This is a review of Sonoma Christmas 2017 wax melts from Kohl's. This is Part One of Two. These are the harder wax melts that are manufactured by Empire Brands.
Balsam Fir
Fresh balsam, fir and cedarwood
A smoky spruce scent with a woodsy note. It's not a sharp biting pine scent. It has a little bit of an "old" note, or maybe like the sap of a spruce tree, but not in a bad way. I believe this is the same scent as their Balsam Fir scent from 2015. However, that one had excellent throw, 4 out of 5 (although a lot of variables can affect throw, including the type of warmer, temperature of room, traffic, heating or air conditioning, etc.)
Candy Cane Lane
Peppermint, mint and vanilla sugar
This is peppermint with a little sweetness, like peppermint hard candies. It doesn't have the creamy vanilla note that a lot of candy cane scents have. It's a very strong peppermint, with a sinus clearing effect even from a few feet away.
Caramel Eggnog Swirl
Frothy eggnog, caramel and vanilla sugar
This doesn't really smell like eggnog, but it's still fantastic. It smells like burnt sugar (in a good way) with a little bit of caramel and also a sweet liquor like bourbon. It actually smells similar to Swan Creek Candle Bourbon Maple Sugar. There may be a smidgen of nutmeg in the background to give this an eggnog note. It's a very yummy scent, and very rich, almost to the point of being nauseatingly sweet and rich.
Cocoa & Marshmallows
Cocoa, marshmallows and creamy vanilla
This really smells like hot cocoa with marshmallows! I'm not a fan of most chocolate scents because they tend to have a weird bitter note, but this is kind of an equal combination of marshmallow and chocolate. The chocolate is a very "cocoa-ey" chocolate with a sweet vanilla note, but not bitter or fudgy. There are also hints of other notes that make this not an authentic hot cocoa scent, but not in a bad way. I also detect a tiny bit of a woodsy note with a smidgen of smokiness, a barely detectable hint of laundry, and a smidgen of perfume (although it's not a perfumey scent at all). Those other notes give it a bit of a cocoa butter skin cream vibe. This scent is absolutely amazing, and the scent lingered in my room for 2 days after I stopped melting it!
Cozy Fireside
Cinnamon, nutmeg and sandalwood
A very sweet intense cherry pipe tobacco scent with a men's cologne note and a hint of a shaving cream note and maybe a smidgen of bourbon. I love this one! Looking at the scent notes, I think those notes are for a different scent. This has no cinnamon or nutmeg or pumpkin pie notes, and it's not a foodie scent. Sandalwood, yes probably. This is a completely different scent from Fireside Memories which came out in August. Scent lasted 6 hours or so.
Deck the Halls
Cinnamon, clove bud and toasted nutmeg
A pure cinnamon scent with a sweet slightly candy note, and maybe a hint of cloves. It's not quite a Big Red gum or hard cinnamon candy scent, although it's quite cinnamony. This is the same as their Deck the Halls scent from 2015 and 2016.
Evergreen & Mahogany
Evergreen, mahogany and woodland musk
A fantastic raw wood scent like a just-sharpened pencil or a piece of lumber. But there's also a little kick of pine. With the woodsy and slight pine note, this scent makes you feel like you're walking through a pine forest. It's similar to Balsam & Oak from 2015, but with slightly different notes.
Gingerbread House
Ginger, cinnamon and vanilla
This is a wonderful gingerbread scent with a little bit of a sweet vanilla buttercream note. I believe this is the same as their Gingerbread House scent from 2015 and 2016.
Holiday Cookies
Vanilla, cookie dough and buttercream
I smell creamy vanilla with a smidgen of nutmeg. In fact, this smells a bit like eggnog on cold sniff. But melted, it smells more like vanilla cookies. It's similar to their Holiday Cookies scent from November 2015, but that scent was more of a vanilla cookie bakery scent with a smidgen of nut. And it might be the same scent as, or very similar to, Holiday Eggnog from October 2016.
Home for Christmas
Baked apple, cinnamon and nutmeg
This smells like an apple cinnamon tart with a bakery note. Nice scent, but it has a bit of a bready or yeasty note that I'm not crazy about.
Roasted Chestnuts
Roasted chestnut, maple sugar and warm vanilla bean
This smells just like rich, warm salty chestnuts. It's very strong on cold sniff. Fantastic scent! Looking at the scent notes, I actually do smell a hint of maple way in the background and barely detectable, although this is not a sweet scent at all. This is a completely different scent from their Roasted Chestnuts scent from 2015.
Sugared Pine & Cinnamon
Pine, ground cinnamon and sweet tonka
This smells like the sweet buttercream frosting on a cinnamon bun. I definitely smell cinnamon, but while the cinnamon is strong on cold sniff, it's not strong when melted. Looking at the scent notes, I think I smell a barely detectable smidgen of the pine on cold sniff, but I don't smell it at all when melted.
Tree Farm
Evergreen, balsam and wood
This smells very similar to the Balsam Fir scent, but it's not as smoky, and I think there's a hint of eucalyptus, even though it's not in the notes. This has a little bit of that biting pine note, but not enough to be annoying. I don't know if this is the same as their Tree Farm scent from 2016.
Winter Berry & Spruce
Frosted berries, holiday spruce and hints of vanilla
I love this scent! It's pine and berries, maybe cranberries, as there's a little tartness but not enough to be annoying. I believe this is the same scent as Winter Berry Spruce from October 2016.