Thursday, November 28, 2019

A Winter's Ball Day 3: The Netherfield Ballroom from Nui Cobalt Designs

Day 3 of a Winter's Ball rolls in (perhaps a few hours later than I would have liked). Today we move in our Pride and Prejudice tour to the Netherfield Ballroom.

Netherfield sounds like such a fantastical name to me. I feel like with a lot of these big estates the names either sounds utterly silly or utterly magical. Netherfield sounds like it could be happily shuffled into a Dungeons and Dragons adaptation of P&P without a single thing being changed.

In reality it's the country house rented by Charles Bingley ( our kind of main supporting male character). It kind of sits as a hub in the story - where it begins, and then later where the end of the book begins (when Bingley and Darcy return to Netherfield).

So let's get to the review! The Netherfield Ballroom candle is done by Nui Cobalt designs. It was rested several days before lighting (I have no clue if candles need to be rested or not but err on the side of caution). In terms of the candle's packaging and performance as a well... candle: It comes in a metal tin that seemed to contain the candle well. The soy wax seemed to melt to a liquid state quickly and similarly quickly suffused the room with scent. The wax melted fully across with no tunneling.

The wax did take longer to cool and harden than I am used to. So when lighting and extinguishing keep this in mind.  Minor mushrooming with the wick - but to be honest that could be from the way I trimmed it.

The smudge on the label is my doing - I handled the candle after extinguishing it and pinching the burned bits off the wick.


The Netherfield Ballroom (Candle) 

Unlit: Dried flowers (roses in particular - maybe some magnolia), a spray of citrus, berry-wine, old books and smooth wood. I recall the Old Books note from discussions of the scent beforehand - and it’s not the kind of cardboard-dust-and-aged-paper smell I associate with modern old books. Mainly a faint papery note with a whisper of leather. Sparkling, bright, and cozy.

Freshly lit:  Similar to how it was cold but with more warmth. Lemony florals, citrus, sparkling wine (could be made from berries… or just normal wine hard to tell), a thick, honey-like scent and polished, smooth resin/wood. Not getting so much of that book scent now (sorry book sniffers!). This is mostly a solid sparkling-white-florals-with-a-touch-of-coziness-and-wine scent.

After half an hour: So the smell of this candle has thoroughly suffused the room and it did it fast.  At the top I’m still getting white florals and sparkling wine beverage… but the smells under that have developed. There’s an almost white-peppery smell that yes, is giving me those old book vibes, that honey-like smell, and those rich polished woods/resins (I think there might be multiple). Golden, warm, cozy, and shimmering all at once.

Walking in and out of the room to the scent fresh is where that old-book smell shines. I also get something kind of ozonic and creamy I’m going to choose to take as ‘crackling fire’.

After an hour:  Stable to the half hour point. Topnotes of florals and wine, midnotes of old books/aged paper, a honey-like sweetness, and a creamy-ozone scent and then a base of smooth polished woods and resins.
 
Official notes: An elegant illumination with notes of white leather, sheer muslin, raw silk, and a petite bouquet of pink spray roses, English lavender, and lily of the valley.

Interesting!

So at the top yes on the roses - the lily of the valley must be the white floral I was getting. I didn’t get a lot of lavender - and if it’s in there I wonder if it’s adding to what smelled like a polished-wood-resin. The ‘elegant illumination’ I wonder if that’s the source of the kind of warmth and sparkling-wine smell. I can see a touch of white leather in there blending with the florals… which brings us to the other two textile notes:

The silk I am almost certain upon sniffing it (once knowing the notes) is the kind of creamy-ozonic smell I was getting. The white peppery smell that reminded me of old books I think must be the muslin.

As for the resinous base: Is it part of the ‘elegant illumination’? Part of how the white leather blends with, say, the lavender? Are there unlisted notes. I am not sure! But the scent definitely feels, to me, like it’s in a resinous base.

Verdict: This is fine with me as a room scent and I think for a kind of upscale-but-cozy vibe will be my go to candle (might whip this out Christmas morning). In terms of it being a ‘me’ scent? Not so much - my house is less Elegant Ballroom and more Wow That’s A Lot Of Animal Skulls. I’ll be keeping my candle and lighting it occasionally - but probably will not go out of my way to repurchase. I think if you’re a big fan of white-floral dominated scents, are a little sad that it’s a long way until summer collections, and looking for a Christmas white floral with the aforementioned vibe to it that this could be up your alley.

You can get this scent as part of the A Winter's Ball set found [ here ]! The set is on the pricey side (it's a luxury box!). However! Sucreabeille is also running a sale right now (11/28/19) and this would push you up into some of the higher tiers all on its own... so you'd get a box of lovelies and a bunch of other swag along with it.

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