A.C. Moore Nicole's Home Accents Scented Wax Melts Review

A.C. Moore Nicole's Home Accents Scented Wax Melts Review

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Nicole's Home Accents is A.C. Moore's store brand. The wax melts are available only on the east coast states, from Maine to Florida I believe. These melts have been fantastic for the past few years in terms of scent quality and throw. They used to cost $2.99 each, and I found out that they were actually manufactured by Rimports, the company that makes ScentSationals, Better Homes & Gardens (for Walmart) and AmbiEscents (for Bed Bath & Beyond). Which explains the fantastic quality.

However, a few months ago, A.C. Moore started putting some of their wax melts on clearance, and then they disappeared from many of the stores. Last week I found all new wax melts at A.C. Moore, but now they're $1.99 and they are now being made by Crossroads Candles, which I haven't had luck with as far as throw (http://www.scentedwaxreviews.com/2015/09/crossroads-candles-scented-wax-melts.html). Many of the scents are the same as Crossroads scents rather than the old Nicole's Home Accents scents. And some of the scents with the same name don't smell the same, such as Vanilla Hazelnut Macchiato (which smells completely different).

Original, older, better version on left, and new version on the right

Unfortunately, these are all losers. I don't know of any other store-bought wax melt brands that have been this consistently bad in terms of throw. Most of these had either no throw at all, or barely detectable throw. What a disappointment. I would gladly pay $2.99 instead of the new cheaper price of $1.99 to get the older wax melts back that were manufactured by Rimports.

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Sandalwood and Amber
This smells fantastic on cold sniff. It's a sweet perfumey sandalwood with what might be a hint of nag champa (to give it a bit of a hippie vibe). Unfortunately, throw was very weak, but might work in a very small room like a bathroom.
Throw: Not good, around a 1.5 or 2 out of 5.

Weekend Retreat
This is floral that smells like lilac and maybe jasmine, but it's not overly sweet because of a fresh air note. It's a nice scent, although a bit generic, and would be great for a bedroom or bathroom. However, I couldn't smell anything when melted.
Throw: Poor, maybe a 1 out of 5, if that.

Lavender Silk
This smells like lavender scented soap. It's a nice clean, relaxing scent, perfect for a bedroom or bathroom.
Throw: Not good, maybe a 2 out of 5.

Fresh Rain
A pleasant, generic "rain" scented laundry type scent. It's more of a fabric softener scent, not a harsh laundry detergent scent. But it also has a fresh, slightly floral note. Another nice bathroom or bedroom scent. Unfortunately the scent dissipated in under 2 hours.
Throw: Very Good, around a 3 or 3.5 out of 5

Berries and Cream
Fake berry scent, maybe raspberry, with a vinyl chemical note and maybe a smidgeon of wood. Often those chemical notes disappear when melted, so fingers crossed. And that's exactly what happened. It ended up being a nice berry scent, different and unique. But like Fresh Rain, the scent dissipated in 1.5 to 2 hours.
Throw: Good, around a 2.5 or 3 out of 5

Sweet Pear Crisp
This really smells like pears, with a slight cinnamon note.
Throw: Zero throw, even from close up

Lemon Cookie
This is a typical sweet lemon scent with both a slight bakery and a slight kitchen lemon note. It's nice, but really, you can't do much to ruin a lemon scent. Throw was almost non-existent, which is unusual, as lemon scents usually throw quite well no matter what the brand.
Throw: Almost zero throw, maybe a 1 out of 5, if that

Spruce and Cedar
Very nice nutty spruce scent. I really like this scent.
Throw: Poor, maybe a 1.5 out of 5, if that.

Vanilla Hazelnut Macchiato
This is a nice nutty scent with creamy vanilla and just a touch of coffee.
Throw: Poor, maybe a 1.5 out of 5

Sage and Citrus
I have this scent in the regular Crossroads melts ("Sage & Citrus") and the throw is very good for that one. This combination has been done by other manufacturers, and they all smell pretty much the same. It's a hard scent to describe, kind of a spa scent or maybe some kind of cleaner. It's sweet and a little bit herbal, with maybe just a hint of lemongrass. Again, very hard to describe, but it's a great scent.
Throw: Almost zero throw, maybe a 1 out of 5, if that

Peanut Butter Cookie
This smells fantastic, like a real peanut butter cookie! Rich, sweet, peanutty and buttery! The only other retail scent I've tried lately with a peanut butter note is Goose Creek Peanut Butter Sugar. These two scents don't smell very similar. The Goose Creek scent is sweeter and I can smell a vanilla crepe kind of scent. It has much less of a nutty note. The Nicole's scent is definitely more nutty, and if you're looking for a peanut scent, this is the one!
Throw: Finally, one with decent throw! Throw is good, around a 2.5 or 3 out of 5. But the scent started dissipating within 2 hours.

Roasted Espresso
I saved this one for last because it's super strong on cold sniff, so I'm assuming (and hoping) the throw will be really good. It's a strong black coffee scent with a little bit of sweetness, and it smells fantastic. Melted, however, it turned into a bitter burned coffee scent that's not good at all.
Throw: Fair, around a 2.5 out of 5

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