Big Lots Wax Melts Reviews - March 2023
March 19, 2023
This is a review of new Big Lots wax melt scents from March 2023.
These Big Lots wax melts do not have brand name on the labels (like Living Colors and Real Living, which used to be Big Lots' candle and wax melt brands), but the packaging, wax consistency, and types of scents are the same as they've always been. They're $3.49 for 2.3 oz., which is expensive. They are made in the Dominican Republic.
There are two different labels for this wax melt collection, but it's just a marketing gimmick, as there's no differences between the packaging, wax consistency, or types of scents. One package says "natural wax blend" and the other says "Powered by Moodscentz - where mood + emotion technology meets home fragrance". Moodscentz is a patent-pending algorithm "backed by more than 35 years of pioneering scientific research", created by a company called Givaudan (based in Switzerland) for perfumes, personal and home care, and oral care flavors. Personally I think it's a bunch of baloney. I didn't feel any different or any happier melting these scents; in fact, some of the scents that I didn't like made me a little unhappy. So maybe their emotion technology does work after all, lol!
Chamomile Vanilla
A nice, super sweet scent with floral (jasmine, I think) and incensey (nag champa?) notes. It also has a teensy bit of a metallic chemical note, but not enough to ruin the scent. Chamomile has an earthy, apple type note that could also have sweet tobacco undertones; I'm not getting apple at all, but the sweet tobacco could be the incensey note I detect (although I'm not getting tobacco, per se).
Coconut Milk Santal
A nice sweet scent of musk, vanilla that gives it a foodie note, a hint of light wood (sandalwood?), and a tiny bit of coconut. It's nice! Santal is basically sandalwood.
Coconut Rose Water
A very nice fresh floral scent. The floral is rose and something else; it's not entirely rose, since it doesn't have that bitter note, or maybe it's just a fake rose scent (which is okay, because it smells great), but I'm sure there's another floral in there. It also has a fresh note that could be a men's or women's body wash. In fact, this entire scent smells like a fresh, slightly floral shampoo or body wash that smells really nice despite that it's fake and generic. I'm not getting coconut though.
Colada Sorbet
I can't figure out what I'm smelling, but I'm getting a subtle orange note, and possibly a hint of pineapple. It's not really citrusy, kind of soft and slightly creamy, like it also contains vanilla. But mostly it has a tiny bit of an odd note that I can only describe as musty, which makes it a bit nauseating. It's not quite enough to ruin the scent, but it's too much for me. It reminds me a little bit of
Better Homes & Gardens Beach Brunch, with that creamy "almost" orange note, but that scent didn't have the odd chemical/musty note. It actually smells like the Coconut Milk Santal scent, but with the addition of that hint of orange and/or pineapple, plus the odd gaggy note that the Coconut Milk Santal scent doesn't have.
Cucumber Sage
This is cucumber with a bit of a savory note, but it's also sweet. So it's not a savory, zesty, "salad" type scent, and there are no lemony notes either. I don't usually like cucumber scents, but I do like this one. I also think it would smell great mixed with a super sweet watermelon scent, or a super sweet floral, to tone down the sweetness and add that fresh, cucumbery note. Actually, this scent might already have a sweet watermelon note, or it could be a hint of floral in the background.
Elderflower & Jade
This is a fresh, herbal, sweet, slightly savory, slightly lemony scent with a bit of bergamot that gives it a little bit of a men's body wash quality, although it's not quite that type of scent because of the savory note. It's sweeter and fresher than a zesty, lemony, savory scent like, for instance, White Tea & Bergamot. It's quite nice!
Fresh Eucalyptus
This is eucalyptus with a little bit of sweetness that makes it more of a relaxing scent than a harsh, pine type eucalyptus. It's a bit similar to
ScentSationals Zen, but not as sweet (and Zen is not very sweet to begin with), and more eucalyptus-y, giving it a bit more of a savory herbal note while still have that tiny bit of sweetness that softens the scent. After a half hour so, it loses more sweetness and becomes more savory, but it's still quite nice.
Indigo Nights
A very nice, super sweet scent of musk and florals, but it's also a little masculine and could have a men's cologne vibe if it weren't for the sweet florals. It has a richness to it that makes it smell expensive, and a tiny bit of a soapy note, almost like a luxurious bubble bath. The wax is dark blue, but if this scent were a color, it would be a rich, dark teal jewel tone. I really like this one.
