is SO good!
White Mahogany & Pumpkin
White Mahogany, Cedar, Bergamot, Clove, Incense & Pumpkin
I'm fairly certain this is the same scent as
Moonlit Magic Pumpkin from 2017. And this is a top 10 scent on everyone's list of the worst Walmart wax melt scents ever! I no longer have MMP to compare, so it might not be the same scent, because I rather like this one and I didn't care for MMP. On cold sniff it smells like rich salty buttery scented men's cologne with a smidgen of oud wood! Melted though, it's more like a combination of buttered popcorn and men's cologne. Kind of like
ScentSationals Black Tux mixed with salty popcorn, and a hint of oud wood. It's rich but not all that sweet. Should a man smell like popcorn? I guess it depends on how much you like popcorn! I don't care for it; I like popcorn and men's cologne scents, but not mixed together.
