Review: Bath and Body Works - Halloween PocketBacs and Lotion

Okay so as I mentioned in my earlier post, I thought I would start by reviewing some of the newer products in my haul. These are all part of the Halloween line of limited fragrances. Now this is not the complete set of PocketBacs, they brought back favorites from last year such as Vampire Blood (a plum fragrance and my fave from last year), Haunted House (which is a sour drop, grape fragrance), Gumball, and Chocolate Chew. I picked up 2 out of the 3 from the Scary bundle as well as the Sinful Vanilla mini-lotion and a Pumpkin Patch mini-candle.

First up is the Scary Cats PocketBac. Normally, I wouldn't go for such sweet scented anti-bacterial gel but I like this one. For me, the fragrance goes on strong but fades quickly. This is a good thing for me because just every so often to I get the hint of Black Cherry fragrance that this PocketBac boasts. I have a lot of good memory associations with this style of black cherry and to me, it smells like Dr. Brown's Black Cherry soda which is something I used to drink a lot of around Passover as it has no corn syrup. Would I buy this again? Probably around Halloween but it's not an everyday fragrance for me.

Next up, Skulls which is in the new "Forbidden Apple" fragrance. This is something that has a lot of depth despite being a pure apple fragrance. It's a red apple fragrance so it's definitely sweet but there's something to it that reminds me of the freshness of smelling a red apple before it's been bitten into. This fragrance is a bit stronger than Scary Cats but in my case, it's not a bad thing. It's more refreshing than sickeningly sweet.

Sinful is definitely the right descriptor for this vanilla lotion. The vanilla based fragrances tend to be my go-to sweet fragrance. It goes with almost any fragrance I may put on at another time in the say and usually blends pretty well. Sinful Vanilla is no exception. It has a rich, buttery vanilla fragrance that makes me melt and relax every time I smell it. I wish it were more than just a Halloween fragrance and I would love to see them work this into the regular Signature Collection, even if it means a name change.

First of all, I want to note that I've already used candles that have the Pumpkin Patch fragrance and it's one of the things I look forward to every Fall. With the release of the new mini-candles however, I don't feel like I'll get sick of one fragrance while the candle is only partially used. For folks who may not want the bat on their candle, it's a plastic wrapper around the white candle and it's easy to remove. Since it's Halloween, however, I decided to keep it on there. I really like the idea of the 1.5 oz. candles and will continue to try other fragrances in them.

Overall:

• Scary Cats - Something I would keep only for Halloween but not something I would use every day.
• Skulls - Amazing. One of my must buys and I would love to see this in the main candle collection.
• Sinful Vanilla - Another one of my go-to fragrances.
• Pumpkin Patch - A perennial Fall favorite and I love the new 1.5 oz candle size.

Haul: Bath and Body Works

And when I mean haul, I mean haul. It's true that none of these are full size products but the circumstance under how I was able to get them, IMO deems it a haul. My mom and I walked into the Bath and Body Works store near to our house to get some home fragrance items. It turns out that representatives from the corporate office were there testing some ideas for the packaging for the Spring 2012 line of anti-bacterial soaps. If you participated, you got a $10 gift card. I decided to spend mine immediately and give you a preview of a few reviews that are coming up soon.

First of all, do you remember when I reviewed three awesome geek inspired PocketBacs? I finally was able to complete my collection today with the Starfruit scented Seriously??? and the Coconut scented Friend Me! I knew ever since I laid eyes on that collection that all five would be mine and here we are. I will have a full review up later this week as there are some things better brought up in the review. *tease*

It's that time of year! Time for wonderful vanilla and pumpkin scented awesomeness. Cinnamon, Pumpkin, and Vanilla are three of my favorite fragrances to use and I've got all three in here somehow. The mini-candle is an awesome idea on Bath and Body Works' part as it allows you to be short term with your fragrances and change your mind without totally breaking the bank. I got this candle as part of a Free Mini-Candle with Any $10 Purchase coupon that I got in my e-mail.

And last but not least, Pumpkin Caramel Latte. This definitely has a bit of a vanilla pumpkin smell and although I haven't tried it yet, the buzz is consuming me. It's one of their new Fall fragrances. I don't even think it was there when I was in the store last Friday.

Later this week, I will break things down for you a bit more. I wanted to let you know what I have but at the same time, I need a day or so to try things out and see how they wear on me.

Preview: OPI Muppet Holiday Collection

So I checked my e-mail today and I'm on the mailing list for OPI's Press Releases. As soon as I saw this one I knew I *had* to post a preview and some of my first impressions on the pictures they sent me. I am sure that the final product may look immensely different as these are renders.

First up, we have Animal-istic! The OPI press release says:

This wild bright red cannot be tamed!

 This color absolutely fits Animal (pictured to the left) in my mind. In fact, the color of his fur not withstanding, I've always considered red to be a wild color. I grew up watching Muppets Take Manhattan and in that movie, Animal was always chasing after pretty women.


Definitely a color I will be checking out.

Next we have Meep Meep Meep. The company says that Missing out on this fuchsia would make you weep, weep, weep! I'm not sure this color quite embodies the character it was named after to my eyes. However with it being a Winter Holiday collection, I don't think the orange I would have envisioned for Beaker would have worked either. I think the jury is still out on this one until I see the color in the bottle.

Now for Wocka Wocka. Named for Fozzie's post-joke chuckle, I would have expected this to either be a pink like the spots on his tie or a tomato red. It was Fozzie who was always getting tomatoes thrown at  him wasn't it? While OPI may be right and this berry will make everything fun an merry this is too dark for my pale skin tone. Especially in Winter.

The popular deep berry makes everything fun and merry!

Wow... Pepe's Purple Passion is deep. I think I also just made sense of the inspiration by saying that. :) Pepe is one of my best loved newer Muppets. Still alas, the color is too deep for me as I am PALE BEYOND GET OUT. However I will look at it in person and revisit my thoughts then.

This deep, decadent shade is the best purple ever, okay!

I decided to lump together the Miss Piggy inspired colors. As she would demand it herself, she would want to be the center of attention and she absolutely is with four distinct polish colors in this collection. I also think these are perfect for Miss Piggy. Each and every one of them reminds me either of her or an outfit she's worn. I've seen her in both hot pink and purple and her lipstick is red.

From L to R:

Designer, de Better! - And this light metallic bronze is ready for the runway.

Excuse Moi! - Ahem! This pink glitter has something to say!
Divine Swine - The finest, most fabulous magenta glitter ever. 

Gettin’ Miss Piggy With It! - Red glittery fun for everyone!

Warm and Fozzie is more my kind of color and it reminds me a lot more of the character who inspired it. It's a metallic copper which the company describes as A feel-good shade of metallic copper.

Where would we be if there wasn't a Gonzo inspired shade of blue? A little lighter than expected but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Also, I love any and all glitter colors. This is something I would more than likely pick up for casual day to day with jeans. The company describes this as Gone Gonzo! - The aqua-blue glitter is taking over the world! I kind of hope it does so we can see more colors like this one.

As Kermit once said, It's Not Easy Bein' Green. However the Fresh Frog of Bel-Air is a color that I will not miss. A glitter that prefers the greener things in life. Something new to me, at least, and while I've seen lime green in other sets, I don't think I've seen one with glitter quite like this.

All in all, I want to say that since I am judging this in a press release, I am in no way passing final judgement and will more than likely be publishing a proper review this November when the set is released. It is definitely something I am looking forward to however.