Oak & Rye (Kroger & Fred Meyer) Holiday 2020 Wax Melts Reviews

This smells like a nice, warm cinnamon roll with a bit of nuttiness. I thought it might be the same as ScentSationals Cinnamon Buns (which I no longer have to compare), but the notes are a bit different (butter, brown sugar and pecans stirred with fresh ground cinnamon and black vanilla bean). It might actually be the same as ScentSationals Cinnamon Pecans , whose notes are quite similar (warm cinnamon sticks, spicy crushed clove, and creamy nutmeg spun with toasted pecans and caramelized brown sugar, with mouthwatering sweet undertones of English toffee).

Same as AmbiEscents Candy Cane Crush as well as ScentSationals Candy Cane Crush from Meijer and Kroger. I think this scent comes back every year for the holidays. It's a perfect candy cane scent, strong nasal clearing peppermint with a sweet slightly creamy vanilla note.

Same as ScentSationals Season's Greetings. On cold sniff I smell cinnamon first, but it's a slightly powdery cinnamon with maybe a hint of cloves and something else way in the background like an incensey note. There may also be a barely detectable smidgen of bergamot that gives it a teensy bit of a cologney note. Melted, however... it's more cinnamony than on cold sniff, but it's a warm cinnamon rather than a Big Red or hot cinnamon candy scent. Looking at the notes, the only note besides the cinnamon that I think I detect is the amber, and possibly a smidgen of the warm woods. It's almost exactly the same scent as ScentSationals Twilight Mist & Dreams (from Meijer). And it's also very similar to Better Homes & Gardens Copper Cinnamon Spice, and almost exactly the same as Better Homes & Gardens Just Like Christmas. I'm not a fan of straight cinnamon scents, but this one really isn't, and I love this scent, as well as all the other scents it smells like.

Same as ScentSationals Bottoms Up. This is orange pomander, a sour, slightly balsamic scent with orange and spices. Looking at the notes, yes there could be some other fruits besides orange, but the orange and fruity notes are subtle behind the sour balsamic note. I'm not a fan of orange pomander scents in general (too sour).

I'm pretty sure this is the same as the old ScentSationals Day Dream. And looking at the notes, it is! It's a green plant type floral, not overly sweet like a flowery floral, but more like sweet green grass with a little bit of jasmine wafting in the air. It also has a hint of spicy perfume, just enough to make it "not quite" a floral, but somewhere between a floral and a perfume, although it's not super sweet or perfumey either. Very nice scent.

Same as ScentSationals Festive Bubbly. This smells like sweet pear and some other fruit (strawberry?), but it's also creamy and milky, like whipped cream. It also has a slightly bitter "fermentation" note that a lot of alcoholic drink scented wax melts tend to have. That note, however, is not so strong that it overtakes the scent. It smells a little bit like ScentSationals Peace and Love. When I first smelled this, I didn't like it on cold sniff because of the bitterness (which I'm more sensitive to than most people), but it's grown on me, and I like it now! Looking at the scent notes, the strawberry I think I detect is actually grape, but it's more of a subtle, white grape rather than a rich concord grape. Pear is really the main note.

This smells just like the Buttered Pecan scent, but with a hint of ginger. It smells like a rich, warm cinnamon roll with a smidgen of gingerbread.

Same as AmbiEscents Farmhouse Balsam. It's a classic woodsy pine with a hint of smokiness, a tiny bit of harshness, and just a smidgen of sourness, not a biting pine. It's not the same as ScentSationals Perfectly Pine (which has a smidgen of sweetness and is not really woodsy) or Better Homes & Gardens Fresh Cut Frasier (which is a harsh, biting pine). I thought it might be the same as ScentSationals Vanilla Pine, as I think it's the same shade of green (I no longer have it to compare), but the notes are different.

This smells like caramel, maple, apple, nuts, and just a hint of cinnamon. When melted, I also smell a hint of honey or bourbon. It's a great scent! There's an old ScentSationals scent from 2014 called Apples, Pecans and Sage. I haven't had that one for years, but if I recall, I think that smelled very similar, so it could be the same scent.

