Michael's Wax Melts (Ashland) Reviews

Michael's Wax Melts (Ashland) Reviews

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These scents have been available at Michael's for years, and are there year-round (although some Michael's don't carry them at all). They are located in the candle aisle, not the seasonal kiosks where the taller seasonal candles and wax melts are located. The wax formula has changed, as well as some of the scents and packaging. For years the wax was very soft and messy (probably soy), and with only a few exceptions they didn't throw well. The new wax is hard (paraffin) and throws much better. But the more likely reason for the improved throw is that these harder wax melts are made by Hanna's Candle! However, Hanna's is no longer making any wax melts for Michael's, so these newer melts are from last year.

To identify the old and new wax melts, the old wax melts say 2.4 oz. on the label, and of course the wax is very soft. The new wax melts says 2.5 oz. on the label, the wax is hard, and the package is slightly taller than the old package (but not as tall as the seasonal scents).

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Enchanting Lavender

There are 2 versions of this scent at the store, the much older (from 2014-2015), softer wax in the 2.4 oz. clamshell, and the newer hard wax in the 2.5 oz. clamshell from last year (made by Hanna's Candle).

Both lavender scents are authentic, but they are two different scents.

I prefer the older scent, which is a little sweeter and more powdery. The newer scent is more authentic, with a little bit of that medicinal herbal lavender note that smells like a smidgen of eucalyptus. I believe it's the same scent as Hanna's French Lavender Garden.

The old scent, however, has a very faint throw, maybe 2 out of 5, because it's that soft soy wax and it's quite old. The newer scent has a strong throw, around 3.5 out of 5.

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Mango Cilantro

The new version does smell like mango, kind of like peach but a bit harsher. I don't smell cilantro or any herbal notes. It's a nice scent if you like peach or tropical fruit type scents, but like a lot of those types of scents, it has a tiny bit of that cat pee vibe.

The older, softer wax formula smelled better (I no longer have it and couldn't find it this time). It wasn't as harsh, didn't have the cat pee vibe, and it was a sweeter "peach nectar syrup" type of scent. Throw was slightly weaker with the old formula though, Mild or Medium, 3 out of 5. The new harder wax has strong throw, 3.5 out of 5.

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Mixed Berries

This smells like fruit candy, sweet with a little bit of tartness. It smells like a couple of different types of fruits, like mulberry, cranberry, cherry, and maybe a hint of raspberry. It smells artificial, but not annoyingly so. The older, softer wax formula (which I no longer have and couldn't find this time) had almost zero throw. The new harder wax has strong throw, 3.5 out of 5.

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Mountain Air

The old scent is one of my favorite scents. It smells like a super soapy soap and fresh air, with hardly any sweetness. There may be a smidgen of an herbal note way in the background. It would smell a little like a men's body wash if it were sweet. Throw is bold, 4.5 or 5 out of 5, which is unusual for the older scents.

The new scent is completely different, and it's also a nice scent. It's the same as Aldi's Fresh Cotton Blossom from January 2018 (also made by Hanna's Candle), but oddly it's not the same scent as Hanna's own Fresh Cotton Blossom. It's a nice sweet laundry detergent scent with a hint of a biting laundry note. But it's not a soft powdery fabric softener scent either. It doesn't smell soapy, and it's sweeter than other similar scents I've smelled with a little bit more of a floral note, although it's not really perfumey either. Hard to describe! Aldi's Fresh Cotton Blossom was a scent monster with a throw of 5 out of 5, and this one is pretty much the same, bold, 4.5 or 5 out of 5 (although it took an hour to get there!)

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Soothing Vanilla

The old scent is just a plain, generic vanilla, with possibly a smidgen of coconut. It smells like a vanilla scented car air freshener. Not a bad scent, but a bit artificial. It smells better melted, quite nice actually, and without the buttery cookie note that a lot of vanilla scents have. Throw is faint, 2 out of 5, but might work okay in a tiny room like a bathroom.

The new scent is totally different, and smells incredible. I've smelled it before, so I think it's a dupe for something else but I don't know what. It smells like an expensive warm cashmere/amber perfume with a hint of vanilla and maybe a smidgen of patchouli. But it's not an overly perfumey scent, and it's not really a floral. One of my favorite scents, throw is bold (4.5 to 5 out of 5), and the scent lasted the entire day (at least 12 hours, but probably would have gone longer if I hadn't turned off the warmer). I wrote about this one in my Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/scentedwaxretail/permalink/1410049855779506/.

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