Ginger Mint
This is indeed a combination of ginger and mint. It also has a bit of a musty or dusty note, and possibly a barely detectable smidgen of lemon way, way in the background that most people probably won't detect. The mint is a garden mint rather than peppermint. When melting, up close I get a very subtle nasal clearing effect from the mint. It's kind of a bland scent, but it's nice.
Honeydew Melon
This really does smell like honeydew melon! It might have a little bit of a cucumber note, as well as a hint of cantaloupe. It doesn't have any watermelon notes at all. It's fresh, a little grassy, and quite authentic. I like it!
Lavender Sweet Grass
On cold sniff this is super fake lavender scented cleaner with a hint of a harsh industrial cleaner note. But melting, it smells great, and I love it! The industrial note dissipates, and it smells more like Fabuloso cleaner (which I love); it could even be a lavender scented bubble bath if it were sweet (it's just a little sweet).
Lilac Blooms
This smells like a lilac-scented urinal cake, but it also has an extreme chemical sweetness that smells the way artificial sweeteners taste. Plus an industrial cleaner note that's almost like Pine Sol but without the pine note. I think I'm also getting a bit of a fake fruity note that could be peach, or it might just be another chemical note. Despite my review that makes this sound awful, it's actually not a bad scent at all, although it's not one of my favorites.
Marine Driftwood
Yet another scent that doesn't smell like the scent name. Although this one does have a tiny bit of a wood note. But it's really just black pepper. Plain black pepper. I'm not even sure about the woodsy note either. But I LOVE it! It's so different, and so authentic. It's not sweet, and has zero cologney notes, which a lot of peppery scents tend to have. So even if you don't melt it on its own, it would make a fabulous mixer for cologne, pine, and wood scents. Melted, it took on a teensy bit of sweetness and even a smidgen of soapiness, but in a really good way, although it's still not cologney.
Red Currant Grapefruit
I ADORE this scent! I think it's my favorite of the entire collection. I'm getting super, super rich blackberry and/or plum, a tiny bit of lemon, maybe a hint of raspberry, and a smidgen of a perfumey or floral note that keeps it from really being a foodie scent. It's sweet but also very slightly salty (due to the richness). I'm definitely not getting grapefruit at all, and it could have red currant in it, but that note is sometimes hard to detect when it's mixed with other notes.
Rosemary Pine
This is definitely pine, but it has a little bit of an industrial cleaner type note, but not like Pine-Sol. It's slightly sweet and maybe a tiny bit citrusy, and with a teensy bit of a sour note that I don't care for, although it's not enough to ruin the scent. It's actually quite nice.
Vanilla Sandalwood
A fantastic, super sweet perfumey scent with musk, an incensey note that could be nag champa, and a hint of sandalwood. This might be my favorite of all the scents in this collection. I adore this scent! It's different from the Coconut Milk Santal scent, although many of the notes are similar; this scent is way sweeter and doesn't have the coconut or vanilla notes. After an hour or so, I think I also detect a teensy bit of a cherry note.
White Tea & Bergamot
This is a savory, zesty scent that almost smells like a salad, mixed with lemon iced tea. It's also rich and salty, and although it's sweet, with the other notes it's not sweet enough to smell like the scent name. Bergamot is a note that gives scents a citrusy, cologney note, but I'm not getting any cologne notes in this scent. It's also very lemony, like a savory lemon mixed with herbs, sort of like
Better Homes & Gardens Meyer Lemon Basil, but even more zesty and lemony, and maybe a bit peppery. So I would say it's like 60% of that zesty savory salad note mixed with 40% of the lemon iced tea. It's different, and I like it!
White Tea & Honey
This smells like honey, with a bit of the sweetness tempered by a hint of light wood (like sandalwood and/or cedar). It might also have a very slight floral note and possibly a smidgen of orange blossom/neroli in the background. It's quite nice, but not a totally authentic honey scent.
Wild Meadow
I'm not getting any floral notes from this scent. It's a harsh, kind of fake citrusy fruity scent, although it could have a hint of floral way in the background. Maybe. I'm getting orange, peach, and maybe a little bit of pineapple, but it's harsh and has a very slight ammonia or nail polish remover note, just a tiny bit, not enough to totally ruin the scent, although it's not one of my favorites