Same as AmbiEscents Santa's Sugar Cookies as well as ScentSationals Santa's Sugar Cookies from Meijer and Kroger. I think this scent comes back every year for the holidays. A rich, warm, sweet vanilla that smells like a combination of vanilla bean and buttercream rather than cookies. It's not an authentic scent, but that's okay because it smells great.

Same as ScentSationals Enchanted. This is primarily a rose scent. It's sweet, but not perfumey sweet, with a watery, soapy note (but not laundry, nor is it a body wash or cologney scent), and maybe a smidgen of an herbal note. Melted, it takes on a hint of bitterness, which is sometimes the case with rose scents, and it smells a little bit like a less sweet, non-perfumey version of ScentSationals Boardwalk. Looking at the notes, there's no rose, but I still do smell rose. Maybe that's the floral note. Apple? I'm not really detecting that, although I do smell a hint of fruit. It's a fantastic scent!

Same as ScentSationals Iridescent. It's a powdery, slightly buttery, sweet milky vanilla buttercream peppermint scent, like a Buttermint candy. But it's not really a foodie scent because there's also a smidgen of light woods and a warm ambery perfume note, so maybe what I'm thinking is the buttery note is really the amber. I love it, and it lasted 12 hours!

Same as AmbiEscents Sugar Pine as well as ScentSationals Sugar Pine from Meijer and Kroger. It's pine with a little bit of a "biting" note, and maybe a smidgen of citrus, but it also has a hint of sweetness, and a smidgen of softness way in the background. Not really sweet like the name would suggest, but it's still quite nice.

This is a sour, pungent apple scent with a woodsy note, and a hint of pine, like that typical fall scent of apples having fallen on the ground and mixed with brown leaves. But more sour, and only a tiny bit sweet. I thought it might be the same as Welcome (NOT Welcome Home, which is a totally different scent), which I no longer have because it was too sour, but the notes are totally different. However, I just compared it side by side to ScentSationals This Is Us, and they smell exactly the same, even the exact same colored wax, even though the notes for This Is Us are different, although I think they're similar enough that this is indeed the same scent (This Is Us: Rich pumpkin puree with bright nuances of golden apples, red berries, juicy mandarin, and warming nuances of cider spices, cinnamon sticks, and musk). At first I thought this was too sour and pungent for my tastes, but I really like it now.

Same as Better Homes & Gardens Sparkling Berry Garland. This is a pine scent that may have a barely detectable smidgen of sweet fruit way in the background, maybe cranberry? It's very slightly sweeter than most pine scents, but the pine is that sour pine that I don't care for.

This smells just like Better Homes & Gardens Mahogany & Sandalwood, but I think it also has a hint of pine in the background that makes it smells like a rich, warm pine scented men's cologne scent. I adore this scent! Interestingly, the notes for Mahogany & Sandalwood do include juniper and balsam, so this might indeed be the same scent. Looking at the notes, they're almost exactly the same, so I believe this is the same scent (Mahogany & Sandalwood - Warm mahogany, aromatic birch wood, crisp juniper berry and fresh green balsam shimmer with fragrant herbs, touches of sparkling citrus, and smooth ambered sandalwood, all wrapped around sage and sweet moss).

Same as ScentSationals Inner Zen (and I think also same as Better Homes & Gardens Aromatherapy Rosemary & Spearmint). This is pure spearmint. It's not a chewing gum or sweet candy spearmint, but more like fresh spearmint from the garden, although it is a LITTLE sweet. It does have a bit of a toothpaste note, but again, not as sweet. I don't smell eucalyptus at all (which would have a bit of a pine note). If you like spearmint scents, you will adore this one! I'm not a fan of spearmint, and even I like it. It's also a good mixer... combine it with lemon and/or lavender to make a nice spa scent, or with a fresh air, laundry, cologne, or vanilla scent. It seems like everyone who has tried this scent loves it!